2 ms·

Average margins on Macs are high because they charge huge amounts on updates. But I really doubt that the margin on the 2500€ Macbook Pro is 50% as you claim. M

Average margins on Macs are high because they charge huge amounts on updates. But I really doubt that the margin on the 2500€ Macbook Pro is 50% as you claim. Maybe the high end has big margins like that (since they overcharge on RAM/SSD), but I really doubt the low end machines have high margins like that. I own one of the new Macbook Pros, and the build quality of them is fantastic. It's the sturdiest computer I've ever seen. It's a huge jump from their previous models, it's even better than the 2015 models, which were already very good. I've opened it up to look at the internals, and there's so much material everywhere. No wonder it's heavier. Even the base plate is a lot stiffer than in the previous models. Now, I must concede that I'm not too familiar with windows laptops, but I've never seen anything remotely comparable to this. If you could point me to a 1300€ windows laptop that's even close to the Macbook Pro in build quality, I'd love to hear about it. And that's not even mentioning how fantastic the display and the speakers are, because they are unbelievable. The only thing that's cheap about the new Macbook Pros is the camera, which unfortunately is still a piece of crap, just with some machine learning algorithms applied (they don't help).

qwytw 5y ago
My point is that Apple is not subsidizing lower end models by selling overpriced ram, if they were fine with the margins other laptop manufacturers have, they could sell their products much cheaper (they could still cut their prices significantly and have considerably higher margins than others) but they don't, because they don't have to (their products are good, there is a huge demand for them and they don't have as much competition as PC makers). Obviously I don't Apple's exact margins, they are probably lower than 50% but not by much however: "But there's no way they could keep their entry level prices as low if they charged a fair price for upgrades." is simply just not true, they obviously could do that if any of the conditions I mentioned changed, they just don't because as any other company Apple seeks to maximize it's profits. Dell XPS, Thinkpad X1, Razer Blade and Surface Laptop lines have pretty decent build quality, of course they all have inferior CPUs which use more power and generate way more heat compared to the Mac (I didn't say you can get one for 1300€, just that that other manufacturers try to price their premium laptop lines at similar level as Apple but usually end up having to sell them at significant discounts)

qwytw 5y ago

My point is that Apple is not subsidizing lower end models by selling overpriced ram, if they were fine with the margins other laptop manufacturers have, they could sell their products much cheaper (they could still cut their prices significantly and have considerably higher margins than others) but they don't, because they don't have to (their products are good, there is a huge demand for them and they don't have as much competition as PC makers). Obviously I don't Apple's exact margins, they are probably lower than 50% but not by much however: "But there's no way they could keep their entry level prices as low if they charged a fair price for upgrades." is simply just not true, they obviously could do that if any of the conditions I mentioned changed, they just don't because as any other company Apple seeks to maximize it's profits. Dell XPS, Thinkpad X1, Razer Blade and Surface Laptop lines have pretty decent build quality, of course they all have inferior CPUs which use more power and generate way more heat compared to the Mac (I didn't say you can get one for 1300€, just that that other manufacturers try to price their premium laptop lines at similar level as Apple but usually end up having to sell them at significant discounts)