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> Phones and Macs are more expensive than ever. The phones maybe, but I don't think this is true for their computers. The Powerbook 5300 in 96 started at $2,30

> Phones and Macs are more expensive than ever. The phones maybe, but I don't think this is true for their computers. The Powerbook 5300 in 96 started at $2,300, which is ~$4,400 these days. The 2400c in 98 started at $3,499, almost $6,500 today. An original iMac clocked in at $1,299 in that same year, ~$2,400 today, while it's larger PowerMac cousin started at $3,700 or ~$6,800 today! An original Ti Book in 2001 would set you back $2,599 (~$4,400 today), but an iBook could be had for only $1,299 (Just ~2,200 today). It's probably worth remembering too the original Macbook Air had a sticker price of $1,799 in 2008, which is still ~$2,500 in today's dollars. All of those prices were base model prices. By comparison while the MacPro as the last Intel holdout still comes in at an eye watering $5,999 base, the most expensive base model M* computer apple sells are the 16 inch MBP and the Mac Studio, both starting at just $1999. And for fun, you can still pick up a base iMac for $1,299. Not that I disagree that Apple has any problem charging enough to make a profit, just that I don't agree that their computers are more expensive than ever.

newaccount74 4y ago
Macs were very expensive in the 90ies, but in the 2000s, Macs were actually getting cheaper. I remember buying a white iBook for around 2000€, and a year or two later the "unibody" plastic iBooks started at 1000€. They introduced low cost desktop macs like the eMac and the Mac Mini, making it very affordable to buy new Macs. Prices have been going up since then, and people who look for affordable Macs are buying 5 year old used machines. The upgrades also weren't as expensive as they are today; and it was common to just buy the base model and upgrade RAM and HD for cheap a year later. Today you have to spend at least 50% of the base price on upgrades if you don't want a device that's crippled with insufficient RAM/SSD.
- tpmoney 4y ago
  I think inflation adjusted, even 00's macs are pretty much as expensive then as they are today. Apple shipped a handful of iBooks at the $999 price point, with the mid 2005 being the last for the 12 inch model. That's ~$1500 today. The cheapest eMacs started at $799, with again the last model being a 2005 model, which puts you at ~$1200 today, or $99 cheaper than the current base model iMac. And the base model iMac back then was $1299. Even the mac minis, the original came out in 2005 and base lined at $499 (~$750 today) which was for sure crazy cheap at the time. But that $499 price point didn't last more than one revision, and then one more appearance in late 2014 (~$630 today). So the latest and cheapest model mac mini is still more expensive than the base line M2 mini today in inflation adjusted dollars. As for the upgrades, having worked for a reseller in that time frame I assure you the first party RAM and storage upgrade prices were ALWAYS ridiculous and it was standard for us to recommend customers buy their own RAM and install it later if they were comfortable doing that. I will grant that isn't an option anymore in the M series, so in that respect they are more expensive, but the actual costs I suspect inflation adjusted match the same pattern here. Sadly the way back machine doesn't give us access to the pricing configs for that time, but this review (https://www.tomsguide.com/us/mac-mini-late-2014,review-2723.html https://www.tomsguide.com/us/mac-mini-late-2014,review-2723....) says going from 4GB in the base 2014 mac mini to 16GB was a $300 upgrade (and was also not user serviceable). In today's dollars that's a mere $381. The equivalent jump today from 8GB to 24GB will run you $400. So pricing it out, in 2014 a base line mac mini with a 3x RAM upgrade was ~$1,010 in today's money. A base M2 mac mini with a 3x RAM upgrade today is $999. Inflation is a killer.

newaccount74 4y ago

Macs were very expensive in the 90ies, but in the 2000s, Macs were actually getting cheaper. I remember buying a white iBook for around 2000€, and a year or two later the "unibody" plastic iBooks started at 1000€. They introduced low cost desktop macs like the eMac and the Mac Mini, making it very affordable to buy new Macs. Prices have been going up since then, and people who look for affordable Macs are buying 5 year old used machines. The upgrades also weren't as expensive as they are today; and it was common to just buy the base model and upgrade RAM and HD for cheap a year later. Today you have to spend at least 50% of the base price on upgrades if you don't want a device that's crippled with insufficient RAM/SSD.

tpmoney 4y ago
I think inflation adjusted, even 00's macs are pretty much as expensive then as they are today. Apple shipped a handful of iBooks at the $999 price point, with the mid 2005 being the last for the 12 inch model. That's ~$1500 today. The cheapest eMacs started at $799, with again the last model being a 2005 model, which puts you at ~$1200 today, or $99 cheaper than the current base model iMac. And the base model iMac back then was $1299. Even the mac minis, the original came out in 2005 and base lined at $499 (~$750 today) which was for sure crazy cheap at the time. But that $499 price point didn't last more than one revision, and then one more appearance in late 2014 (~$630 today). So the latest and cheapest model mac mini is still more expensive than the base line M2 mini today in inflation adjusted dollars. As for the upgrades, having worked for a reseller in that time frame I assure you the first party RAM and storage upgrade prices were ALWAYS ridiculous and it was standard for us to recommend customers buy their own RAM and install it later if they were comfortable doing that. I will grant that isn't an option anymore in the M series, so in that respect they are more expensive, but the actual costs I suspect inflation adjusted match the same pattern here. Sadly the way back machine doesn't give us access to the pricing configs for that time, but this review (https://www.tomsguide.com/us/mac-mini-late-2014,review-2723.html https://www.tomsguide.com/us/mac-mini-late-2014,review-2723....) says going from 4GB in the base 2014 mac mini to 16GB was a $300 upgrade (and was also not user serviceable). In today's dollars that's a mere $381. The equivalent jump today from 8GB to 24GB will run you $400. So pricing it out, in 2014 a base line mac mini with a 3x RAM upgrade was ~$1,010 in today's money. A base M2 mac mini with a 3x RAM upgrade today is $999. Inflation is a killer.