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Apple has never been a luxury brand. It’s a label lobbed at them by critics and fans of competing products. But it’s never been supported by their price points,

Apple has never been a luxury brand. It’s a label lobbed at them by critics and fans of competing products. But it’s never been supported by their price points, volumes, marketing, or operations. The few times they have tried to play in the luxury market, like their gold $10k Apple Watch, it went pretty much nowhere and they quickly stopped. They make not-crappy productivity tools at not-cheap price points, and aim for top-5 market share. That’s not a luxury product strategy. They are a lot more like Honda or Volkswagon than Lamborghini.

bradyd 5mo ago
Apple definitely still has products that cross into the luxury brand category. For example the Apple Watch Hermès, which starts at $1249. https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-watch/apple-watch-hermes https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-watch/apple-watch-hermes
- ioblomov 5mo ago
  But luxury watches are priced like cars. In that context, a four-digit price tag is competitive, if not downright cheap.
- woofcat 5mo ago
  Luxury watches are often five figures or more.. in that context $1250 is a deal.
fragmede 5mo ago
Acura and Audi then. They're still expensive vs the competition.
ayewo 5mo ago
> Apple has never been a luxury brand. How do you explain this $1,000 monitor stand [1]? Or its iPhone "carry bag" collaboration with ISSEY MIYAKE retailing at $149.95 to $229.95 aka the iPhone Pocket [2]? 1: https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/wwdc-2019-craziest-reveal-was-a-1000-dollar-monitor-stand-for-the-5000-dollar-pro-display-xdr/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/wwdc-2019-craziest-revea... 2: https://www.apple.com/ng/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone-pocket-a-beautiful-way-to-wear-and-carry-iphone/ https://www.apple.com/ng/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone...
- shaewest 5mo ago
  The monitor stand was always priced to avoid people buying it. I'm yet to see non-custom monitor stand at any of my workplaces, besides hyperspecific situations like a ultrawide monitor.
Brendinooo 5mo ago
Andy Warhol, on Coca-Cola: >What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca-Cola, too. Apple isn't _quite_ Coke, but they have a similar dynamic because they can deliver quality at a scale that makes them cost-competitive. They do exist in upscale market segments, but it doesn't define them as a company. They don't artificially keep the costs of Mac Studio sales low to drive demand.

bradyd 5mo ago

Apple definitely still has products that cross into the luxury brand category. For example the Apple Watch Hermès, which starts at $1249. https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-watch/apple-watch-hermes https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-watch/apple-watch-hermes

ioblomov 5mo ago
But luxury watches are priced like cars. In that context, a four-digit price tag is competitive, if not downright cheap.
woofcat 5mo ago
Luxury watches are often five figures or more.. in that context $1250 is a deal.

fragmede 5mo ago

Acura and Audi then. They're still expensive vs the competition.

ayewo 5mo ago

> Apple has never been a luxury brand. How do you explain this $1,000 monitor stand [1]? Or its iPhone "carry bag" collaboration with ISSEY MIYAKE retailing at $149.95 to $229.95 aka the iPhone Pocket [2]? 1: https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/wwdc-2019-craziest-reveal-was-a-1000-dollar-monitor-stand-for-the-5000-dollar-pro-display-xdr/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/wwdc-2019-craziest-revea... 2: https://www.apple.com/ng/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone-pocket-a-beautiful-way-to-wear-and-carry-iphone/ https://www.apple.com/ng/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone...

shaewest 5mo ago
The monitor stand was always priced to avoid people buying it. I'm yet to see non-custom monitor stand at any of my workplaces, besides hyperspecific situations like a ultrawide monitor.

Brendinooo 5mo ago

Andy Warhol, on Coca-Cola: >What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca-Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca-Cola, too. Apple isn't _quite_ Coke, but they have a similar dynamic because they can deliver quality at a scale that makes them cost-competitive. They do exist in upscale market segments, but it doesn't define them as a company. They don't artificially keep the costs of Mac Studio sales low to drive demand.