Why are apple products so expensive? Just thinking laptops now. - Hardware & Software

[sp]yes my username is hilarious now skip it[/sp] I'm not trying to start a war between PC and mac so please don't start one. I've been wonder for a long time why an apple laptop (as an example) are so expensive? Is the OS for mac better than windows in anyway, is it the hardware that is better or is it just design cost? Can you do something on a mac that you can't on a PC that makes it be so high in price? Do any of you guys know? And again, please, not a PC vs MAC war. I just want to know the answer of my question if there is any good.

Why do people spend thousands of dollars on Prada handbags? Because they want the name Prada on their handbags. [editline]11th June 2012[/editline] Even though a $20 handbag is exactly as functional as the Prada.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;36293056]Why do people spend thousands of dollars on Prada handbags? Because they want the name Prada on their handbags.[/QUOTE] So that's it? The brand? Well I had a guess. Thanks for the quick answer.

For Apple laptops, a lot of the price goes into the miniaturization and compactness, as well as the quality of the actual laptop case.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;36293056]Why do people spend thousands of dollars on Prada handbags? Because they want the name Prada on their handbags. [editline]11th June 2012[/editline] Even though a $20 handbag is exactly as functional as the Prada.[/QUOTE] Not necessarily, some of us like OS X (I'm not one of them), Not to mention Apples new Macbook Pro Retina Display is a huge new buying point. They're not just a brand. They do have unique features.

[QUOTE=wingless;36293171]Not necessarily, some of us like OS X (I'm not one of them), Not to mention Apples new Macbook Pro Retina Display is a huge new buying point. They're not just a brand. They do have unique features.[/QUOTE] I will admit that their latest model looks pretty neat, but the question i find myself asking is "Is it $2,200 neat?" And the conclusion I find myself coming to is "No." If I could find one used for a reasonable price I'd pick it up in a heartbeat, though.

The build quality on Apple laptops is very high, albeit that's what you're paying for, not for a powerful computer. The keyboard, trackpad, and the whole feel of the laptop and operating system is said to be a much nicer experience than any other laptop on the market. But like I said, they're not generally as powerful, and also for that reason they are not very good for gaming. If you want a desktop computer that's a Mac, it's still much more worth it to build it yourself, but use parts compatible for a hackintosh so that you can install Mac OS X. You can optionally choose stuff like an Apple keyboard or mouse then etc

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;36293213]I will admit that their latest model looks pretty neat, but the question i find myself asking is "Is it $2,200 neat?" And the conclusion I find myself coming to is "No." If I could find one used for a reasonable price I'd pick it up in a heartbeat, though.[/QUOTE] You get what you pay for, it's entirely SSD based, has the best density screen in the world and pretty reasonably specced for the price. That's the only retina display model that's been released, much like every other apple launch the display will be put into the lower end models eventually. And just because you come to that conclusion, doesn't mean other people will.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox360;36293253]The build quality on Apple laptops is very high, albeit that's what you're paying for, not for a powerful computer. The keyboard, trackpad, and the whole feel of the laptop and operating system is said to be a much nicer experience than any other laptop on the market. But like I said, they're not generally as powerful, and also for that reason they are not very good for gaming. If you want a desktop computer that's a Mac, it's still much more worth it to build it yourself, but use parts compatible for a hackintosh so that you can install Mac OS X. You can optionally choose stuff like an Apple keyboard or mouse then etc[/QUOTE] pretty much fucking nailed it right there

[QUOTE=djjkxbox360;36293253]The build quality on Apple laptops is very high, albeit that's what you're paying for, not for a powerful computer. The keyboard, trackpad, and the whole feel of the laptop and operating system is said to be a much nicer experience than any other laptop on the market. But like I said, they're not generally as powerful, and also for that reason they are not very good for gaming. If you want a desktop computer that's a Mac, it's still much more worth it to build it yourself, but use parts compatible for a hackintosh so that you can install Mac OS X. You can optionally choose stuff like an Apple keyboard or mouse then etc[/QUOTE] Probably one of the most fair and correct Mac-related posts I've ever seen. As a lifetime Macintosher, I can agree, this is exactly why I choose Apple laptops every single time. (Except currently while I'm on this temporary Acer that reminds me why I love Apple so much every time I try to use the trackpad.)

[QUOTE=wingless;36293283]You get what you pay for, it's entirely SSD based, has the best density screen in the world and pretty reasonably specced for the price. That's the only retina display model that's been released, much like every other apple launch the display will be put into the lower end models eventually. And just because you come to that conclusion, doesn't mean other people will.[/QUOTE] I didn't even realize it was entirely SSD. What capacities are we talking here? [editline]11th June 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Trekintosh;36293387]Probably one of the most fair and correct Mac-related posts I've ever seen. As a lifetime Macintosher, I can agree, this is exactly why I choose Apple laptops every single time. (Except currently while I'm on this temporary Acer that reminds me why I love Apple so much every time I try to use the trackpad.)[/QUOTE] I'm very tempted to bring up the old "Macbook would format its own hard drive every time the volume picked up" issue, but that's not really fair anymore.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;36293577]I didn't even realize it was entirely SSD. What capacities are we talking here?[/QUOTE] 256GB, 512GB or 768GB of SSD storage.

Hackintoshing is the way to go. I have a Kakewalk USB and you'll see me posting using a Mac once in awhile, that's this very computer on my other HDD. I have Diablo and SC2 installed under OS X, and I sometimes use it to pass time by working on this awful game project I have planned.

I hate the phrase but Apples products "Just work". Of course they control their markets strictly and therefore know exactly what hardware will be using their software, this allows them to develop an extremely easy to use device even while being under powered compared to cheaper alternatives.

Because Steve Jobs and Tim Cook are both greedy bastards that's why.

It's purely branding but I will admit that the engineering that went into their aluminum Mac Pros and Macbooks is quite nice and very well done. It's a hell of a lot better than when they were still using plastic. The entire case on a Quadra 800 is brittle as fuck, the hinges love to fucking shatter on the original iBook and the first gen Macbooks were motherfuckers with no remorse when it came to the bezels chipping and cracking.

[QUOTE=BlankSlate;36296147]Because Steve Jobs and Tim Cook are both greedy bastards that's why.[/QUOTE] We don't need people like you shitting up the thread with no evidence and personal bias. How come every time we get a thread like this someone will always come in and spout stupid shit like this? Next time, can you not just spout generic bullshit and actually add to the discussion? Thanks.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox360;36293253]You can optionally choose stuff like an Apple keyboard or mouse then etc[/QUOTE] It is possible to plug an Apple keyboard on a Windows PC ? (by messing around with some drivers) I've never been a huge fan of Apple products except for their slim keyboards.

They are expensive because people still buy them at that price point. I think the new 2200$ is pushing it in terms of what people will pay, but I'll wait and see. They generally have pretty good battery life, the build quality isn't bad (it's not the best either, but it's pretty good), and people like the aluminium, trackpad and keyboard. The new screen is pretty fucking good as well. The price is in my opinion completely ridiculous, though.

No matter how nice the new laptops are they're still overpriced comprared to their specifications. It's part good hardware, part brand ("prada bag thing") They're like Beats headphones, they're good, but not $200-$300 good.

You're paying for a big-ass battery, a nice design, screen and the Apple logo. That's about it.

[QUOTE=MIPS;36296424]It's purely branding but I will admit that the engineering that went into their aluminum Mac Pros and Macbooks is quite nice and very well done. It's a hell of a lot better than when they were still using plastic. The entire case on a Quadra 800 is brittle as fuck, the hinges love to fucking shatter on the original iBook [B]and the first gen Macbooks were motherfuckers with no remorse when it came to the bezels chipping and cracking[/B].[/QUOTE] Oh my god, tell me about it! I had a hand-me-down one from my dad (big step up form a 1.42ghz Mac Mini G4), and it was all kinds of terrible as far as cases went. The PowerBooks that preceded it were better. I will admit that the first gen MacBooks were just not very good. They dented easily, cracked, scratched, and collected dust just terribly. I'm glad that my dog yanked the thing off a table and fractured the logic board, as that meant I was able to get one of the Unibody ones, and it has been fucking amazing. The only laptop I would trade it for, and will trade it for, is a Retina MBP.

People always foucs on the hardware when discussing the price of apple machines but one part of it that adds to the value of an apple computer(for me) is the customer support. f I have an issue with my macbook I can take it to an apple store and if the situation calls for it then I could walk out of the store with a replacement machine, With most other brands it would take much longer to receive a replacement machine.

[QUOTE=BlankSlate;36296147]Because Steve Jobs and Tim Cook are both greedy bastards that's why.[/QUOTE] I thought Steve had a $1 a year sallary.

[QUOTE=alien_guy;36303740]I thought Steve had a $1 a year sallary.[/QUOTE] Forgotten about his part of the stocks in the company eh?

Are macs better for video editing as the myths suggest?

Thinkpads are also expensive for the specs they have, though they're durable, have a great keyboard and the insides are accessible. The MacBook Pro has a great screen, a great trackpad, a well made case, a good battery and are fairly compact for the innards they have. That said, there's likely a lot of profit attached to the price. That extra profit goes toward research and development. Apple probably didn't waltz up to their LCD supplier and say "I'll have one of those 15.4" 2880x1800 panels", since they didn't exist. If they didn't have all of this money laying around, the amount of new things to try would be held back. Dell could have made a laptop with a high-density LCD, though that's risky for them. The regular user is fine with 1336x768 for the most part, so why bother? Apple says "fuck that, we could do better" and releases the thing. Dell, HP, ect are probably seeing the demand for high density LCDs now, and will probably release something in the coming months in response. They did the same thing with MP3 players, phones, tablets and ultrabooks. Competition is awesome.

[QUOTE=Kingy_ME;36306442]Are macs better for video editing as the myths suggest?[/QUOTE] Sure they are! If you live in 1992! Nowadays, they're even for all editing tasks, as long as the software is well made for both OSX and Windows, then the choice is up to which OS you prefer.

[QUOTE=Trekintosh;36308144]Sure they are! If you live in 1992! Nowadays, they're even for all editing tasks, as long as the software is well made for both OSX and Windows, then the choice is up to which OS you prefer.[/QUOTE] Not necessarily. One of the reason artists used, and still do, use iMacs for editing is because they used extremely high end screens and had some of the best colour and geometry reproduction in the industry. Still do in some cases. Same for audio sometimes, they had and still have some of the best sound cards in prebuilt machines. Artists aren't going to build their own computers, it's not what they do, so you get the best computer you can for what you do, which was and sometimes still is a Mac.

They were only better at video editing back when they were using the POWER architecture. Now they are just over glorified PCs.