Apple is Robbing People with SSD Upgrade Prices...

[icymountain]

I am more upset with the price of the upgrades rather than with the base storage and RAM configurations. I understand these will be enough for some people. But the cost of the upgrade should be much, much less. They just charge whatever they want because they killed user upgradeability.

I bought a Mac Mini two years ago, ordered the base storage option and extended the RAM to 32 Gb for less than the cost of the 16 Gb option... As it is not possible anymore, I guess they just charge whatever they want.

 

[Wildkraut]

Watch WWDC 😏 Mac got No Mans sky and Resident Evil village!

And it runs with what kind of supported graphical features? Probably like set to LOW on crapy PC.

Anyway, 256GB is still enough if you do nothing fancy with your Macbook, but is not longer up-to-date if you get into something serious or gaming, and any Macbook above 256GB/8GB RAM is price gouging.

 

[Velli]

I am more upset with the price of the upgrades rather than with the base storage and RAM configurations. I understand these will be enough for some people. But the cost of the upgrade should be much, much less. They just charge whatever they want because they killed user upgradeability.

I bought a Mac Mini two years ago, ordered the base storage option and extended the RAM to 32 Gb for less than the cost of the 16 Gb option... As it is not possible anymore, I guess they just charge whatever they want.

Someone was just lecturing me about how my Windows issues were caused by “me” (my company actually, so out of my control) was due to buying the wrong Windows laptop. Just buy this one overhere instead. Point being: I have heard SO many stories about people having “unexplainable” issues with their Macs, that were resolved by replacing their third party RAM. You can always argue that a company charges too much, but you are partly paying for not having to bother with figuring out what the “right” solution is. I’m happy to pay extra to not have that bother. Just like I would never, ever stand in line for an hour to save a hundred bucks on something.

 

[alok87]

I downloaded 2 games, Fortnite and Borderlands 3...230 Gigs!!!!

I really think all computers should come configured 16GB/512GB....

If I get the M2 Air... I think I will just spend $400 to get it to last 5-7 years

 

[unrigestered]

i personally think with Mac, you chose the wrong platform for gaming to begin with.
But yes, for games, even 1TB in the current two gaming consoles is way too little.
so get one of these, or a PC... or if smaller games are fine with you too (like myself): a Nintendo Switch
and of course even iOS is much much better for gaming too, if you can bear all the in-game adds and pay to win

 

[Feek]

Without reading through the entire thread, has anyone said

"If you don't want it, don't buy it"

yet?

 

[wonderings]

Here is the thing, yes the prices are outrageous, but people have moved beyond localized storage.

For instance, there is no longer the need for large main drives or secondary drives for TV/movies as you can easily stream those or download the necessary ones.

Need to store documents for quick access? Google Drive, MS OneDrive, DropBox and several other are available, some even with large storage capacities on the cheap; more so if your company has cloud storage.

Media producers? NAS drives are standard for them or large external drives.

Photos and home videos? You can easily hold 10 years of those within 200GB for the average person. I for one have pictures and videos all the way back to 2006 and still use under 100GB to store those.

So in the end, large main drives have lost focus.

So why do the iPhones get more and more storage? What you described is just companies forcing you into more subscription services. Yes you can do it all in the cloud... if you want to pay forever to have someone host your data. Of course if you want to work from a remote location with no stable or fast internet connect your cloud storage is complete useless. Fact is, hard drives are cheap, especially if you are buying in volume like Apple, Dell and everyone else. There is no reason to charge these prices when you can get a 1 TB SD for $30. Not a great comparison feature wise but it is still 1 TB of storage for $30 on Amazon and requires no monthly subscription fee.

It always amazes me when people argue against having local storage at reasonable prices. I guess if you like giving money forever to hold on to what is important to you or what you need for work then fine, but again there is no reason for it.

 

[pastrychef]

So why do the iPhones get more and more storage? What you described is just companies forcing you into more subscription services. Yes you can do it all in the cloud... if you want to pay forever to have someone host your data. Of course if you want to work from a remote location with no stable or fast internet connect your cloud storage is complete useless. Fact is hard dries are cheap, especially if you are buying in volume like Apple, Dell and everyone else. There is no reason to charge these prices when you can get a 1 TB micro SSD for $30. Not a great comparison feature wise but it is still 1 TB of storage for $30 on Amazon and requires no monthly subscription fee.

It always amazes me when people argue against having local storage at reasonable prices. I guess if you like giving money forever to hold on to what is important to you or what you need for work then fine, but again there is no reason for it.

I think those $30 1TB SD cards are scams. Real 1TB SD cards should cost several times that much.

 

[Lioness~]

I have 250GB SSD storage on my MacBook Air. No problem at all. Usually ~half the storage free.
I don't need more on a portable Mac.
iCloud, or other online accessable storage, is however a good thing to have.

Neither do I feel that Apple robs me, I invest in my devices out of free will 😁

 

[icymountain]

Someone was just lecturing me about how my Windows issues were caused by “me” (my company actually, so out of my control) was due to buying the wrong Windows laptop. Just buy this one overhere instead. Point being: I have heard SO many stories about people having “unexplainable” issues with their Macs, that were resolved by replacing their third party RAM. You can always argue that a company charges too much, but you are partly paying for not having to bother with figuring out what the “right” solution is. I’m happy to pay extra to not have that bother. Just like I would never, ever stand in line for an hour to save a hundred bucks on something.

I do not understand the logics here.
First, to say that an issue for sure went away, I need to have an explanation. So I would not claim an unexplainable issue just went away because I did something, like change the RAM. Or I would need to validate that the RAM was faulty.
Second, Apple supplied RAM may fail too. That happened to me actually (and I was positively impressed with the way the issue was resolved for free, while travelling abroad, with Apple Care).
Not only Apply can select working component and not only other manufacturers can select faulty ones.

So the argument "glad to pay more to avoid issues" does not hold ground.

 

[wonderings]

I think those $30 1TB SD cards are scams. Real 1TB SD cards should cost several times that much.

I found the price shocking, it was on Amazon though and under prime with guaranteed delivery. Not saying it can't be a scam but think it would be pulled pretty quickly if it was. It is some no name brand as well which is why I don't think it is the best comparison as I am sure quality is sketchy

 

[pastrychef]

I found the price shocking, it was on Amazon though and under prime with guaranteed delivery. Not saying it can't be a scam but think it would be pulled pretty quickly if it was. It is some no name brand as well which is why I don't think it is the best comparison as I am sure quality is sketchy

Trying to buy a microSD card proved to me that Amazon is becoming a scammers' paradise

Forget Mos Eisley; Amazon is now a hive of scum and villainy

www.techradar.com

The Fake 1TB Micro SD Card Amazon Scam

Since I saw so many people being scammed by these Amazon sellers, who are flashing 32GB and other low-capacity cards to read like they have 1TB capacity, I made this video about it.

www.head-fi.org

 

[lowkey]

Yeah I bought a 1TB Transcend Jetdrive SD for my 14” MBP. It’s just under $200 but sits flush in the slot.

I mean it’s slow. But for rarely used files it’s great to be able to double the storage on the laptop.

 

[MYZ]

Half this thread reads like a peanut gallery. A lot of the negativity only makes sense if folks are forced to buy computers from Apple or else they can't live their lives.

There are some interesting arguments that get lost in the noise too. And it makes genuine criticism about software bugs, etc., that is worse than before, less credible.

I for one want Apple to have higher margins so they can have more room to take big risks on cool innovations.

 

[jav6454]

So why do the iPhones get more and more storage? What you described is just companies forcing you into more subscription services. Yes you can do it all in the cloud... if you want to pay forever to have someone host your data. Of course if you want to work from a remote location with no stable or fast internet connect your cloud storage is complete useless. Fact is hard dries are cheap, especially if you are buying in volume like Apple, Dell and everyone else. There is no reason to charge these prices when you can get a 1 TB micro SSD for $30. Not a great comparison feature wise but it is still 1 TB of storage for $30 on Amazon and requires no monthly subscription fee.

It always amazes me when people argue against having local storage at reasonable prices. I guess if you like giving money forever to hold on to what is important to you or what you need for work then fine, but again there is no reason for it.

The iPhone uses a single NAND chip to achieve the storage. So increasing storage there isn’t an issue as the price due to using less chips and loosing other features such as parallelism.

Furthermore, on the iPhone people are starting to take pictures using the the RAW format, which anyone can tell you are quite heavy. Add to that the fact that people have more apps on their phones than a Mac and each app uses more data than Mac apps.

 

[wonderings]

Half this thread reads like a peanut gallery. A lot of the negativity only makes sense if folks are forced to buy computers from Apple or else they can't live their lives.

There are some interesting arguments that get lost in the noise too. And it makes genuine criticism about software bugs, etc., that is worse than before, less credible.

I for one want Apple to have higher margins so they can have more room to take big risks on cool innovations.

You think Apple does not have high enough margins to take risks? They are the most valuable company on the planet, worth over a trillion dollars. When was the last time Apple took a risk on anything? They made the smart phone market, they made the tablet market. Can't say I have seen anything revolutionary from Apple since then... unless I am forgetting something.

 

[mdgm]

I am still on a mid-2014 rMBP. I had an upgrade put in years after I got it to a 2TB SSD.

Now I find the cost to get 2TB in a new machine is so expensive that I'm trying to keep my current machine going longer. Then when I finally get a new machine I'll probably try to keep it for several years.

 

[Krizoitz]

The fact that none of Apples current laptops are SSD upgradable, still ship with a measly 256GB on base configs in 2022, and force 200 dollars for a 250gb upgrade is ridiculous.

1TB drives go for under 100 bucks now, there is no way apple is not getting 1TB chips for over 50 USD. They are literally robbing people with these upgrades.

I would understand a 1TB base config and then charge 200 per extra terabyte. But 200 for an extra 256?? Seriously??

Kingston A400 240GB M.2 2280 SSD | HDD Replacement$27.99$35Kingston Shop - US

Dont understand how more people are not up in arms about Apples storage policy.

So go ahead and buy a PC. Apple isn’t holding a gun to your head forcing you to use their products. You have options. If you think a company is charging too much, but from their competitors.

 

[Krizoitz]

You think Apple does not have high enough margins to take risks? They are the most valuable company on the planet, worth over a trillion dollars. When was the last time Apple took a risk on anything? They made the smart phone market, they made the tablet market. Can't say I have seen anything revolutionary from Apple since then... unless I am forgetting something.

Aside from the whole M-series processors?

Besides which, how many revolutionary products are any of Apples competitors making. Go ahead, name even ONE hardware product from someone not named Apple that has had as much impact in the last 20 years as the iPod, iPhone, or iPad. Go ahead. Ill wait.

Revolutionary products are just that revolutionary, they dont come along everyday. And Apple has had MULTIPLE in the 21st century. No one else comes close to what Apple has done, whether you like Apples products or not, whether you think they are too expensive or not, it remains true.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

mac pro is going to be an ripoff and pci-e slots need to go can't have people installing there own cards at half the price.
But apple may have an disk 2 choice with the mac pro (same price as the main disk)

 

[I7guy]

Yes, this is what happens when you have very competitive hardware and software. Capitalism in action.

Reminds me of people who thought Apple would lower its prices with M1, because Apple would pass on the savings. Right. 😄

Up next. Government accuses apple of a monopoly with macs.

 

[wonderings]

Aside from the whole M-series processors?

Besides which, how many revolutionary products are any of Apples competitors making. Go ahead, name even ONE hardware product from someone not named Apple that has had as much impact in the last 20 years as the iPod, iPhone, or iPad. Go ahead. Ill wait.

Revolutionary products are just that revolutionary, they dont come along everyday. And Apple has had MULTIPLE in the 21st century. No one else comes close to what Apple has done, whether you like Apples products or not, whether you think they are too expensive or not, it remains true.

The point is Apple has the money to take risks. You can't expect Apple (or anyone) to constantly create new markets with revolutionary products. I was quoting a post that suggested he was happy paying more money to Apple to allow them to take more risks with new innovative products. Apple has the money, more then enough money to take risks and not even notice them financially if they fail.

Not sure I would say the M chips are a huge risk, it is a big change, but Apple is not new to having their own CPU. They knew what they were getting into with this shift, they have been here before, except they are in a much stronger place then they were with the G4's and G5's.

 

[pastrychef]

The point is Apple has the money to take risks. You can't expect Apple (or anyone) to constantly create new markets with revolutionary products. I was quoting a post that suggested he was happy paying more money to Apple to allow them to take more risks with new innovative products. Apple has the money, more then enough money to take risks and not even notice them financially if they fail.

Not sure I would say the M chips are a huge risk, it is a big change, but Apple is not new to having their own CPU. They knew what they were getting into with this shift, they have been here before, except they are in a much stronger place then they were with the G4's and G5's.

I feel switching from Intel to Apple Silicon on the Macs was one of the biggest risks they have ever taken.

 

[jav6454]

Up next. Government accuses apple of a monopoly with macs.

Wouldn't surprise me if the EU pulls this one.

 

[wonderings]

I feel switching from Intel to Apple Silicon on the Macs was one of the biggest risks they have ever taken.

I feel the opposite in this regard. What do you think was so risky? I don't think people are tied to the intel processors and as long as the apps work as they did before where are the big risks? There will be some niche situations where the Apple silicon will have issues, but all the mainstream stuff they were able to test before hand and see how it all ran under rosetta. Apple is no stranger to being the in CPU game.