Apple store configurations too confusing

[dukebound85]

Why is this overly complicated? There are a multitude of variants as default specs but then you can select a lower variant and upgrade to a default one?

This has me checking each time to see if the prices are inline with each other, etc.

I must be alone in feeling the store and configurations have gotten too complex

 

[FreakinEurekan]

“Default” specs are in-stock. Everything else is special order.

 

[clam zero]

I must be alone in feeling the store and configurations have gotten too complex

Trust me, you're not. In the case of buying a Mac (which I did recently) it would really be great to have a table, graph (node-point) or some other compact visual representation of the compatibility and price of each configuration option (eg. 14" display, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, etc). The fact that this doesn't exist signals to me that usability on mobile devices and overall conformity with the Apple aesthetic are highly regarded by the Apple web team, even if that means more clicking, scrolling and page navigation for us desktop users.

 

[Sydde]

With all their fancy neural programming, you would think Apple would create a sort of online sales host that would ask you, "What will you be using this thing for? What are your needs? How much money do you have?" to make the purchase process a little easier for everyone (but still let me get back into the stock room and say "I want that one."

 

[gilby101]

There are a multitude of variants as default specs

When I chose a 14" MBP, there were 6 different default specs (only 4 for a 16"). Not really a multitude.

Trust me, you're not. In the case of buying a Mac (which I did recently) it would really be great to have a table, graph (node-point) or some other compact visual representation of the compatibility and price of each configuration option (eg. 14" display, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, etc).

Not sure about that.

Say you have decided on a MacBookPro. Ignoring keyboard type and preinstalled software, there are at least these numbers of choices:
Screen: 2
CPU: 5
RAM: 9
SSD: 6
That makes 2x5x9x6 = 540 different combinations and price points.
Do you really think that a visual representation of 540 combinations is going to be easy to use!

Right now the online Apple Store, whilst not perfect, does lead you progressively through these steps:
What screen,
What processor (with a 6 base configurations as starting points for 14" screen),
Processor options (if any),
What RAM,
What SSD.

When I chose my MBP M3, I read the descriptions of what is available and then went to the buy page to price a few (4 in my case) configurations.

That seems easier than any visual representation of 540 price points.

 

[dukebound85]

Would be nice if they had a way to select easily based off need

ie
- How many external displays do you wish to have supported?
- How much on device storage do you need?
- What type of workflow do you most need your machine for?
- etc

Picking based on how many gpu cores you need or whatnot? I have no idea if I need 2 extra gpu cores

The process to pick an iPhone is arguably more intuitive than speccing out a mac

With all their fancy neural programming, you would think Apple would create a sort of online sales host that would ask you, "What will you be using this thing for? What are your needs? How much money do you have?" to make the purchase process a little easier for everyone (but still let me get back into the stock room and say "I want that one."

 

[JouniS]

That makes 2x5x9x6 = 540 different combinations and price points.

Do you really think that a visual representation of 540 combinations is going to be easy to use!

I believe there are 99 configurations.

If you select the base M3, you have one display option, one SoC option, three RAM options, and three SSD options. 9 in total.

Otherwise you have two display options and five SSD options independent of everything else. For three SoC choices, you have two RAM options each. For the high-end M3 Max, you have three RAM options. 90 in total.

You can easily visualize that on one screen.

Edit: Apparently it's only 89 configurations, as the low-end M3 Pro is not available with a 16" display. The visualization gets a bit more complicated, but it should still fit on one screen.

 

[gilby101]

I believe there are 99 configurations.

Of course, if you have preselected the SoC, that reduces the number of options. And if you include the MBA (which many would want), that increases it. Some of my 540 MBP possibilities in a 4 dimensional matrix would be blank. And in yours there are 2 Pro and 2 Max SoCs - so 4 SoC choices if you have already selected M3 Pro/Max (but that is just detail in what is an unwieldy idea).

 

[JouniS]

Of course, if you have preselected the SoC, that reduces the number of options. And if you include the MBA (which many would want), that increases it. Some of my 540 MBP possibilities in a 4 dimensional matrix would be blank. And in yours there are 2 Pro and 2 Max SoCs - so 4 SoC choices if you have already selected M3 Pro/Max (but that is just detail in what is an unwieldy idea).

A simple table would be enough. One column for each SoC option. Horizontal bars indicating which display and SSD options are available for that SoC. And RAM options listed in each column.

MBA would make the table a bit bigger, but the same idea would work.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Why is this overly complicated? There are a multitude of variants as default specs but then you can select a lower variant and upgrade to a default one?

This has me checking each time to see if the prices are inline with each other, etc.

I must be alone in feeling the store and configurations have gotten too complex

Yeah it feels complex, but if you spend a long time doing each Mac purchase homework like I do you (sort of) learn the vagaries of it all. If you want to see complex try designing a kitchen...

 

[Ctrlos]

Buying a computer is actually easier than the internet makes it out to be. Ignore ther bemnchmarks and think about what you're actually going to use it for. I used to sell consumer electronics so I will imagine you are a customer in my store:

Do you need portability?

Yes: Laptop
No: Desktop

+++Laptop: Will you be using it for your livelihood?

Yes: Macbook Pro
No: Macbook Air

Macbook Pro: Dimensions are entirely on user preference for weight. If you're crunching video get more RAM. If you need more storage its cheaper and safer to buy an external SSD. Colour?

Macbook Air: Dimensions entirely on user preference. You don't need the extra RAM. Buy an external SSD for more storage. Colour?

+++Desktop: Will you be using it for your livelihood?

Yes: Mac Studio
No: iMac or Mini

Mac Studio: Get the best spec you can afford. Still buy external storage options.

iMac: Just buy the base model. Colour?

Mac Mini: Only buy if you already have all the peripherals. Buy the base model.

 

[wonderings]

Buying a computer is actually easier than the internet makes it out to be. Ignore ther bemnchmarks and think about what you're actually going to use it for. I used to sell consumer electronics so I will imagine you are a customer in my store:

Do you need portability?

Yes: Laptop
No: Desktop

+++Laptop: Will you be using it for your livelihood?

Yes: Macbook Pro
No: Macbook Air

Macbook Pro: Dimensions are entirely on user preference for weight. If you're crunching video get more RAM. If you need more storage its cheaper and safer to buy an external SSD. Colour?

Macbook Air: Dimensions entirely on user preference. You don't need the extra RAM. Buy an external SSD for more storage. Colour?

+++Desktop: Will you be using it for your livelihood?

Yes: Mac Studio
No: iMac or Mini

Mac Studio: Get the best spec you can afford. Still buy external storage options.

iMac: Just buy the base model. Colour?

Mac Mini: Only buy if you already have all the peripherals. Buy the base model.

I don't think it is as simple as you make it out to be, at least after needing a desktop or laptop.

+++Laptop: Will you be using it for your livelihood?
- both Pro and Air will work for this depending on what you are using the computer for.

Same goes for the desktop option. Lots of people using an iMac M1 or M3 for graphical work and are happy with it, others are using Mac Studio and happy with it.

The idea that you really need the higher end chips is not true. CPU's have come a long way and you can do a lot with little these days. Sure the faster and more cores you go the better many tasks will be, but that is far from saying anything below is unusable.

I really hate the naming convention Apple is using for their chips now, especially the word "pro". MacBook Pro is a long standing name, and I have nothing against it, at least not until we have MacBook Pro with Pro CPU options. Can we get PRO in the name any more? MacBook Pro M3 Pro. The name itself is confusing when buying a MacBook Pro, it is almost assumed you are getting the Pro cpu, not a MacBook Pro with the base non pro chip. Reminds me of the days Apple mocked Windows for having so many variations of Windows.

 

[Fishrrman]

You have to...

... know how much RAM you want.

... know how much storage you want.

... know if you need a CPU upgrade. (I reckon that most folks don't)

Know those things, and it's easy.

 

[jdb8167]

+++Laptop: Will you be using it for your livelihood?

Yes: Macbook Pro
No: Macbook Air

I use a MacBook Air for my livelihood as do many other people. I'd imagine almost anyone needing a laptop for their work life would be able to use an M3 MacBook Air without any issue though obviously there are exceptions.

 

[Ctrlos]

I use a MacBook Air for my livelihood as do many other people. I'd imagine almost anyone needing a laptop for their work life would be able to use an M3 MacBook Air without any issue though obviously there are exceptions.

My sales pitch is largely a generalisation of course. As you rightly point out the Air models are good enough for most tasks. Id anyone was asking me about a Mac right now I would say buy an M1 Air from Walmart for $700!

 

[Jim Lahey]

It's even worse when you start comparing the extortionate BTO upgrades at MSRP against SKU items available at discount from resellers. Behold the MacBook Pro 14" vs. 16" vs. M3 vs. M3 Pro vs. M3 Max vs. Space Gray vs. Space Black vs. Silver vs. 8GB vs. 16GB vs. MSRP vs. reseller nightmare. It's like the entire product lineup is designed to make me not buy anything at all. And it's worked, because while I wait for Space Gray to return to the MBP, Apple can wait for my money. Indefinitely.

Unbelievable mess.

 

[clam zero]

Not sure about that.

Say you have decided on a MacBookPro. Ignoring keyboard type and preinstalled software, there are at least these numbers of choices:
Screen: 2
CPU: 5
RAM: 9
SSD: 6
That makes 2x5x9x6 = 540 different combinations and price points.
Do you really think that a visual representation of 540 combinations is going to be easy to use!

Right now the online Apple Store, whilst not perfect, does lead you progressively through these steps:
What screen,
What processor (with a 6 base configurations as starting points for 14" screen),
Processor options (if any),
What RAM,
What SSD.

When I chose my MBP M3, I read the descriptions of what is available and then went to the buy page to price a few (4 in my case) configurations.

That seems easier than any visual representation of 540 price points.

Maybe I was unclear. What I meant was that there's one button for 14", another for 16GB RAM, another for 1TB SSD, etc. This is similar to how it is now, but they would be presented much more compactly, and clicking and hovering on an option would reveal its incompatibilities with other options, as well as the price change of selecting that option (and any other options which would be changed by making that selection; eg. changing from a 30-core to 40-core CPU would show the price change of that and the price change of the associated RAM option too).

 

[gilby101]

Maybe I was unclear. What I meant was that there's one button for 14", another for 16GB RAM, another for 1TB SSD, etc. This is similar to how it is now, but they would be presented much more compactly, and clicking and hovering on an option would reveal its incompatibilities with other options, as well as the price change of selecting that option (and any other options which would be changed by making that selection; eg. changing from a 30-core to 40-core CPU would show the price change of that and the price change of the associated RAM option too).

I would welcome something like that - as, I think, would most of MacRumors. Might be a bit intimidating for the first time non-techie.

 

[nenarek]

With all their fancy neural programming, you would think Apple would create a sort of online sales host that would ask you, "What will you be using this thing for? What are your needs? How much money do you have?" to make the purchase process a little easier for everyone (but still let me get back into the stock room and say "I want that one."

The whole lineup and website is designed to walk you through the process of adding just a few hundred more in RAM/Storage/Cores all the way from the base model to the top end. If it was a straightforward process then Apple wouldn't get you to spend almost exactly as much as possible every time you buy a computer. Tim Cook squeezes the juice out of Apple every way possible.

 

[mectojic]

Apple makes the configuration process tedious and staggered so that by the time you've fully configured the Mac, the price tag doesn't hurt as much.

 

[dmccloud]

Would be nice if they had a way to select easily based off need

ie
- How many external displays do you wish to have supported?
- How much on device storage do you need?
- What type of workflow do you most need your machine for?
- etc

Picking based on how many gpu cores you need or whatnot? I have no idea if I need 2 extra gpu cores

The process to pick an iPhone is arguably more intuitive than speccing out a mac

The majority of users would not be able to answer the first question, largely because most Mac users only ever use one display. As far as the number of GPU cores is concerned, the people who would benefit most from additional cores are those who do a lot of photo/video editing and gaming, and are cognizant of that reality. In short, if you don't know why you would need more GPU cores, you probably don't need more.

The second consideration is that those questions you list would only present part of the story, and leaving it up to any sort of AI or automated part picker is bound to get things wrong, especially since many Mac (and PC) users either can not or do not fully understand what they're even using the machine in question for.

 

[Basic75]

Apple makes the configuration process tedious and staggered so that by the time you've fully configured the Mac, the price tag doesn't hurt as much.

I find Apple's configuration process simple and short.

Have you ever tried buying an Acer or Dell or Asus laptop? Where you have like a dozen model lines, each with dozens of sizes and versions and options, and you have no idea where to start looking and give up after the two model lines you randomly checked out were gaming laptops and ultralights when what you are looking for is a mobile workstation?

 

[Timpetus]

When I chose a 14" MBP, there were 6 different default specs (only 4 for a 16"). Not really a multitude.


Not sure about that.

Say you have decided on a MacBookPro. Ignoring keyboard type and preinstalled software, there are at least these numbers of choices:
Screen: 2
CPU: 5
RAM: 9
SSD: 6
That makes 2x5x9x6 = 540 different combinations and price points.
Do you really think that a visual representation of 540 combinations is going to be easy to use!

Right now the online Apple Store, whilst not perfect, does lead you progressively through these steps:
What screen,
What processor (with a 6 base configurations as starting points for 14" screen),
Processor options (if any),
What RAM,
What SSD.

When I chose my MBP M3, I read the descriptions of what is available and then went to the buy page to price a few (4 in my case) configurations.

That seems easier than any visual representation of 540 price points.

Not to mention that as you make those choices, they narrow down the remaining options. It gets simpler as you go along, and starting from the base model that's closest to what you want and then customizing from there is not very difficult.