Apple has been on a path of development really since Steve returned, from the G days, with Motorola, then the Intel era, and now Apple is on the M/Silicon path, when Apple decided to go on the M/Silicon, they had to decide on which direction, BTO or Post Purchase Upgrade, it seems from the various comments that System on a chip does not allow for post purchase upgrading...
That may be true, but does it have to be going forward? Maybe as a transition period that makes sense, I have used the term immature engineering, Apple+Intel reached Mature Engineering when you could upgrade post purchase, for some reason Apple chose to abandon this philosophy in the direction of BTO.
You have a laptop, expensive, you maybe fortunate to be able to BTO it maxxed spec, yay, great, having the extra power is useful.. Other regions where tech is a lot more expensive, 2 or 4 times as much, we do not have this option to BTO, it is just not an option...
A wise CEO would realize this, see the potential of extra income by having a 2nd line of devices, the MEA range for example, SEA, Middle East Africa, and South East Asia/America, for example covering a huge market...
Apple like Samsung is a global brand, the more markets you are active in, the better, so it makes sense to have 2 lines of manufacturing, one for the US market, and one for the international market..
BTO maybe more popular in the US through the financing offered by the brand itself, and PPU, post purchase upgrading as financing is not possible through the brand itself, as the brand itself is not present in the market, represented through agency, 3rd party resellers, and grey/parallel import.
I have had so many phones, and only 1 iphone, gen 1 when it was launched, and the iphone was not useful when launched for the circumstance I needed a phone for, the cheaper Motorola/Alcatel/Nokia did a better job...
Apple has not been a great tool even in March 2024 when it comes to phones..Lacks the airdrop/bluetooth support that my sammy does, ok, this is for security reasons, I get that...
What I don't get, Apple is prescribing/dictating, how we work, let me take the risk, it is my risk to take, let the IT professionals within the employ of the company sort out the security internally...
Apple needs to take a step back, yes I can understand why they are paranoid, but that is just the point, the paranoia is too much...
The whole SOC, a step too far in the wrong direction, I can understand SOC on a Macbook Air, which you could say was a direct replacement for the plastic Macbook, when first launched... The Air was designed for a certain user in mind...
The "Pro"fessional laptop should be professional in it's design, large multi national corporations spend money on buying new tech, and have extremely well trained staff in house that maintain the network for that corporate, from the software, through the hardware and malware/virus, that is the job, you have folks with soldering irons and microscopes than can do the repair as well as, or if not better than the hack in the back of an istore in NYC...
As a user, you get used to a certain laptop, you get promoted, your laptop might benefit from an upgrade, it makes sense from a financial point, called amortaziation, that laptops become non viable after a period, usually 5 years, but have some value if upgraded, the upgrades could be a legit business expense, we call this "Apple Tax" you pay the man, he does the upgrade...Yay.
Apple should have chosen a better path of development, or change direction, or carry on with the path they are on...
It is impossible to know 6 months from now what you will need, software changes, hardware changes, your needs change...
It is like a house, you need a house to live in, you can only buy what the developer has built, it comes fully furnished, how much is up to you, you might be only able to afford a 1 bed/1 bath/on street parking, the only things you can bring to the house, clothes and very limited amount of food as you have a tiny fridge, you cannot install any devices, not even a lamp, what the house comes with, you are stuck with... A single bed, a tiny chest of drawers, 1 chair to sit in, the only tv is the laptop, 13 inch screen...
No one would buy a house like this, that is insane... But that is what the developer built, you have no option, you need a house.. Or you could buy a house without furniture, or reoplace as you need.. Maybe add a pool, a "wing" for a garage, grandparents residence.. Which would you choose???
