Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great little machine. Certainly a feat of engineering and it's my ideal replacement for my late 2008 15" MBP.
When the Air was released it came with a very high price, for what were at the time and in comparison to its other product lines slightly weaker components. It removed a lot of (in their opinion) waste and simplified the computer to tasks that most people only ever used. It also introduced a completely new manufacturing process to create the laptop. The unibody.
The argument was that due to the manufacturing methods and the unibody design, that in order to recover the costs from the R&D of the laptop it had to have a significantly higher premium price compared to the other laptops in the product lineup. Despite it's weaker components. That was three years ago. And the product still sold like hotcakes.
Yes the price of the computer has come down, dramatically you might say but should the next release lower the cost of entry even more? I think so.
Firstly the manufacturing has bled into the other laptops. Every Apple laptop now comes from unibody engineering. Apple have recovered those R&D costs in my opinion. It shouldn't cost Apple any more than the Macbook to manufacture the Air.
And secondly you only have to look at the hardware components themselves now. Excluding the SSD which justifiably warrants a higher price, we're looking at components that are considerably cheaper to purchase at bulk in the MBA than the entry level Macbook.
Both computers have identical memory, though it's unclear as to whether the MBA is a single 2GB chip soldiered on (maybe someone can clarify?) compared to the MB's two 1GB chips. The price there is negligible.
The CPU in the MB is more expensive than MBA.
The MB has more ports, surely higher costs.
The MB has a 7hr battery (and that is new technology by Apple's count).
The MB stock hard drive is much better - though Apple arguably has millions of those 1.8" drives leftover from their iPod Classic heydays.
The Superdrive, probably worth $20-30 more in value.
MB has stereo speakers instead of mono.
The screens are maybe close enough to one another, but I'm sure people will tell me (and they're probably right) the MBA definitely has a stronger display.
The new glass trackpad found in the MB over the MBA.
Now taking light of those hardware components I've highlighted above, you would think the MB would swing $500 more expensive than the Air, but it's of course the other way round and I find it interesting Apple are still chasing the premium on this computer, which don't get me wrong I'm very fond of and have previously stated is in line to be my next purchase (especially now that I cycle to work - the lighter weight will be a godsend).
My point is that after three years I believe the Air most likely costs less now to manufacture than the MB, based on the hardware components alone but also due to the fact that the other machines have adopted the techniques used to manufacture the now iconic Air.
In the next release it will be interesting what direction Apple goes with regards to the pricing. Even when you look at the base MBP. With SD card and other more expensive components, you're still looking at a computer which costs $300 less.
Anyway, if you got this far thanks for reading. So should Apple lower the price a bit more on the next release or is worth maintaing that slightly higher entry point for the 'cool factor'?
--
As a final disclaimer so I don't get flamed by Air aficionados I've already stated I dig the machine and would be prepared to buy it at the current price.
When the Air was released it came with a very high price, for what were at the time and in comparison to its other product lines slightly weaker components. It removed a lot of (in their opinion) waste and simplified the computer to tasks that most people only ever used. It also introduced a completely new manufacturing process to create the laptop. The unibody.
The argument was that due to the manufacturing methods and the unibody design, that in order to recover the costs from the R&D of the laptop it had to have a significantly higher premium price compared to the other laptops in the product lineup. Despite it's weaker components. That was three years ago. And the product still sold like hotcakes.
Yes the price of the computer has come down, dramatically you might say but should the next release lower the cost of entry even more? I think so.
Firstly the manufacturing has bled into the other laptops. Every Apple laptop now comes from unibody engineering. Apple have recovered those R&D costs in my opinion. It shouldn't cost Apple any more than the Macbook to manufacture the Air.
And secondly you only have to look at the hardware components themselves now. Excluding the SSD which justifiably warrants a higher price, we're looking at components that are considerably cheaper to purchase at bulk in the MBA than the entry level Macbook.
Both computers have identical memory, though it's unclear as to whether the MBA is a single 2GB chip soldiered on (maybe someone can clarify?) compared to the MB's two 1GB chips. The price there is negligible.
The CPU in the MB is more expensive than MBA.
The MB has more ports, surely higher costs.
The MB has a 7hr battery (and that is new technology by Apple's count).
The MB stock hard drive is much better - though Apple arguably has millions of those 1.8" drives leftover from their iPod Classic heydays.
The Superdrive, probably worth $20-30 more in value.
MB has stereo speakers instead of mono.
The screens are maybe close enough to one another, but I'm sure people will tell me (and they're probably right) the MBA definitely has a stronger display.
The new glass trackpad found in the MB over the MBA.
Now taking light of those hardware components I've highlighted above, you would think the MB would swing $500 more expensive than the Air, but it's of course the other way round and I find it interesting Apple are still chasing the premium on this computer, which don't get me wrong I'm very fond of and have previously stated is in line to be my next purchase (especially now that I cycle to work - the lighter weight will be a godsend).
My point is that after three years I believe the Air most likely costs less now to manufacture than the MB, based on the hardware components alone but also due to the fact that the other machines have adopted the techniques used to manufacture the now iconic Air.
In the next release it will be interesting what direction Apple goes with regards to the pricing. Even when you look at the base MBP. With SD card and other more expensive components, you're still looking at a computer which costs $300 less.
Anyway, if you got this far thanks for reading. So should Apple lower the price a bit more on the next release or is worth maintaing that slightly higher entry point for the 'cool factor'?
--
As a final disclaimer so I don't get flamed by Air aficionados I've already stated I dig the machine and would be prepared to buy it at the current price.
