How worthless will current Airs be due to SSD maturing?

[Kendo]

Will the resale value of a MacBook Air drop much more dramatically than a MacBook Pro or an iMac would solely due to the nature of SSD drives? An iMac 2 years ago still has the same configuration as an iMac today (4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, SuperDrive, 802.11n) however with much faster processors and video cards.

However because SSD drives are still in an infant stage, 2 years from now I'd imagine we would see 512GB as the norm. Suddenly 128GB seems so paltry. Do you think MacBook Airs will drop much quicker in value than other Macs?

 

[theSeb]

Will the resale value of a MacBook Air drop much more dramatically than a MacBook Pro or an iMac would solely due to the nature of SSD drives? An iMac 2 years ago still has the same configuration as an iMac today (4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, SuperDrive, 802.11n) however with much faster processors and video cards.

However because SSD drives are still in an infant stage, 2 years from now I'd imagine we would see 512GB as the norm. Suddenly 128GB seems so paltry. Do you think MacBook Airs will drop much quicker in value than other Macs?

Yes. They will be completely worthless. It makes perfect sense.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Actually, I think that the title of the thread could be amended somewhat: Rather than asking how "worthless" the current MBAs will be due to increased SSD development & capacity, I'd suggest that you ask how much they will depreciate, or to what extent they will hold their value when this happens, which is a different and more nuanced question entirely.

In the event of rapid SSD development, I'd expect a reduction or depreciation in the price of existing models. The extent of the reduction or depreciation will depend on how dramatic the improvement in the succeeding model is, or, how distant the particular MBA is from that improvement.

However, that in no way suggests that the older MBAs will be "worthless". They won't be. They will simply be cheaper, or more affordable than heretofore. The very situation which already applies with refurbs, or discontinued models, except that the price differential will, perhaps, be more significant,

 

[G5Unit]

I believe that the current Airs will not depreciate as fast as other computers have in the past.

The rapidly increasing hard drive sizes of the past few years have been beneficial to desktops and notebooks(those used as a primary computer) because that is where people keep ALL of their data. I currently use a MacBook Pro with 500GB as my main computer and I am constantly waiting for a new larger HDD to come out. Any older MacBook Pro model is worth a lot less to me because I need much more out of my MAIN computer.

But I also own an 11.6" MacBook Air. It's the absolute base model with only a 64GB SSD. I don't have all of my files on it, only my documents and a few photos; everything is synced to my external HDDs anyway.

By the time there are commonly available 256GB drives available(perhaps late 2012 or 2013), the MacBook Air will most likely also be faster, have more features, etc. But people who buy it will still most likely be buying it as their secondary computer, for lighter tasks and such; the storage will NOT be the bottleneck or deciding factor.

Even if SSDs are becoming faster, is that really so crucial when working with anything other than large file transfers? Opening applications and documents takes seconds to fractions of seconds, the only improvement you will see is maybe from 3 seconds down to 2, or from a split second to a split of a split of a second.


So basically what I'm saying(I got off topic a bit) is that the MacBook Airs WILL see a drop in resale value, but not as much as it seems, even with the rapidly advancing SSD technology. Considering that they are the cheapest Mac laptop available, students will be grasping for used MacBook Airs, which I could see still being sold in a year or two for at least more than half of their original value.

-yannik

 

[Kendo]

Actually, I think that the title of the thread could be amended somewhat: Rather than asking how "worthless" the current MBAs will be due to increased SSD development & capacity, I'd suggest that you ask how much they will depreciate, or to what extent they will hold their value when this happens, which is a different and more nuanced question entirely.

Good point but I was going for a "shock value" title so the thread gets more views and thus more input.

Although I can tell it had bothered the first person to reply on a somewhat more personal matter based on his reaction.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I believe that the current Airs will not depreciate as fast as other computers have in the past.


So basically what I'm saying(I got off topic a bit) is that the MacBook Airs WILL see a drop in resale value, but not as much as it seems, even with the rapidly advancing SSD technology. Considering that they are the cheapest Mac laptop available, students will be grasping for used MacBook Airs, which I could see still being sold in a year or two for at least more than half of their original value.

-yannik

Actually, I agree completely with you; I can see students - and others for whom reasonable value and affordability are key elements of such a purchase - snapping up available MBAs if reasonably priced, almost irrespective of spec.

Good point but I was going for a "shock value" title so the thread gets more views and thus more input.

Although I can tell it had bothered the first person to reply on a somewhat more personal matter based on his reaction.

Ah, I had harboured a dark suspicion that this might indeed be the case. Shock and awe, indeed. That is why I raised the issue in the first place........

 

[theSeb]

Good point but I was going for a "shock value" title so the thread gets more views and thus more input.

Although I can tell it had bothered the first person to reply on a somewhat more personal matter based on his reaction.

You thought that was personal? I haven't even started yet.

 

[Typswif2fingers]

You thought that was personal? I haven't even started yet.

Brilliant.


________ back to OP _______


Its only fair that if the >1TB SSD are provided in this and/or the next year cheap and affordable (i.e. no impact on computer price) the non-SSD machines might not be able to fair well in any potential re-sale (they'll still be good for giving to kids and grandpas/grandmas for their use ).

If the SSD is introduced as I believe it will be, as most new systems usually are (think HD tv, DVD and CD introductions for example (if you can remember or were born ) i.e. the price will come down over a relatively prolonged period of time (say 4-5 years) then that natural inclination of the the computer manufacturers will be to discontinue making non-SSD as part of their machines...

In any case, it will make the non-SSD "depreciate to worthless" in time...

 

[striker33]

It's shiny and it has a bright white Apple logo on it.

Yes, it will still have decent value in 2 years time, as there's always a market for shiny things, especially ones made by Apple.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Actually, I think that the title of the thread could be amended somewhat: Rather than asking how "worthless" the current MBAs will be due to increased SSD development & capacity, I'd suggest that you ask how much they will depreciate, or to what extent they will hold their value when this happens, which is a different and more nuanced question entirely.

In the event of rapid SSD development, I'd expect a reduction or depreciation in the price of existing models. The extent of the reduction or depreciation will depend on how dramatic the improvement in the succeeding model is, or, how distant the particular MBA is from that improvement.

However, that in no way suggests that the older MBAs will be "worthless". They won't be. They will simply be cheaper, or more affordable than heretofore. The very situation which already applies with refurbs, or
discontinued models, except that the price differential will, perhaps, be more
significant,

Please don't buy them as refurbs, leave them for me

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Please don't buy them as refurbs, leave them for me

Listen, I am buying them as fast as they come available on the refurb site, 4/64, and I upgrade them to 256 and 480 OWC SSD's for friends, I have 20in upgrade, and am sold out,we, in my house,have three, all are 11" MBA
Not interested in the newer MBA's!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Please don't buy them as refurbs, leave them for me

They are all yours.......

 

[jamisonbaines]

after 1 or 2 more processor updates read in 1 or 2 years a 1.4/1.6 c2d, 64 gb ssd, 2 gb ram and a worn out battery is going to be a pretty sad setup. i'd think $400-500 depending on the configuration.

 

[dasmb]

I haven't found hard drive size, processor speed or ram loadout to be much of a determinant of laptop value -- you don't get that much more for a lot, or that much less for a little.

It's form factor, screen size, core generation and remaining battery life that drive the cost of a laptop, since those are the things nobody can change anyway. It's one reason I buy 17" laptops with the HD display -- after three years I got 60% of what I paid for the machine when I sold it this spring. Said machine had an 256 gb hard drive and 4 gig of ram.

I'd be more worried about a bump to screen density, which is coming eventually. That will make your laptop worthless.

 

[Hankster]

Apple products don't depreciate much after purchase. Look at the history of all Apple products. Also, the new MBA will not be much faster than the current ones. People are too keyed up on specs that they don't realize that "extra speed" is about 1 second faster. Woopie.

My browser opens in 2 seconds, I'm not going to buy a new $1,000 machine just so it opens in 1 second.

 

[NutsNGum]

Listen, I am buying them as fast as they come available on the refurb site, 4/64, and I upgrade them to 256 and 480 OWC SSD's for friends, I have 20in upgrade, and am sold out,we, in my house,have three, all are 11" MBA
Not interested in the newer MBA's!

Cheffy, you be crazy for dem 11 inch Airs, have you ever tried the 13?