So, I wouldn’t say cheapskates
Possibly not the optimal word choice.
That's pretty offensive.
And just what in the heck is wrong with that? Being budget conscious is *smart* -- unless you're rich beyond your own imagination.
I am very frugal (typically). Just a few further examples: I kept my Xbox 360 for 10 years. I didn’t have any kind of 4K display, including TV, until last year. I am still using an iPhone X, sixth generation iPad, and (for a couple of tasks) an iPad 2. While my finances are limited, the primary reason to not upgrade often is because I do not feel a need — plenty of wants, admittedly.
There's a huge difference between buying something because you're an enthusiast and just like having the all the new things and buying something because you actually need the power and features. I know there are serious professionals that are members here and comment often, I know there are others who just like jumping on new tech and have the money to do so, and I know there are still others that don't fall for any of the marketing or have any FOMO about anything and just want the things they need and only the things they need.
There's nothing wrong with any one of the three. Honestly, the MacBook Pro I just bought for personal use was not a necessary purchase. The M1 MacBook Air it replaced was more than sufficient for what I do. I'm fortunate enough to be able to buy Apple devices if I think I would enjoy a new feature, even if I don't need everything else. This is not fiscally responsible, nor is it necessary. It's just something I like.
Those are not the type of scenarios I meant by cheapskate. It’s more of the “I’ll get by” or “good enough" situation. I have more than enough instances of being a cheapskate. Some I can recall at the moment:
•
Photive BTE50 earbuds - They were $30 or so on Amazon. Beyond an occasional connection hiccup, the earbuds were fine for a couple of years. Eventually, one earpiece literally fell apart — which was fixed with superglue. Now, every time I attempt to connect them to a device, I need to do the connection process three times. The earphones state “Connected” and appear as such but evidently not properly.
•
Acer ED320QR monitor - Saw it on sale for $155 at Walmart last year. Curved, big, though I was iffy buying a FHD display (especially of that size). However, it was primarily to be used with a PC laptop having Intel UHD 630 graphics. So, again, “good enough.” The more sensible approach would have been to pick a 4K monitor I could use going forward with newer systems/setups. That, and the monitor has some very noticeable backlight uniformity issues when displaying solid colors.
• A few routers that were not only the budget/bargain models but also using Wi-Fi tech at the end of its reign — only a couple years of use before constant connection dropouts.
Nevertheless, the point being there are options. Perhaps not the exact you want, but sufficient oand even satisfactory. As the saying goes, “Vote with your wallet,” and provide feedback. Maybe you will eventually be influential, perhaps not. If not, move onto the next set of options.
Same with batteries that can be user replaced without great difficulty. Every laptop I've ever owned I've changed the battery before the end of the third year, and making it increasingly difficult is a horrible thing to do to consumers. After 5 years and 2 battery changes I typically pass my laptops and MacBooks to family members, and they're fine for a young niece or nephew. If I have to waste two hours dismantling the stupid thing and using IPA to dissolve glue and whatnot, I'm more likely just to bin the device. Apple have seen some sense and they're going the right way lately in terms of making batteries replaceable without a nightmare of a job.
Here we go again. The battery being able to be replaced is not good enough, it’s just not good enough because you (the user) can’t do it within a few seconds/minutes without multiple tools. Instead, you will/would pay Apple’s fee for the battery and labor (which you probably think is excessive) and need to wait until the battery health is reported as 79% or less (which is sensible as to not be unreasonably discarding/recycling an acceptably performing battery 😉). Or am I wrong and you’re willing to utilize Apple’s battery replacement service?
With all of that said:
• Do I have gripes about the Apple price premiums? Yes.
• Could Apple without a doubt afford (i.e., still have sufficient profit) to reduce component upgrading by half? I have no doubt.
• Does Apple skew things to their favor and set retail prices targeted at the highest margins? Certainly.
• I intend to purchase all of my future products via official refurb because of the first point.
— Going to be a challenge of patience, but I am willing. For example, due to features, I am looking to upgrade to the iPhone 13 or newer — and Apple only recently starting selling refurb iPhone 12.
