I got to be honest..
I'm so ready for a post Tim & Jony Apple
They've totally played out this run of design inspiration and rent extraction IMO.
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Is anyone else alarmed at the constant increasing prices?
- Thread starter scaramoosh
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I got to be honest..
I'm so ready for a post Tim & Jony Apple
They've totally played out this run of design inspiration and rent extraction IMO.
Do you think it's different elsewhere?
Just ask any Microsoft shop about the last price-increase.
And they don't have the luxury to skip a year or two. Or three.
It's like a mob-style squeeze.
In Apple-land, at least I still own most of the software (in-app purchases for stuff like WeatherPro excluded, as well as any iCloud storage upgrade, which I've yet to buy). There's no rent-extraction.
I'm not really reliant any more on having the most performant desktop or laptop in the neighborhood (neither for professional reasons nor for karma/kudos).
Same with the iPhone.
I update the devices, when I really need an update (or the device is just broken).
So far, the hardware has been very good and I'm getting years and years of use out of them.
Apple releases a new device? Great, I watch the keynote (maybe), I watch the YT reviews, read the online-reviews, marvel in the write-ups of people who own the device. But that doesn't mean I have to buy it.
It's really about deciding what's really important and if one really needs that gadget - or if the current one is sufficient enough.
Who really needs a new phone every year? Or a new iPad? Or new MBP?
Every two years?
Every three years?
Apple is perfectly OK with people using their devices for a long time - they wouldn't support the iPhone 5S with iOS updates through 2019, for gods sake!
You do realize that Apple is betting their future on services revenue, right?
That's one of the key reasons they're dropping unit sales figures from financial reporting.
The plan moving forward is to extract more revenue per user from the existing user base as growth is challenging at this point and thus they'd rather not talk about it and have their valuation get hit based upon this changing reality.
Honestly though, my main complaint is the design aesthetic and trade offs that keep getting selected. I simply don't want to further optimize around this level of "light and thin" as the compromises have become product killing for me (and many others who you see here who are also frustrated).
Clearly we all have different priorities and desires. To each our own.
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Not alarmed, no. This is Apple, they’ve been charging more and more for their products for the past 40 years.
Seems to have been working for them pretty well in recent years
My bank balance is utterly terrified, but that doesn’t get any say so
Seems to have been working for them pretty well in recent years
My bank balance is utterly terrified, but that doesn’t get any say so
Yeah, at some point they'll "find" a way to extract "rent" from everybody.
But people are already paying rent to Google and Facebook. Apparently, every active user of Facebook (in the US) generates about 25 or so USD per year - for Facebook. It's maybe half of that in Europe and IIRC about 6 USD for African users....
Yeah, the "thin"-thing is a bit strange. But OTOH, if Apple had kept the form-factor of the iPhone 4S (which I'm still using, people would complain, too.
If they'd still sell the pre-Retina style MBPs with exchangeable SATA-SSDs, people would complain, too.
Or what if the phones would get heavier and heavier each year because they increased the battery size, because some people really would like to have it that way.
I don't think you can have it both ways.
And their vision for the iPad, for it to be just a screen, I applaud that. It's incredibly courageous and bold. In the very best sense of the word.
I just can't justify spending about 1500 on a basic 11" iPadPro with Pencil and Folio Keyboard and Apple-Care.
I wouldn't use it that much. It would be like spending 100k on a Tesla and having it sit in the garage most of the time.
The "cheap" iPad, OTOH - that may actually be justified.
I must try and compare the two at some point.
Price increases across the board. 2 of the 3 new iPhone's retail for $1000 and up.
Mac Mini now starts at $800. A $300 increase from last gen.
iPad Pro remains to be seen. Still can get one for $650. I was shocked 10.5 stayed the same price and 11" was $800.
Cheapest retina Apple laptop is $1200.
Apple Watch prices went up versus last year.
A shame really.
Mac Mini now starts at $800. A $300 increase from last gen.
iPad Pro remains to be seen. Still can get one for $650. I was shocked 10.5 stayed the same price and 11" was $800.
Cheapest retina Apple laptop is $1200.
Apple Watch prices went up versus last year.
A shame really.
In the context of what OP was saying I completely understand and agree with where they're coming from - i believe that OP was complaining that if they pulled up to a gas pump intent on paying using Apple Pay they would not be able to do it now without first taking off their helmet to get FaceID to work. Admittedly its just one inconvenience that is remedied by using a pin.
As for being alarmed about the increases I'm not, I simply choose to vote with my wallet and right now my wallet says no to new iPads.
I think the bigger problem is limited to no new choice for those that just want / need a tablet for consumption. I want a nice display, 12.9 size and light weight. I don't really need tons of power or storage but I'm forced to buy the top of the line at a high price point.
no one is forcing you to 'buy the top of the line at a high price point', you can buy the base 12.9 if all you care about is a 'nice display' etc.
That’s what I bought. It’s still a grand. I would easily take a non pro iPad with the same display. I don’t have any use for the pencil or the folio.
I'm not ready to depart, I love Apple hardware way too much and I have a lot invested in the Apple ecosystem. That said I'm upgrading less and less frequently and my standards for a worthy upgrade become higher along with Apple's prices.
I love my new iPhone XS Max and will happily keep it for more than two years if there isn't a strong new inducement to buy (some combination of features and price).
My iPad Air2 is going on five years old and yet the price of the new iPad Pro's takes me out of the market.
It's not that the new iPad Pro is a bad deal for someone who needs or wants the specs, but at $1500 to $2000 Cdn. they're not even close to something that I'd consider for watching movies, reading, web surfing or game playing. I'm hoping that the next base iPad will have Face Recognition / edge to edge screen, but if not I'll keep using my iPad Air2 until it dies.
Well, you can still buy the basic iPad. AFAIK that pencil is also cheaper ;-)
For watching movies and surfing, it would be a shame to spend upwards 1500.
Though, of course people spend much more on cars that deprecate to zero in a decade - and have ongoing costs that exceed a top-end iPad pro every single year.
Or the people who spend 100k+ more on a house than it's worth "...because they like it".
Apple is making buying difficult because of increasing price. I used to buy iPhone and iPad easily before. This time when I sat to order iPad the price made me stop. Already spent around $1300 on iPhone and now the iPad I wanted costing me around $1500 with keyboard & pencil. Until iPhone 7 I could get iPhone & iPad for around $1400 so yes apple has made buying products difficult. But the quality has improved no doubt, apples should squeeze their parts suppliers so price consumers stay normal.
^ This.
So well said.Now I apply my particular usage needs which are very modest. If the upgrades are well beyond anything I intend to do with the device, I either look for a cheaper alternative or do not upgrade.
The prices in comparison to quality control have been a bit much.
I am, but not that much, because I do not buy hardware every year. I keep phones for minimum two years, and laptops and desktops as long as they are supported by latest Mac OS.
Very true, though sadly "I really like the look" of the new face detection / edgeless screens so I can wait. My iPad Air2 is still an excellent device 5 years on and I do think the new look will come to base iPads after a year or two (e.g., the iPhone XR).
I think it’s ok as long as Apple doesn’t plan to make this yearly. I mean iPhone is already a bear to where you have to have it in a monthly budget. iPad at $2k is a new computer every year, which is like getting a new MacBook Pro or iMac every year territory. I’ve had my iMac for 5 years and running strong without loss of performance and MacBook Pro 2 years now with minimal loss in performance. Both maxed to reach a longevity goal ... although I feel like iPads improve things that are significant enough, and will be hard to do a yearly upgrade.
That was exactly my point, as my post said: "I can wait...".
I'm really not stressing at all. I do like the new hardware but I like many things that I don't own (sunsets over the ocean; very expensive cars... it's really quite a long list). Fortunately I've past the need to own something to enjoy life. But you are certainly right to remind people of a valuable truth.
My buying decisions on tech are based upon how much I use them. I own an iPhone and iPad and use them both several times a day--so I'm willing to spend more on those devices when it's time to replace them.
I go with an inexpensive but quality Windows laptop, since I use that maybe once a week -- if that.
I go with an inexpensive but quality Windows laptop, since I use that maybe once a week -- if that.
That's what makes free markets great, every individual can make their own choices about what they value. I'm right with you on the iPhone, and I'm sure you'll get a ton of enjoyment and value from the new iPad too!!
Not really. I can't control it. I'll continue to look at a product and evaluate whether or not that cost matches up to the value it brings me. If not, I pass.
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It would have made more sense to go for the original 12.9 then, as you would still get a ton of power and the big nice screen. Size and weight definitely not, but that is what comes with a big major redesign like this. You pay to play.
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It would have made more sense to go for the original 12.9 then, as you would still get a ton of power and the big nice screen. Size and weight definitely not, but that is what comes with a big major redesign like this. You pay to play.