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bcortens

macrumors 65816
Aug 16, 2007
1,324
1,796
Canada
A quick Google search says 2020 was the first time the base model Air was 256GB, and 8GB of ram was only the default in 2017.

Source: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/index-macbook-air.html
I suspect I got 7 years because that’s how long the base storage and memory stayed the same during Tim’s time as CEO, while memory and storage were doubling every 2 years under Jobs. (Caveats of course it should have slowed to doubling every 3-5 years in the 2010s yada yada)
 
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Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
9,351
12,580
You’re here defending apples choices with quite a bit of heat, choices that don’t really affect you directly… so yeah, you’re complaining that people are critical of Apple and saying that getting invested is irrational while simultaneously getting invested…

You have repeatedly accused people of being self interested and mercurial al and yet resent it when others accuse you of the same.

You are just as invested as others but seem more invested in the Tim Cook status quo while I and others dislike the Tim Cook era status quo.

Heat? Repeatedly? Hmm... I guess it's easy to misread people's tones, but I didn't start early putting angry emoji on everyones responses.

All I've tried to explain is that you are misunderstanding how pricing decisions are made and that your supposed solutions aren't self consistent and won't lead to the outcomes you'd expect them to.

That's fine. I realize now that whatever words people are typing all they really want to say is they're angry. There's no point in addressing the words being written because the people writing them don't care about them, it's just wrapping on the emotion.

When people say things that are different than they mean though, they shouldn't be surprised when people try to correct them. It's not that I or anyone else is angry or heated or "invested"-- just trying to help clarify what we see as a misunderstanding.
 
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zapmymac

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2016
925
1,076
SoCal ☀️
…more value if, now on Apple Silicon, they properly stretched out security updates 1:1 over 4 versions of Mac OS…

…we now know that after the first year of security updates they (previous versions -1, & -2) become second class citizens…

…call me crazy but I would like to see 10 full years of security updates on any given brand new Mac that I buy, since they are a premium forward thinking product & priced as such...

...bring back ‘target disk mode’ for bonus “environmental” reasons so one can use a perfectly good monitor

🤞
 
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leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,494
19,632
8gb ram and 256ssd standard. That's 10 years old specs now, even older perhaps.

Which only illustrates that requirements didn’t grow much in the last decade. 8/256 is still the standard industry spec even for premium business laptops.

BTW, if you are looking for an ultra compact mini-pc, pretty much the other option is an Intel NUC, which comes with a CPU comparable to a M1 and no RAM or storage at $600.
 

mectojic

macrumors 65816
Dec 27, 2020
1,322
2,509
Sydney, Australia
Which only illustrates that requirements didn’t grow much in the last decade. 8/256 is still the standard industry spec even for premium business laptops.

BTW, if you are looking for an ultra compact mini-pc, pretty much the other option is an Intel NUC, which comes with a CPU comparable to a M1 and no RAM or storage at $600.
Apple shouldn't be comparing itself to other companies, but offering good products. And a hampered SSD that's worse than the 2018 Mac Mini, and 8GB Ram, is not a "good product". It's an average product.
 
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leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,494
19,632
Apple shouldn't be comparing itself to other companies, but offering good products. And a hampered SSD that's worse than the 2018 Mac Mini, and 8GB Ram, is not a "good product". It's an average product.

Yet again, you are suggesting that Apple should sell their computers for less than Dell or Lenovo. That makes no economical sense.
 

JoshNori

macrumors regular
Aug 5, 2022
176
196
Yeah, to some, Apple can do no wrong. I don't get people who blindly defend apple to the death, whose stated goal, is to make more money for their shareholders. Apple doesn't give two rat's ***** about you and I.
I tend to agree that they’ve become very profit motivated. They never hid from being a business, but there was a tinge of spirit present in the company when the people who supported Apple literally helped make them (and had to endure a lot of crap because of it). I think there’s a sense of loss from a lot of the old school supporters that we’ve been forgotten about and replaced by just another face in the crowd. I think Apple cares immensely about what it delivers, but a lot of the vision gets obfuscated by the time the product makes it to market. I’m really holding out for VR being mindblowing rather than underwhelming. I think they’re going to pull it off, and it will represent the first true new platform that Apple has put out since Steve. The Watch to me is largely a dud and a mere trinket. It doesn’t have anywhere near that allure that the iPhone or iPad had when they first came out. That or I’m just old and bishy now which is entirely possible.
 

3448322

Cancelled
Jan 27, 2023
21
23
That's fine. I realize now that whatever words people are typing all they really want to say is they're angry. There's no point in addressing the words being written because the people writing them don't care about them, it's just wrapping on the emotion.
Man, perhaps you're projecting? People disagreed with you on the terms you proposed. People understand how pricing decisions are made, and no, those are not fair to consumers. Market in this case is tilted towards the suppliers, so corps can fleece customers offering sub-optimal configs. But hey, if corporate kool-aid is what gives you a warm-fuzzy feeling, then, whatever rocks your boat man... Be happy.
 

Joe Dohn

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2020
840
748
I think Apple cares immensely about what it delivers, but a lot of the vision gets obfuscated by the time the product makes it to market. I’m really holding out for VR being mindblowing rather than underwhelming. I think they’re going to pull it off, and it will represent the first true new platform that Apple has put out since Steve.


VR will remain a niche.

The first reason is because it is VERY expensive.
But there are other issues that haven't been solved yet.
That VR helmet thingy causes motion sickness in many people who try it.
This automatically makes those people less inclined to keep using VR.

If Apple doesn't solve those two issues first, it doesn't matter how cool or sophisticated their product is.
 

unrigestered

Suspended
Jun 17, 2022
879
840
it really depends on the person, not even taking motion sickness and the prices into considerations.

a friend of mine is going nuts on VR since the first release of the Oculus Rift and has been trying to convince me ever since...

for me it's just some toy to dabble in for a minute or two though and is giving me no special excitement at all.
if i want true head tracking and true feeling of immersion, i'm opening my eyes and run / travel around in real life.

when i want to game, i can game very well on my PS3 (sorry, that's my newest gaming system) as well as on a Game Boy (not with the original screen of the latter though 🤓) or even play some non virtual games

if i was still in my 20's and heavily into sim racing, i'd probably get one, otherwise this technology doesn't interest me at all

i won't discredit it's importance for actual science and stuff though
 

Joe Dohn

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2020
840
748
it really depends on the person, not even taking motion sickness and the prices into considerations.

a friend of mine is going nuts on VR since the first release of the Oculus Rift and has been trying to convince me ever since...

Don't get me wrong, VR has many interesting applications. Some of them are unquestionably good. For example, VR makes virtual sculpting much easier.

However, delivering VR to the MASSES is another story. I don't see how "grandma Susie who is not good with computers" could be convinced to put a big helmet in her head that makes her sick.

Even augmented reality, which is easier to use and could be used e.g, for giving directions more easily (like Google Maps is experimentally doing) didn't quite catch on.
 

bcortens

macrumors 65816
Aug 16, 2007
1,324
1,796
Canada
Yet again, you are suggesting that Apple should sell their computers for less than Dell or Lenovo. That makes no economical sense.
Except they wouldn’t be. I posted links to dell earlier where dell offered 12/512 for $630 on the desktop. If Apple kept charging $699 instead of dropping the price they would be charging more than dell but offering a better product (at 16/512).
Dell also offers thin and light notebooks with 16/512 for a little less than the M2 air starting price.
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,494
19,632
Except they wouldn’t be. I posted links to dell earlier where dell offered 12/512 for $630 on the desktop. If Apple kept charging $699 instead of dropping the price they would be charging more than dell but offering a better product (at 16/512).

Sorry, I couldn’t find your post. I just checked the Dell USA web store and the cheapest XPS desktop (their premium line) with an i5-12400 (comparable to M1, much worse GPU) costs $669 for a 8/256 model.

Dell also offers thin and light notebooks with 16/512 for a little less than the M2 air starting price.

With same performance/display? Which laptop line are you talking about? I hope you are looking king at their premium PCs, not the bottom of the barrel budget units.
 

bcortens

macrumors 65816
Aug 16, 2007
1,324
1,796
Canada
Sorry, I couldn’t find your post. I just checked the Dell USA web store and the cheapest XPS desktop (their premium line) with an i5-12400 (comparable to M1, much worse GPU) costs $669 for a 8/256 model.



With same performance/display? Which laptop line are you talking about? I hope you are looking king at their premium PCs, not the bottom of the barrel budget units.
Not the same display, and I don’t think performance should be the same, the A series and M series have shown Apple can dominate at what Apple calls the entry level, it’s one of the reasons they left Intel after all.

Inspiron desktop
i5 12400, 12GB memory 512GB storage $630

If the cost of 16gb of memory is out of reach they could at least bump it to 12gb and 512 GB of storage. Storage is the one that will limit buyers more quickly and is harder to deal with, especially in a laptop.

I have also said they shouldn’t be dropping the price to chase entry level markets if it compromises the product, which I believe continuing to stick to 8/256 for years and years does.
 

boss.king

macrumors 603
Apr 8, 2009
6,380
7,623
Not the same display, and I don’t think performance should be the same, the A series and M series have shown Apple can dominate at what Apple calls the entry level, it’s one of the reasons they left Intel after all.

Inspiron desktop
i5 12400, 12GB memory 512GB storage $630

If the cost of 16gb of memory is out of reach they could at least bump it to 12gb and 512 GB of storage. Storage is the one that will limit buyers more quickly and is harder to deal with, especially in a laptop.

I have also said they shouldn’t be dropping the price to chase entry level markets if it compromises the product, which I believe continuing to stick to 8/256 for years and years does.
That’s an uneven comparison. That machine has basically no GPU power. If you give it the still useless Intel UHD 770, that jumps the price up to $900. Pick the much more comparable 1660 Super and it’s 970. Also, the machine looks like garbage will likely run load and hot.

The price for the 16/512 M2 Mini is 999. That extra $30 get you a smaller, quieter, cooler machine. I know which one I’d pick.
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,494
19,632
Inspiron desktop
i5 12400, 12GB memory 512GB storage $630

Inspiron is the budget Dell desktop, known for ist poor quality and cutting corners everywhere. It uses cheap RAM that’s around 2x slower than M1 Mini and a cheap, low-quality SSD. Sure, Dell can offer these configurations st this price because what they are selling is literal crap. Again, look at their premium line that use more reasonable components if you want to compare prices to Macs.
 

Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
9,351
12,580
People understand how pricing decisions are made
No they don’t, or the people claiming they’re ok with Apple maintaining their margins wouldn’t be busy arguing that Apple should match prices on bottom end Dells.

Market in this case is tilted towards the suppliers, so corps can fleece customers offering sub-optimal configs.
How is the market tilted toward suppliers?
 
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bcortens

macrumors 65816
Aug 16, 2007
1,324
1,796
Canada
That’s an uneven comparison. That machine has basically no GPU power. If you give it the still useless Intel UHD 770, that jumps the price up to $900. Pick the much more comparable 1660 Super and it’s 970. Also, the machine looks like garbage will likely run load and hot.

The price for the 16/512 M2 Mini is 999. That extra $30 get you a smaller, quieter, cooler machine. I know which one I’d pick.
The mini at that price is overcharging you by about $200, an additional 8GB shouldn’t cost $200, nor should an additional 256GB. You can buy a whole 2TB M.2 for less Fast M2 2TB drive.

Of course the Mac has a faster GPU, switching to Apple silicon was always going to improve GPU performance …

Besides, I don’t think it’s a fair comparison but that isn’t the point. The point is that people were claiming no one offered 512 GB storage or 16GB memory for anywhere near the price of the Mac mini… I disputed that claim.

I have said that I think the mini should start at $699 and offer more memory and storage rather than creating a pointless base model at a lower price
 
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