The A in Apple is for Affordable
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So, Apple held their Apple Special Event revealing a new MacBook Air, Mac mini and iPad Pro. So their entry-level notebook, entry-level desktop and pro-focused iPad.
The new iPad Pro costs about as much as the old iPad Pro. Just the high-end gets more expensive thanks to a new 1TB storage option bumping the maxed-out price to a lot.
Oh, well. I did a facepalm at them comparing the amount of sold iPads to the amount of sold notebooks from major manufacturers and saying that it "not only makes the iPad the most popular tablet, but the most popular notebook too". And they showcased gaming saying that the iPad Pro was not only more powerful than an Xbox One S, but could run games at 120FPS too. Cue some uncanny valley NBA 2K footage.
Next up is their new pro-focused Mac mini. Starts at twice the price of the old Mac mini and maxes out at 2.5 times what the old did. Entry-level has a 4-core i3, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD for just $799. Maxed it's 6-core i7, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD and 10Gbit Ethernet for just $4199. GPU? Um... Intel UHD 630 good enough? Or you can buy an eGPU for it! At least the RAM looks like it's user-upgradable this time. Oh, and it still uses a laptop CPU based off the "desktop class" wording.
Next up is the new MacBook Air. I was looking forward to the new MacBook Air expecting it to cost as much as the old MacBook Air. Well, nope. The new MacBook Air starts at just $100 below the entry-level MacBook Pro. (In Sweden the price difference is about half that.) So... Why would I buy the new MacBook Air over the MacBook Pro exactly? The Air got a weaker i5 (2-core 1.6GHz vs 2-core 2.5GHz), weaker GPU (UHD 617 vs Iris Pro 640) and is otherwise the same (8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Retina screen). It's a tiny bit lighter, that's all. And there's no option to upgrade the CPU anymore either. But the rest can be upgraded to end up at a max price of twice the old MBA for twice the RAM and 3 times the storage. Woo.
Good job Apple. You take your affordable computers and phones and make them not affordable anymore. Even though you and all the Apple
fanboysreviewers keep calling them affordable for some reason. iDiots.
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Affordable on the MacBook Air is irrelevant when the input devices are crap. The keyboard and touchpad back when the unibody MacBook debuted were great; but Apple's obsession with thinness led them to replace both with crap. I wouldn't buy an Apple laptop now. I jumped ship to the Surface Book a while ago, and I'm glad I did.
The Mac Mini used to be $500, not $400. Even so, given the upgrades that seems reasonable; asides from drive space it's a better machine than the $1000 Mini used to be.
And if you want a cheaper iPad, then... don't buy the Pro? There's other models out there.
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@Atazhaia Apple is affordable...
When you are rich enough
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@Unperverted-Vixen I didn't have any complaints about the iPad Pro except for making fun of the statements they made about it. As the price of that is unchanged, and I don't feel it's a device for me I am ignoring it.
And yeah, the new Mac mini is a better machine with a new focus. It's just a shame that they missed making an affordable version of it, which is what I assume most people who wanted the hardware upgrade was looking for.
It's the MacBook Air that irks me. Because I was looking forward to having a new "affordable" MBA to replace my old broken one, and they release this overpriced crap where the price difference to a MacBook Pro is so small I may just as well get the MacBook Pro and have a much better computer for a tiny bit more money. The new MBA has zero reason to exist at the price point it's at and that baffles me.
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@Atazhaia said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
the price difference to a MacBook Pro is so small I may just as well get the MacBook Pro and have a much better computer for a tiny bit more money. The new MBA has zero reason to exist at the price point it's at and that baffles me.
Ever heard of anchoring? They've just convinced you to get the next model up. What better reason for it to exist?
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@Atazhaia said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
The new MBA has zero reason to exist at the price point it's at and that baffles me.
The cheapest Macbook Air is cheaper than the cheapest Macbook Pro. It's like £950 compared to £1250. That's why it exists.
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@loopback0 said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
The
cheapestless expensive Macbook Air ischeaperless expensive than thecheapestless expensive Macbook Pro. It's like £950 compared to £1250FTFReality
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@loopback0 I should have specified the "cheapest new MacBook Air" as the cheaper MBA which they apparently still sell for some reason is the
20152017 model that runs on a 5th gen i5/i7.
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@TimeBandit said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@loopback0 said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
The
cheapestlessfewer expensive Macbook Air ischeaperlessfewer expensive than thecheapestlessfewer expensive Macbook Pro. It's like £950 compared to £1250FTFReality
FTF
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So if
Ais for Affordable, what isppfor?
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@Atazhaia I'm talking about the one they announced. It's $1199 according to several articles which is £950.
The "old" one is cheaper still.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
So if
Ais for Affordable, what isppfor?Pay, twice
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Apple are now fully into the "luxury products" segment, or at least they think they are. The price has become secondary ; you don't buy luxury products because they have a good quality/price ratio (usually some non-luxury products are at least as good, and much cheaper), you buy them as status symbols.
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@Tsaukpaetra Making babby
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@Zerosquare Sometimes just because you like it and can afford it.
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@Captain said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Tsaukpaetra Making babby
Affordable Planned Parenting Lets Elope!
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@loopback0 You like to pay more to get shittier hardware?
MacBook keyboard drama will soon be over
Some MacBook Pro, MacBook and MacBook Air owners have experienced problems with the keyboard, trackpad, speakers, USB-C, and more. Here's what to do if you've been affected, and how to fix the problems if you have and what Apple is doing to rectify the problems
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@loopback0: true, but only if the price difference is low enough that you can afford it and not think "I like it, but there's no way I'm paying $XXXX for it."
If you're willing to pay a hefty premium without hesitation, then you're the kind of person luxury products target.
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@TimeBandit I wasn't just talking about MacBooks.
You get issues on cheaper hardware too though.
Exploding Samsung tablets, fire risks on Lenovo laptops, etc.
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@loopback0 in electronics, I've only seen Apple actively design their stuff to prevent it from being repairable
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@TimeBandit Fair point but exploding or catching fire tends to render repairing
anyway.
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@Atazhaia said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
Maxed it's 6-core i7, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD and 10Gbit Ethernet for just $4199.
$4199? What the hell? Is that thing gold-plated or what?
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@cvi said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
$4199? What the hell? Is that thing gold-plated or what?
It comes with blackjack and hookers
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@cvi said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Atazhaia said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
Maxed it's 6-core i7, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD and 10Gbit Ethernet for just $4199.
$4199? What the hell? Is that thing gold-plated or what?
If you spec a Dell Precision desktop for the same specs except a 1TB SSD, it's the equivalent of $4140. Maxed, it's way more.
It does at least seem to be a desktop CPU though.IMO it's a silly price for either, but big numbers aren't exactly Apple specific when it comes to aiming products at professionals.
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The "A" might be Affordable... but just wait til you find out how much the "pple" will cost!
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I currently own an iPhone 6S and a MacBook Air. The iPhone always felt pricey but worth it, the MBA was only slightly above comparable laptops, work provided anyway and (aside from Apple's
keyboard layout) a pretty awesome machine. I love my Air.New Air is too expensive, has no MagSafe anymore, and if the "butterfly" keyboard is anything like on the MacBook Pro then fuck right off with that. That's like typing on
a glass surfacean iPad. Let's just hope my current MBA won't need replacement anytime soon.Some time ago I was interested in getting a mac mini. A small machine that doesn't need too much power and is good enough to hook up e.g. to the living room TV. But then I thought the price is just too high for what's basically 5 year old hardware. They should either upgrade it to current tech or make it cheaper.
Well, they've upgraded the price, for sure. What the fuck is that??
What market is that even supposed to cover? I wanted a mac mini for something a desktop would be too bulky and expensive for (and still get something that's nicer than some of the really cheap alternatives), not something that sells for the price of two stupidly high-end Alienware desktops. Or did they put a Xeon in there?
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@topspin said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
iPhone 6S ... always felt pricey but worth it
My 6S is nearly 3 years old and has out lasted any other smartphone I've ever had. It wasn't even that much more expensive than the Galaxy S5 I had before it.
@topspin said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
has no MagSafe anymore
If it's like the MBP then if you trip over the cable it comes out just as easily. If you dropped something directly down onto the connector while it was in the laptop then it'd probably be damaged but otherwise it's no worse.
@topspin said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
if the "butterfly" keyboard is anything like on the MacBook Pro then fuck right off with that. That's like typing on an iPad
It's not that bad although unless the updated design has fixed the keyboard occasionally being inhibited by a bit of dirt then the older keyboards are still better.
I have a work-provided 2015 MBP and a personal 2016 MBP and the keyboard is definitely better on the 2015.
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Something was pointed out that makes the new MBA even worse. Instead of using an 18W U-series CPU like the previous models the new MBA uses a 7W Y-series CPU making it more like the MacBook. So not only is it weaker than previous models, it's also a lot more expensive on top of that. It's still more powerful than the old MBA but not by as much as it should be. If they had used the new 4-core U-series that was revealed a while back that was expected to end up in the MBA I could have understood the price increase better, but when they put in weak crap in it then it's just completely backwards and makes the new MBA an even more useless product.
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What kind of jobs do apple owners have? How can someone afford 2000 USD on an electronic item? Mindbloggling.
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@stillwater Well, if you work in education you get 8% off on Apple products! So that would mean just $1840 to afford!
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@topspin said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
Some time ago I was interested in getting a mac mini. A small machine that doesn't need too much power and is good enough to hook up e.g. to the living room TV. But then I thought the price is just too high for what's basically 5 year old hardware. They should either upgrade it to current tech or make it cheaper.
Well, they've upgraded the price, for sure. What the fuck is that??
What market is that even supposed to cover? I wanted a mac mini for something a desktop would be too bulky and expensive for (and still get something that's nicer than some of the really cheap alternatives), not something that sells for the price of two stupidly high-end Alienware desktops. Or did they put a Xeon in there?Some time ago I looked at the Mac mini for a specific low-demand thing in my own network. I looked at the price point and stuff and applied the FTS rule(1), and bought a kit with an RPi 3B+, case, PSU, and mini keyboard thing (the so-called "media kit"). Even though it's only an RPi, its 4-core CPU is still immensely overpowered for what I wanted: a Samba 4 Active Directory Domain Controller.
(1) FTS == Fuck That Shit, from https://xkcd.com/137/
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@loopback0 said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@topspin said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
iPhone 6S ... always felt pricey but worth it
My 6S is nearly 3 years old and has out lasted any other smartphone I've ever had. It wasn't even that much more expensive than the Galaxy S5 I had before it.
My $200 Huawei I bought in 2015 is still holding well. It's not that your 6S is great; it's that every other smartphone you've ever had was even more shitty.
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@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have?
Silly Valley jobs. Where you earn $150k/year but spend half that on housing.
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@Gąska said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have?
Silly Valley jobs. Where you earn $150k/year but spend half that on housing.
I don't think he meant the company owners. He meant the clients. ;)
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@Atazhaia said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
did a facepalm at them comparing the amount of sold iPads to the amount of sold notebooks from major manufacturers and saying that it "not only makes the iPad the most popular tablet, but the most popular notebook too".
So if I compare the amount of toilet paper sold to the amount of sold iPads, it turns out toilet paper is the most popular tablet too!
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@anotherusername said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
wait til you find out how much the "pple" will cost!
I guess it must be the "p"s which are so expensive; at least I heard that you can get a "sus" or a "cer" for much less.
Filed under: a pity the "tari"s and "miga"s are currently out of stock
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@Steve_The_Cynic said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
Some time ago I looked at the Mac mini for a specific low-demand thing in my own network.
The Mac minis started out as that kind of machine, but I guess with the appearance of products like the Raspberry PI they figured they can't / don't want to compete in that segment and one-upped on the price and hardware to find themselves a new niche.
I still have one of these faithfully serving up my music library up to this day:
That thing must be 10 years old now, and it's still running reliably and serving its purpose.
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@ixvedeusi said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
I guess it must be the "p"s which are so expensive; at least I heard that you can get a "sus" or a "cer" for much less.
I would like to have those as options, but if I am looking at what I need from a laptop I need to run some software that doesn't work on Linux so I have to get macOS or Windows and my experiences with Windows on a laptop have been horrible meaning I am a bit wary about getting a Windows laptop. That, and I like Apple laptops.
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@ixvedeusi There's the emergence of the RPi and NUC, there's the (admittedly Apple-imposed) death of the XServe, and there's "we want something with the power of a trash can but that looks nice in our road gear."
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@kt_ said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Gąska said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have?
Silly Valley jobs. Where you earn $150k/year but spend half that on housing.
I don't think he meant the company owners. He meant the clients. ;)
Where do you think the clients live? The only people in my company with non-Apple hardware are the Windows developers. (and some support people, but that's not their primary machine) Oh, and there's only 2 of us in the building (there's a couple more who work remote)
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@dcon said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@kt_ said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Gąska said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have?
Silly Valley jobs. Where you earn $150k/year but spend half that on housing.
I don't think he meant the company owners. He meant the clients. ;)
Where do you think the clients live? The only people in my company with non-Apple hardware are the Windows developers. (and some support people, but that's not their primary machine) Oh, and there's only 2 of us in the building (there's a couple more who work remote)
I'm not saying people from the Silly Valley own Apple stuff. I'm saying not only. I find those questions about "the kind of job you need to have" pretty funny. The normal kind.
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@kt_ said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
I find those questions about "the kind of job you need to have" pretty funny. The normal kind.
But it helps to have a Silly Salary!
(and to have purchased your home 22 yrs ago!)
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@dcon said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@kt_ said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
I find those questions about "the kind of job you need to have" pretty funny. The normal kind.
But it helps to have a Silly Salary!
(and to have purchased your home 22 yrs ago!)It certainly does. It certainly also does help if you earn your salary in the US. My iPhone cost 30% more than the tag price. Even if you include the sales tax, I bet I still paid around 20% more for it than a USian would.
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@kt_ said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Gąska said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have?
Silly Valley jobs. Where you earn $150k/year but spend half that on housing.
I don't think he meant the company owners. He meant the clients. ;)
No, $150k/year is generally software engineer salary.
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@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have? How can someone afford 2000 USD on an electronic item? Mindbloggling.
According to this, one paid less than average wages.
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@pie_flavor said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@kt_ said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Gąska said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have?
Silly Valley jobs. Where you earn $150k/year but spend half that on housing.
I don't think he meant the company owners. He meant the clients. ;)
No, $150k/year is generally software engineer salary.
I need to get my salary multiplied by three then...
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@Tsaukpaetra Step 1 is move to Silly Valley.
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@Tsaukpaetra @pie_flavor Step 2 is to realize that unless you want to live in your car, at least half of that salary increase is going to be blown on housing.
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@Unperverted-Vixen said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Tsaukpaetra @pie_flavor Step 2 is to realize that unless you want to live in your car, at least half of that salary increase is going to be blown on housing.
Wasn't there somebody who bought a van, parked it in Google/Apple/Facebook's premises and actually lived in there? Which kicks the whole "live and breathe for your company" up a whole notch.
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@Tsaukpaetra said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@pie_flavor said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@kt_ said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@Gąska said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
@stillwater said in The A in Apple is for Affordable:
What kind of jobs do apple owners have?
Silly Valley jobs. Where you earn $150k/year but spend half that on housing.
I don't think he meant the company owners. He meant the clients. ;)
No, $150k/year is generally software engineer salary.
I need to get my salary multiplied by three then...
But your actual take-home-fun-money is probably higher. (Except for those old geezers like me who bought 20 yrs ago - my mortgage is only $1600)
