Report: Apple eyes Mac pricing cuts
Apple could be getting ready to cut prices on iMacs and MacBooks, according to a report.
Does Apple really have MacBook pricing cuts in mind?
(Credit: CNET)AppleInsider is reporting that Apple plans to introduce less-expensive versions of its two most popular Macs at some point over the next several months. It's not clear how much of a cut Apple has in mind, or whether it plans to offer more value at current prices, but Apple has apparently decided that it wants to hedge its bets against a proliferation of cheap Netbooks over the last year or so, according to the report.
Mac pricing has certainly been a big topic over the last several months, as Microsoft has aggressively pushed the notion of the Mac as an expensive bauble unfit for recessionary spending. Apple responded to those ads with its standard message that Macs are more capable than PCs, therefore PCs aren't quite the bargain they appear to be.
This move, if it comes to pass, would therefore represent a change in Apple's strategy of positioning the Mac as a premium experience. Apple did cut the price of the MacBook last year, keeping an older system around for $999 while introducing the new unibody MacBooks in October. The company also lowered the cost of acquiring certain features previously reserved for the high end of its notebook line, which to some extent has a similar effect to a price cut.
Times have changed since then. Apple's Mac shipments declined year-over-year for the first time in several years during its second fiscal quarter as certain PC vendors--such as Asus and Acer--improved their shipment totals on the back of cheap Netbooks.
If this move is really a response to the Netbook phenomenon, then I think it's a mistake. Netbooks provide a cheap basic computing experience, but whether they will turn into a long-term alternative to full-sized notebooks is far from certain.
IDC estimated that 11 million Netbooks were sold in 2008, and is predicting that 21 million will be sold in 2009, out of an overall worldwide PC market of around 300 million units. If those people are deciding to buy Netbooks simply because they are cheaper, then they probably weren't going to buy a Mac anyway. If they are buying them because they want that compact computing experience, they weren't going to buy a Mac either.
AppleInsider was careful to emphasize that Apple may not have bargain-basement pricing moves in store; the changes could be more subtle. That's a good thing, because once prices go down in this industry, it's almost impossible to get them back up, and Apple's profit margins are the envy of the computer industry.
It's possible that Apple may just have promotional pricing in mind as it enters the educational buying season this quarter and the back-to-school buying season next quarter, two of the most important Mac sales periods of the year. Limited promotions could buy Apple some time to get its response to demand for a cheaper, more compact computer--the Mac minitablet--out the door while still preserving its Mac product line margins for a time when consumers are more confident.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
Many PC companies have a $300 netbook, and Apple needs one as well.
Apple needs a $700 Macbook and a $1299 Macbook Pro.
"Why? Why do we need another me too, low cost, low quality PC mill?"
I would say that it is because PC makers who are producing the netbooks are making a ton of money.... money that Apple *isn't* making as a result. I can't blame Apple for wanting to get some of that money as well- they are a for profit company after all.
Are they?
Any data at all to back that up? I would wager that PC makers selling netbooks are NOT making a ton of money. There are no margins. Apple has higher margins on the iPod touch than HP has on their netbook.
@Perry_Clease
http://www.atelier-us.com/consumers-and-ecommerce/article/netbook-sales-surge-drive-pc-growth
You're both right in that netbook profits are far lower than the much higher profit margins that laptops and full size systems enjoy, however those same netbook sales are exploding in popularity and there's something to be said for selling in volume.
Sell one laptop for $1000 and you have... one customer.
Sell four laptops for $250 and you have four customers who are going to be buying all the other accessories that go along with it. Accessories that have huge markups and tidy profits associated. You also get more customer exposure for your other products and upgrades later on.
Apple may have to join the party or simply be left out entirely and be forced to return to being a niche brand. That's not something Apple is likely allow to happen. They don't want their marketshare to go down and unless they do something about it, they could very easily drop right back down again.
Apple is in this "space" with the iPhone and iPod touch. They are a different type of product that does a lot of the same things people use Netbooks for: web surfing, video playing, email, media management, etc.
Ultimately, their laptops are simply overpriced with the drop in component prices for HDs, memory and screens. So they will drop the prices there while maintaining their margins.
Sorry, but the explanation doesn't fly.
Yes, low-margin/high-volume is a viable business option, but when you consider that Apple currently has more money in cash right now than Microsoft (and likely any of its competitors - hadn't checked), I doubt that Apple is really hating life for having avoided the cheap market. Even without looking, I'm willing to wager that Asus and Acer sweat more over clawing for bits of their 'damned-near-disposable' end of the market, than Apple does over their 'built-to-last' end of the same market.
The Netbook market has become a race to the bottom, and I daresay that quality is going to become a big issue over the next few business quarters.... there's already talk of $250 and $200 netbooks coming out over the next 9-12 months, and the margin is either going to become a loss-leader, or the makers are going to start feeding gray-market parts into their products, while allowing otherwise QA-failed components slip through far more often just to keep the numbers up.
While I agree with you that Apple releasing a cheaper notebook would probably canabalize sales of more profitable models and ultimately reduce profits I have to differ with the claim that the iPod touch or the iPhone compete with netbooks.
Even the smallest netbooks(7") have a higher resolution and a larger keyboard than an iPhone. Browsing the internet on a netbook and a iPhone isn't even comparable. Neither is data entry comparable. Furthermore, a netbook is capable of running *any* x86 based application that the hardware is capable of running, which is far more than the appstore will ever offer.
The iPhone competes with other smartphones not netbooks although a lot of the Apple fans don't seem to understand that. That doesn't mean that the iPhone is a bad product. It merely serves a different purpose.
?We don?t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk..." -- Steve Jobs (last year)
Go ahead, look it up! It's real!
Who else uses Apple's cases? Those are "parts" of the computer. In Steve's eyes (right or wrong) a piece of "junk" is the current poorly designed and put together budget laptop from Dell or HP, with ports all over the case, weird corders and lips in the plastics, clunky/junky feel, low res screen, outdated components/missing chipssets and excess weight. He likes form and function, not just function, so a "piece of junk" is more than just the components inside.
Now, I'm not positive I agree. I think Apple could build the plastic Macbook with Core 2 Duo 1.8 on the slower system bus of older computers without wireless-n or gigabit enet, etc. and sell it for at least under $600. But they don't seem to want to go the route of HP and Dell and others of selling machines with specs from 2-3 years ago for a discount, instead selling machines with specs from 1 year ago... ;)
Lol what?
Dell and HP are always current with specs Apple is usually the one lagging behind.
Not a week after the i7 came out Dell had machines with it.
Apple currently is on dual cores while the rest of the world is on quad cores.
Dell packs 6gb of ram on inexpensive systems can a iMac even support that much?
The PC builders have always been ahead of Apple when it comes to specs.
And as far as cheap goes wasn't it not to long ago Apple was using plastic themselves and I yet to buy a machine from Dell, HP, Acer that is falling apart. I have a old dell dimension that I gave to my brother from 2006 that looks the same way it came out of the factory silent not falling apart and yet to have a problem with it.
So much FUD floating around its absolutely incredible.
Absolutely wrong. The budget laptops from HP and Dell are leftover logic boards (many with older integrated graphics) with older chips,(many with inferior chips like celerys and power hungry small cache athlon chips), older components, lack of the latest wifi and ethernet abilities, "dumb" trackpads, etc. And while many sport 15.4" screens, they are the same resolution as the MacBook, draw more power, have HORRIBLE battery life (often not long enough to watch 1 DVD movie), and are heavier. It's not hard to find this information when you just check out the specs of these machines at Bestbuy, where the budget consumer is going to shop (or similar store).
And they ship with the stripped down "Home" version of Vista, which lacks various advanced features that OS X has that only comes in Vista Pro 64 bit. The Apple MacBook is not using the most cutting edge chips either, as they are pricey, but they are using higher performance and more expensive core 2 duo at 2.0GHz or better, faster bus speeds, wifi-n, gigabit ethernet, something these discount machines lack.
You want the components of the MacBook with 5 hour battery in a compact size and highest end Vista from HP? Not gonna happen under $500. Not under $600. Not under $700.
Outfitting the HP 13.3" 5lb model with MacBook white specs (and upping the MacBook to 250GB) puts the HP at $1000, and the MacBook at $1100. That makes the MBW 10% more expensive, so if a price drop of $100 comes (which would be expected), it is ON PAR with what the largest computer company offers in that class. It of course doesn't factor in iLife being free for the Mac (as not everyone wants to use that).
HP does make cheaper + heavier laptops with larger (but low res) screens for a bit less money with otherwise the same specs, but that's not a direct comparison to the "light laptop" MBW class.
"The budget laptops from HP and Dell are leftover logic boards (many with older integrated graphics) with older chips,(many with inferior chips like celerys and power hungry small cache athlon chips), older components, lack of the latest wifi and ethernet abilities, "dumb" trackpads, etc."
Your comments appear to indicate you have never opened up a laptop before in your life or you wouldn't be so naive to make that statement. Laptop design is very very intense and there is simply no space for a board to be shoe horned into a new case design. You don't reuse parts like that in a laptop. I would recommend you take a look inside those machines you speak of- I have to work on all brands and open them up all the time to do repairs on HP, Apple, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer, etc. The level of design going into these things is amazing.
And your Mac price vs HP comparison is ... creative at best. Dell, HP, Toshiba, and Lenovo all have systems that are lighter, more powerful, last longer on battery, larger capacity, and do not have any sort of proprietary video connections requring $99 adapters, also include silly things like firewire and other things Apple has abandoned. And that's all at the same price or lower. That's the facts. You can deny it all you want, but if what you are saying was true, then places like Frys, BestBuy and other stores wouldn't even be in business- there would only be Apple Stores.
But don't get so worked up over it. This isn't a bad thing. So Apple has expensive hardware. For some, that's fine and that's what they want. For others, they want value for their money. That's fine. For me, I have a 2.16 Ghz MBP and a Toshiba Portege M400 tablet. Guess which I use? Both. Each has its own purpose.
You are simply making things up. Sorry. What $99 adapter are you talking about? The MacBook White has a mini-DVI, adapter for various outputs is $19 (VGA, DVI, etc.). The newer MacBook has a minidisplayport. You know, the OPEN STANDARD that is coming to market? Since when has an open standard been priority?
Anyway, I've owned 10 laptops, Mac and PC, helped family buy them, Mac and PC, and know what's in them when I go to buy.
The HP comparison is not "creative." I simply went to HP, found their 13.3" laptop that offers a core 2 duo 2.0 GHz, and configured it like the MacBook White comes standard (without FW), which must include Vista Ultimate 64bit (otherwise it's not apples to apples...), wireless-n + bluetooth, etc.. I then upped the HD in the MacBook to 250GB for a fair comparison. $1000 vs. $1100. Period. You can do it yourself. The BRAND NEW dv3t model. Their inferior Turion based version of this system is $915. There's a 12.1" model, but it can't be configured, so you take what they offer, including a Neo 1.6 GHz processor (blech). They have some heavy, discount 16" models, but they have the same resolution (total number of pixels) as the 13". I'm targeting the market leader HP here because they are the most popular.
You've provided no evidence I'm wrong, just conjecture and the normal "macbooks are way more expensive" mantra that isn't actually supported when you compare the hardware.
As for the cheap laptops using outdated parts? They absolutely do. They are based on older technologies. Some people can do fine with that. My brother-in-law just wanted a computer to do web and email while on the road coaching kids. Compaq laptop worked for him. Not a bad looking machine, either, but not fast or feature rich. It doesn't mean they just slap a board in a case, but it means they are using CHEAP technologies to save money and/or clearing out old inventory of older models at a discount (something Apple doesn't have to do for long as their old inventory goes FAST when new models come out). Does everyone need the features the MacBook has? Nope, but you can't just dismiss that it has those things because there are people who DO need them.
Huh. MacBook again about $100 more, and if they drop the price $100? On par...
Your FUD machine is working overtime, my friend. I just picked up two Dell Latitude systems, to wit: brushed metal construction, colors are red and blue (nice), 2.4GHz Core2Duo w/3MB cache, 4GB 800MHz RAM, 160GB HDD @7200 RPM, 15" LED screen, four USB ports, one eSATA port, firewire, VGA, Wireless N (Intel), touchpad and pointing stick (two input methods), webcam/mic, card reader and more ports/slots that I haven't even identified yet . . . lessee, anything else? Yeah, throw in two color-matching Belkin bags and Logitech mice and a 3-year next day on site service warranty.
And the grand total IS? $1,800 delivered. Bought 'em for a local law firm even though the owner's kid suggested/pleaded for Mac. I'm going to set these up with an external pivoting Samsung monitor so the lawyers can work with their documents the way the Lord intended. Can you pivot your Cinema Display with the flip of the wrist?
So ****. You worthless Apple tool. Lord how I despise you people. If I ever meet you in a coffee shop I'm going to dump your latte down your shirt.
What a great value. Mac zealots will buy them by the 7 pack. Apple doesn't make 6 packs. Those are for losers.
Alex
1st Gen iPhone used to come with an power adapter and a dock; removed from 3G
Video iPods upto 5G could be hooked up to the TV using a composite cable. iPod 5.5G and iPhone need a $50 cable to do the same thing
Mac mini doesn't come with a remote any more. That would be $20 extra
So yes, Apple might cut down the price, and they will call the power cord, the battery etc accessories that you have to pay for separately.
The iPhone G3 includes a power adapter, but not a dock. The dock for the iPhone is a mixed blessing, because your iPhone will not fit in it if you have ANY kind of protective case on it unless that case has a flip away bottom. Few do. So it became frustrating that so many had a dock they couldn't easily use.
Apple has dropped prices on machines where they could do so. For example, a 20" iMac, once unavailable, then the highest end product, is now the cheapest (though the screen quality has dropped in the process). And the current 20" is much more powerful than the original 17" G5 version (of the current LCD sandwiched with computer form factor).
A previous poster is correct. Apple needs to be competitive in the marketpace and the aluminum body and marginally "better components" don't justify the prices Apple charges.
umm.. do you own a mac? or used iLife09 or iWork09? or used Vmware Fusion or Parallels to run a virtual XP in osx?
no, i'm not an apple fanboy but a geek. i have 4 laptops and a desktop; 4 of which run Windows Vista (and runs it well, i like vista and have not had any problems).
i've been a naysayer of apple products since prob around 2004 or so but last year i started getting into the osx86 projects (getting osx leo on my windows machines). however after getting a macbook air from my blogging company and using it for video / photo work; it is really a superior experience out of the box. ilife shipped w/the air. windows boxes always are loaded with crap/bloatware.
and yes, i'd like to see a lower price for a macbook pro but don't expect it.
however just my $.02
I don't own a Mac. I do and have worked on Macs as part of my job as well as linux boxes and from a geek standpoint the linux boxes are easier to use if you are coming from Windows. Also, while I like virtualization as a concept and on the server I think it's a poor substitute for an OS on a desktop computer. Be thankful that XP can run in 512 MB of ram well because you'd never get OSX running well in that space, but at the same time there are l issues with virtualization that make applications fail in sometimes small yet important ways that make using the app virtualized a pain.
I have run into issues where finding an app for a Mac to do a particular task was very difficult. As getting it to play nice on a network is a major pain unless you just want a dumb client. For that the Mac excels, plug it into the wall and away you go. Talking to other machines...not so good.
they stripped it of copy/paste before they managed to do so though
the iPhone OS is a Phone OS, not a fully featured desktop OS
I like using my iPhone to control iTunes on my iBook which sends the music wireless to my Bose stereo through my Apple Airport wireless base station with zero configuration.
I would love to see you use your zune phone (or any winmo phone) to control windows media player on any windows laptop that sends music to your stereo through any other wireless router. I double dog dare you.
Amen
But you are right. There really is no innovation going on in Cupertino. They really are exactly the same. I see things your way now. Oh, and the stuff about the Mac file system - whatever.
Amen
Watch live TV
Watch recorded TV
Watch any of my ripped DVDs
Listen to any of my music
Turn the heat up
Dim the lights
Drop the blinds
Arm my security system
Check my surveillance cameras
All from the comfort of my couch or my bed.
And your last comment just shows how out of touch you are. As most of the answers to your questions are YES.
Dell has backlit keyboards.
Windows 7 will allow the monitor backlight to dim based on environment.
Multitouch trackpads yes and multitouch has been around for a while Basin MS was using multitouch on its surface before iPhone was released.
No magsafe power adapter.
Can I get the worlds most powerful GPU on my Mac? - Nope
Can I get a quad core affordably? - Nope
Can I set up my own raid array? - Nope
Can I use other CPU's? - Nope
Can I get a 24inch touchscreen computer? - Nope cause Steve Jobs thinks they're stupid.
Really! Does your mac come with a memory card slot? No! Does your mac come with fingerprint reader? no! Does your mac come with a express card slot? no! Does your mac come with Blu-ray drive? no! Does your mac come with HDMI port? no! it comes with something called minidisplay port which can't be used with most of the TVs/Projectors/Monitors without an adaptor. Can you purchase your mac with personalized colors and artwork? no! before it used to come in black or white, now it comes in chrome. does your mac come with broadband card? no!
Yes, I can see all the photos stored on my computer when I have to upload a photo. I don't know how stores photos "in application", but in windows they are stored in folders and can be accessed from the upload window.
Yes, I can import music into Movie maker without leaving movie maker and dub it over a video. May be you should use it before you comment. Besides, how many people regularly make movies on their computer?
So yes, you are wrong. Apple computer is not same as Dell, it is not as good as Dell.
"Ah yes. The Apple computer is the same as Dell and company. Same OS too? "
I have a Dell Optiplex here running OS X without issues. Yep, same OS.
"Do the others have backlit keyboard and monitors that adjust to ambient light?"
Looking at my Logitech keyboard with the backlit keys, on board macros, and customizable keyboard layouts from the OEM? You're right, it's better. Thanks for pointing that out.
"Multitouch trackpads? They are starting to copy that."
Dell: Three years ago. HP: Two years ago. The product had it, but was waiting for the OS to release that functionality. And once Vista did have the drivers, it was six months before Apple announced it. So.. Apple did eventually add it, but it was several years behind the curve there. Once again, thanks for pointing that out.
"Magsafe power adapter so you don't destroy your laptop when tripping over the cord? Nope."
You're right on that one. Nobody can have a Magsafe adapter- Apple won't allow it. It's a nice design, but nobody can have it other than Apple. That's a limitation Apple has imposed on the industry. That's Apple's choice, not anyone else's.
When you are at a website, and you choose to upload a photo, does it show you all the photos that are stored in your photo application automatically? Nope."
What? Are you completely blind to the option at the top of any Windows file ope/save dialog box that lets you choose the thumbnail size? You can have it display thumbnails, file details, whatever. Windows 7 has libraries that will show every photo on your entire system, including networked shares if you want. That's not new. So.... to answer your question, yes, when you upload a photo, you have been able to see all the photos in your application or photo library for over ten years now- heck, even Windows 95 had this built in.
"When you are making a movie and you want to dub it over with some music, can you select the song without leaving your movie editing application? Nope. "
Perhaps you're talking about OS2/Warp or Commodore's OS, or even Atari? You sure aren't talking about Windows- the movie maker app does exactly what you are talking about already.
"Can you put your computer into target disk mode so you can connect it to another computer as if it were an external firewire drive? Nope. "
Sure, you can easily. Just share out the system. It's been able to do this for over a decade. Apple isn't the first to do this either.
"But you are right. There really is no innovation going on in Cupertino. They really are exactly the same. I see things your way now. Oh, and the stuff about the Mac file system - whatever."
I disagree and think Apple is bringing out quite innovative products. I am not sure why, after your pro-anything-Apple comments that you would think otherwise. Unless you're trying to be sarcastic and witty in which case you have failed to succeed there.
Seriously- take a basic computer class. Your ignorance doesn't do you any good.
As for playing meida here and there. Yup, easy enough in Windoze. I can play it on my TV or my Tuner/Reciever using the PS3 Remote just fine.
Now if you're talking about hooking new Mac users and watching them progress towards the Pro end of computing needs over the course of a decade or two, then a lower entry point could prove useful.
An anecdotal aside- I was quite disappointed that there wasn't a rumor of dropping prices across the board. I can't tell you how long I've been pining away for a MacPro to replace my aged Powerbook. I offer up myself as anecdotal evidence of the power-user progression:
1999: Family buys low end G4 tower
2003: purchased eMac as computer for use at college
2005: purchased Powerbook for power-user needs for school and job
*Now: want the most power Mac out there for professional and personal use.
Kids of the digital age can easily garner an interest in digital production when they have the ease of use entry that Macs have. Aside from student loans, apple could see a real surge in its userbase with cutting some of its markup/unit, IMHO.
An average user who has only been exposed to windows would be very frustrated trying to do things on a Mac. The decision to make Ejecting a [insert your favorite removable media] by dragging it to the trash has always confused me, and is counter intuitive to the Windows user as is the method of installing applications. It's easy once you know how it's done, but it isn't the same and hardly intuitive to the new user.
Personally I find the Mac limiting in it's ability to perform common networking tasks like mapping a drive, sharing a folder, and making those persistent as well as other networking tasks. Also, for someone that has no previous computer experience (ie Windows) the Mac would be fine as would Linux, but outside of the applications on a Mac, the OS is not intuitive and requires a different approach to computing.
Linux does a much better job of incorporating work flow processes users expect from an OS when all they have for a point of reference is Windows. If Apple would skin OSX to look like windows with the same types of items they'd do way better converting people, but as long as it's "Job's way" or the highway Mac will continue to be niche.
Here are some other interesting facts. HP, the world's largest computer company reported the following for Q1/FY09, Revenue of $8.78B and profit of $435M- again, this from the world's largest PC company (according to the Personal Systems Group). How did Apple fare for the same quarter? $8.16B, and profit of $1.2B (or roughly 3x more dough than HP). Sometimes a tightly managed portfolio, and a loyal consumer base is all a company really needs? (And yes, I do realize that I am comparing HP PSG to Apple revenue as a whole, but Mac sales do account for a hefty portion of the profit, rather than overall company sales).
Now, imagine if Apple slashed their wrists, i mean, prices- by 20%. They would still be facing Microsoft at all corners, as well as HP and Dell whom prove daily that they care little about margins and fight for market share instead. I think that Apple and its' fans must resign themselves to the fact that they will never be able to truly challenge Microsoft for the crown of "largest install base" but rather celebrate the fact that Apple is a very lean, mean, money making machine that can enter and dominate markets because of their operations and logistics.
it's obvious you've not used a mac in decades?
first, you can eject a disk with the keyboard of any mac (there's an eject key on all modern mac keyboards), from within the OS via clicking on it's eject icon, from within programs that use media disks, etc. You no longer drag it to the trash...
Second, you can make persistent "mapped" drives by creating a simple alias you can double click on (which will mount them including connecting to the server and entering your password if you'd like it to), and you can have them mount at login by adding them to your login items. Same with folders. Or apps.
Basically, as a long time Windows user, you learned some convoluted ways to do things and then want to bring that same level of complexity to the Mac when it's not needed.
While what you said is correct, other than not using them in decades. Macs do not always play nice on a network. Maps don't always work in an enterprise environment even when you set them up correctly and there's no explanation why, it just fails. I've seen better people than me fail at getting a Mac to work on a network, people that have been using them for years. And when it didn't just work, they threw up their hands and walked away.
I think Macs are great consumer boxes, just keep them out of the office. As for ejecting, the keyboard control may work for a CD-Rom, but does it also work for flash drives? Removable HDD's? I've never tried it, I don't use a Mac to do any real work since ti doesn't have the tools I need. Also Apple's additional decision to make Flash drives seem faster by using a write behind cache is another thing I don't like (Linux does this too) so that if you don't manually eject your drive you lose everything you changed on it. Windows has a feature that turns off write behind caching on removable media so that after that file is copied to the drive you can just remove it with no need to eject. Of course if you don't wait until the file finishes being copied you can hose your drive. :)
Ohh. That cut. That cut deep. :)
That may or may not be good.
1. Why drop prices to increase a consumer base that would just require more servicing/expense?
2. And the more hardware you have out there, the more problems will crop up within a new client base that isn't willing to tolerate Apple's "we'll get it right next release" attitude that the Mac faithful lap up.
3. And the larger target profile--together with the fact that you can't cure stupid--will lead to a malware frenzy.
Truthfully, I don't think Apple wants to rise above 10%. But not to worry, Windows 7 is on the horizon so I don't think the Cupertino kids ever will.
Apple has NEVER increased the cost of a computer once it has been introduce, but continually brings down the prices of their computers to levels that they normally run at over the long haul. Introduce new technologies and the prices jump up a bit, but then the downward trend starts again.
People who claim that Apple should compete with $300 notebooks are not paying attention. They don't many any money of note on such laptops.
Which harkens back to the joke: "We don't make any money on these, but we make up for it in volume."
Indeed.
Look at Southwest Airlines. Look at Pan American Airlines. One was a global high end carrier that catered to the luxury crowd and didn't bow to market pressure when Southwest Airlines came along and started offering cheap fares. Soon the rest of the airline industry had to match those fares or lose business. It became a free for all. Some airlines offer better seating, features, luxuries, while others offer better prices, more frequent flights, etc.
In the end both planes get you where you want to go. Well, except for PanAm which isn't in business any longer because they refused to adapt to a changing market.
Will this happen to Pan Apple?
Considering the fact that Apple continuously and regularly lowers the price of the it's top selling family of products, this should be enough to disarm all of you that posted that "Apple charges too high a premium", and that "Apple doesn't know how to cut prices". iPod Touch, one of the most sought after models noticed a price plunge to $229, from $299. The Nano once ruled high atop the $199 and $249 coops, now it watches over the land at $149, and $199 (a hefty cut of 25% on their TOP SELLING product). I'd love to see Dell slash their XPS line 25%. When it comes down to it, the case of Apple's pricing is this: Yes, there are SMALL premiums on their products, but Apple does slash their prices and cut margins even on their most popular and best-selling products, including Macs.
Moving on to the article, I think that Apple may pack in some added features, while keeping prices roughly in line with what they are today. I do think that the Mac Mini could possibly see a small SRP drop to $549 or so (even though this isn't even rumored, but would make some good business sense.)
And while the Mini doesn't make up for a large portion of Mac sales, the price drop wouldn't adversely affect margins. MacBooks are a tad bit pricey, but the white plastic model at $999 does cement a good starting point for entry.
With blogs and rumor sites buzzing (lately moreso) about the rumored "Mac Tablet" or Verizon Internet Device, I think that Apple may be entering this segment. Do not expect anything cheaper than ~$400 from Apple, which still would be a bargain.
How many times has Apple actually lowered its pricing structure? Never.
Apple is fine the way they are.
I think Apple should lower prices. Will they? It's like you said, it's not very likely. Typically they will remove features or price a more featured product at the same price as before and say it's a better value, while letting the old hardware drop in price because it's obsolete. I don't think OSX is any more valuable than Windows/Linux etc. Apples value is in the integration of OS and Hardware. Get outside of that box and OSX doesn't perform any better than others which is why it's against their EULA to install it on non branded equipment.
Funny, as i type this on my Dell mini9 running MacOS X Leopard. It's become my "travel" machine to complement my Macbook pro and my iMac at home. (yes, i know about the license)
why did I buy the Dell? It's way cheaper and i wanted something very small for traveling but couldn't justify the Macbook Air. So yes, i was not going to buy another Mac for this job, but prefer to use their OS. if they had a netbook, this purchase would have gone to Apple.
Who made more money? HP or Apple? If the Apple netbook was released but cost $100 more, would you pay the difference or say it was a ripoff, even though (in theory) you bought the netbook and then paid $100 to put OS X on it... ;)
I have not yet bought accessories, but will likely buy a second AC adapter and maybe a second battery.
But so far, I really like this machine as a "mac" and the wizards on the internet made the install way too easy.
BTW the system that I purchased came with Ubuntu Linux on it, so I didn't pay for Windows either. (that was $50 I'm pretty sure)
- by DragonWizard May 1, 2009 1:08 AM PDT
- Who CARES !!!!! I should think that APPLE knows what is best for APPLE and not some goof on a BB who is a "Genius" at everything... All most of you people are good at is trying to call each other names and brag a lot about your particular brand of computer.. GET A LIFE.. When apple needs your advice they would probably pay you enough for buying BOTH types of computer.. Until then I guess your stuck with doing what you fdo now.. Braggin' and complaining!!
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- by shycelticwitch May 1, 2009 7:41 AM PDT
- AMEN! Thank you Dragon for putting the spotlight on the real issue. WIndrones users will always insist that because they have the larger market share, Windows is better. 3rd grade reasoning at best.
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