Why are Macs expensive?

I bought the entry level 15" MBP a few days ago and I like it a lot. My question is "How come Macs cost more than PCs even though someone can get a better performance on a PC that costs less?

 

Like so many things, the brand name, means alot to people.

Enough said.

I have tried hackintosh, and i am not sure why people love macs so much. Maybe no virus and spyware and all that, but linux has that too.

 

Because its a Mac

 

nuff said

But for me, its all OS and great customer service. Good looks and design are just a plus.

 

I remember a while back a hacking competition btw OSes, OS X was cracked within a minute, with Windows following shortly behind it, and a few min later Linux lol. And while this doesn't answer your question, I thought it was a funny nonetheless.

 

I totally agree. I'll also add in with.... "Because it's a Mac" & Macs are the best!

 

What has this got to do with the topic whatsoever? This isn't "how secure are Macs compared to everyone else?"

 

Desirability.

Apple products come in beautiful packaging and are (for the most part) ergonomically superb.

PCs traditionally have come in flimsy beige boxes. That is changing now but even the best PCs aren't up there with macs in this regard.

I have helped a few friends with purchases of PCs recently, and have found that, as long as it looks nice, they can go on facebook and MSN and plug their cameras/phones in, they really couldn't care less about whats inside it. Seems to me that the fact that you get less hardware for your money inside a mac really doesn't bother a lot of people.

In fact, one of my friends really doesn't care about the spec of her laptop as long as it has a webcam and it is pink!!

 

Considering the computational needs of most of the population, yes, people don't really give much of a damn about what's in their computer. Internet browsing and casual uses can be done by any modern day computer(and even some netbooks for browsing) so specs are irrelevent to those people.

Anyhow, to answer your question...

You could consider this like so... Macs are their own platform. From the OS, to the RAM, to the HDD to the CPU, Apple controls and owns everything in the Mac/Macbook. In PCs however, parts are manufactured and branded by hundreds of companies(ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, eVGA, Intel etc.)

Therefore, PC parts actually have competition to price against. Apple has NO other competition for selling Macs(and Mac components) because it's the one sole monopole to everything that is Mac. Except for peripherals(mouse, keyboard, speakers etc.), you need to pass through Apple to get anything for a Mac(even RAM).

 

I think the better question is, why did YOU buy the Mac if you thought that the that the PC costs less for more performance?

 

You can use standard PC memory in your Mac without a problem.

 

Same goes with HDD I believe. Wondering how about 3rd party batteries for mid 2009 Pros

 

Propaganda ads?

But yes, you can buy your own memory and larger hard drive for Mac. Normally is the practice with all computer companies....buy after market ram and not from the maker of the system.

 

There is really nothing more proprietary within a mac than any other PC laptop or desktop for that matter.
They use off the shelf hard drives, ram that has been certified compatible, so does HP and many others.
They use Intel CPU's they use industry standard mini PCE-e wifi, Even the slot load optical drive can be purchased outside apple.

 

You might like to listen to this podcast where the host responds to my similar question:

http://www.formaceyesonly.com/2009/07/for-mac-eyes-only-one-from-con-camp.html

 

yea i know that desirability all too well. a girl i dated awhile ago was looking for a new laptop and she asked my help. when asking her if there was anything that it needed/had to have, her reply was "it has to be pink". after that she didnt give a damn what i recommended or spec'ed out, as long as it was pink. now imagine Apple coming out with a pink Macbook?? holy crap they'd not be able to keep them in stock in any store.

 

What you didn't see was the ridiculous amounts of time spent before the competition looking for the hole in security. Apple is targeted more by these "hackers" as they toute the idea that OS X is virus free.

The article was on Tomshardware if anyone is interested.

 

This thread just screams FLAME BAIT to me and will not go anywhere but downhill.

 

It's called a healthy profit margin, and an exceptionally forgiving user base.

 

One has to understand that to answer the original question you have to take a look at the items being compared on an economic level.

A PC can be considered a commodity if the quality levels are similar, and the product is fashioned in a manner in which there is little difference from the standpoint of the average consumer.

While I would argue that PC's are not a commodity, the average consumer might argue the point. Hence, the consumer has no understanding as to the logic behind what is perceived as wide price variation, especially when a consumer presumes that an Apple Macintosh is but another PC in a different color package. The Mac has to be viewed as a whole, the hardware and software combined, by only one maker who bears the cost to innovate the package to work together as well as it does.

Apple strives to differentiate their product in a field of perceived commodities. Their very differentiation creates unique costs, and what is also a different margin than the "average PC" which have much closer cost variables than Apple.

If one chooses to make a product that is quite a bit different than a perceived commodity, it is imperative that higher profit margin be maintained, especially if that product takes any chances with innovation where it is a mathematical certainty that losses will occur, that will not be equally shared by competitors. You see, if PC architecture makes a change, which turns out to be a negative, then the loss is more equally shared by the competition, and the PC maker's relative liabilities are lessened. If Apple makes a mistake, then all the negative impact of such mistake is not only shared by Apple's competitors, but the competitors actually benefit to a certain shared extent. Without shared liability, Apple must maintain a greater margin to remain viable, long term.

We who choose Apple's product are served by the differentiation from the near-commodity norm, and choose to pay a premium for what we perceive has a higher gain, or return on that investment.

If Apple, at some point is priced near-identically to the perceived commodity pricing of PC's, we will suffer the loss of differentiation, innovation, and the very thing we, as Mac owners, wanted in the first place.

 

Are you saying it is a snob thing, buying a mac, makes you feel better than normal pc users.

What about linux users then?

 

The sheer quality , and time taken to make one.

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So only the cool people can get them...

And, if seriously, now my mac is standing next to much more powerful dell add hp... And i absolutely don't think that I overpaid.

 

Thats a sweet vid. And says exactly what I was going to say.

I'm a die hard PC fan because I like to build my own desktops, but when it comes to laptops, Apple designs some pretty nice machines.

I don't think anyone really shells out the cash for a laptop because of the OS, if they do thats pretty dumb and its especially dumb if they bought it for the brand.

So why are Macs expensive? No, its not the OS, no its not cause Steve Jobs is evil, and no its not because of brand premium. Its because it costs a crap ton of money to develop a unibody aluminum laptop that is only .95" thick. That requires a lot of R&D. Look at the Adamo, that thing is expensive too and most of the expense is from the construction.

Yet people continue to complain "blah blah blah, the CPU is underperforming"

 

More than 90% of people spending $1000 or more on a computer buy a MAC because they think MACs are worth it. Quality and Satisfaction surveys repeatedly prove that the vast majority of those who buy them are very happy with their purchase.

For most folks that own MACs the premium design, quality, reliability, durability, and support are worth any difference in price over another brand.

MAC users tend to care less about hardware specs, and benchmarks, and care more about how much their MAC helps them get done, how easy it is to use, and how enjoyable that whole experience is.

There are many non users and recent converts that try and bring PC hardware wars over to the land of MAC. Why doesn't it have the "best" specs. Why doesn't it have the latest version of each component in it, Why do they take so long to come out with new models. Hopefully Apple will never listen to these idiots who fail to realize that its because of good product cycles, good design, and good support (which takes time and money) that forms the basis for the great MAC experience. If you want the latest versions and pieces of hardware and software piled into a box, and you don't care how well they work together (if at all) or how buggy they might be or how unreliable they may be or how unsupportable they may be - get yourself a bleeding edge PC and stop asking Apple for something like that. We really won't care that we were swindles by apple and that you clearly got the "better" deal of better specs and lower price.

 

The difference is that you can't legally build a Mac from scratch with those parts(like you would a PC), but Apple can.

I can build a PC that's speced and works like the ones I can buy ready-made(with software and special all-in-one exceptions), but I can't do that with a Mac.

That in itself gives Apple the monopoly over Macs. I'm talking in general for Macs/PCs, not necessarily Macbooks btw.

 

This is a completely pointless thread. It's like asking "Why is LV so expensive?" or "Why are Mercedes so expensive?".

Please mods, this needs to be closed for obvious reasons.

 

That's a bit optimistic, isn't it? Now 'Why is Bose more expensive?' would be a much more direct comparison.

 

Macs are expensive because very few people use them.

 

Well the analogy might be optimistic, but I don't see people asking those kinds questions for those brands I mentioned above. I used them clearly to get the point across, not all people know what Bose is.

 

It's kinda ironic how a Sony user would say this, I think their PCs are overpriced compared to an Apple.

 

I just can't believe the mods haven't closed this yet. Are any online today?

 

Oh mods where out thou?
I'm a flame war, please put me out !
a

 

Would it be any less flame-bait if the OP posted 2 similarly spec'd machines, mac vs pc, and asked the same question?

 

Meh, I though this thread was still going fine, but it looks like quite a lot of members disagree. I'll close it due to popular demand.