I got caught up in some of marketing hoopla around Apple’s release of the “new” MacBookPro, since one of my co-workers is seriously looking at getting one and was talking to me about it at work yesterday.
Computers, tech and I go back all the way back to the old Commodore Vic 20 and their cassette tape drive operating system. Over the years I have owned desktops, luggables, laptops, tablets and smart phones. Usually, some of the higher end stuff, just because I am a bit of a geek.
I currently own a 2009 MacBook Pro, 2014 Asus Flip TP 300L Windows computer and a 2015 Toshiba II and 2012 Samsung 550 Chromebooks, along with Android and iPhones.
So I have a bit of experience with computers and the associated tech.
Sticker Shock
Needless to say, the new MacBookPro looked amazing and the Surface Pro has intrigued me for a couple of years. So I started looking around the web, doing comparisons between the newly released MacBookPro, Microsoft Surface Pro and some other Windows 10 based laptops.
Once I got to looking closer – I WENT INTO STICKER SHOCK!!!!
Holy Crap!!!
The price points for the new MacBookPro or Microsoft Surface Pro are crazy. Even other Windows machines are getting up there.
Those price points quickly quenched my need to look at getting a new computer!
Especially, when most of the base models of the computers I was looking were not all that much different than my current Asus Flip with i5, 8gb RAM, 512 gb drive, touchscreen, flip model. The screen resolution might be a little better on the newer models, but I probably wouldn’t really notice the difference.
Actually, for the way that I use a computer nowadays, I probably wouldn’t notice a big difference between what I already have and the newest and greatest offerings from Apple or Microsoft.
Stopping and Thinking
Sometimes, when we get all hot and bothered about the newest and greatest, we get that feeling that we need to just do it and most of us end up getting something that is way over what we really need – for how we actually use our computers/technology. After all it is better to have too much computer…just in case you might need it someday – right.
I guess I will just make due with what I have and be happy, until they stop working, instead of going out finding a reason to get something new and passing my old stuff to another family member.
Hey, who knows maybe I am stopping to think once in a while, versus just doing and then regretting what I did. As I have so often in the past, when I got caught up in the marketing hoopla and got a computer, that wasn’t what I needed or more honestly, more computer than what I needed and one that I got because I bought into the marketing claims there were being made at the time.
Looking Ahead
Well, I hope my co-worker finds what they are looking for, but that person (an avowed Apple lover), is even looking at something different – possibly a Windows laptop or last year’s MacBookPro model, due to the new and much higher price points.
I wonder at what point do the tech brands price themselves out of market for many people. Or do the new price points become a snobbery point and those who can will, to show that they can.
I know it is blasphemy that I no longer feel the need to have the newest and greatest things and actually, look at how I use my computers and technology versus, just seeing the neat new toys that I could have and easily have by, paying a bit each month on my credit card.
Time will tell how these high price points and marketing will turn computer shoppers into computer buyers, but I know that I will not be part of the buying crowd this time around.
Harold's Blog 
I was very disappointed by the Apple event – and it does primarily fall to price. Had Apple priced the new MBP the same as the previous models – $1499 for the 13″, $1999 for the 15″, and dropped the non-touchbar 13″ to $999 or even $1199 … I would have felt much differently – and contemplated getting something new.
(for reference we bought each of the boys a 13″ MacBook Pro for college, with educational discounts they were each around $1400 for a well equipped system, with one getting a small speed bump)
But I am typing this on an 11.6″ MacBook Air, and my Alienware 13 is charging across the room and downloading Titan Quest Anniversary 🙂 . Both of these were ~$1200 machines, which to me isn’t out of control but also isn’t trivial. The Mac is 2.5 years old, the PC is 1.5, and both continue to run wonderfully and meet my needs.
For a long time I would buy the top-end 15″ Mac laptop and a similar PC, on a rotating year basis, keeping a high performance edge at all times. But in recent years the gains have been smaller and smaller for the price paid, and the resale values have dropped, making the $/incremental gain even steeper. Of course since I also love my tablets and smartphones that means I am spreading my computing around a lot more.
When I look at the full Mac lineup now, I ask myself WTF? Where should college students go on that lineup? Where should the average consumer land? There is no longer an easy entry point – that $1000 line is a really good reference – and Apple doesn’t exist there anymore.
But it is also interesting looking around the industry … just a few years ago the average laptop selling point was <$750 and there was a 'race to the bottom' happening, and Apple enjoyed considerable success. Now we have Dell with the gorgeous XPS13, HP and the Spectre X360, Razer has some nice small gaming machines, Alienware of course, and Microsoft finally found the right formula with the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. Now for a really solid new machine you are back to looking at $1500-2000, regardless of Mac or PC!
I just had to rebuild my Alienware (replace erratic hybrid HD and reinstall everything) and will likely do a purge & reinstall on the Mac soon … but for how I play, that is fine by me. One of my friends said this week "Apple just priced me out of the Mac" … and I agree, but at the same time I feel pretty much priced out of any of the other high end laptops.
LikeLike
I think we are in the same boat and Apple/Microsoft and others, are pricing themselves out of the educational market, except for those who can afford the new price points or those who are willing to heat up their charge cards to have the newest and greatest. I am even seeing this creep up in the Chromebooks as well, yes they are nicer and have higher end stats, but really do not do much more than lower end ones.
At this point, unless you are a gamer (which I know you are) or do a lot of video/photo editing/3d design and need the horsepower to those specific tasks, how much computer do we really need, as the tech silos become more and more web based and less machine dependent.
I have a feeling that unless something of mine dies, that I will keep what I have for a while and be very happy. Although, it does seem strange that with every new OS update that the older machines run worse, not better. Sometimes I wonder if at some point that stopping the updates, lets older machines run better. Even if it does open them up to security issues down the road, although I am tempted to reinstall Snow Leopard on my old MacBook Pro and see if it runs differently than with all the updates that are not designed for the relic it has become. Sometimes with technology, you can’t win for losing.
LikeLike