Comment by vehemenz
3 months ago
Cost of ownership of an M3 MacBook Pro is like $300-400 a year. Even if you have the time, it's just not worth it anymore like it used to be.
3 months ago
Cost of ownership of an M3 MacBook Pro is like $300-400 a year. Even if you have the time, it's just not worth it anymore like it used to be.
I wouldn't count on 10 years of real-world life from a non-upgradeable and 'repair-resistant' device with a glued in battery, even if the hardware specs are good enough to last that long.
That's 5 years of ownership. $2500 USD for a 16" then you get something back on the second hand market.
I'm happy with the M1 air pro for 700. Could use 256 more SSD but it's not worth $500 extra that apple wants to charge.
It seems reasonable when you consider TCO, but you still have to pay 100% up front. Not everyone can drop $2k on a laptop, most people don’t need to.
Buying a new MacBook Air https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air/13-inch-m2
With a footnote:
> Monthly pricing is available when you select Apple Card Monthly Installments (ACMI) as payment type at checkout at Apple, and is subject to credit approval and credit limit. Financing terms vary by product. Taxes and shipping are not included in ACMI and are subject to your card’s variable APR. See the Apple Card Customer Agreement for more information. ACMI is not available for purchases made online at special storefronts. The last month’s payment for each product will be the product’s purchase price, less all other payments at the monthly payment amount. ACMI financing is subject to change at any time for any reason, including but not limited to, installment term lengths and eligible products. See https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211204 for information about upcoming changes to ACMI financing.
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You do not have to drop $2000 on a new laptop up front.
Don't forget the $700 Walmart special: https://www.walmart.com/ip/609040889
8gb model doesn't count as a usable computer. It's absurd that it is even being offered in 2024.
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Sure, then just add $100 each for a decent amount of RAM and storage.
Oh, wait... forgot that these are designed to be landfill fodder.
> Not everyone can drop $2k on a laptop
That's what most laptops used to cost back in the 1990s or so (after adjusting for inflation). If you look further back in time, hardware was even more expensive - and it couldn't even do 10% of what a modern MacBook does. Modern hardware is ridiculously cheap.
In the 90s most people didn't have a laptop for that very reason. They just owned desktops which were way cheaper.
I studied computer science then and I knew 1 student out of 50 that had an actual laptop. Even at the uni we had to use their computer rooms full of desktops and X terminals.
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Inflation calculator says the Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro I bought in 2007 is something like $4400 now. Bought a small intel ssd for the sata3 port in it too for probably another $500 now
Entry-level price for a new Mac, right now, is $700 (M1 Macbook Air at Walmart). It doesn't get you the best or the fastest, but it's a perfectly usable laptop. Or, if you're okay with something lightly used, a refurbished M1 Mac Mini is ~$500.
But Apple's entry-level Macbooks aren't intended to be bought. They have almost comically low amounts of storage and RAM for 2024 (8GB/256GB).
It's all about the upsell on those non-upgradeable parts.
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That's a pretty time limited sale. I doubt the stock of unsold M1s is huge. It's also $700 for a new but essentially 3+ year old machine.
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And you can drop it and lose the $2k in one single second. You can insure against that but it costs another small fortune.
TCOs are great calculations for companies but don't work for individuals.
AppleCare+ on the $2k 14" MBP is $279 or +14% for 3 years of coverage. That seems pretty reasonable to me.
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Build a Hackintosh out of a rugged laptop case, problem solved.
They have lots of monthly payment plan options here in Canada, and probably in the US too. It even used to be zero interest. Not sure about the rest of the world.
Also many no interest options in India but the prices are higher here, somewhat so for the Macs but significantly higher for the iPhone as it is such a social status thing here in the north.
Apple Card offer this in the US, but you have to get the card. I buy all my Apple gear this way. 0% loans are great.
But more people can certainly afford a second hand mac mini which doesn't cost more than the sum of the parts of a typical hackintosh.
Lower specced macs don’t cost 2k. Go for a generation or two old refurb and you’re looking at 600-800~
I assume people would do this to get a powerful machine and not comparable with one of the cheaper Macbooks?
Did you factor in repair costs?
A 14in MBP with an M3 Pro/36GB/1TB is $2800. Add 10% sales tax, and that's about 3k.
I've never needed to actually repair a Mac.