Are Apple products really worth their price? For some, it’s a controversial topic; for others, it’s completely uncontroversial. Apple’s products are expensive, but are they also high-quality? The easiest way to do this is to compare the Cupertino company’s devices with those of other manufacturers. We want to provide you with a basis for discussion, offering both pros and cons.
Cons: Of course, Apple products are far too expensive
You may have noticed that SSD and storage prices have been falling over the past few years. As an Apple customer, however, you’ve noticed precious little of it. Just yesterday, Tim Cook and Luca Maestri were asked about the issue again during the conference call following the Q4 2018 results announcement . They blamed the problem on currency fluctuations. This isn’t the first time. Indeed, storage, whether RAM, hard drive, or SSD storage, has been a heated topic at Apple for years.
When Apple entered the “smart” speaker market with the HomePod in 2018, many wondered why it was only now? And, above all, why it was so expensive? The device costs €349. There was already plenty of competition, and it was and still is significantly cheaper. Given these circumstances, Apple itself created immense expectations.
Like many of us, you may have watched Apple’s fall event with curiosity . A new MacBook Air, a new Mac mini, and a new iPad Pro were unveiled there. The latter is the third generation, released just one year after the second generation. The MacBook Air? The previous model still didn’t offer a high-resolution display until November 2018. A flaw that was hardly justifiable given the relatively high price. But the Mac mini in particular demanded a great deal of patience from fans. Four years separated the 8th and now 9th generations. During that time, Apple didn’t even offer the most minimal hardware upgrades for the device. Accordingly, at some point, the high price of the Mac mini with its “outdated” technology couldn’t really be justified.
Pro: Yes, Apple products are worth their price
On the other hand, as a consumer, you can tell that many Apple products are worth their price when you consider how stable the value of most products is.
There’s an absurd situation related to Batterygate . Apple subsequently reduced the prices for battery replacements. At the same time, with iOS 12, they made the operating system more performant on older devices. This even caused prices for older iPhone devices to rise again. After all, you could and can inexpensively refresh battery life with a battery replacement.
But even if you can no longer install the latest operating system on a device, be it an iPhone, iPad or Mac(Book) (which can sometimes be five to six years after purchase), it is still functional and very useful for most purposes.
Apart from that, Apple products are generally high quality. Especially when you compare them with the competition. The company has long since moved away from using cheap plastic as chassis for its Macs and MacBooks, or iPhones and iPads. Admittedly, Amazon’s tablets are very affordable. But if you compare the 2018 iPad, which costs €349, with a Fire HD 10 from Amazon, which costs €149, you’ll quickly appreciate the value. The differences aren’t that stark in every case, but they are still noticeable.
This also applies to the aforementioned HomePod. You can definitely hear the difference compared to a €50 Amazon or Google speaker.
In some cases, you can even see the difference. Because the displays, whether in iPhones and iPads or the iMac, are definitely “visible.” When Apple started offering professional computer monitors with the Thunderbolt Display, the same thing applied to them as well.
It’s true that comparing an iPhone display to a Google Pixel or Galaxy Note isn’t as significant. In any case, you’ll have the feeling that you’re holding a high-quality product in your hands with the iPhone.
And which viewpoints predominate for you? Is it more pro or con?
