The Apple Tax: Cost Over Product Cycle
The following is my theory about where the "Apple Tax" myth comes from and why it's not exactly a myth, despite my OCD-heavy comparisons:
Apple knows about the paradox of choice. To sell more computers they keep things simple. They've got two laptops: the cheap one and the really nice one. The laptops are sold at simple price points: $1000 to $1500 for the cheapie and $2000 to $3000 for the nice one. No confusion, easy peasy. This strategy stays constant throughout the life of the product. The last basic MacBook always cost $1000. This one cost $1000 and the next one's going to also cost $1000 no matter where it is in the product cycle; whether it just came out or whether it's been out for a year and they're about to replace it. It's my theory that Apple isn't making anything at all on the first Macs that go out the door but by the end of the product cycle they're selling May chips at February prices which works out nicely.
In contrast, PC makers go with the market flow. They let their customers configure all sorts of options at prices that fluctuate throughout the product's cycle. Maybe Dell's MacBook Pro competitor costs $2050 right now, but six months from now it'll be just $1750 while the MacBook remains at the constant $2000 price point. And this has led me to consider that I've been unfair by comparing prices just when Apple releases their latest and greatest, when parts are most expensive, before all the bleeding edge people have bought their stuff and while the latest-and-greatest price is still high. I need to compare average price, not just the price at one end of the product cycle.
Except that this isn't true, at least according to the spot checks I've been looking at. The last time (early March) when I priced an Inspiron 1720 it was $1664 and now it's $1889. The D830 that was $2112 is now $2066 and the XPS M1730 which was $2788 is now $3674. The Precision M4300 that was $2,543 back in January is now $1896, but that was the last generation. You can buy a new last-gen MacBook Pro for $1,899.00 so the comparison is still pretty even.
Apple knows about the paradox of choice. To sell more computers they keep things simple. They've got two laptops: the cheap one and the really nice one. The laptops are sold at simple price points: $1000 to $1500 for the cheapie and $2000 to $3000 for the nice one. No confusion, easy peasy. This strategy stays constant throughout the life of the product. The last basic MacBook always cost $1000. This one cost $1000 and the next one's going to also cost $1000 no matter where it is in the product cycle; whether it just came out or whether it's been out for a year and they're about to replace it. It's my theory that Apple isn't making anything at all on the first Macs that go out the door but by the end of the product cycle they're selling May chips at February prices which works out nicely.
In contrast, PC makers go with the market flow. They let their customers configure all sorts of options at prices that fluctuate throughout the product's cycle. Maybe Dell's MacBook Pro competitor costs $2050 right now, but six months from now it'll be just $1750 while the MacBook remains at the constant $2000 price point. And this has led me to consider that I've been unfair by comparing prices just when Apple releases their latest and greatest, when parts are most expensive, before all the bleeding edge people have bought their stuff and while the latest-and-greatest price is still high. I need to compare average price, not just the price at one end of the product cycle.
Except that this isn't true, at least according to the spot checks I've been looking at. The last time (early March) when I priced an Inspiron 1720 it was $1664 and now it's $1889. The D830 that was $2112 is now $2066 and the XPS M1730 which was $2788 is now $3674. The Precision M4300 that was $2,543 back in January is now $1896, but that was the last generation. You can buy a new last-gen MacBook Pro for $1,899.00 so the comparison is still pretty even.