Apple vs. Inflation
Why are they doing this?
As tech enthusiasts, we no doubt have heard all the escapades of Apple around their pricing and marketing strategies. They are notorious for the somewhat absurd over-pricing they do on countless products, and even as we kicked off the first Apple event of 2022, it hasn’t ceased despite the constant and uprising inflation the pandemic is leaving us to pay for quite literally.
To keep this as an “SE,” I will be using just three examples that even the hardcore unfairly biased fans can’t deny.
$700 Mac Pro Wheels
Apple has its unique views, so they have fun creating…unique solutions. So, they decided that they wouldn’t go the easy route for their Mac Pro desktop and develop the inexpensive essential wheels we see on carts and other PCs. No, no, no, they decided to make a lock-less entirely metal and rubber wheels for a computer that will stay grounded actually to be usable. Their $400 if you buy them at the same time as you’re purchasing the Mac Pro — Essentially a bundle-type discount because if you buy them at a later date or separately, the price goes up 1.75 to $700 for… wheels.
(Also, the computer itself has handles on the top, so are these wheels for people who can’t seem to pick it up?)
$1000 Display Stand
This display stand that can make excellent angles and stuff, hence being the most pretentious stand in the history of stands, is perfect, don’t get me wrong. But that doesn’t warrant this insane price tag of $990 when I last checked. The constant state of, “Why the hell is this $1,000” is short-circuiting my brain, unable to calculate the sheer level of ridiculousness; It's just incredible stupidity right there. I can understand $200 — maybe even $400, but that's pushing it. To think that the stand is worth 17% of the full display of the Apple XDR Display. It's not even the display; it's the goddam stand. This is shocking and, quite frankly, silly.
But is it really shocking from Apple’s track record?
Bringing Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse
Apple’s latest innovation, the Mac Studio, starts at $2000. Its base storage is genuinely unjust for a machine, 500 gigabytes, so we’d have to pay more for higher storage capacity.
Oh, you want that sweet all-new overkill, powerful M1 Ultra chip? That’s going to double your whole bag’s cost.
That’s not all — Get it, because it doesn't have all the necessary components actually to use this titan of a machine! Mac studio is BYODKM, meaning you have to purchase their keyboard and mouse separately, racking up the order’s price of $300. Also, you need a screen! Hence, their new display.
No More $1000 Stand
Yipee! They decided not the absurdly monetize on this display’s stand. They fixed one screw-up because of all the bad rep they received. That’s one upside. Are there any more?
Apple is like a teenage kid; They’ll listen selectively listen and out of ignorance, they’ll ignore some.
(Not me, though. I’m a very good boy who listens to everything my parents tell me to do :)
iPhone SE 2022 (3rd Generation)
Apple wasn't able to resist the temptations, I see. They didn't even leave their budget iPhone out of this drama, the all-new iPhone SE 3rd Generation. They’ve amped the base price from 2020 $400 to $430. Sure, it’s got the chip of their 13 flagships, but they’ve purposely done that for their marketing. In 2020, they had marketed this device saying, “iPhone 11 called. It wants its chip back.” Apple’s upped prices are hurting the little guy as well,
- Powerful A15 chip
- 5G connectivity (lacking millimeter-wave)
- A tad bit bigger battery, but who knows if it's going to improve its battery life.
That’s literally it, except for the shift in colors. Other than that, pretty the same, just a different generation number.
‘Upping’ their budget phone can say a lot about their real goals.
Inflation
Apple is fully aware of the ongoing pandemic and the troubles it's leaving us, But they chose now to implement all these increased inflationary costs like an 8% rise on some products.
Not to forget, we as humans are undergoing severe stress right now with all the world's current events of the world accumulated. Apple needs to take a step back into reality and become a human-centric company regarding its pricing.
They’re not helping or caring (about pricing); otherwise, the past and the current growth in pricing wouldn’t be here for us to criticize.
