Should Apple Lower its prices? My thought penny
Chris Foresman did a recent post on this at Ars Technica.. which seems to be enough, to stimulate me enough, to get off of my ass and write a post on the subject. So..
Should Apple Lower its prices?
This strikes me as a complex question.. one that takes some level of expertise of the computer market to really make… I mean, where do you see things going?
Of Vista and XP
I’d argue that one of the really big things driving Apple sales for quite sometime now is really.. Windows Vista.. and before that.. just how long it seems to take Microsoft to put out an XP follow up.. All of which has made the PC experience.. well.. awful as near as I can tell..
Of course a new version of windows is on the way.. and it sounds like it’s likely to be very good.. so how will this effect Apple’s position in the computer market?
Google fun
Google has been busy developing a mobile OS that now runs on a few of the smarty pants phones.. everyone seems pretty excited about it.. they give it away for free.. and the idea that this could offer a significant threat to Microsoft in the OS department, particularly with respect to net books, is kind of a big deal.
This speaks to the Apple question on the “well, we could come out with more budget minded computers like net books.” Of course rummer has had it, for quite sometime, that Apple would come out with a kind of tablet computer.. somewhere between an iPhone and a Laptop.. which would offer something interesting to this market.. Perhaps they could redefine it as they have with the cell phone / smart phone market with there iPhone?
I’m of the opinion that Apple has to do something like this.. as computing is on a more mobile trajectory.. I think apple needs to focus more and more on mobile computing life style type stuff..
Obvious places to Make Macs cheaper
- Dude, stop gouging us on the cost off hard drives
- Dude, stop gouging us on the cost of RAM.
- Apple has something like 30% profit margins on there stuff.. which is much higher then anyone else in the computer business… This could be cut into a bit.
Out side of all this.. I think the computer market has changed quite a bit over the years.. so much so that the life span of a computer is much better then it was a few years back.. Four years the average? It seems to be not entirely unreasonable that you could put out computers that.. had a bit longer of a tooth, as they say.. was a little less powerful.. and at least got you into the sub $1000 computer world.. without compromising on user experience.
Not only that.. but currently each MacBook can be connected to an external monitor and work in duel monitor mode.. a feature I surely appreciate but.. I don’t think most computer users really do.. or certainly not at the lower end of the market… as just one example.
Oh yeah, Why Apple Might want to sell there computers for less
Apple’s Market share seems to have gone static.. so lowering the entry price is certainly one idea that offers them the opportunity to broaden there market share.. further.. I think it’s just the mood of the market.. with everyone tightening there belt over fears of the economy.. to the extent to which Apple is perceived as a kind luxury computer.. that’s probably working against them.
Choosing Wisely
At the very least.. the feeling that Macs can be on the over priced side.. is something to look at… in this economy.. The thing about the Apple product lines is.. It’s a bit like Apple is a dictator.. they don’t really give you choice.. if you’re in the market to buy a particular type of computer.. with a particular sorta price range.. you have a couple choices you can make.. from what Apple has decided to offer…
On the plus side Apple has very good taste, and… I think they choose for us well.. but.. clearly not always.. Currently the absence of firewire on Mac Books comes to mind.. but generally the choices they make.. are the choices of a more.. lets say luxury mind set.. I don’t know that I’d say Apple should change there ways.. but.. the idea of putting forward products that.. are smart compromises.. in there product lines.. I mean just simply baring in mind that people are more price conscious these days.. does sorta seem like a no brainer.
On a Personal Note
I’ve been on the Mac since the beginning.. as someone studying graphic design during the desktop publishing revolution.. it was kinda the only choice.. I’ve never gone with Mac because of its industrial design.. though I’ve certain appreciated the design.. I often wish I could get a computer that was.. just what I wanted.. not paying extra for the design.. I’ve never been into it for the status symbol.. or the “I’m cool, I have a Mac” thing.
Further more.. good design, because of the nature of mass production, doesn’t have to be more expensive.. I want good design as it pertains to the user experience.. I simply don’t like the feel of PCs.. mainly because of windows.. There’s just something about it PCs where you feel almost like.. there’s a design philosophy behind them that’s sorta anti creativity.. more utilitarian or something.. or more interested in “the bottom line.” Not to mention that Windows is more designed to be maintained by an IT department.. where as the Mac is more for you to maintain..
So I guess my end statement on the personal thing is.. you could totally design a cheaper computer that was a quality computer, well designed.. That’s kind of what I want.. and I’ve been living where most people have been, with respect to how the economy changes people’s spending habits, forever… and so figure I’m probably not the only one.
The race to the bottom issue.
I figure a conversation about if Apple should lower its prices, has to have the “race to the bottom” part.. Most computer makers are targeting the lower end of the computer market.. which means cutting costs at every turn, and doing all you can to bring down the cost.. Many of these compromises have historically been terrible.. the only person in there right mind who buys one of them is one who doesn’t know any better.. with few exceptions.
Apple’s built its brand on.. well.. the one company that doesn’t make those kind of compromises.. if anything they push the limits in the opposite direction.. which seems to be why they fair better.. while other PC manufacturers try and make there profits on volume.
This has created an expectation of cheaper PCs. Often Mac’s are not really as expensive as they are perceived.. often a comparably equipped PC would cost about the same as the Mac.. It’s just the Mac’s aren’t competing on the lower end of the computer market.
I don’t think anyone wants to see Mac’s compete in the race to the bottom.. but I do think you could make a cheaper Mac that would not cannibalize the better Macs, still embodied what we dig about Macs.. and yet was in the lower end Market.. it would probably be a little more expensive then comperably equipped PCs.. but this would be because it wasn’t cutting corners.. it was still the Mac experience… so this would simply be how it differentiated its self in the lower end of the market.
Conclusion?
Yeah.. Apple should lower its prices, it should enter the lower end of the market.. to increase market share.. It just shouldn’t be stupid about it!