Why Apple Products Are So Expensive (And So Worth It)

By James Mowery

435312 responses2010-11-19+18%3A31%3A40James+Mowery. »

Everyone has their own experiences with brands, and this is a recount of my own with Apple. If there is one thing that can be said about Apple products, it is that they are expensive! But maybe there is a reason why they are so expensive: maybe it is because they are very reliable.

I’ve purchased around 7 computers in my lifetime. I started out with Windows-based Pentium computers built by Compaq, and after becoming very interested in technology I started purchasing parts and building my own, like any hardcore tech geek. But, shockingly, I haven’t done that since purchasing my last computer. That last computer just so happened to be a Macbook.

This Is Reliability

My Macbook computer is nearly three years old. Interestingly, my first Mac-based computer is this very computer, and it is the only Apple computer I have purchased. Some might take interpret that information differently, but I believe it to be a very good thing.

This shows that Apple products are extremely reliable. I’ve seen many people in my family have computers break and fail, but none of them have been Apple products. And that just goes to show how impressive Apple’s products are.

I can’t recall any other technology product I have owned that has lasted as long. Not even my mobile, which I pay thousands every contract cycle can manage to last me even a year or two at times (I’m hoping my recent purchase of a Droid X fares better).

Now I’m not going to say that my experience with Apple products has been flawless. For example, I had to call Apple once to ask for a replacement power brick because the wire in my previous one melted near the connector. But Apple replaced it for free, even though I was out of warranty, with next-day shipping.

I also had a fairly serious issue where I had my Macbook develop a hairline crack. Now that was a serious issue, and one I never would have expected from an Apple product. But no company nor product is perfect. So, I again relied on Apple customer service to make it right, and they did, again, even though I was out of warranty (this hairline crack issue was common with my generation of Macbook).

Try getting that level of customer service from most other companies!

I was, again, surprised by how well Apple handled the situation, even though I wasn’t necessarily supposed to receive any support whatsoever. I know I wouldn’t have received any help by most other companies. So cheers to Apple for taking the extra steps to keep me happy.

So here I am with an aging Macbook that I have been very happy with. I feel that it will last for another few years, as long as the battery holds out. Unfortunately, the battery doesn’t last quite as long as it did when I got this thing new, but that is to be expected. But I am more than impressed with the value I received from this Macbook. But I’m thinking it’s time to upgrade.

Great Value

The good news is, however, that I could probably sell this Macbook for around 50 percent of the price I purchased it, which is pretty darn impressive considering how fast technology products depreciate (my $900 desktop that I built around the same time I purchased my Macbook is now probably worth peanuts). Is this simply because Apple products are cool? I doubt it, as many other technology products are cool, particularly in the mobile arena, but they depreciate drastically after a year or two. So what is it?

I think it is because Apple’s products are so reliable.

Not only do they retain their value even years after being purchased new, which opens up the opportunity to resell it later on down the road for to purchase something new again, but they also are built very well. When you add in the fact that you get unrivaled customer support from the company, I just can’t say enough.

In fact, I might have actually saved money when considering how much money I would probably have spent purchasing new desktop and laptop computers from lesser companies like Compaq — I know for a fact that my sister has gone through three Compaq laptops in the past few years.

Don’t get me wrong, though, as I’m by no means a hardcore Apple fanboy who will follow Apple to death, as I still run Windows- and Linux-based computers and own a Droid instead of an iPhone, but I am well aware why Apple fans are so loyal to the company. I don’t blame them.

Now, I’m sure there will be someone out there who has had a completely different experience than me with Apple, and I’m sure they will voice their opinion in the comments (which I encourage). I too realize that Apple has had some fairly serious issues with recent products failing. But you have to admire the fact that the company tries its best to make it right when things do go wrong.

So, if you are considering purchasing an Apple product in the future, or even if you are on the edge about purchasing your first Apple product, I think I could safely say that your purchase will be well worth it. I know mine has been so far.

Apple products might be an expensive investment, but it is well worth it.

About James Mowery

James Mowery is a passionate technology journalist, entrepreneur, and Apple enthusiast who has written for various top-tier publications like Mashable, Techi, and CMSWire. Follow him on Twitter: @JMowery.

435312 Responses2010-11-19+18%3A31%3A40James+Mowery so far.

Mark
December 22, 2010 at 7:49 pm
First – Apple Computers are not expensive. If you compare bite-to-bite Apple machine with Dell, HP and, God forbid Sony, or other brands – you will quickly learn – they will cost you more than Apple.
I did this many times over.
On the other hand companies named above never came close to the products Apple has on the market, like MacBook Air.
I wish you could change the title of this post and do a bit further research and then write another article.
Best regards,
Mark.
- Mike
  December 29, 2010 at 2:41 pm
  I disagree. I have looked at Apple Computers versus PC and if you compare apples to apples the Apple Computer is more expensive. Nothing against Apple but you do pay a premium. And your are extremely limited if you want to upgrade an Apple computer because Apple like all the products they make wants to make sure they can control things. Not having an optical drive in a laptop seems limiting to me and having to send your iPod in to get a new battery seems silly.
- Willy Wonka
  April 27, 2012 at 3:45 pm
  I've had a custom built PC for… 5(?) years now and It has NEVER bluescreened, never had errors, and my Mac? Overpriced piece of Sh*t :
  All I have to spend on my PC for updates to it is a couple hundred dollars a year, unlike buying a new computer every year (Mac)
  Plus I am a gamer, so I have to have a PC.
Maria
May 1, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Apple products ARE very expensive compared to other brands. I have a sony vaio that I've had for 3 years and no prblems at all and Paid 900 bucks for it plus a 3 year warranty. I would be spending way over a grand, if not close to 2 grand if I bought an extended warranty for a mac. Nothing against apple products..but they are way more expensive.
Paul
January 7, 2012 at 6:41 pm
I think apple products are innovative and look really nice. They are a control product however which turns a lot of people off them. I have been a windows user all my life. My first laptop was a Sony which cost $4000, that died after a year and a half of use, the next laptop I bought was a Asus G1, after much use it was discovered there was a fault with the motherboard, asus replaced it free of charge however they designed the cooling system poorly. This laptop is still working but sounds like a Jet Aircraft and heats up like mofo.
If I had to choose a new laptop I would either buy a Macbook Pro or a Dell XPS 15. I think they are the two best built laptops IMO. You will always get more for your buck with a Windows based system but Apple products are reliable and it's nice to have both
- Dan
  January 7, 2012 at 6:44 pm
  Hey Paul, thanks for sharing. I agree that you often get hardware that has higher specs for your dollar but I believe Apple Notebooks are significantly superior when it comes to all around hardware, software, and productivity.
  - Willy Wonka
    April 27, 2012 at 3:48 pm
    Nope.
    Custom build a desktop PC. Hell, even custom a laptop. Apple just doesn't live up to homebuilt stuff.
    I would know. I had to use a Mac for 5 years. Hated it.
    PCs? Yes,
Jos
February 27, 2012 at 6:41 am
Hm, I'm sitting behind an HP laptop computer right now which I bought back in 2008. It's still working just fine and I haven't had a single issue with it ever since I installed Ubuntu linux instead of Windows back in 2009. Ubuntu is great for almost everything I want to do, however I'm looking into buying a Mac just because I want to run some specific audio software (Ableton). Maybe I should just go with one of the alternatives running on linux. (Mostly because buying a Mac just for audio software seems somewhat like a waste of money.) My point is, most present-day Macbooks have hardware specs comparable to those of my current laptop computer for prices even higher than the price I paid for this computer back in 2008! I must admit that I got quite a nice student discount back then, but I'm still disappointed to find the current line of Macbooks to be so expensive. (Maybe I'm focusing a little too much on the numbers? For example, a 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 might be a lot faster than a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, even though the clock speed and number of cores are approximately the same? I wouldn't know. I can imagine new processors being faster even at the same clock speed.) Except for better driver support, I don't think OSX is much better than Ubuntu linux, so the difference in price seems a bit too big given the harware and software advantages of a Mac.
- Dan
  February 27, 2012 at 8:15 am
  There is a huge difference between the i5 and Core 2 Duo in performance. Clock Speeds as a metric for performance stopped mattering in 2002. The CPU architecture is much more important than the clock speed. OSX user experience is significantly better than any offered with Ubuntu. Both OS's are similar in architecture but the apps that run on them is also different. Try a Mac for a year.. then decide.
SirJungleBunny
March 22, 2012 at 4:02 pm
i think apple products are so expensive because, those douchers at apple know, that people will dish out their hard earned money on a pile of shit just for the gimmick, and to make the person think to themselves, they are better then everyone cause they bought an apple product. I've met plenty of people who have thought that and said that to me. apple puts out a product that claims can do everything, but does not come preloaded in the package, then you apple fan fags are forced to update to get what they claimed came with the product in the first place. apple is just a "fad" that is plaguing society, and you're just paying for the name, just like any other company.
- TylenAll
  March 25, 2012 at 1:14 am
  Wow. Somebody understands exactly what is behind Apple products. It is a fad. Apple products are the most important "must-have" luxury (non-necessity) items for the average person, over any other product in the continent. Not that Apple products are actually important, but as you said people want to fit in and want to be elite.
  It's funny. Throughout my high school and university life (earned my undergrad last year), I've met, just like nearly everybody else, many techies. And when I say techies, I mean it. I took computer engineering, programming and networking courses throughout my educational career, and nearly all of my fellow techies opposed Apple, aside from the iPod Touch (which is a great product, albeit overpriced). Yes, they even opposed the iPhone because the price on that far outweighs what you are getting.
  Apple computers are the worst computers when you factor in its price. Nearly every large computer brand produces better computers than Apple. All of their products are overpriced and you don't even end up getting nearly what you payed for. The profit margin on Apple products is huge, yet the retail profit margin on Apple products remain low. Why is that? Because they're overpriced to the extreme. Everybody is just buying into the fad, which is why Apple continues to literally make more money than they know what to do with.
Anonymous
May 4, 2012 at 12:22 am
I can't say if Apple is more reliable. All Mac owners say they are the best out there.
Apple, just like every other company, DOES NOT make hardware in the United States period. Or do we so soon forget about the exploding iPod batteries from China? Bottom line is that all computer equipment is Made in China nearly, and if not there, probably Taiwan or Malaysia, which means the item may work good for a long time or it might break the first day.
EXAMPLE: A hard drive on a laptop broke within 2 years even though the laptop wasn't used very much. Pulled the drive out and saw Made in Malaysia.
That example shows that all these foreign components are not that hot anymore. I know things can be made and break but a lot of breaking is occurring on lots of things that come from China and other countries.
Quality doesn't exist and companies don't care. All they want is your money. They will keep this trend up until we demand things not be made this crummy any longer.