I just wish this came out 2 days earlier before I placed my order. This is a deal breaker for me. Tomorrow Apple will get a call to cancel my $4,000 computer, they just lost my money. Is there any one who knows for certain that the 4TB ssd model includes the expansion connector? Or would it be just the 8TB model?
I would really hate to switch to a Dell, but I will and do vote with my money. I know apple doesn't care they have so much money they can't even count it all.
I did switch to Dell because of this (laptop that is). I feel secure as I have a cloned SSD on the ready that can be installed within 10min and a HD with backup files.
Apple making the SSD unreplacable is not because security. That is rubbish - apart from the extremely small user base who cares about and needs this level of security. The average user certainly doesn't this level of security. What another reason? Oh, socket are less reliable. I've been using computers for over 35 years and yet to experience a failed socketed storage - another BS reason. The motive is solely a business decision - either during manufacturing, at point of purchase, costly repair or unit replacement.
Again, most people will never upgrade their machines after purchase. We are in the minority and discussing it on a tech blog makes it sound bigger than it really is.
Apple will not miss you, or your money.
I suspect the new ARM macs will be even worse in terms of upgradability, if even possible... and most will not care.
The problem is not that a casual user can't open up the machine and replace or upgrade a full or failed SSD, it's that NOBODY, including Apple can. The alternative is to buy a new machine. That's a win for Apple but not their user -- especially since that user gained zero benefit from it being soldered in the first place!
I'm sure Apple could replace the logicboard if necessary. They aren't gonna make a consumer buy a new iMac just because the logicboard has some sort of issue. Its just that, out of warranty will the end user want to pay for this? And again, how often does flash storage go bad? Especially flash storage directly soldered to the board.
And what's the cost of replacing the logic board vs swapping out a hard drive?
It’s interesting how everyone dismissing the complaints assumes that everyone knows their needs 4 years ahead of time or that if you buy a computer and find the storage inadequate in a few years you must be a short sighted idiot.
There really is no excuse for not making the hard drive user replaceable. The processor has a socket, for God’s sake, is it so hard to have a SATA connector for the hard drive (hint: no, it’s not, apple is just too lazy to do so)
as far as the argument that no one ever upgrades their computer, there are many things the majority of people never do but are possible. The majority of people never connect an external 4K monitor to their MBP, so I guess apple should not make it possible, right?
I would probably say that more people connect their laptops to an external monitor than crack open desktops to upgrade them. I think the difference in those numbers is huge. So while it’s worth supporting one group, it’s not worth compromising the design of the machine to support the other.
Given that the processor is still socketed, I’m starting to wonder if this is a security issue rather than a design one.
I doubt either of us has actual data to backup our claims, but anecdotally, I know far more people who've needed to upgrade their hard drive and I've seen no reason posted why it would compromise the design of the machine. I would also wager that far more people want to upgrade their hard drive than replace their processor. Part of the reason I buy macs is because of their longevity. I have a 2015 iMac that is still chugging along. I upgraded the hard drive when I bought it to what I thought would be sufficient, but now I'm out of space.
The other consideration is cost. Not only do storage prices drop with time, but as many have already commented Apple's prices for storage upgrades are often exorbitant, providing a strong disincentive to upgrade at purchase. The ability to upgrade, even if it has to be done by a technician is a big bonus by allowing one to get the larger drive a few years later when the cost is 25% of what it was originally.
Interesting that Apple socketed the processor and not the SSD. Does that mean that they expect that there’s a greater chance they’ll need to replace the processor than the SSD chips? My guess is that the processor socket is going to be kept when they change over to ASi.
I would really doubt that; having a socket on the current board would have no benefit since the board would require a total re-design unless they design the processor to be a drop-in replacement, but doing that would likely force changes and compromises in the chip design which defeats the purpose of bringing the silicon in house..
A lot of chest thumping going on here about Apple's exorbitant prices to upgrade the SSD, so I did a little bit of research. Apple charges about $200 per 512 GB of SSD storage.
In the external SSD space, here are Amazon's prices. To try to keep this comparison as fair as possible, I only picked Thunderbolt 3 SSD's so I can at least have comparable speeds to what I would get if I decided to order from Apple.
OWC: 2 TB Envoy pro Ex @ $480 or $120 per 512 GB (no 500GB optional Amazon 1TB = $300, from the OWC site 480GB ext. SSD = $219) Samsung: X5 portable 2TB external SSD (Thunderbolt 3) @ $700 or $175 per 512 GB (500GB option costs $190) Sabrent: Rocket XTRM 2TB Thundernolt 3 external SSD @550 or $137.50 per 512GB (500GB option costs $250)
In the end you the customer have options and by looking at the prices I see above Apple's offerings are pretty much in line with what others offer.
I just wish this came out 2 days earlier before I placed my order. This is a deal breaker for me. Tomorrow Apple will get a call to cancel my $4,000 computer, they just lost my money. Is there any one who knows for certain that the 4TB ssd model includes the expansion connector? Or would it be just the 8TB model?
I would really hate to switch to a Dell, but I will and do vote with my money. I know apple doesn't care they have so much money they can't even count it all.
I did switch to Dell because of this (laptop that is). I feel secure as I have a cloned SSD on the ready that can be installed within 10min and a HD with backup files.
Apple making the SSD unreplacable is not because security. That is rubbish - apart from the extremely small user base who cares about and needs this level of security. The average user certainly doesn't this level of security. What another reason? Oh, socket are less reliable. I've been using computers for over 35 years and yet to experience a failed socketed storage - another BS reason. The motive is solely a business decision - either during manufacturing, at point of purchase, costly repair or unit replacement.
Again, most people will never upgrade their machines after purchase. We are in the minority and discussing it on a tech blog makes it sound bigger than it really is.
Apple will not miss you, or your money.
I suspect the new ARM macs will be even worse in terms of upgradability, if even possible... and most will not care.
The problem is not that a casual user can't open up the machine and replace or upgrade a full or failed SSD, it's that NOBODY, including Apple can. The alternative is to buy a new machine. That's a win for Apple but not their user -- especially since that user gained zero benefit from it being soldered in the first place!
I'm sure Apple could replace the logicboard if necessary. They aren't gonna make a consumer buy a new iMac just because the logicboard has some sort of issue. Its just that, out of warranty will the end user want to pay for this? And again, how often does flash storage go bad? Especially flash storage directly soldered to the board.
And what's the cost of replacing the logic board vs swapping out a hard drive?
What are the odds you'll even need to do this? How often do soldered storage chips fail? Honestly, this is a non-issue. Only people here who want to tinker really give a shit about this. My dad for example couldn't care less if the hard drive is expandable. People like my dad and normal everyday computer users are the ones Apple focuses on with consumer products, not someone who all they seem to care about is whether or not you can take a hard drive out and put in a new one. Go buy a PC then if that's your focus. Apple isn't ever going to change this. They haven't for years on their MacBook Pro and its only going start being more of the same with its other products going forward most likely.
It's almost embarrassing to read the comments from people going through an existential crisis with this topic. Why should Apple go through the extra steps to provide expandability in the future if only < 1% of those people will ever upgrade anything in their iMacs? Why? To please just you?
If one thing has been consistent, it's the whining that goes on in these forums that no matter what Apple does, you'll still have something to complain about.
Get over it and move on. The amount of negativity you guys are putting out is just sad. Other manufacturers are realizing what Apple was doing and are doing the EXACT same thing because it's more efficient from a manufacturing perspective. Conspire all you want, but it's just quicker and easier to solder things at the factory, particularly when Apple knows NO ONE will ever touch it again once purchased. With the SSD in conjunction with the T2 chip, it will also mean my data will be secure from anyone should my machine get stolen... MacBook owners will definitely appreciate this if/when that happens.
A lot of chest thumping going on here about Apple's exorbitant prices to upgrade the SSD, so I did a little bit of research. Apple charges about $200 per 512 GB of SSD storage.
In the external SSD space, here are Amazon's prices. To try to keep this comparison as fair as possible, I only picked Thunderbolt 3 SSD's so I can at least have comparable speeds to what I would get if I decided to order from Apple.
OWC: 2 TB Envoy pro Ex @ $480 or $120 per 512 GB (no 500GB optional Amazon 1TB = $300, from the OWC site 480GB ext. SSD = $219) Samsung: X5 portable 2TB external SSD (Thunderbolt 3) @ $700 or $175 per 512 GB (500GB option costs $190) Sabrent: Rocket XTRM 2TB Thundernolt 3 external SSD @550 or $137.50 per 512GB (500GB option costs $250)
In the end you the customer have options and by looking at the prices I see above Apple's offerings are pretty much in line with what others offer.
Well, no....
You are comparing external drives to internal.
A 500Gb Samsung Pro goes for around $125-$150. But then you have to subtract the cost of the standard drive it would replace.
So, yeh, $200 to upgrade to 512gb is exorbitant.
And, it gets worse since, many will be forced to go there simply to future proof their Mac since the drive cannot be upgraded after it is purchased. Your only option is to replace the entire machine -- unless you want external drives hanging off of it.
I have said previously that I think Apple has good reason for soldering their drives. But they should lower the cost of upgrades to compensate for the burdon it puts on their customers.
It's almost embarrassing to read the comments from people going through an existential crisis with this topic. Why should Apple go through the extra steps to provide expandability in the future if only < 1% of those people will ever upgrade anything in their iMacs? Why? To please just you?
If one thing has been consistent, it's the whining that goes on in these forums that no matter what Apple does, you'll still have something to complain about.
Get over it and move on. The amount of negativity you guys are putting out is just sad. Other manufacturers are realizing what Apple was doing and are doing the EXACT same thing because it's more efficient from a manufacturing perspective. Conspire all you want, but it's just quicker and easier to solder things at the factory, particularly when Apple knows NO ONE will ever touch it again once purchased. With the SSD in conjunction with the T2 chip, it will also mean my data will be secure from anyone should my machine get stolen... MacBook owners will definitely appreciate this if/when that happens.
Jeez...
I suspect its 1% only because its not possible. I can swap a drive in all of about 30 seconds. Slide one out. Slide the new one in. It's VERY complicated. LOL....
Or if that's tooo complicated for you, take it to a repair center -- or an Apple Store. Well no, not an Apple store. They'll refuse to do it even if it is upgradeable.
A lot of chest thumping going on here about Apple's exorbitant prices to upgrade the SSD, so I did a little bit of research. Apple charges about $200 per 512 GB of SSD storage.
In the external SSD space, here are Amazon's prices. To try to keep this comparison as fair as possible, I only picked Thunderbolt 3 SSD's so I can at least have comparable speeds to what I would get if I decided to order from Apple.
OWC: 2 TB Envoy pro Ex @ $480 or $120 per 512 GB (no 500GB optional Amazon 1TB = $300, from the OWC site 480GB ext. SSD = $219) Samsung: X5 portable 2TB external SSD (Thunderbolt 3) @ $700 or $175 per 512 GB (500GB option costs $190) Sabrent: Rocket XTRM 2TB Thundernolt 3 external SSD @550 or $137.50 per 512GB (500GB option costs $250)
In the end you the customer have options and by looking at the prices I see above Apple's offerings are pretty much in line with what others offer.
Well, no....
You are comparing external drives to internal.
A 500Gb Samsung Pro goes for around $125-$150. But then you have to subtract the cost of the standard drive it would replace.
So, yeh, $200 to upgrade to 512gb is exorbitant.
And, it gets worse since, many will be forced to go there simply to future proof their Mac since the drive cannot be upgraded after it is purchased. Your only option is to replace the entire machine -- unless you want external drives hanging off of it.
I have said previously that I think Apple has good reason for soldering their drives. But they should lower the cost of upgrades to compensate for the burdon it puts on their customers.
Since the new 27" iMac is the topic, I am bringing forward alternatives. In fact if I were in the market for a new iMac, my memory upgrades would be purchased from OWC, not Apple. I would also spend that extra $200 to upgrade the internal SSD to 1TB. For extra high speed read/write I'd opt for the Thunderbolt 3 SSD's and a little velcro and would stick it to the back where I'd never see it again. But if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of read/write speed, then external USB drives or SSD's are even cheaper. I really can't see why your are so resistant to the idea of external SSD's? You talk about "external drives hanging from it" but you refuse to acknowledge that with a bit of creativity you can easily hide them. And I really don't understand that if one day your internal drive fills up, you have to throw out your computer/logic board. Normally one would offload some content externally. You just act as if there is no way on earth that you can do that and like I'm from outer space.
It's almost embarrassing to read the comments from people going through an existential crisis with this topic. Why should Apple go through the extra steps to provide expandability in the future if only < 1% of those people will ever upgrade anything in their iMacs? Why? To please just you?
If one thing has been consistent, it's the whining that goes on in these forums that no matter what Apple does, you'll still have something to complain about.
Get over it and move on. The amount of negativity you guys are putting out is just sad. Other manufacturers are realizing what Apple was doing and are doing the EXACT same thing because it's more efficient from a manufacturing perspective. Conspire all you want, but it's just quicker and easier to solder things at the factory, particularly when Apple knows NO ONE will ever touch it again once purchased. With the SSD in conjunction with the T2 chip, it will also mean my data will be secure from anyone should my machine get stolen... MacBook owners will definitely appreciate this if/when that happens.
Jeez...
I suspect its 1% only because its not possible. I can swap a drive in all of about 30 seconds. Slide one out. Slide the new one in. It's VERY complicated. LOL....
Or if that's tooo complicated for you, take it to a repair center -- or an Apple Store. Well no, not an Apple store. They'll refuse to do it even if it is upgradeable.
You just don't get it...its only 1% because people just don't give a shit about this. Seriously dude, get a grip. Just because YOU and maybe a couple buddies/coworkers want it doesn't mean Apple's customer base as a whole wants it. I think Apple knows its customer base a hell of a lot better than you do FYI.
It's almost embarrassing to read the comments from people going through an existential crisis with this topic. Why should Apple go through the extra steps to provide expandability in the future if only < 1% of those people will ever upgrade anything in their iMacs? Why? To please just you?
If one thing has been consistent, it's the whining that goes on in these forums that no matter what Apple does, you'll still have something to complain about.
Get over it and move on. The amount of negativity you guys are putting out is just sad. Other manufacturers are realizing what Apple was doing and are doing the EXACT same thing because it's more efficient from a manufacturing perspective. Conspire all you want, but it's just quicker and easier to solder things at the factory, particularly when Apple knows NO ONE will ever touch it again once purchased. With the SSD in conjunction with the T2 chip, it will also mean my data will be secure from anyone should my machine get stolen... MacBook owners will definitely appreciate this if/when that happens.
Jeez...
I suspect its 1% only because its not possible. I can swap a drive in all of about 30 seconds. Slide one out. Slide the new one in. It's VERY complicated. LOL....
Or if that's tooo complicated for you, take it to a repair center -- or an Apple Store. Well no, not an Apple store. They'll refuse to do it even if it is upgradeable.
You just don't get it...its only 1% because people just don't give a shit about this. Seriously dude, get a grip. Just because YOU and maybe a couple buddies/coworkers want it doesn't mean Apple's customer base as a whole wants it. I think Apple knows its customer base a hell of a lot better than you do FYI.
Prove it. Are you able to provide any rational argument beyond ‘nobody wants to anyway so it’s a moot point?’
I think you’re the one who doesn’t get it. Look at the number of internal drives available on the market. If no one ever wanted to upgrade their hard drive, why are there so many available?
It's almost embarrassing to read the comments from people going through an existential crisis with this topic. Why should Apple go through the extra steps to provide expandability in the future if only < 1% of those people will ever upgrade anything in their iMacs? Why? To please just you?
If one thing has been consistent, it's the whining that goes on in these forums that no matter what Apple does, you'll still have something to complain about.
Get over it and move on. The amount of negativity you guys are putting out is just sad. Other manufacturers are realizing what Apple was doing and are doing the EXACT same thing because it's more efficient from a manufacturing perspective. Conspire all you want, but it's just quicker and easier to solder things at the factory, particularly when Apple knows NO ONE will ever touch it again once purchased. With the SSD in conjunction with the T2 chip, it will also mean my data will be secure from anyone should my machine get stolen... MacBook owners will definitely appreciate this if/when that happens.
Jeez...
I suspect its 1% only because its not possible. I can swap a drive in all of about 30 seconds. Slide one out. Slide the new one in. It's VERY complicated. LOL....
Or if that's tooo complicated for you, take it to a repair center -- or an Apple Store. Well no, not an Apple store. They'll refuse to do it even if it is upgradeable.
You just don't get it...its only 1% because people just don't give a shit about this. Seriously dude, get a grip. Just because YOU and maybe a couple buddies/coworkers want it doesn't mean Apple's customer base as a whole wants it. I think Apple knows its customer base a hell of a lot better than you do FYI.
Seriously, dude get a grip. Look beyond your Apple loyalty at reality. People don't throw cars away because they need an oil change. And they shouldn't be forced to throw computers away because the harddrive filled up -- or to pay an extra high premium to future proof their machines by building in capacity they may never use.
When all said and done, it's best to whine with our wallets. That's the only way Apple will listen. But I suppose currently there's enough non-techies, and techies who don't look at money, who buy enough of this stuff to make it worthwhile for Apple to keep doing it.
A lot of chest thumping going on here about Apple's exorbitant prices to upgrade the SSD, so I did a little bit of research. Apple charges about $200 per 512 GB of SSD storage.
In the external SSD space, here are Amazon's prices. To try to keep this comparison as fair as possible, I only picked Thunderbolt 3 SSD's so I can at least have comparable speeds to what I would get if I decided to order from Apple.
OWC: 2 TB Envoy pro Ex @ $480 or $120 per 512 GB (no 500GB optional Amazon 1TB = $300, from the OWC site 480GB ext. SSD = $219) Samsung: X5 portable 2TB external SSD (Thunderbolt 3) @ $700 or $175 per 512 GB (500GB option costs $190) Sabrent: Rocket XTRM 2TB Thundernolt 3 external SSD @550 or $137.50 per 512GB (500GB option costs $250)
In the end you the customer have options and by looking at the prices I see above Apple's offerings are pretty much in line with what others offer.
Except you're not comparing apples to apples. To make the comparison fair you need to compare internal prices:
You can see, Apple's prices for memory are between 4 and 6 times the retail cost. For internal SSDs, about 2.5x the cost. (I subtracted out the cost of the 512GB because you are automatically paying for the base 512GB SSD.) It's interesting that the difference is far higher for RAM vs SSDs but in both cases it's significant.
A lot of chest thumping going on here about Apple's exorbitant prices to upgrade the SSD, so I did a little bit of research. Apple charges about $200 per 512 GB of SSD storage.
In the external SSD space, here are Amazon's prices. To try to keep this comparison as fair as possible, I only picked Thunderbolt 3 SSD's so I can at least have comparable speeds to what I would get if I decided to order from Apple.
OWC: 2 TB Envoy pro Ex @ $480 or $120 per 512 GB (no 500GB optional Amazon 1TB = $300, from the OWC site 480GB ext. SSD = $219) Samsung: X5 portable 2TB external SSD (Thunderbolt 3) @ $700 or $175 per 512 GB (500GB option costs $190) Sabrent: Rocket XTRM 2TB Thundernolt 3 external SSD @550 or $137.50 per 512GB (500GB option costs $250)
In the end you the customer have options and by looking at the prices I see above Apple's offerings are pretty much in line with what others offer.
Except you're not comparing apples to apples. To make the comparison fair you need to compare internal prices:
You can see, Apple's prices for memory are between 4 and 6 times the retail cost. For internal SSDs, about 2.5x the cost. (I subtracted out the cost of the 512GB because you are automatically paying for the base 512GB SSD.) It's interesting that the difference is far higher for RAM vs SSDs but in both cases it's significant.
You're not comparing "apple to apples." You're comparing what two different companies are charging for different products manufactured in two different ways using different business models.
What you should be doing is looking at the RAM prices at whatever third-party you choose and then determine if the cost savings and lack of full-service warranty are worth the trouble of installing the 3rd-party RAM. If it is, then do it and you likely save a few dollars. If it isn't then go with Apple and call it a day.
A lot of chest thumping going on here about Apple's exorbitant prices to upgrade the SSD, so I did a little bit of research. Apple charges about $200 per 512 GB of SSD storage.
In the external SSD space, here are Amazon's prices. To try to keep this comparison as fair as possible, I only picked Thunderbolt 3 SSD's so I can at least have comparable speeds to what I would get if I decided to order from Apple.
OWC: 2 TB Envoy pro Ex @ $480 or $120 per 512 GB (no 500GB optional Amazon 1TB = $300, from the OWC site 480GB ext. SSD = $219) Samsung: X5 portable 2TB external SSD (Thunderbolt 3) @ $700 or $175 per 512 GB (500GB option costs $190) Sabrent: Rocket XTRM 2TB Thundernolt 3 external SSD @550 or $137.50 per 512GB (500GB option costs $250)
In the end you the customer have options and by looking at the prices I see above Apple's offerings are pretty much in line with what others offer.
Except you're not comparing apples to apples. To make the comparison fair you need to compare internal prices:
You can see, Apple's prices for memory are between 4 and 6 times the retail cost. For internal SSDs, about 2.5x the cost. (I subtracted out the cost of the 512GB because you are automatically paying for the base 512GB SSD.) It's interesting that the difference is far higher for RAM vs SSDs but in both cases it's significant.
That was my reply to GeorgeBMac that insists you have to change the logic board or the entire computer if you run out of disk space on your iMac. I'm just presenting here the alternatives valid for the new 2020 27" iMac. Internal SSD's don't fall into the available options (of 2020 27" iMac buyers) so one has to go the external SSD route through Thunderbolt 3 connectors for comparable speed.
In another one of my replies, I did say that for RAM, I'd just accept the base model of 8GB and go with OWC (or the provider of your choosing), so we're in full agreement there.
Comments
The upgrade price is way more than even MLC SSD price.
I sure hope the storage is on a daughter card as rumored.
I actually wanted the old form factor, so the RAM door would still be there.
The other consideration is cost. Not only do storage prices drop with time, but as many have already commented Apple's prices for storage upgrades are often exorbitant, providing a strong disincentive to upgrade at purchase. The ability to upgrade, even if it has to be done by a technician is a big bonus by allowing one to get the larger drive a few years later when the cost is 25% of what it was originally.
I would really doubt that; having a socket on the current board would have no benefit since the board would require a total re-design unless they design the processor to be a drop-in replacement, but doing that would likely force changes and compromises in the chip design which defeats the purpose of bringing the silicon in house..
Apple charges about $200 per 512 GB of SSD storage.
In the external SSD space, here are Amazon's prices. To try to keep this comparison as fair as possible, I only picked Thunderbolt 3 SSD's so I can at least have comparable speeds to what I would get if I decided to order from Apple.
OWC: 2 TB Envoy pro Ex @ $480 or $120 per 512 GB (no 500GB optional Amazon 1TB = $300, from the OWC site 480GB ext. SSD = $219)
Samsung: X5 portable 2TB external SSD (Thunderbolt 3) @ $700 or $175 per 512 GB (500GB option costs $190)
Sabrent: Rocket XTRM 2TB Thundernolt 3 external SSD @550 or $137.50 per 512GB (500GB option costs $250)
In the end you the customer have options and by looking at the prices I see above Apple's offerings are pretty much in line with what others offer.
What are the odds you'll even need to do this? How often do soldered storage chips fail? Honestly, this is a non-issue. Only people here who want to tinker really give a shit about this. My dad for example couldn't care less if the hard drive is expandable. People like my dad and normal everyday computer users are the ones Apple focuses on with consumer products, not someone who all they seem to care about is whether or not you can take a hard drive out and put in a new one. Go buy a PC then if that's your focus. Apple isn't ever going to change this. They haven't for years on their MacBook Pro and its only going start being more of the same with its other products going forward most likely.
If one thing has been consistent, it's the whining that goes on in these forums that no matter what Apple does, you'll still have something to complain about.
And, it gets worse since, many will be forced to go there simply to future proof their Mac since the drive cannot be upgraded after it is purchased. Your only option is to replace the entire machine -- unless you want external drives hanging off of it.
I have said previously that I think Apple has good reason for soldering their drives. But they should lower the cost of upgrades to compensate for the burdon it puts on their customers.
In fact if I were in the market for a new iMac, my memory upgrades would be purchased from OWC, not Apple.
I would also spend that extra $200 to upgrade the internal SSD to 1TB. For extra high speed read/write I'd opt for the Thunderbolt 3 SSD's and a little velcro and would stick it to the back where I'd never see it again. But if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of read/write speed, then external USB drives or SSD's are even cheaper.
I really can't see why your are so resistant to the idea of external SSD's? You talk about "external drives hanging from it" but you refuse to acknowledge that with a bit of creativity you can easily hide them.
And I really don't understand that if one day your internal drive fills up, you have to throw out your computer/logic board. Normally one would offload some content externally. You just act as if there is no way on earth that you can do that and like I'm from outer space.
You just don't get it...its only 1% because people just don't give a shit about this. Seriously dude, get a grip. Just because YOU and maybe a couple buddies/coworkers want it doesn't mean Apple's customer base as a whole wants it. I think Apple knows its customer base a hell of a lot better than you do FYI.
MacPro: come in.
Seriously, dude get a grip. Look beyond your Apple loyalty at reality. People don't throw cars away because they need an oil change. And they shouldn't be forced to throw computers away because the harddrive filled up -- or to pay an extra high premium to future proof their machines by building in capacity they may never use.
For RAM upgrades:
Base 8GB
16GB Apple: $200, Crucial: $37
32GB Apple: $600, Crucial: $137
64GB Apple: $1000, Crucial $270
128GB Apple: $2600, Crucial: unavailable.
For internal SSDs:
512GB Apple: base Crucial $70
1 TB Apple: $200 Crucial $150 (Difference $80)
2 TB Apple: $600 Crucial $340 (difference $270)
You can see, Apple's prices for memory are between 4 and 6 times the retail cost. For internal SSDs, about 2.5x the cost. (I subtracted out the cost of the 512GB because you are automatically paying for the base 512GB SSD.) It's interesting that the difference is far higher for RAM vs SSDs but in both cases it's significant.
What you should be doing is looking at the RAM prices at whatever third-party you choose and then determine if the cost savings and lack of full-service warranty are worth the trouble of installing the 3rd-party RAM. If it is, then do it and you likely save a few dollars. If it isn't then go with Apple and call it a day.
I'm just presenting here the alternatives valid for the new 2020 27" iMac.
Internal SSD's don't fall into the available options (of 2020 27" iMac buyers) so one has to go the external SSD route through Thunderbolt 3 connectors for comparable speed.
In another one of my replies, I did say that for RAM, I'd just accept the base model of 8GB and go with OWC (or the provider of your choosing), so we're in full agreement there.