Is It Just Me, Is No One Else Bothered That No Apple Consumer Machines Are Upgradable After Purcase?
So, I just received an email that "I've been warned" that I was going against Apple's community forums and that I would have my "privileges" suspended due to breaking their community standards, lol.
Really...
While asking why Apple Music doesn't shuffle properly, I also mentioned that I doubt that I'll be buying the new iMac M3 or any of the other new machines because none of them are upgradable. You have to pay $200 per upgrade per step AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE, otherwise, neither the user nor Apple can upgrade them afterward. Apple recommends that you anticipate how much RAM and internal SSD you will need over the next few years and order your machine as a special upgrade. Otherwise, neither the user nor Apple will be able to upgrade them after. This is absurd.
In the Thirty-plus years I've been buying Apple machines, etc., all I see is this continued push by the company to drive its users into becoming open wallets. From removing the ability to keep Book's library on an external drive to moving audiobooks to it, thus requiring either paying a premium for the largest internal drive allowed, or–– becoming a dedicated iCloud subscriber of increasing amounts of space seems ludicrous. And on and on. There are constant complaints about Apple's native application Music. My god, even on their forums, this has been going on for years. All over the internet, but they won't do anything about these complaints. All pretty simple issues really, that one's day's work could perhaps wipe out, but they don't. It's not just limited to Music, it's problems with all their applications, except perhaps Logic Pro. Books is nothing but a glorified database with very little to it. There's very little means of easily changing book data, etc., it's so rudimentary you would think it is a leftover from the early 1990s. Notes is a joke at best, with one of the laziest sort of features compared to the search on Amazon's website. The only thing Apple does is market well and use the right wording to make it seem they've done some serious upgrades to these apps when it's all smoke and mirrors. A little graphic change here, a more subtle color change there... then make it all go dark! But no real meat-on-the-bones changes or upgrades.
Pardon me for being old-fashioned, but this goes against everything I understand about computers. They're meant to be upgradable, not decorative objects that come in every color of the rainbow. It's not a vase, it's a computer... or was. They're not all about entertainment either, gaming, streaming, or whatever. And unless you have the $6,000 to shell out for their professional models, this is all you have available through Apple now. I waited until the announcement of the iMac M3 in October ready to drop a few grand on the machine only upon going through the specs and growing angrier by the second. Every color in the rainbow... great, but nothing more than a scam to pull as much money out of its customers as possible, and in so many subtle ways yet made to seem as if they're some benefit to you. After that, I put my wallet back in my pocket and started looking at PCs for the first time in my life. If you had asked me even five years ago if I ever would even consider that a possibility, I would have laughed at you. Not that I like Windows at all, but damn... I'm too old to be a fanboy anymore.
I am just so amazed that I seldom hear any complaints at all about this from anyone, that none of the new machines allow for future upgrades, neither by the user nor by Apple once the system is ordered and out the door. Their recommendation is to anticipate all the internal storage, RAM, etc., that you will need and order it as upgrades at the time of purchase. Of course, for a hefty Apple premium of $200 a step. Meaning 256G SSD to 512G will cost $200 and another $200 for 1T. That's $400 plus whatever the base SSD cost for a single 1T internal SSD. They do not cost anywhere near that anymore and haven't for years. And what's with going from 8G RAM to 16 costing $200, plus an additional $200 for each step up to the limit that machine would take? And on and on. I bought a 2T Samsung external SSD only a few months ago for $100, so this is nuts.
Yet, all I see when it comes to the reviews are people fawning over the colors the iMacs come in now. Really? I have to ask why that is usually the very first quality or selling point they all mention. Is it because that's all they really can say about it that is worth saying? The machines don't even come up that high in speed tests against other PCs in the same class, yet it costs a fortune. Sure, it's built to outlast a nuclear bomb and your four-year-old toddler, but who cares? It won't be supported beyond five or six years anyway, so why does it need to be a Sherman tank? I was ready to drop a few thousand on the machine the day it was announced in October until, after checking the specks, I realized I was being railroaded. Their idea is for you to spend $2,500 every five years (when they anticipate the point where they stop supporting a machine) and have you do it again. While doing the same with their phones, watches, tablets, etc. Sorry, but I'm not an idiot.
Now, anyone... If you can successfully convince this thirty-plus-year Apple user former fanboy why his next computer should still be an Apple, bless your tiny little solid gold Apple-shaped heart. Because it must be made of that if you can afford to shell out each time Apple demands it of you.
I've already found three machines made by name-brand PC companies that are faster than the M3, come with 16G of RAM 1T or 2T internal SSDs, for less than the iMac M3 and did I say, they've been clocked in as far speedier than the M3? I once loved Apple to the point where you couldn't tell me anything to change my mind, but that was at the time, they more than deserved it. Now they just ride on that reputation. Today I feel utterly betrayed and used because they think that their customers are so Applewhipped that they're taking anything they're willing to give (which isn't much lately) and just smile like a Stepford Wife, nod politely, and hand over their credit cards. Which, as of late, I am beginning to think they're not too far from the mark. Because I see nobody upset about this. You cannot convince me that it had to do with the internal architecture... that was secondary and designed to provide an excuse. Because there are PCs out there in the same class, that are much faster than this M3, plus come standard with 1T or 2T of internal SSD, 16 RAM, etc., for less than the iMac. Plus they're fully upgradable, by the user.
I've had it. I don't like being rooked, nor forced into spending money unnecessarily. But it would seem over the past ten years, Apple has increasingly changed its focus from producing machines that just work, to machines that just work only if you're willing to subscribe to more and more iCloud space, Apple Music, or this or that. The level of arrogance that has arisen by Apple is astounding, that they would think a user is asking too much for a computer that computes, not turns me into a walking credit card for an already very wealthy company (the second most valuable company in the nation behind Microsoft at the moment). As much as I don't like Windows, having worked on them for decades, I can learn to live with the increased amount of access to computing that I seem to have lost these past few years if need be. Sadly it would appear that the Apple I once knew and loved died with its founder and this time he's never coming back.
Comments
People usually keep computers for 7 years or more. An M3 iMac with 16GB/1TB is $2099. Apple's profit here is $600-800 over 7+ years.
If they priced their upgrades more reasonably (e.g $100 for 16GB and 1TB), the end price would only be $200 less at $1899 and there are deals in different places with discounts:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1793665-REG/apple_im24m306slv_24_imac_with_m3.html ($1899)
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/G12R3LL/A/ ($1729)
To get even lower price, there's the option to use a Mac mini with a display. 16GB/1TB = $1199.
Decent 3rd party displays can be bought for $300-800:
https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-34-Inch-Odyssey-DisplayHDR-FreeSync/dp/B0CD2TG7HF ($769)
https://www.amazon.com/LG-27UN850-W-DisplayHDR-Borderless-Adjustable/dp/B08CVTTNN4 ($300)
Most buyers don't have a need to upgrade the RAM/SSD. SSD would still be nice to be able to replace as it degrades over time but if it lasts 7 years, $2000 over that timeframe isn't much. It's the easier route to pick a good spec at purchase and never have to think about it.
The price for a 16" Macbook Pro 18GB/1TB is $2699. That's not too high but it jumps to $4,000 for the Max one. If they reigned in some of the margin on the higher models, that would be good like $3499 for the highest Max model.
The lack of upgrades isn't something Apple will reverse course on, the appliance model is the way the whole computer industry is going.
If you manage to get a good deal on a high spec machine, you'll never need to think about upgrades:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1668246-REG/apple_mbp_14_sg_46_14_2_macbook_pro_with.html (14" M1 Max, 64GB, 2TB = $2699)