A trend that concerns me over the past year or so is that every new product released has increased in price. Everything announced this week had a price increase.
It it appears that once the iPhone X passed the $1,000 barrier, all other items followed suit with price increases. The supposed justification is that things are more feature laden, but in the past we generally saw improved features at the same price point. What if some customers would be content with a non-retina display but all other features still in place? Also, why discontinue standard USB ports when the majority of devices still use a standard USB connection? Remember Apple that the Air is your entry level laptop. Those users aren’t invested in thunderbolt. Oh and only 2 connectors ? At least one standard USB connector should have remained.
Apple - I’ve owned your products since 1992. I’ve spent a lot of $ over the years, even supporting and buying when you were 90 days from being out of business due to having no cash left. You make a lot of $ today on services. You can afford to give up a bit more margin in the hardware space to accelerate growth of your ecosystem through lower ASPs and higher sales volumes. Those buyers will buy your services to more than make up the difference.
The new MacBook Air has integrated graphics that is slightly faster than the 12-inch MacBook's graphics, but the 13-inch MacBook Pro's graphical performance is over 50% faster than the MacBook Air. Considering that you can get a 13-inch MacBook Pro for just $50 more at assorted vendors, it's hard to justify buying the MacBook Air if you're thinking in terms of GPU performance.
Also, why discontinue standard USB ports when the majority of devices still use a standard USB connection? Remember Apple that the Air is your entry level laptop. Those users aren’t invested in thunderbolt. Oh and only 2 connectors ? At least one standard USB connector should have remained.
Apple - I’ve owned your products since 1992.
Irony oh irony! If it weren't for Steve Jobs getting rid of legacy ports with the introduction of the first iMac in 1997, you wouldn't have the USB-A ports that you're so fond of now! Thunderbolt 3 with its USB-C connector is not just compatible (via an adapter or change of cable) with the USB-A it replaces but more flexible and versatile and unlike the first iMac, suitable USB-C cables and adapters are cheap and readily available.
New York Times, July 23 1998: Who Said Computers have to be Square? wrote:
In a similar vein, Mr. Jobs decreed that the iMac should have no conventional printer port. The parallel and Apple Talk ports that act as the connection points for most Macintosh printers today are also gone, replaced by a U.S.B. connector.
The problem is that there are not many U.S.B.-specific printers around, especially for the Macintosh. There will be soon, but for now, anyone who wants to print documents, artwork or photographs must send them to a printer over a network or pay $70 or so for an adapter to connect a parallel-style printer to the iMac's U.S.B. port.
Just wrote a mail to Tim, you never know what gives...
I get their pricing strategy with the storage options: the ‘just enough storage to get around for a couple of years’ allows for lower pricing, while pushing those needing some more to the next option to make sure they are future proof, and asking a hefty price for that. But this time I feel like they are pushing the boundaries of decency: MacBook Air storage upgrade from 128GB to 256 GB costs 200$, nothing else is upgraded between the 1099 and 1299$ models. Same storage bump on the iPhone Xr costs 100$, a storage bump from 256 to 512 GB on the MacBook costs 200$.
Can someone explain? And just to make it fit between the other MacBook-models is not a valid reason to ask double the price. Also, the MacBook line-up seems a bit of a mess to me, the Air tag should be used on the lightest version, but that’s just me...
The new MBA is obviously a big improvement over its predecessor, but rather lacking compared to the similarily priced 13” MBP. Also if it doesn’t replace the 12” MacBook, I don’t see the point of it. In the article they mention the MBA is great if you want a lightweight Mac to mainly surf the web and occasionally do other things. But you can do exactly that with the even thinner and lighter MacBook already, so why purchase an MBA? As for surfing the Web, don’t the majority of people do that mainly with their smartphones anyway? Which are pocketable not just portable.
The new MBA is obviously a big improvement over its predecessor, but rather lacking compared to the similarily priced 13” MBP. Also if it doesn’t replace the 12” MacBook, I don’t see the point of it. In the article they mention the MBA is great if you want a lightweight Mac to mainly surf the web and occasionally do other things. But you can do exactly that with the even thinner and lighter MacBook already, so why purchase an MBA? As for surfing the Web, don’t the majority of people do that mainly with their smartphones anyway? Which are pocketable not just portable.
Replace “web” with “corporate web” and “other things” with “business tasks” and you’ll get the point. Otherwise why T2 security and Thunderbolt to increase costs in a “entry level” machine?
I believe Apple will sell the new MBA by tens of thousands to corporations. Sorry no food for “entry level” user this time... Go to iPad desks, please...
For me, the new MacBook Air was the highlight of the show - it is such a cool, simplified evolved design - like the real Apple coming back. The wedge shape is ergonomically far superior to the square edge of the MacBook Pro, and delighted to see it evolve.
Re the article title -- everything you wanted to know ... I want to know TWO more things:
1. Where can I buy a Thunderbolt 3 to Ethernet adapter (not just USB-C to ethernet, but one that actually uses the power of Thunderbolt 3)? Just like Apple offered Thunderbolt to Ethernet AND USB to Ethernet adapters for the old MacBook Air.
2. Does Apple's Leather Sleeve for MacBook Air actually fit the new MacBook Air? Or only the old MacBook Air? Because they don't differentiate on the Apple store ... and the new MacBook Air is smaller.
Just wrote a mail to Tim, you never know what gives...
I get their pricing strategy with the storage options: the ‘just enough storage to get around for a couple of years’ allows for lower pricing, while pushing those needing some more to the next option to make sure they are future proof, and asking a hefty price for that. But this time I feel like they are pushing the boundaries of decency: MacBook Air storage upgrade from 128GB to 256 GB costs 200$, nothing else is upgraded between the 1099 and 1299$ models. Same storage bump on the iPhone Xr costs 100$, a storage bump from 256 to 512 GB on the MacBook costs 200$.
Can someone explain? And just to make it fit between the other MacBook-models is not a valid reason to ask double the price. Also, the MacBook line-up seems a bit of a mess to me, the Air tag should be used on the lightest version, but that’s just me...
Don't think of it in terms of how much some component costs. Think of it as how much value the additional storage provides the user. Branded OEMs like Apple or Microsoft or Google price hardware on what value the component provides (there are of course companies who play the near zero margin game, but obviously that is not Apple) within the context of the device and its other features. When you cross compare between different products such as smartphone and PC, the value of that component will be different.
How much something costs is also only loosely coupled to how much people would pay for it. Perhaps decades, centuries of market prices has gotten us used to the thought that what we should pay for a product should be something a little above what it costs to make or whatever the minimum price someone else sells it for. That thought isn’t really true, as the price of what a buyer pays is based on the value that product provides, not what it costs to make. This is evident in the uncountable failed products in the market in which people simply were unwilling to pay for some products, even if it was sold at a loss to a business.
So, through the magic of people thinking that a price with less digits is better than a price with more digits ($999 is better than $1000), and through the magic of people only seeing the leading digit ($600 and $699 is perceived to be less of a difference than $699 and $700), and maybe average expendable income is perceived to be somewhere at $1000, all these companies are trying to hit a $999 price point for a laptop with class competitive design, build quality and components, while making enough money to run the business and earn a profit.
An ultralight form factor with 256 GB RAM, 13” high DPI display, svelte design with great build quality, and other great components currently can’t be priced at $999 for the likes of Apple or Microsoft, and probably Lenovo or Dell or HP too, while making enough money to continue the product line. So, some high value component has to be less. Lenovo can’t hit 256 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, 15 W processor, nice build quality, but they’ll use a 16:9 1080p display instead of a 1440p one. Microsoft’s upsell from 128 GB to 256 GB is $300, not $200. There will be a no name brand capable of selling at $999, but they are no name brands of unknown build quality and service. In the past, some companies dropped to 4 GB RAM.
So, as long as NAND NVMe SSD continues to be pricey, Intel processors continue to be $250 to $300 MSRP, etc, that $999 price point is going to be hard to hit.
Yeah, it's further towards the back if you compare with my other image of the Pro, I wonder if it's doing the Matebook X Pro thing where the processor is mostly passively cooled by the chassis contact, but there's a system fan not blowing directly through fins in case the passive cooling reaches its limits.
If this CGI from the product video is correct, the CPU has a heat sink, there isn’t a heat pipe to a heat sink that the fan blows across. If the output end of the fan blows air out the left side of the hinge vent, it will mostly circulating air from the outside, into the MBA, and then out.
If there is a heat pipe, well, carry on, business as usual.
Comments
It it appears that once the iPhone X passed the $1,000 barrier, all other items followed suit with price increases. The supposed justification is that things are more feature laden, but in the past we generally saw improved features at the same price point. What if some customers would be content with a non-retina display but all other features still in place? Also, why discontinue standard USB ports when the majority of devices still use a standard USB connection? Remember Apple that the Air is your entry level laptop. Those users aren’t invested in thunderbolt. Oh and only 2 connectors ? At least one standard USB connector should have remained.
Apple - I’ve owned your products since 1992. I’ve spent a lot of $ over the years, even supporting and buying when you were 90 days from being out of business due to having no cash left. You make a lot of $ today on services. You can afford to give up a bit more margin in the hardware space to accelerate growth of your ecosystem through lower ASPs and higher sales volumes. Those buyers will buy your services to more than make up the difference.
I get their pricing strategy with the storage options: the ‘just enough storage to get around for a couple of years’ allows for lower pricing, while pushing those needing some more to the next option to make sure they are future proof, and asking a hefty price for that. But this time I feel like they are pushing the boundaries of decency: MacBook Air storage upgrade from 128GB to 256 GB costs 200$, nothing else is upgraded between the 1099 and 1299$ models. Same storage bump on the iPhone Xr costs 100$, a storage bump from 256 to 512 GB on the MacBook costs 200$.
Can someone explain? And just to make it fit between the other MacBook-models is not a valid reason to ask double the price. Also, the MacBook line-up seems a bit of a mess to me, the Air tag should be used on the lightest version, but that’s just me...
I believe Apple will sell the new MBA by tens of thousands to corporations. Sorry no food for “entry level” user this time... Go to iPad desks, please...
Re the article title -- everything you wanted to know ... I want to know TWO more things:
1. Where can I buy a Thunderbolt 3 to Ethernet adapter (not just USB-C to ethernet, but one that actually uses the power of Thunderbolt 3)?
Just like Apple offered Thunderbolt to Ethernet AND USB to Ethernet adapters for the old MacBook Air.
2. Does Apple's Leather Sleeve for MacBook Air actually fit the new MacBook Air? Or only the old MacBook Air? Because they don't differentiate on the Apple store ... and the new MacBook Air is smaller.
A small point I know, but this just doesn't seem right!
Don't think of it in terms of how much some component costs. Think of it as how much value the additional storage provides the user. Branded OEMs like Apple or Microsoft or Google price hardware on what value the component provides (there are of course companies who play the near zero margin game, but obviously that is not Apple) within the context of the device and its other features. When you cross compare between different products such as smartphone and PC, the value of that component will be different.
How much something costs is also only loosely coupled to how much people would pay for it. Perhaps decades, centuries of market prices has gotten us used to the thought that what we should pay for a product should be something a little above what it costs to make or whatever the minimum price someone else sells it for. That thought isn’t really true, as the price of what a buyer pays is based on the value that product provides, not what it costs to make. This is evident in the uncountable failed products in the market in which people simply were unwilling to pay for some products, even if it was sold at a loss to a business.
So, through the magic of people thinking that a price with less digits is better than a price with more digits ($999 is better than $1000), and through the magic of people only seeing the leading digit ($600 and $699 is perceived to be less of a difference than $699 and $700), and maybe average expendable income is perceived to be somewhere at $1000, all these companies are trying to hit a $999 price point for a laptop with class competitive design, build quality and components, while making enough money to run the business and earn a profit.
An ultralight form factor with 256 GB RAM, 13” high DPI display, svelte design with great build quality, and other great components currently can’t be priced at $999 for the likes of Apple or Microsoft, and probably Lenovo or Dell or HP too, while making enough money to continue the product line. So, some high value component has to be less. Lenovo can’t hit 256 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, 15 W processor, nice build quality, but they’ll use a 16:9 1080p display instead of a 1440p one. Microsoft’s upsell from 128 GB to 256 GB is $300, not $200. There will be a no name brand capable of selling at $999, but they are no name brands of unknown build quality and service. In the past, some companies dropped to 4 GB RAM.
So, as long as NAND NVMe SSD continues to be pricey, Intel processors continue to be $250 to $300 MSRP, etc, that $999 price point is going to be hard to hit.
If there is a heat pipe, well, carry on, business as usual.