danvm

Microsoft has priced the Surface Studio 2 at a very high tier -- it starts at $3,500, with nothing underneath it in the Surface lineup apart from its three mobile products. That's $200 more than Apple's 27 inch iMac upgraded to a Core i7, 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 1TB of SDD storage at Apple's premium prices.

Apple is known -- and often reviled by PC fans -- for its premium pricing. Yet in this case, an iMac is not just cheaper when similarly configured, but offers a wide range of significantly lower priced options starting at $1,800 for the 5K iMac, or $1,100 for the smaller 4K model where Microsoft does not.

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Microsoft has never sold so many Surface PCs in a year, and its sales haven't really grown since it launched the Surface idea, so it's not really clear what he's trying to say in calling Apple's vastly larger Mac business "mediocre at best." But the words he uses are that "Apple is in a position where it can let the Mac line go old and stale because Apple isn't a computer company anymore. It's now a company that sells the iPhone."

In reality, the fact is that Apple's Mac operations have generated $25.2 billion in revenues over the last four quarters. Microsoft's total Surface revenues over the same period were $4.7 billion. Of course, most of that was from sales of its hybrid tablets, more comparable to Apple's iPad business which itself generated another $19.5 billion.

macxpress said:

larrya said:

Should this really take 2 years??

You realize that most Apple products that are totally brand new take many years to design, engineer, and fine tune before its announcement? This isn't just slapping parts together like a DIY PC and call it good. Apple is not Dell, HP, etc. If all you want is a bunch of parts slapped together then by all means, go get that or create your own.

If you need a professional Mac in the meantime, the iMac Pro is actually a great Pro Mac to get. It will still have significant value, even next year should you want to sell it for a new Mac Pro.

GeorgeBMac said:

If its online it can be hacked & stolen -- and identity theft is a growth industry.

Why would I trust Microsoft with my ID?
Actually, that's one of the big reasons why I stick to Apple products -- security and privacy.  They're not invulnerable, but they're better than the rest.   Far better.

StrangeDays said:

Johan42 said:

Diminishing returns is here. Apple’s planned obsolescence as well. Who will prevail? The customer who has no sense will.

You’re high. Apple devices have the longest lifespan in the business — both in official support terms (iOS), and in real world useful lifespan. My primary desktop is a 2011 iMac. I have an iphone 4s that was used as a primary device by a family member until a year or two ago and now is a backup device. What other brand has the same support and lifespan longevity? 

AppleInsider said:

RAM stays at 8GB and storage starts at 512GB on entry-level M3 configurations.

entropys said:

I have a touch screen on my work HP f dragonfly. I don’t use it. For scrolling, and that is about it. And let’s be honest, touchscreens are probably offered because for some unfathomable reason windows trackpads are crap, and have always been crap, despite the mac example to copy.

if apple goes touch screen in 2025, it will be because the iPadisation of MacOS is complete; or it has become too hard to get a non touch OLED display.

Ironically, we are getting a thinkpad P14s workstation for engineering student daughter. It doesn’t have a touchscreen. And comparably priced to a very tricked out MBP. But I digress.

MplsP said:

Alex_V said:

StrangeDays said:

But why tho? Do that many people want to pay for an entirely different line of service, when we can just hotspot on our existing paid line? What am I missing 

Conditions in the market change. Remember when, back in the 1990s, Americans were lagging behind in cell phone use because of exorbitant charges? Providers can offer discounted pure data plans for devices like laptops, for example. 

There is likely a small subset of users who want cellular connectivity on their laptop but the overwhelming majority of users are not willing to pay for an extra cellular line just to avoid tethering to their phone. There are a signifiant number of cellular iPad users out there. Some of them may prefer to use a MacBook over an iPad but again, I suspect it's not a huge number. I'm with @StrangeDays, @yyzguy & @M68000  - until the carriers allow bundling I have no interest in paying an extra $30 per month just to avoid tethering.

Out of curiosity, do any PC laptop makers have a built in cellular modem? Assuming there are no royalties involved this may be a case where the incremental cost for Apple to add their own modem to every device is trivial, essentially the production cost of the chips. 

netrox said:

libertyforall said:

So add side loading, disable by default, give customers the choice.  
VOILA.  

That's not how it works.

When Facebook and Netflix decide not to do on App Store, what choice do you have? They will force you to pay on the side, not in App Store to get around the 30% fee. 

I am tired of people thinking that they should have a free choice when it's deigned to protect you from criminals. 

ericthehalfbee said:

waveparticle said:

Apple, Microsoft, and Google are the only companies that build OSs that are running on personal computers. They will decide the future of AI. 

You mean Apple. Google doesn’t have a real OS on the desktop. They have that wannabee pretend ChromeOS. Microsoft doesn’t have a mobile OS.

Only Apple has a complete OS ecosystem comprising mobile & desktop.

DAalseth said:

The elephant in the room though is Copilot. I haven’t used it myself but I know several people who have as part of Office365. They hate it, like truly despise it. Copilot is pushy and they find it getting in the way more than ever helping. Clippy on steroids. So the hardware is only part of the story. The real test will come with Apple’s AI efforts this fall. Let’s hope they aren’t as obnoxious as Microsoft’s apparently are.