Study: Apple computers cost twice as much as PCs

Wed Aug 6, 2008 7:15PM EDT

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Interested in purchasing a shiny new Apple computer? Expect to pay twice as much as you would for a PC, according to NPD Group's vice president of industry analysis Stephen Baker.

According to the blog Apple Watch, the average price for a comparably-equipped Windows PC laptop is $700, down $177 since June of 2006. The average price for an Apple laptop? More than double the PC price at $1,515, down only $59 in the same time frame. The price gap for desktops is even more extreme, with a Mac desktop averaging at $1,543, almost triple the cost of a comparably-equipped Windows PC's at $550. Ouch.

So what gives with Apple's pricing scheme? Apple Watch's Joe Wilcox outlines several explanations, with this one offering the most validity in my opinion.

Apple chooses to sell its computers at premium prices, meaning above $1,000. The lowest-priced Mac notebook starts at $1,099 (MacBook) and the lowest-priced desktop (iMac) for $1,199; granted the Mac Mini starts at $599, but its sales volume is negligible.

This statement is striking: Since Apple's computer manufacturing process moved to Intel-based hardware, many of the hardware components on the inside are identical to those found in Windows notebooks. In fact, many of the MacBooks created today are manufactured by companies that also manufacture lower priced PCs (Asustek is the first that comes to mind). So why does Apple choose to release products at higher prices? Because they can. Apple has positioned itself  as a premium product. When you purchase a Mac, you're letting others know that you're willing to plunk down more money for several tangible (OSX, aesthetic design) and intangible (hip, different, and cool variable) factors.

Of course, there are other big reasons why Apple has had so much success with their Mac lineups. Check out the rest of the list over at Apple Watch. And here's a question for the readers: What's your reason for getting an Apple? In today's economy, is it worth it to pay twice as much to get a Mac when most of us are just checking email, blogging, downloading music, and chatting away online?

Links:

Apple Watch -  Should You Pay Twice as Much for a Mac?

Electronista - Average Mac price now 2X Windows PCs (Via Gizmodo)

 

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Comments on Study: Apple computers cost twice as much as PCs

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  • 66 Posted by kristin_r_snyder on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hey maginthat15 - what numbers are you referring to? What are the specs for that macbook? And the education discount pricing isn't a factor here - I can get an HP with educational discount price too! Wow! And a free printer! Look at me! I'm sure you could get a comparable PC for $700. Don't just look at the pricing, look at the hardware components, then come to me with your argument.

  • 67 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    MAC PRO- price - 7300. 2X Quad Core XEONs 3.0ghz 8GB of RAM, 2x SAS 300GB SAS drives. 8800GT Card (pretty junkie card for their price by the way). HP XW6600 - price - 5800- 2X Quad Core Xeons 3.0Ghz, 8GB of RAM, 2X SAS 300GB SAS Drives, better video card. Plus more upgradeability. So again where is the deal? A special offer? HP has offers every day. These price differences can be seen throughout MACs product line.

  • 68 Posted by kristin_r_snyder on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    lorenrutherford - What "better software"? Seems to me most software these days runs on both platforms - I'm running Adobe CS3 like a dream on my HP. Oh, do you mean the "iLife" crap? If you're going to sheck out $2K for a computer, I hope you do something a little more than make movies and pictures to send to your friends. Do you even know how to gauge performance on your Mac? Do you even have tools that show you processor performance, memory usage, paging files, data transfer, etc.? And "more stylish" is subjective; I think my HP is ten times better in the looks department than most junk Macs I've seen.

  • 69 Posted by kristin_r_snyder on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    laithwahab - what makes Apple have such great computers? Honestly? Tell me. They are using the same hardware components as PCs these days. Save your money for something more worthwhile.

  • 70 Posted by kristin_r_snyder on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    skwishykitty - how is this apples to oranges? The components are pretty much the same - same video card, same chip set, same hardware. The differences are in the external design (which has no impact on performance) and the OS running. You're way off base.

  • 71 Posted by theojapa on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    New Study! BMWs are more expensive than Fords! What's with the BMW price point? How do they survive being more expensive? Silly blogger. Apple is a premium product. You can't compare apples to oranges, and yes, there are cheaper options.

  • 72 Posted by odiebear on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have mac, pc, and linux boxes at home. My mac and linux systems have far less problems (ie freezing, spontaneous reboot, update conflicts) than my pc. My wife is a computer tech for a middle school (6th-8th). For each 1 hour of maintenance (hardware, OS and installed software) on a mac, she spends 9 to 10 hours on a pc. If the sole criteria for buying a pc is price, you get what you pay for.

  • 73 Posted by vkritis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    Sorry folks, but you are comparing apples with oranges. If you wanna buy an equivalent PC in terms of style, user friendliness (if there is such a thing in a Windows environment) and proper after sales support then you go for the likes of Sony Vaio and we all know their price, right? Don't compare junk made in Far East by look-alike cheapies who go for a quick buck and after 6 months their gear is falling apart. Anyways, the writer of the article knows as much about Apple as I do about Mandarin Chinese.

  • 74 Posted by thegreatone1611 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    I will never buy another PC. Ever! They have so many problems that I really do not like dealing with them anymore. I have Windows Vista. I believe it's one of the worst OS's out there. I have a macBook that my fiancee uses and I have a macBook Pro and they are amazing! I'm on Apples side!

  • 75 Posted by tluv241 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    Mac is worth every penny, in the past 12 years I've never had a virus, computer has never crashed, every product has worked like a dream. Meanwhile my brother who has a pc is taking his computer to get fixed every few months. There is no comparison.

  • 76 Posted by frostieduck on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've had a Dell with Vista for about a year now and have not had a single problem. It gets used heavily with lots of different applications. I payed somewhere around $800 for it. Apple's ads with the PC guy and the gay guy have been effective at convincing people that PCs have lots of problems but it's simply not true. We have hundreds of PC users at work that rarely have problems so don't believe the Mac hype.

  • 77 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    theojapa - News Flash- A computer is intended to do more than run an operating system. A luxury car is considered a more capable car. By that reasoning Windows should be considered a luxury since it is a more capable operating system (running software). So again where is the proposed metaphor? Once again UNEDUCATED CONSUMER OPINIONS are WORTHLESS. Consumers opinions and perception mean nothing if they are unable to understand the topic they are discussing. It would be like asking someone what is the difference between a V6 and V8 engine. Just because it costs more for the V8 doesnt mean that it is better.

  • 78 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    One more point about VIRUSES- Computers dont just wake up one day and get viruses- PEOPLE GIVE THEIR COMPUTERS viruses. Maybe the user should try to avoid viruses.

  • 79 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    VKRITIS? SONY VAIO? Why would you ever buy junk like that? Once again misguided consumer perception. How about motion computing? Every hear of them VRKITIS? Prolly not. Best Buy guided perception is like a child (wait they are kids who are guiding you!!!) teaching an adult to drive!!

  • 80 Posted by cgeyer on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    The reason I bought a MacBook Pro was because I was sick of opening the lid to my laptop and having to wait 2 minutes to get to the desktop and another 2 minutes for it to connect to my wireless network. Furthermore, reboots took 5 minutes or so and had to be done every couple of days. I rarely reboot my MacBook (once a month, maybe?). I agree that the cost of a new laptop is a bit excessive when comparing HW specs. I bought mine on ebay to save a bit and it has worked marvelously.

  • 81 Posted by maginthat15 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    Kristin your inane resopnse: "I'm sure you could get a comparable PC for $700." is exactly the point. Similar to the macbook, I'm sure you can get a comparable PC for 700. Looking at the Dell educational offers and the Apple educational offers that is clear. This is why the title of the article misrepresents the facts. ie the cost of the comparable mac is clearly not twice the price.

  • 82 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    vkritis - And I guess you dont know too much about MAC do you now. ALL of there equipment and OS is manufactured in the Far East. All of their components are made by the same folks who make windows computers. Stop blathering.

  • 83 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hey maginthat15 http://store.apple.com/us-hed/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTE3MjE A 13" Screen- 1GB of RAM!!! 120GB HD hard drive!! your kid wont get to far with that joke of a compute- I hope they love it!! Lets see what I can find- http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8874257&type=product&id=1210378661986 Bigger Screen- Bigger Hard drive, More Memory!! And from the ripoff store known as Best Buy. Again- BASE YOUR COMMENTS ON FACTS- not expressed opinion.

  • 84 Posted by bajag2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    Kupriaa1 "another point about innovation - MAC OSX Server- every network component or feature is "borrowed" from Solaris, Netware, Microsoft, or Linux. So lets stop talking about a "borrowed" GUI and keep it real. The borrowed GUI story is "so 1984". Really? Quicktime Server, Podcast Producer, Xgrid, Webojects. Borrowed? I was at a Apple developer presentation from Intel and the VP of Intel - Apple relationship told us how Apple has pushed Intel with innovation and chip design. I don't think all the R&D that Apple (8% of sales) does goes into putting commodity parts in their products. Dell's R&D percentage is much less.

  • 85 Posted by kristin_r_snyder on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    maginthat15 - I'm saying of course if you go through educational discount programs you can get a Mac for "$600-$700" and find a similarly priced retail PC. Look at the actual retail prices for PCs vs. Macs, don't tell me that the prices are the same when you're applying an educational discount and a boat load of other junk (free iPods) towards the price. Find me an actual retail Mac book that anyone can purchase for $700 that has comparable stats to a PC for that price. Try walking into a Best Buy some time and tell me how comparable those prices on PCs vs. Macs are based on the specs. Talk about inane.

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