Why are Macbooks so expensive?
There have been a lot of questions on why MacBooks and Apple products are so expensive and if they are worth it.
In the laptop market, Macbooks on average are more expensive. The older models are even sold at higher prices than other laptops with similar or better hardware.
This has baffled a lot of people, especially non-apple fans on why MacBooks are so expensive and if they are worth the money.
There are so many reasons why Macbooks and Apple products are expensive but if you dig deeper you will find that there are only two main reasons.
- The Apple brand and Marketing
- Build quality and Operating system
All other reasons will either fall under number one or two. Understanding these reasons explains why not only MacBooks but, other Apple products are expensive.
Why Are Apple Laptops So Expensive? – 2 Major Reasons
Apple Brand And Marketing
This by far is the major reason why Apple is able to price not only their MacBooks but other apple products so high.
Apple has established itself as a great brand thanks to Steve Jobs which they are able to capitalize on. As shown through the price of their MacBooks and Apple products.
By getting an Apple product you are somehow ushered into their family or community and that gives you a “special feel” that is shared between people who also use Apple products.
Apart from this special kind of feeling, there is also another feeling you experience when you purchase the latest device from Apple and use it in public.
“Apple Products are associated with emotions”
Because of the power of Apple’s brand and how they have developed it over the years through strategic marketing.
They are able to consistently charge premium prices for their devices and create a great amount of hype through their product launch.
People are willing to form long queues just to be the first to own one of these apple products. And most times there are little to no changes to the newly released products.
Such is the power of Apple branding and marketing.
This makes Apple charge extra for their products. Apple is also seen as the Mercedes of phones and the Bugatti of cars.
Viewed as status symbols and luxury items people rush to get them even if they can’t afford them. Students rush for MacBooks, broke people rush for iPhones, and the rich also use Apple products.
There is also the common knowledge that you must pay “Apple Tax” on every Apple device.
But if you look carefully you will notice that it falls under Apple branding and marketing.
For their marketing, Apple is able to create a community of evangelists through their campaigns who believe
Apple products are the most superior and must own an Apple product no matter what by making and showing how their products are unique and attractive.
There is also the fact that celebrities, actors and high-profile people use Apple products which is a marketing strategy to get people to see Apple as a valuable brand.
People will be more likely to buy a product that has been endorsed by a celebrity than one that has not been endorsed.
As of now, Apple is the most valuable brand in the world valued at $182 billion dollars according to Forbes.
Build Quality And Operating System
It is known that Apple makes high-end products with exceptional build quality and software that can last a decade depending on how you take care of it.
Their Macbooks are known to last for 4 years +, run efficiently, and have long battery lives.
Apple MacBooks are crafted from a block of aluminium that gives them a unibody and allows it to be thin whiles maintaining their rigidity, strength and durability.
The body is then polished and designed to give it that high-end Apple look and feel. The aluminium unibody is one of the main reasons why MacBooks have considerable strength and durability and can last a long time.
Hold a MacBook and you will quickly notice its lightness and high-end solid feel with no signs of weakness.
A unibody will be much more durable than a product that has its pieces put together whether plastic or metallic.
There is also the long battery life of MacBooks which last on average 8 hours to 12 hours. The Retina display on Macbooks is said to prevent macular degeneration, eye strain and eye fatigue.
Apart from that, the hardware of Macbooks is further optimized thanks to the operating system Mac OS.
The operating system is constantly being updated so that MacBooks with old hardware will still be able to perform well hence the reason why Apple customers say, “My Macbook, I bought 4 years ago still performs well”.
The OS is so good people try to run macOS on Windows computers.
Mac OS also comes without bloatware and prevents the accumulation of bloatware over time which tends to slow the machine down as seen in Windows PC.
Although, in Windows, this can be prevented by a clean installation of the operating system.
Mac OS is also secure. It is hard to get infected by viruses that can potentially cause the machine to crash or even destroy the operating system itself.
Mac OS is only available on MacBooks which makes their benefits only limited to that product lineup.
So if you want to enjoy the benefits of Mac OS you must buy a MacBook whether you like it or not. Or go through the Hackintosh route.
Although this has changed thanks to the Hackintosh community. The community has made is possible to run Mac OS on non-Macbooks.
Therefore, eliminating the need to buy a MacBook if you want to use Mac OS. The only downside is that it is a complicated process.
This is not to say MacBooks have the best build quality on the market there will always be some bad seeds in their product line-up.
It is just that they provide much better quality on average. Their customer support is also known to be the best and is quick to address problems presented.
Should You Buy a MacBook?
That is entirely up to you. If it suits your needs and you like it then why not.
Conclusion
The combination of Apple as a brand and their products with great build quality makes it understandable why Apple products are expensive on the market.
These two play a major role in Apple’s pricing of their products. The Apple brand is a way of telling people that they make exceptional products that can’t be beaten on the market.
In addition, Apple satisfies a lot of customers and have received a great number of positive reviews they have built on over the years.
This further increases their value in the eye of customers and the mentality that Apple products are the best there is.
These two main reasons are why MacBooks and Apple products are expensive even though you can get laptops or devices that provide better performance and quality on the market at similar prices.
