A phone is just a phone, and a computer is
just a computer, right? You go online, make calls, take photos and
post on social media. So how can one brand justify consistency charging
more for their product, while cheaper rivals do essentially the same thing for less? Well, it’s complicated. So join us today as we follow the money and
investigate exactly why is Apple so expensive? Cynics, like some of you in the comment section
below this video no doubt, love painting Apple stans as vacuous empty-headed sheeple who’d
shell out five thousand bucks for a wooden spork if Tim Cook said it was cool. And sure, a negligible subset of the population,
largely those with more money than sense, will indeed buy any and every Apple product
solely for the flex value. Like Mercedes Benz or Louis Vuitton, there’s
no getting around the fact Apple as a brand holds a certain cachet. Let’s unpack that quickly, before moving
onto the substantial stuff. Spiritual father of the brand Steve Jobs was
a great believer in beauty and the power of compelling aesthetics. He grew up in the suburban sprawl between
San Francisco and San Jose in Northern California, amid rows of attractive houses designed by
mid-century architect Joseph Eichler. Eichler is famous for crafting quality, modernist
family homes aimed at middle-class American families. They weren’t exactly mansions, but their
design paid appropriate attention to timeless principles of style and proportion. Young Jobs took note. Great design, as both Eichler and Jobs understood,
needn’t be the exclusive domain of multimillionaires. If you can make something smart, functional
and easy-on-the-eye, then even if it costs a little more people will fall in love with
it. Jobs was famously obsessive over details. For instance, when it bugged him that the
shade of yellow in the second ‘O’ of the google logo didn’t look quite right to him
on an early iPhone, he immediately reached out Vic Gundotra, Google's Senior Vice President
of Engineering, and told him to tackle the problem. On a Sunday, indeed. “It takes a lot of hard work,” Jobs said
in a late-career interview, “to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying
challenges and come up with elegant solutions.” And indeed, every chic rounded edge, brushed-metal
finish or optimally clacky keyboard sound on every Apple device takes time and investment,
not least in precision machinery to manufacture these shiny doodads at scale. Looking and feeling so effortless actually
takes a vast amount of effort, and generation-defining work from the likes of legendary Apple designer
Sir Jony Ive. But it’s not just looks. As Apple’s very first marketing brochure,
published in 1977, succinctly put it: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Thus, in addition to their great beauty – or
flex value, whatever you like to call it – Apple products are also much simpler to use and
get your head around than rival phones or computers. In the parlance of infuriating Apple fanboys
everywhere, Apple products ‘just work’. This oft-used one liner bumps up against a
frequent objection from Apple skeptics, who insist that an identical specification computer,
or phone, can be had for less money from other brands or on other platforms. If you’re happy cobbling together your own
Frankenstein’s monster of PC, the argument goes, with the right motherboard, memory and
graphics card, you can save big bucks. Well, perhaps you can. But that arrangement obviously requires a
nuanced understanding of hardware, and a willingness to put up with tinkering. Not to mention all the energy and attention
you’ll need to lavish on, just for starters, keeping on top of all those pesky driver updates
for your patchwork mongrel machine. With an Apple computer, on the other hand,
things really do ‘just work’. Apple devices frequently update to tackle
security issues and make general, subtle improvements in the background and interface, all without
you needing to lift a finger. As such the ticket price may well be higher
on a Mac. But if you value your time, and you don’t
like hassle, Macs are worth it. In fact many analysts, even Apple skeptics,
will admit that comparing a new MacBook Air with a custom built machine isn’t a fair
test, because when outfits like Dell or HP actually do release a ‘premium’ hi-spec
PC the prices are nearly indistinguishable from those of a Mac. And besides, it’s worth noting at this point
that Apple don’t bother putting out budget machines. Sure, Apple phones aren’t as customisable,
and their computers aren’t cut out for hardcore gaming. But most of the public aren’t fragging noobs,
or mining bitcoin. Neither do most users have time to troubleshoot,
or navigate arcane menus in order to tweak their devices. They want a phone or computer or a tablet
that, at the risk of sounding like a broken record... just works. And lest we forget the criticality of customer
service, especially to an end user who isn’t especially tech savvy. Apple’s network of stores and friendly Genius
Bar format is legendary among fans for it’s accessibility and cost-effective service,
not least when Covid forced the company to successfully move their entire service division
online. That level of attention is invaluable to millions,
and providing it doesn’t come cheap. Neither does the fact Apple produce not only
hardware – almost everything, even down to the CPU in the latest models – but also
software. So unlike a PC developer, who has to assume
their product will be running on multiple spec machines and all manner of configurations
with all the compromises that entails, a Mac or iOS app developer knows the hardware inside
out, and can code accordingly. And the software pre-bundled with most Macs
is pretty impressive, with dazzlingly slick, consistently updated operating systems and
powerful tools like GarageBand, iWork, iMovie and more. So for the end user, who wants to make and
cut together a quick home movie, or record a simple beat with the gear they have to hand,
Apple machines are powerful and straightforward. No wonder professionals and creatives swear
by them. And that’s before we even get to privacy. On an Android phone running Google, your data
is part of the business model. Meaning every move you make on your phone
is monetised by the powers that be. Apple is different. The Cupertino colossus might use your data
to improve their services, in a strictly limited and transparent fashion, but they’re not
out to make a fast buck selling your info on to third parties. How much is your privacy worth, not just today,
but in a year, or five years, or ten years from now? Apple’s self-contained ecosystem also means
their products, and especially their phones, don’t come loaded with so-called bloatware. That is, software pre-installed by profit-hungry
third parties. Bloatware makes sense commercially for manufacturers
of rival devices looking to fatten up their margins, but offers little of value to the
end-user. Let’s sum up. Despite critics who bleat that Apple is essentially
the Supreme of tech firms – slapping their logo onto any old tat and laughing all the
way to the bank – in reality slick design, superior build quality, great customer service,
seamless software-and-hardware integration and a commitment to privacy are worth money. Oh, and Apple devices have better re-sale
value too. Here’s CEO Tim Cook offering his eloquent
defence of iPhone pricing back in 2018: ‘The phone has replaced your digital camera. You don’t have a separate one anymore. It’s replaced your video camera. It’s replaced your music player. It’s replaced all of these different devices. ‘We’ve found that people want to have
the most innovative product available. ‘It’s not cheap to do.” What do you think? Are Apple fans justified in putting a premium
on excellence? Or has this video convinced you we’re part
of some vapid Steve Jobs cult? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget
to hit subscribe for more stylish yet understated tech content.
