Samsung’s Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets are considered premium mobile products, priced about the same as comparable iPhones and iPads, but often discounted far less. Why?
Samsung is saddled with Android, the run-of-the-mill operating system that’s available on the cheapest smartphones. Microsoft has a similar problem with a new line of Surface notebooks and hybrid tablets. They all run Windows and the only way Microsoft can get customers to trade up or switch is to pay them.
Public Desperation
When was the last time you saw a Mac on sale? It doesn’t happen at Apple, but occasionally a third party reseller will cut the price to move old inventory when new models are released. That’s about it and the scenario is the same for iPhones and iPads.
Microsoft has made some noise with the Surface notebooks and tablets which start at $499, far less than a MacBook. The company doesn’t hesitate to compare and contrast the Surface notebook-cum-tablet hybrids to iPads and Macs.
If they’re so great then why is Microsoft offering $300 for you to switch. The company seems so desperate to unload inventory that they’re also offering $300 to Windows PC users to trade in their old machines to get a new one running Windows 10.
Got an old MacBook or iMac you don’t want, and hankering for a new Windows 10 PC with a price tag of $599 or more? Microsoft is willing to give you $300 cash back. That makes a $600 Windows PC worth about $300. What’s an old Mac worth?
I just checked Gazelle and priced out one of my old iMacs, circa 2010 (one that would qualify for Microsoft’s cash back program). It’s a 20-inch, Core i5o, 2.8GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, 750GB HD in great condition (iMac11,3). Gazelle says it’s worth just under $300, about what Microsoft would give me if I decided to switch and buy a new Windows PC.
Savvy Desperation
Is Microsoft so savvy that they’re figured out a way to entice Mac users to Windows? Or, is the company so desperate to promote Windows 10 and Windows PCs that they’re forced to pay you to buy one of their products?
Sadly, it’s the latter.
If Windows 10 and the Surface line (or, any other Windows-based PC) were so great, so secure, so stable, and so wanted and desired by customers running old machines or Mac users tired of the annual OS X upgrade treadmill, why would they need to offer a cash back to spur sales?
Here’s why. The small Surface is a hybrid device, mostly a notebook without a keyboard, that runs Windows and has a touchscreen. They’re available for a few hundred dollars, but Microsoft and their OEM manufacturing partners have had a touch time selling them, and annual PC sales continue to drop.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro, which tries to masquerade as a very heavy, very thick tablet, is more of a notebook without a keyboard, too, and even the touchscreen doesn’t seem to be moving inventory. The new Surface Book (catchy name; where have I heard that before?) is a full on notebook designed to compete with Apple’s MacBook Pro line in price and features, but still suffers from the same plague afflicting Samsung. Surface Book is loaded down with Windows 10, which means you can buy the same functionality for easily $1,000 less.
Back to my original question? How bad does a product have to be if they pay you to buy it?
Scott says
Monday, October 19, 2015 at 6:12 PMGood article, but try buying that iMac on eBay for $300.00. I have never wasted my time with Gazelle.
connie mac says
Monday, October 19, 2015 at 7:05 PMAgreed. I think the article’s pricing is accurate from Gazelle, but having bought a number of used MacBook Pros and iMacs online, pricing tends to be higher. People want to buy used Macs. Hardly anyone wants to buy a used Windows PC.
The Pool Man says
Monday, October 19, 2015 at 8:39 PMThis sounds like a reasonable argument. That a product must suck if they have to pay you to buy it.
Until you remember the existence of something called coupons. My local market gave away a brand of quality ravioli via a coupon. That’s right — a FREE $5 bag of ravioli. I tried it and now it’s my brand.
So, right there, the premise dies. The trade in program is simply a ‘coupon’ to have you try something new. But for the sake of discussion let’s say it’s somehow ‘different’ when PCs do this to switch Mac users.
Your premise is that Mac’s rarely have sales. I think you skipped Black Friday and back to school promotions, but generally speaking you are correct. I think I read somewhere that Mac does have clearance kinda sorta secretly on eBay, and of course third party vendors do it all the time.
When Scion was introduced, it was one price. Take it or leave. No sales, no way. They were even more stubborn than Apple. Does this mean a Scion is better than a Nissan? Nope.
Listen — I’ve been using Macs half of forever. I’ll bet three biscuits I’ve been using them longer than the author. I’ve been a Mac user since 1986 and only a Mac user (outside of some office jobs) up until a year ago.
A year ago I was forced to buy a PC for my wife. I got one and Windows 8.1 simply wasn’t terribly disappointing — it was pathetic. I knew three Linux distros I’d rather be using. THAT is REALLY sad. It was so bad I sent the Asus laptop back to Amazon and wrote a review telling people that Windows 8.1 is an unacceptable piece of trash and to wait until 10 comes out to see if MS might finally get it’s stupid act together.
Guess what, Mr. Gomez. It actually happened. Windows 10 is the first Windows OS ever that isn’t painfully primitive to a Mac user. It’s no match to El Capitan, but the OS is rather ‘acceptable’ IF you’re a basic computer user (surf with Firefox, email, LibreOffice, iTunes). If that’s basically all you need from a computer or a secondary computer, buying a Mac has just become ludicrous.
I know you don’t believe me — because it’s hard for any Mac user to THINK DIFFERENT on this one subject, but let me pitch you the ‘other’ reality you’re not dealing with in this article.
How much $$$ do you need to purchase a new entry level 15 inch Mac laptop. Unless you’re a student it’s $1999. Two grand. Now if you’re an Adobe person, a filmmaker, or otherwise a power user this unit has a beautiful screen, SSD storage, 8GBs of RAM, and an i7.
But how many people are basic users as described above? Most. So why doesn’t Apple offer a trimmed ‘basic’ version of this laptop? 1080p screen, 8 instead of 16 GBs of RAM, and an i5? If 1080p is good enough for my 21 inch iMac, why would not on the 15 inch?
The reason why Apple doesn’t offer this cheaper version is they feel they don’t have to. That Windows sucks so much they can gauge you. Force you to buy an Escalade when really all you need is a Terrain.
It’s just greed, Mr. Gomez. That’s all it is.
That laptop my wife needs? I’m using it right now to write this response. It’s an Asus 15 inch. It’s clear shortcoming is the 1080p screen. It’s no retina. It’s non-glossy TN even, which as you know, makes things slightly fuzzy and weaker viewing angles. But this very screen is the one Apple uses on it’s MacBook Airs — and so there’s that.
I’ve got a 5th Gen i7, 256 SSD, 8 GBs of RAM, backlit keyboard, and not only a year of warranty but a year of ‘whoops I dropped it and broke it’ coverage. Ready for the non-discounted price, Mr. Gomez?
$799. I know PC buyers consider THAT pricey but we Mac people are drooling. That’s cheaper than EVERY 13 inch Apple laptop. By $200 to $500 dollars. And the spec TOASTS all of them.
It’s not an ugly PC. It’s Mac-ish. Not as Mac-ish as the Asus Zenbook UX305 — which Hachintoshes have been busting their brains to hack since that unit was released some time ago. I’m currently awaiting for that one to arrive as I write this. It’s a Core M like Apple’s 12inch ‘MacBook’. The spec isn’t as nice, but it’s ‘similar’ with an extra inch of screen and currently running for $580 (after rebate) on Amazon.
You’re following me, right? A reasonable 15 inch dupe of the MacBook Pro and a very MacBook Airish 13 inch — both for $1379.
Will I ever stop using my iMac as my main computer? Probably not. Windows 10 lacks matured music and photo programs. To me, Windows 10 PCs do not make Macs irrelevant — they make Linux and Chromebooks irrelevant. You can get solid hardware at great prices and do all the basics you want.
I’ve actually walked into Apple Stores and warned the managers that an iBomb is ticking. Apple MUST end the double dip gauging. Double Dip = twice the price, half the spec. OS X El Capitan is superior. Absolutely. But the prices are simply too high. And no modern Mac should have 4GBs of RAM on it. Not one.
Unless you’re a terribly greedy corporation.
JPO says
Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:27 PMI too believe Mac’s cost too much, though I believe the build quality and overall user experience is WORTH sooo much more than having to buy a cheap arse PC running Windows. I’m looking to upgrade my 8 year old PowerBook G4 with a 15″ MacBook Pro. I’ll purchase a 2-3 year old refurb from Apple so the price is somewhat reasonable. I paid $1500 for my PowerBook way back when – and it’s paid me back so much more (8 years of use – not bad). Besides having to replace the battery – nothing has gone wrong with it since I booted it up day 1. Now that’s payback. And I get the best of both worlds. I can run Parallels and Windows, and always switch back to OSX. You my good friend are always stuck with crappy Windows. Sorry for you. So for $1500 I get a machine THAT SCREAMS compared to my PowerBook.
BTW my PowerBook still runs fine with 4 Megs of memory – though it is definitely slowing own. I refuse to pay for OSX 10.5 becuase it’s $129, and Apple now gives the OS away. I can not upgrade to the latest Safari/iTunes since I’m on 10.4. And the PowerPC has finally been relegated to the dust bin by Apple at 10.6 – though they supported it for a very long time. Can you say the same about the PC/Windows?
The Pool Man says
Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 10:31 AMThere’s a ton of apologist spin in this. Some responses —
THE BUILD QUALITY MYTH
You can’t compare pricey Macs to ‘cheap arse’ PCs. You have to compare them to pricier PCs. Right? Plus — Apple just today admitted that some Retina screens were… not of the best build quality.
MACS LAST FOREVER MYTH
Some do, some don’t. By last I’ve had iMacs over the years with faulty boards, LCD screens, you name it. They were all covered during AppleCare but almost every OTHER one needed a pricey arse repair. Having worked for years in an Apple Store I know they don’t all last as long as you let on.
IT’S COOL BUYING OLD REFURBS MYTH
No it isn’t. Instantly setting yourself back a few years to save some bucks. It would be much better if you could buy new at reasonable prices.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS MYTH
Parallels costs even more money. And now you’re changing my point. I don’t need a portable to do everything. Just web, email, iTunes, and light LIbreoffice work. There’s nothing ‘Mac’ I need the PC to do.
CRAPPY WINDOWS MYTH
As I said, 10 isn’t that bad. It’s extremely reminiscent of early OS X. Oh, and by the by —
SCREAMS MYTH
— both of my Asus laptops SCREAM past my two year old iMac. It takes almost two minutes to boot up. My i7 Asus takes 4 seconds. My Core M Asus takes 6 seconds. Not even close, even accounting for the two years.
4GBS OF RAM MYTH
Welcome to 2015. Windows and Mac need 8GBS of RAM for elbow room, and if you eye memory management in both — you realize Mac just caught up to Win10 with El Capitan. It used to need more than 4GBs of RAM. Now it’s just under — where Windows already was.
carlton says
Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 5:47 PMTroll.
A Windows PC that boots up in 6 seconds. That’s laughable. Laughable. My MacBook screams and boots up in 13 seconds. Add crap to it and it takes longer. Duh.
Try running one of those Windows hybrids in 2 GB of RAM (Yes, that’s what they have). There’s no 2 second boot up there. The device is pure molasses. Even the touch screens feel like old Android smartphones.