“If anyone had asked you to describe Apple’s pricing strategy in a sentence, this would – until recently – have been extremely easy to do. Apple aims to sell premium products at high margins to upmarket demographics,” Ben Lovejoy writes for 9to5Mac. “The company had shown almost no interest in more affordable products pitched to those on tighter budgets.”
“But Apple has long recognized that you need a way of building your long-term customer base, and one good way to do that is to get them when they’re young,” Lovejoy writes. “Apple has made considerable efforts over the years to get its computers into schools and colleges, and to make them more affordable to students through its education discount.”
“But as one analyst recently observed, there is now evidence that Apple is aiming to offer lower pricing across a broader range of products,” Lovejoy writes. “Yesterday’s announcement of a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad was a good example of that new approach.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As <a href="http://macdailynews.com/2017/03/16/no-more-apple-tax-the-curious-state-of-apples-product-pricing/"we wrote last week: “It’s very exciting to see Apple, in some cases, shoot for the entire market! Pity Apple’s would-be competitors in these markets. They don’t stand a chance.”
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s answer to cheap Chromebook test machines: The new $299 iPad, tailor-made for education – March 22, 2017
Apple unveils new 9.7-inch iPad starting at new low price of just $329 – March 21, 2017 – March 21, 2017
No more Apple Tax: The curious state of Apple’s product pricing – March 16, 2017
Even more than cost, I believe that the big problem is Apple failing to sufficiently indoctrinate teachers, and everyone else for that matter, into the unconventional way of working with iPads. I believe the LAUSD failure was one of poor planning, and lack of insight into how to not just use the iPad effectively but how to use it at all. Couple this with kids running all over the lack of sufficient MDM security, allowing them to completely wipe and reformat their devices, on top of cost, and it’s an algorithm for disaster. The simplistic world of Chromebooks starts to look like a welcome relief.
I have no problem paying premium prices for a premium product. However, Apples quality, especially on the software side, has sunk to such Microsoftian levels, that it won’t be much longer they’ll be able to claim premium status.
There are more and more websites I need to use Chrome for because I can’t sue Safari. For example godaddy.com. I can’t use Safari to update domain forwarding settings anymore. I have to use Chrome. Apple’s software quality control is slowly getting worse. Dumbing down of software, removing features, hiding system features from users. They dream of this world where people only need iOS and cars. But we many of us still need trucks and advanced features and advanced access to the system. It’s becoming the old MS philosophy of “it’s good enough.”
Do you realize how old apple’s products are and how the pricing for those years old products have not changed.
The reduction in quality or features are not the best way to move product, especially when the extra cost for memory, or cell radio are a few dollars at best.
I would love to see apple use AMD’s server chips for the pro hardware, and a Ryzen 7 mini would be nice with discrete graphics. I could live with a longer rectangular design. Even an 999 price tag. Ryzen 5 too slow.
One loss leader parts bin special does not a new pricing policy make.
When Apple adjusts its Mac prices into the world of reality, I will believe that Apple wants to serve the mass market.