I have researched this many times. PCs of similar quality and performance cost about the same as Apple’s products. That’s without taking the higher resale value into account.
I’m pretty sure the standard is building your own can be slightly cheaper, depends which peripherals you already own since those aren’t usually part of a build every time.
But anyways, the advantage is that the built device will last longer and is made of replaceable parts that are cheap and easy to find. Easy to upgrade.
Geekbench can be a benchmark for comparable performance. You can look up benchmarks for Mac models and then find comparable performance PC parts under benchmark charts.
The pre built laptop should come with an operating system that supper sets the hardware well to be comparable, I would say.
Performance isn’t everything in a laptop. Screen quality, weight, and battery life also matters. To be comparable, an alternative laptop should be at least in the same class in these aspects.
Apple’s quality is mostly pretty good. Once in a while they have problems with certain models and establish a free service program even for machines out of warranty. The oldest device that still gets a service program is from 2008.
Apple’s repair policies have improved over the years.
Longevity is usually also typically pretty good for Apple devices, especially the higher end models. My iPad Pro from 2018 and iPhone 11 from 2019 still get software updates and perform just fine. Until last year I was still using my MacBook Pro 15 retina from 2014 until last year. It still works fine, I just needed something faster. I would say that’s good enough in terms of longevity.
Upgrading parts of machines is difficult to impossible depending on the device. The newer MacBooks are systems on a chip with memory integrated and SSD soldered to the board. That means you have to buy enough memory and storage now, that will last you for the next decade. That’s a higher expense now, than being able to upgrade these parts five years down the line.
No case, no board, no power supply, no OS. You don’t even give a machine you compare to.
deleted by creator
It matters if you want to compare prices between complete functioning machines with comparable performance.
deleted by creator
I have researched this many times. PCs of similar quality and performance cost about the same as Apple’s products. That’s without taking the higher resale value into account.
deleted by creator
Provide an example then.
deleted by creator
I’m pretty sure the standard is building your own can be slightly cheaper, depends which peripherals you already own since those aren’t usually part of a build every time.
But anyways, the advantage is that the built device will last longer and is made of replaceable parts that are cheap and easy to find. Easy to upgrade.
Please provide an Apple model and a comparable PC with prices.
Give me a model to compare to? Are all apple models the same? Or do you mean just pick any of them?
Pick one and find a comparable PC.
The MacBook Air is the best selling model, so take that if you don’t want to choose yourself.
Geekbench can be a benchmark for comparable performance. You can look up benchmarks for Mac models and then find comparable performance PC parts under benchmark charts.
Does it count if I find a cheaper laptop that has better numbers than a macbook air that is more expensive?
I do think you might be right that building your own is more expensive now, not sure when that changed.
If I can find a comparable performing non apple device pre built for less, then the only sticking point is proprietary software?
The pre built laptop should come with an operating system that supper sets the hardware well to be comparable, I would say.
Performance isn’t everything in a laptop. Screen quality, weight, and battery life also matters. To be comparable, an alternative laptop should be at least in the same class in these aspects.
What would you say about this quality issue thats come up in this post? Longevity is important too.
Apple’s quality is mostly pretty good. Once in a while they have problems with certain models and establish a free service program even for machines out of warranty. The oldest device that still gets a service program is from 2008.
Apple’s repair policies have improved over the years.
Longevity is usually also typically pretty good for Apple devices, especially the higher end models. My iPad Pro from 2018 and iPhone 11 from 2019 still get software updates and perform just fine. Until last year I was still using my MacBook Pro 15 retina from 2014 until last year. It still works fine, I just needed something faster. I would say that’s good enough in terms of longevity.
Upgrading parts of machines is difficult to impossible depending on the device. The newer MacBooks are systems on a chip with memory integrated and SSD soldered to the board. That means you have to buy enough memory and storage now, that will last you for the next decade. That’s a higher expense now, than being able to upgrade these parts five years down the line.