Hey guys it’s Greg with Apple Explained, and today we’re going to discuss why Apple
has been charging more for less.
Now what do I mean by this?
Well, there’s been an interesting trend with Apple products in the past several years
which I covered in a recent video.
And that trend is price hikes across almost every product category, including accessories,
at a rate unprecedented in Apple history.
But rising prices are only half the story.
Because if you look inside those pricier product boxes, you may notice that Apple includes
less items than ever before.
Which means Apple is effectively charging us more money for less stuff.
So in today’s video I’m going to show you several examples of this trend, and give
my thoughts as to why Apple might be doing it.
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So if you’re a younger Apple fan, you may not realize what Apple used to include with
their products.
Because today, if you buy a MacBook, you’ll only find two things included in the box:
a USB-C cable and power adapter.
Which in my opinion is only one thing, but we’ll get back to that later on.
And while that may be sufficient for most users, Apple’s notebooks used to be sold
with many more accessories.
For example, back in 2004, the iBook was bundled with two adapters, Mini-DVI to DVI and Mini-DVI
to VGA, along with the standard power adapter with the cable permanently attached, in addition
to an extension power cable in case the standard length wasn’t enough to reach an outlet.
Now that’s four times as many accessories bundled with the 2004 iBook than the 2017
MacBook.
And keep in mind, the iBook had five times the IO as today’s MacBook.
It featured mini-VGA, USB, Firewire, Modem, and Ethernet ports.
And despite this variety of ports, Apple still went the extra mile and included not just
one, but two adapters for free in the box.
Compare that to the 2017 MacBook, which has a single USB-C port and includes zero adapters.
That means if you want to plug in your new iPhone to your new MacBook for charging, you’ll
have to buy an adapter first.
So how much are these adapters exactly?
Well, as with all Apple accessories, they don’t come cheap.
Their USB-C adapters range from $20 to $70, and some people may need more than one.
Let’s say you’re a photographer who needs an SD card adapter to quickly transfer photos
and an HDMI adapter to display those photos through a projector, you’d have to spend
a minimum of $110 in adapters.
Which can be pretty frustrating after dropping $1,300 on the MacBook itself.
Now let’s talk about the iPod.
Back in 2003, the 3rd generation iPod came with a pair of earbuds, a dock, a carrying
pouch, a holster, a usb cable, a firewire cable, and a wall adapter.
And if you compare that to what’s included with the iPod touch today, you’ll find quite
a stark difference.
Since today’s iPod simply includes a usb lightning cable and a pair of earbuds.
But this trend of removing bundled accessories extends far beyond MacBooks and iPods.
Because almost every major apple product has been plagued by this phenomenon.
Even the second generation apple pencil, which is an accessory itself, includes less extras
than its predecessor.
Because the original included an extra tip which is missing from the new apple pencil.
So once your only tip gets worn out, how do you go about replacing it?
Well, you’ll have to spend another $20 on a 4-pack from Apple.
And what if you lose the cap to your first generation Apple pencil?
Well, Apple technically doesn’t sell them individually, but some users have been successful
in getting help from apple support who told them a replacement cap would cost $16.90 plus
tax.
Which I think is a bit excessive considering it’s pretty much a piece of plastic.
But I want to get back to the MacBook for a minute.
Because I mentioned something about the USB-C cable being separate from its power adapter.
And at first glance this may not appear to be an issue, in fact many people appreciate
the ability to remove the cable from its adapter since you can use them with other electronics
or simply store them more efficiently.
But there is something I want to point out about this design.
And that is, it gave Apple the ability to sell each item separately, which is exactly
what they are doing today.
So if you want an extra power adapter and cable for your 15-inch MacBook Pro, you’ll
end up spending a total of $100, $80 for the adapter and $20 for the cable.
Compare this to Apple’s previous adapter design which had a permanently attached cable
and was sold for $80.
Which is already overpriced, so many people feel that asking for another $20 is downright
ridiculous.
And this isn’t even considering the extension cable that cost $20 today but was included
for free in older MacBooks.
So if you were to buy all the accessories today that were included with Apple’s previous
notebooks, it would cost a grand total of about $60 to $110.
Now let’s talk about the iPhone which, like the iPod, used to include not only a charging
cable, wall adapter, a pair of earbuds, but also a dock, which today costs an extra $40
to $50.
But this isn’t even the most frustrating part, because apple’s competitors have begun
including faster 12 to 18 watt power adapters.
Apple’s flagship iPhone XS is still bundled with a slow 5 watt charger which means recharging
your phone takes noticeably longer than previous models since its battery is larger.
Although this wouldn’t be an issue if Apple included a faster charger in the box.
But I will give Apple credit where it’s due, back in 2016 Apple removed the headphone
jack from the iPhone 7 and caused quite a bit of controversy.
But they were able to at least partially remedy this by including a lightning to 3.5 mm headphone
jack adapter in the box.
And as a former iPhone 7 user, I can tell you I used that adapter more often than I
expected and I think many other users would agree.
The problem was Apple stopped including this adapter with the iPhone XS.
And this prompted another wave of backlash that could’ve been prevented, had Apple
just continued including the adapter.
And this frustration can be summed up by this article by the Verge titled “What’s worse
than a dongle?
No dongle.”
Because I think most of us can agree that wireless headphones haven’t had enough time
to be widely adopted.
So I think it would’ve been a smarter decision by Apple to wait at least a couple more years
to let the market mature a little more.
But unfortunately they didn’t, and for many users who need that headphone jack adapter
it’ll be another $10 add-on to their $1000 iPhone purchase.
Now I want to talk about the mysterious case of the micro fiber cleaning cloth.
Which used to be included with every major apple product, including their iMac, notebooks,
iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
And the reason why this is strange is that Apple doesn’t sell these cleaning cloths,
they simply decided to stop including them.
And that doesn’t fit into the theory I just explained, although if you consider Apple’s
minimalist philosophy it starts to make sense because Apple’s lead designer Jonathon Ive
strives to eliminate any unnecessary elements in his products.
And we’ve seen this most clearly with the MacBook which doesn’t have nearly as many
features as it used to.
Including an IR sensor for remote controls, an external LED battery indicator, and a Kensington
lock, just to name a few.
And I think this philosophy is being carried over into Apple’s packaging design, which
tries to be as simple and straightforward as possible.
And including extras like the micro fiber cloth may be an unnecessary addition in Apple’s
point of view, although I do wish it was still around.
So we’ve discussed some of the different ways Apple is giving us less but it’s also
very important to understand that they’re charging us more for these products than ever
before.
Let’s take the MacBook for example, which costs $1,300 today, but used to be priced
at just $1,000 in 2009.
The iPhone 4, which had an unsubsidized price of $649, was significantly less expensive
than today’s flagship iPhone XS priced at $1,000.
And the original iPad, which had an introductory price of just $500, now starts at $800.
And I think these substantial price hikes paired with the removal of bundled accessories
is what’s leaving a bitter taste in consumers mouths.
Because who wants to spend even more money on accessories with high markups after paying
a premium price for the product itself.
But the most concerning thing about all this is that the adapters and cleaning clothes
and cables are notoriously inexpensive for manufactures like Apple to produce.
And including them for free would have a negligible effect on Apple’s bottom line.
So the question becomes, why is Apple choosing to remove bundled accessories from their products?
And the short answer is money.
Apple’s accessory business makes up a surprisingly large slice of their total revenue, totaling
about $9.4 billion in 2018, which is up from $4.4 billion just 3 years ago.
And this means Apple is making more from their accessory sales than other manufacturers are
making from their smart phone sales.
So from Apple’s perspective, including bundled accessories with their products is not costing
them money because of the extra expense.
But rather, it’s costing them money on lost sales that could’ve otherwise been made
by customers purchasing the accessories separately.
And I think what’s more important is the effect this is having on the user experience.
There are people unboxing their new iPhones and are disappointed to discover they can
no longer use their favorite wired headphones.
So they either have to go out and buy the $10 adapter, or purchase wireless headphones
which may be out of their budget.
There are people unboxing their new MacBook and are disappointed when they can’t connect
their USB thumb drive or lightning cables.
And it’s a shame, since all of this trouble and frustration could have easily been prevented
had Apple just included the necessary adapters like they used to in the past.
So while I don’t think this is dealbreaker when it comes to buying Apple products, it
certainly suggests the company is doing its best to maximize profits.
I just hope they don’t lose sight of the user experience along they way.
So that’s why Apple charges more for less, and if you want to vote for the next video
topic, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time.