I think this is a fun and brutally honest take on where we are as a tech industry and how we are finally connecting with what people want and, most importantly, need. I have to be fair here because this is a Windows-centric website, so we don’t always pay as close attention to Apple announcements and product releases. This week, I’ve paid attention, and here’s why. Not everyone needs a top-spec cell phone, tablet, or PC. Marketing slogans and commercials might make us feel that way. As some prices continue to rise and the cost of living increases, consumers are often looking for, or in some cases forced to find, cheaper options to meet their needs.
For the Apple announcements this week, we didn’t have any fanfare, no expensive presentations or anything of the sort, other than the media event on Apple campus this week for some hands-on time with the new devices. It’s as if Apple might be realizing what their audience needs from them, at least for right now. Cost-effective devices that don’t read or feel like scrapped leftovers from models gone by just to hit a price point.
Back in 2013, I fell into the Apple ecosystem hard, very hard. I was a hobby developer at best, finding my way through the gates of content creation. Apple’s clever marketing campaigns alongside a very fractured Android ecosystem convinced me I needed in. A Saturday afternoon at the local Best Buy, then to the Apple Store next door; I came home with Pro everything and the tears of a credit card in my pocket. I came home, got it all set up, spent more money, made the Final Cut Pro purchase, paired my phone, and was texting on my laptop with a full-size keyboard. This was real; I was happy. Later came the watch, the HomePod, and even an iMac.
These were all Intel-based devices; the battery life wasn’t great, but I had my Apple logo man, just like everyone else. Fast forward to 2019, it had been a few years, my beloved Apple devices had lost their shine, still worked, but were becoming aged and outdated, and I needed some upgrades.
When it was time to upgrade, I didn’t want to reinvest thousands again. PCs had changed, Phone Link was being talked about, so off to eBay my Apple gear went, and back to Windows it was for me. I’ve been here ever since. A few years ago, I did get a full spec iMac from a family member. I turned it on, updated it, turned it back off, and it sits in the corner unused. I’ve been a Windows user on various brands of PCs since. Except for gaming, my Snapdragon PCs handle most of my daily tasks.
It made me realize something: the everyday user likely doesn’t require the PC that marketing wants you to purchase. Point being, until this week, every time I looked at the Apple lineup, it was an automatic “not interested.” Price versus need just hasn’t matched. Knowing that I’m an ecosystem user, sitting on the Samsung phone that still has a payment didn’t feel good either. This week, however, Apple turned my head to their side of the street. The iPhone 17e actually makes sense for me and likely most people. Sure, some corners have been cut; the biggest for me would be the lack of peak outdoor brightness, but nothing I haven’t used before. 256GB and 512GB storage options aren’t pushing me toward the Pro models; just because I have a lot of media is nice. I’m still under $1,000 for a capable mobile device. For an office everyday task PC, the MacBook Air sits out there at $1,099, with a default of 16GB of RAM, finally.
Thanks, Apple, it’s about time. If I really needed just a good couch potato, the new MacBook Neo announced today sits out there at $599. It does cut a few corners pretty sharply, with just one true USB-C port; it’d be a dongle world. Limited to 8GB of Ram, Apple gives on the MacBook Air, takes it back on MacBook Neo. But I think I could make it work.
So someone could enter the Apple ecosystem for the first time, or in my case, again, for just over $1,200 for a laptop and phone, with an upper limit of $1,500 if one of those devices were upgraded. Not too shabby, Apple, not too shabby at all. Of course, we’ll have to watch how these devices perform under real-world loads to see if it makes sense.
Now if they’d just do something about that AI on Apple devices. That’s a write-up for another day.
