MacBook Pricing Debate

The cluster centers on debates about whether MacBooks are overpriced compared to equivalent PC laptops from brands like Dell or Lenovo, factoring in performance, battery life, build quality, resale value, and software integration.

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Keywords

RAM e.g CPU SSD ARM M1 youtu.be HDD MacBooks PC macbook price laptop macbook pro pro apple mac macbooks mbp priced

Sample Comments

adastra22 Jul 12, 2025 View on HN

How is buying the cheapest Mac laptop paying a premium?

sneed_chucker Nov 10, 2023 View on HN

Bizarre bitterness. You really think nobody is buying Macs on their merit?Maybe you're European and apple products cost a lot more where you live?In the states, base model MacBook Airs are frequently ~$800 on sale.You can get an official refurb MacBook Air or Pro with 16GB/1TB for ~$1300 from Apple's website right now.Those machines are priced competitively when compared to Dell XPS, new ThinkPads, etc.They also have much better battery life, screens, and overall bu

OrgNet Apr 25, 2020 View on HN

Arent MacBooks overpriced because of MacOS?

ForFreedom Nov 29, 2012 View on HN

Why would I buy something that cost USD 15XX. I'll just get myself a macbook.

ProAm Dec 29, 2017 View on HN

You can easily build a comparable one for 1/4 of the price. Especially for what most Mac users do with their PC/laptops. Apple has always extraordinarily overcharged/taken advantage of their customers. Of course this is my opinion, and like I said I even used to recommend them to less than technical folks because it used to 'just work'.

trashcanman Jul 18, 2023 View on HN

Macbooks use unified memory and ARM SoCs and substantially outperform Intel machines with nearly double the battery life. The MBAs can use two external displays either 4k@120 or 6k@60. There’s also a big usability difference between a 15 and 13 inch display. My MBA 15 w 16GB memory 70W charger and 512GB SSD (you need that for the full speed IO) cost me under $1500, granted w the educational discount. I also got $150 gift card, which I used to buy a discounted iPad Pro and then I got another $100

zitterbewegung Nov 2, 2021 View on HN

That was 20 years ago or more so the MacBook is much cheaper even if it is maxed out

zone411 May 8, 2020 View on HN

There are few more expensive laptops so I'd say so. The 16-inch 2019 MacBook Pro starts at $2400 and you only get a 512 GB SSD for this price. Apple itself is more of a premium brand.

tlrobinson Aug 13, 2009 View on HN

$700-900. Hmph. Might as well buy a MacBook.

imron Aug 15, 2016 View on HN

And this is why people are wrong when they say Apple Macbooks are overpriced and you can get the equivalent or better laptop for a cheaper price.Yes, you can get something with the exact same hardware specs for cheaper, but when you also consider size, weight, battery life, high-quality trackpad and other components, there are very few products that compare - and those that do are at the same or higher price level.