I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet • Hacker News Board

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#21

Post by bene_legionary » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:02 AM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #11

dylan604 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia will be the new Cuba with phone tech 50 years old instead of cars. Or, they'll just keep supplying from China and not really notice

That assumes that the situation will last 50 years. Cuba has been embargoed by the US for so long because its oligarchs all moved to Florida and Texas and took their money with them and have bought themselves some American democracy with it. My cynical side thinks that the worst case scenario (short of nukes or full-scale WWIII) where Russia essentially annexes Ukraine like China did Tibet will eventually lead to rou…

To be fair, the annexation of Tibet happened at a time where China was irrelevant on the world stage having come out of WW2 and a civil war almost completely ruined. Tibet wasn't recognised internationally as a country at the time because of the KMT claims to it. That's not to say that the CCP's invasion, annexation and suppression should have happened or was moral in any way, but Ukraine today has much more political clout and meaning than Tibet had 70 years ago, because attitudes and the capabilities of the countries involved today were different then than they are now.

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#22

Post by wtmt » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:02 AM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #10

vaghetti wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://themacindex.com/variants/MKGT3/macbook-pro-14-inch-m... It can always get worse :)

Fascinating site—I was surprised to see Thailand as the cheapest country on the list, although I realize that I know nothing about their trade policies.

That site, shows the prices (in Thailand and elsewhere) by default with tax refunds. I presume that to be the tax refunds for short term travelers in that country who buy things there, and not applicable to ordering online from there and getting it shipped. AFAIK, a few countries (including countries like Australia and Canada) have such tax refunds above a specific amount of spending for some specific categories of spending.

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#23

Post by pjmlp » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:08 AM UTC

I am lucky enough to live in a country that isn't that bad, however all the Apple stuff I ever owned, wasn't mine rather provided by work/custormer's project.

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#24

Post by low_tech_love » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:09 AM UTC

There is one other important factor that is seldom discussed: inequality. Even being so expensive, they still sell enough to make good profits, because there is enough rich people in Brazil to buy them once a year. Brazil has one of the higher inequalities in the world and while it’s common to say Brazil is poor, the truth is that there is a shitload of very rich people too (it’s more than 200M people after all). I’m sure things would change if people simply stopped buying them (or couldn’t afford).

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#25

Post by pjmlp » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:09 AM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #11

dylan604 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia will be the new Cuba with phone tech 50 years old instead of cars. Or, they'll just keep supplying from China and not really notice

That assumes that the situation will last 50 years. Cuba has been embargoed by the US for so long because its oligarchs all moved to Florida and Texas and took their money with them and have bought themselves some American democracy with it. My cynical side thinks that the worst case scenario (short of nukes or full-scale WWIII) where Russia essentially annexes Ukraine like China did Tibet will eventually lead to rou…

The way the escalation might go on, it probably won't matter how long it would last.

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#26

Post by dougSF70 » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:12 AM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #8

Even before I clicked the link, I was sure the answer was Brazil. It's not so much the taxes that raise the prices as the tariffs (which are kind of invisible taxes in that they are paid through higher prices rather than directly—which is part of what made a former president's boasting about raising tariffs somewhat absurd. It seemed he believed that the exporting country paid the price of the tariffs and not domesti…

Isn't it referred to as Brazil Cost by economists. The only way to reduce the tariff is to manufacture locally. NOKIA did this and gained significant market share as a result 20+ years ago

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#27

Post by ivan90210 » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:14 AM UTC

teaearlgraycold wrote: post #5

Won't this soon be Russia now that Apple has cut all sales with the country?

now, actually

https://www.citilink.ru/product/noutbuk-apple-macbook-pro-m1...

6400$

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#28

Post by vhgyu75e6u » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:16 AM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #11

dylan604 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia will be the new Cuba with phone tech 50 years old instead of cars. Or, they'll just keep supplying from China and not really notice

That assumes that the situation will last 50 years. Cuba has been embargoed by the US for so long because its oligarchs all moved to Florida and Texas and took their money with them and have bought themselves some American democracy with it. My cynical side thinks that the worst case scenario (short of nukes or full-scale WWIII) where Russia essentially annexes Ukraine like China did Tibet will eventually lead to rou…

Cuba has survived for 50 year by leaching off from other countries, USSR until its fall, then Venezuela with two puppet regimes and when that also failed, Obama threw them Oxygen by opening up.

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#29

Post by windex » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:16 AM UTC

Some parts of this price ecosystem would have looked different if Samsung had decided to straighten up their act and not shovel out crapware, adware, and nagware with their so called "Updates" for their lower end phones. It's a lost opportunity for Samsung.

Apple gets to do this because their devices seem safer, easier, and faster to use right now.

Re: I live in the country with the most expensive Apple products on the planet

#30

Post by dylan604 » Wed, Mar 09, 2022, 7:18 AM UTC

wtmt wrote: post #17

dylan604 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking that a $3000+ anything from Apple just doesn't sound mind blowing. Then again, I'm always one to play the game of max everything out on Apple's new thing, and then think about how many other things that could buy. Regional differences apply, but you could easily buy a really decent car for some Apple gear maxed out (think MacPro) or just a daily beater for the price of a maxed out MBP laptop. The fact…

I find the comparison with a car a bit amusing, though I get your point. Usually, a car spends more than 95% of the time parked somewhere, whereas a smartphone or a computer are usually used for at least a few hours everyday. I’m not saying that cars are useless in comparison. It’s just that they’re not even near the same category on what they offer to the user.

Just for the lulz, I just maxed out a MacPro: $52,299.

I know I'm cheap and what not, but there's not many things in my world that costs $52k. A car is the most relatable thing in that price range to me, so that's where I turn. I'm guessing for some of you overpaid SV types , that's just an average night at the club. We all relate to things differently.