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Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

engadget.com

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Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#91

Post by dangus »

Don't focus on the stand. Focus on the fact that this is a 60Hz, no mini-LED, no-HDR monitor for $1600.

Don't forget that the predecessor Mac-specific product, the LG UltraFine 5K, was only $1300 and included an adjustable stand that disconnected without any need to buy a specific VESA version or buy any sort of adapter.

They're showing clips of people producing video content on this monitor. Who is shopping in this budget range doing serious video work without wanting the ability to work with HDR video?

The Mac Studio is a decent value, but this product really isn't.

It seems to me that Apple designed this monitor for wealthy non-creators who want to sit on Zoom calls with a shiny metallic monitor that looks nice next to their Restoration Hardware dining room set. You can tell that's the case because that's where all the investment in features went: to the webcam, and to the speakers. What creative professional do you know that wants speakers in their monitor at all?

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#92

Post by dangus »

theonemind wrote: post #63

I think this works like the opposite of a loss-leader, a product sold at a loss to draw people into a store, and/or like minor upsells at restaurants, like guacamole on the side. I got this theory from the Apple Explained youtube channel when he talked about the $600 wheels for Mac Pros Apple needs some high end items to keep its luxury appeal, but they really want the middle market without losing some perceived luxu…

This product is absolutely for the same kind of people who shop at Restoration Hardware, Gucci, Cartier, etc.

If it was for creative pros, it would have HDR. A $1600 monitor with no HDR, can you believe it? You can buy an entire laptop with an HDR mini-LED monitor from Apple for very nearly the same price. The base model iPhone mini can shoot in HDR but you can't play it back on the brand new Apple StUdIo MoNiToR from 2022.

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#93

Post by ProAm »

pcmoney wrote: post #18

Apple can do this because nobody else makes a high quality monitor that doesn’t look terrible. In nice offices, each chair is a couple thousand each. Full designs easily $50k+. Theyre not going to mess up a such a thoughtfully designed aesthetic with some slab of black plastic and an Amazon Basics stand (which is what I use) to save $1-2k.

Apple does this because they do not respect their customers.

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#94

Post by oneplane »

TAKEMYMONEY wrote: post #47
pcmoney wrote: post #18

Apple can do this because nobody else makes a high quality monitor that doesn’t look terrible. In nice offices, each chair is a couple thousand each. Full designs easily $50k+. Theyre not going to mess up a such a thoughtfully designed aesthetic with some slab of black plastic and an Amazon Basics stand (which is what I use) to save $1-2k.

But a $400 premium? I work in a "nice" office (with a chair and motorized standing desk that each cost several thousand) and we use nearly bezel-less 4k monitors with brushed aluminum tilt-and-raise stands that aren't made by Apple. There's a huge range between Apple and AmazonBasics industrial-design-wise now, especially when you're bidding for enterprise-level equipment contracts.

At that point where the personal work area budget of 200k really doesn't care if your monitor arm costs $50 or $2000... well it doesn't matter anymore.

Price-fighting over workplace items only applies to the mass market. (which is both the problem and the solution: if you want to save some money, buy a different stand and VESA-mount it)

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#95

Post by oneplane »

GeekyBear wrote: post #68

Much more interesting from a technical standpoint: >how would you even top a single 432mm2 chip that’s already pushing the limits of manufacturability on TSMC’s N5 process? By enabling the M1 Ultra’s two dies to transparently present themselves as a single GPU It’s a problem that multiple companies have been working on for over a decade, and it would seem that Apple is charting new ground by being the first company t…

Yep, even the infinity fabric isn't "as good as" the Ultra inter-die connection.

AMD, Intel and others have been trying for a while, but so far I only know about Cerebras simply making a single-wafer "chip" to actually pull it off. Of course, that is completely impossible to do at scale, trashing an entire wafer is extremely expensive and not something you're going to do at a 100million+ device sales target.

I am super curious what the Asahi project and others are going to pull from underneath the marketing and macOS-visible parts, the M1 adventures alone were very interesting to follow.

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#96

Post by the_doctah »

vaidhy wrote: post #41
pcmoney wrote: post #18

Apple can do this because nobody else makes a high quality monitor that doesn’t look terrible. In nice offices, each chair is a couple thousand each. Full designs easily $50k+. Theyre not going to mess up a such a thoughtfully designed aesthetic with some slab of black plastic and an Amazon Basics stand (which is what I use) to save $1-2k.

I believe this is sarcasm taken to heights. We have $50K+ designs where people are not allowed to touch and use because the aesthetics will be broken :)

>I believe this is sarcasm taken to heights.

No, Apple fanatics really believe only Apple can make aesthetically pleasing things. They are enablers for the company at this point.

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#97

Post by w0mbat »

TAKEMYMONEY wrote: post #67
hughrr wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Decent monitor arms easily cost $300-500.

1. Excellent monitor arms might cost that much, most are closer to $200-300. Decent ones are way less. 2. This is $400 more than the other arm . You're paying $400 for the added height adjustment.

Most VESA monitor arms are like $30 to $40.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=VESA+monitor+arm

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#98

Post by acdha »

barkerja wrote: post #16
acdha wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and plenty of cheap ones, too — you have a pretty good range based on features and looks. This kind of complaint is pretty predictable: most people who want one will drop $100 on a normal VESA stand or arm, but the Apple one is definitely competing with people who either want the matching designer image or simply aren't that price sensitive. Here's an example of Herman Miller, which is definitely competing for t…

Are these arms large/long enough to allow for a 27" to go portrait?

There are definitely arms available for almost any size or weight range you can imagine, but the heavier weight-rated ones tend to be pretty utilitarian since there's really no way around the physics of a weight on a lever arm.

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#99

Post by hughrr »

w0mbat wrote: post #97
TAKEMYMONEY wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Excellent monitor arms might cost that much, most are closer to $200-300. Decent ones are way less. 2. This is $400 more than the other arm . You're paying $400 for the added height adjustment.

Most VESA monitor arms are like $30 to $40. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=VESA+monitor+arm

They all seem to have serious problems at that price point. I got through about three before giving up and buying a decent one, albeit second hand.

Re: Apple turns monitor height adjustment into a $400 upsell

#100

Post by apetrovic »

dangus wrote: post #92
theonemind wrote: post #63

I think this works like the opposite of a loss-leader, a product sold at a loss to draw people into a store, and/or like minor upsells at restaurants, like guacamole on the side. I got this theory from the Apple Explained youtube channel when he talked about the $600 wheels for Mac Pros Apple needs some high end items to keep its luxury appeal, but they really want the middle market without losing some perceived luxu…

This product is absolutely for the same kind of people who shop at Restoration Hardware, Gucci, Cartier, etc. If it was for creative pros, it would have HDR. A $1600 monitor with no HDR, can you believe it? You can buy an entire laptop with an HDR mini-LED monitor from Apple for very nearly the same price. The base model iPhone mini can shoot in HDR but you can't play it back on the brand new Apple StUdIo MoNiToR fro…

> A $1600 monitor with no HDR, can you believe it?

Is there a good alternative for reasonably calibrated 27" monitor, with 5K resolution, integrated (96W) USB-C hub that have camera, good speakers and HDR? How much that monitor costs?

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