Technichi: Macbook Subscription Service

You'll pay for a shorter lease term with a much higher monthly payment. Depreciation isn't linear; both a car and a computer will lose value much faster during the first 6 months than during the second 6 months (much less months 12-18.) So if you lease for say, 6 months rather than 24, the rate has to reflect that higher depreciation (plus the risk and cost associated with reselling the item at the end of the lease, spread over a much smaller number of periods.) I could easily see it costing double the rate Apple charges for a 24 month lease to rent for 6 months.

Example: $2000 machine that depreciates to $1500 after 6 months, 1200 after 12 months, $800 after 24 (keep in mind much of the value loss happens when you "drive it off the lot" and turn it from new into used). $100 overhead on accepting the return, cleaning it up and reselling it to extract that value. 6 mo lease: ($2000 - $1500 + $100) / 6 mo = $100/mo 12 mo lease: ($2000 - $1200 + $100) / 12 mo = $66/mo 24 mo lease: ($2000 - $800 + $100) / 24 mo = $50/mo

(Yes, I"m ignoring interest here. But rates are low.)

You were downvoted for saying exactly what I was about to say: for most consumer use, my 2009 MBP does everything I need. It beats me at chess. A/V transcoding could be faster, but that's really an edge use case for me, and probably most people, even on HN.

What I do care about is ergonomics, specifically the keyboard, and I have yet to find a $300 (or $600) Windows or Android machine with a keyboard comparable to a Mac. If it exists, I hope someone will let me know in the comments.

Your fanboy radar betrays your better judgement.

This is a thread about how computers get better over the years. A modern Macbook Pro is leagues better than one 2 years ago (SSD, PCIe, Retina Screen, smaller), and the one 2-years-ago is leagues better than a 4-year-old Macbook Pro (Sandy Bridge vs C2D, GPU upgrades, etc. etc.).

I chose the Dell Venue 8 Pro because it is a cheap $300 machine to emphasize a point. Computers continue to make progress exponentially... to the point where a 4-year-old "premium computer" is specs-for-specs comparable to one of the trashiest, slowest modern computers of this time.

I'm a little pissed that I have to change my argument structure to cater to your fanboy mindset. I'm not taking a dig at Mac, I'm trying to make a point about technology and the rate at which it improves.

Long story short: the computer industry has always been about forward progress at an exponential rate. This will make it difficult for any "leasing" structure to work with computers. Depreciation of laptops happens too quickly.

I'm thinking of the typical car vs the typical computer.

>> New cars typically lose about 20% of their value the moment they’re driven off the lot, and about 65% after five years.

MBPs are one of the few computers that hold their value the best. But after 5 years, you're looking at a depreciation rate of 75%+ (going from $2000+ in 2009 to only $500 in 2014).

But we're looking at the _best_ computer that holds its value the best. No one gives a damn about a refurbished Dell Inspiron from 2010.

www.sears.com/dell-refurbished-dell-latitude-e6400-14inch-notebook-intel/

You're looking at ~90% depreciation for the more typical laptop, and maybe 70% if you focus only on Macbooks. With Cars, you're looking at 65% typical depreciation, with only ~45% if you focus on Camrys or Corolas.

A 2009 Camry will run you ~12k today, only 45% depreciation.

This service has been existing in Europe for a while. It’s not nearly as polished, though.

Yes, it requires a initial investment, but with a big insurance (fraud is rampant and breakage astounding) a bank would be happy to pay against easily re-sold inventory.

The key differentiating factor is the minimum rental time: you can offer any period, but One-day rentals require a different logistic than a year.

I would personally love to see a meaningful One-week option because my MBAir needs new batteries, and I can’t imagine stepping away from it more than a day. If Apple could afford that through its Official Repair Partner, I’d be a happy man.