The Cost of Apple-Fanboyism in 2020

I published this post in 2018 where I break down pricing of someone like myself who wants to buy in to the Apple ecosystem whole-hog. Note, inflation I supposedly 3.7% from 2018 to 2020 so we can factor that int to my math.

Here are prices from 2018:

iPhone XS: $999
iPad Pro: $799 but add $129 for a pencil and $179 for a Keyboard
MacBook Air, $1199
iMac: $1999 (for the one worth buying)
AppleCare $129 for iPhone, $129 for iPad, $149 for MacBook, $129 for iMac
$12 a year for iCloud
$120 a year for Apple Music
Add in $60 for a monthly $5 rental
$149 for Apple TV + $29 for AppleCare 
$450 for the regular AppleWatch 
$159 for AirPods
$349 for HomePod

If an Apple fan were to purchase everything Apple Makes without configuring them at the highest price, they’d spend $7,162 on 12 months to own all of Apple’s technology products and all of these are on a yearly cadence. If you spread this out over 3 years (which is the cycle time Apple tends to like for their customers), it’s $2387 each year to keep current with Apple’s eco-system. 

Adjusted for inflation, you’re looking at $7,427. Let’s re-try this exercise in 2020. I’m taking some liberties because I am a blogger, not a journalist and I’m going to indicate what I would buy. Such as iPhone 12 Pro (non-Max) being in line with the iPhone XS and iPad Pro’s pricing of the base model but I’m using the Magic Keyboard and I’ll be including AirPods Pro.

1. iPhone 12 Pro: $999
2. iPad Pro with Pencil & Keyboard: 1377
3. MacBook Air: $1299
4. iMac: $2299
5. AppleCare: $79 for Watch, $29 for AppleTV 4K, $169 for iMac, $199 for iPhone, $129 for iPad, $249 for MacBook Air $29 for AirPods, $39 for HomePod
6. Apple One Premier: $360 (supersedes my price for iCloud, Music, Rentals)
7. AppleTV: $149
8. AppleWatch (Series 6, Aluminum, 44mm, Cellular) $529
9. AirPods Pro: $249
10. HomePod: $299

2020 Pricing = $8482 or $1055 increase 2 years over. Not terrible considering a few things. Of course we can disregard the actual product improvements like speed, cameras, functions, etc but remember, in the last 2 years:

1. AirPods Pro are new & pricier but a a very compelling product worth considering over AirPods
2. AppleOne makes going all in on services more value for your money but yes more expensive than just iCloud Storage + Apple Music
3. The Magic Keyboard is way better than the Smart Keyboard which is still for sale
4. The Apple Watch Pricing did increase quite a bit but Series 3 to 6 was a big jump in many ways
5. Finally, AppleCare seems to have gone up for iPhone, MacBook and iMac in quite a big way.

I did add a caveat in 2018 that’s worth quoting below:

So if Apple’s goal is to make their product last longer, I’m all for it but they’re partially doing it by raising prices which I really don’t agree with. And if you’e like me and always want to own the latest Apple Hardware, it’s now an impossible chore, one that most people can’t possibly keep up with. If I upgraded all of my Apple Hardware every year, I’d do nothing but buy Apple hardware and eat ramen every meal. It’s already a difficult task being a home owner and Apple fanboy. 

I do believe they’ve successfully extended the usable life of every product. You can keep every device they make now for at least 3 years and sometimes longer than 5 years which would be an annual cost of around $1700 USD. Still far more than most Americans have each year to spend on technology but it is also a splurge to say someone needs AppleCare on everything and that they need both an iMac and MacBook Air. It does bring me to the point that I’d have a hard time if I had 2-3 kids in school. I can’t imagine an Apple Watch, iPhone, HomePod Mini and MacBook Air in every room. “Sorry couldn’t save for college, you just had to have music in every room, kiddo”

Prices have gone up but I don’t think the increases are unreasonable when many of the devices I referenced in 2018 are actually still available for cheaper. An iPhone 12 mini, iPad Air and Apple Watch SE are actually better than what we had at the top tier in 2018 and at a lower cost. Apple has totally gone down market in prices which makes their products more accessible which is a good thing when American wages have not kept up with inflation. 

This is far from a rant but more of a check-up on how pricing is changing over time. At the top end, yes prices are up but someone can walk into an Apple Store with $1000 and get an iPhone SE, Watch SE, HomePod Mini and probably get a few accessories. When you consider most Americans use their phones for everything, Apple is more affordable than ever. The fanboys will continue to be penalized but we are not Apple’s demographic anymore. We’re the fringe and Apple will continue to take our money if we’re willing to hand it over.