Justified?

[Dolby]

Look - another battle in the OS platform wars. Boring....

Move on - use your preferred OS and forget about the other. Save your money for a new Mac once every 7 years using your life savings, because they last longer, or buy the best PC every second year for next to nothing, because they become obsolete a lot faster.

I don't think initial question was on the OS - it was more of (I think) it a R12,000.00 Mac worth the premium over the identical R8,000.00 PC.

I remember a stage when a Mac was almost double the price and it looked like ... a PC. I couldn't see anything any reason to pay DOUBLE for a Mac over a PC. I think that gap has closed considerably and on to of that, Macs looks much better than they did.

 

[clasqm]

"It still amazes me that when some people get an Apple device, they think they're getting a magical unicorn or a Bugatti Veyron, the difference is, Bugatti don't use 1400 datsun parts and add 800% markup.

Mac parts are literally average desktop parts in a nice pretty box, may as well add a faggy ribbon.

But because they're paying so much, it just HAS to be the best.

I have an i7 laptop that plays bluray, has 4GB ram upgradable to 16GB, 2 hard drive bays, I paid 7000 for it but was lucky to have someone visit california and brig it back to me (more than a year ago).

How much would a Mac cost that has exactly the same parts, 30 000?"

Well, no. This is a laptop, and Apple's most expensive laptop lists for 25 000. That includes the import taxes that the OP cheated the government out of. Anyone care to forward his post to SARS?

There's a "gotcha" in here, of course. Apple doesn't do blueray. At all. But then, I could say "I have a Mac with a Thunderbolt port. How much would a PC with EXACTLY THE SAME PARTS cost?" You can't, it doesn't exist. This EXACTLY THE SAME PARTS nonsense is a red herring. The OP does not even give a comprehensive list of his parts. What sort of graphics card are we talking about? What display technology? Disk make and capacity?

OK, no tired old car analogy this time. Some people wear diamonds. But if a cubic zirconia is good enough for you, go with it.

 

[Smiley_lauf]

The hardware and software in Apple talk to each other integrally (that is what I have appreciated about Apple); the OS designed to make full use of the hardware and vice versa (that too efficiently). So I think it is not fair to compare hardware PC and Hardware Apple.

 

[[)roi(]]

The Mac vs PC debate can get very heated, and goes on and on with resolve... can it ever end?
Given enough time, many journals / blogs / forums can be filled with this useless debate, either for or against Apple products; those that have them, revere them (yes that includes OSX, for those that incorrectly believe only Windows can be synonymous with the sangraal.)

--------------
Yes of course I like Macs: firstly for the OS (OSX with its solid BSD Unix base), and secondly for the build quality of their products.

Of course you could build your own computer (and possibly save some money), but just like cigarettes (how many people really choose to roll their own?) -- and that doesn't even touch on end result (home built computers in my opinion are noisy ugly ducklings, who are stunted from ever becoming a swan)

 

[koeksGHT]

I do find apple slightly overpriced... Very nice products but if you don't care about a brand name there are many alternatives...

 

[MattyW]

Apple build solid products and for that they take a nice cut, doesn't seem that unreasonable to me as pointed out earlier the mark up isn't that extreme {unlike the iphone}, it would be one thing if their were not other options but even people who know nothing about PC's can buy pre-built ones if they feel intimidated by building them, apple provide an alternate {more pricey} route for people who don't want to worry about anything or who need OS X.

Mind you I personally feel apple's products are way way overpriced but I have built many of my own PC's and I look at it from a pure "price for specs" view so for other people it may not seem that way.

 

[[)roi(]]

I do find apple slightly overpriced... Very nice products but if you don't care about a brand name there are many alternatives...

... and none of them offer OSX (yes some of us do prefer it to Windows), and on the design I'm sorry to say but nothing matches up as yet; granted it's improving but nothing quite stands out...

 

[[)roi(]]

Apple build solid products and for that they take a nice cut, doesn't seem that unreasonable to me as pointed out earlier the mark up isn't that extreme {unlike the iphone}, it would be one thing if their were not other options but even people who know nothing about PC's can buy pre-built ones if they feel intimidated by building them, apple provide an alternate {more pricey} route for people who don't want to worry about anything or who need OS X.

Mind you I personally feel apple's products are way way overpriced but I have built many of my own PC's and I look at it from a pure "price for specs" view so for other people it may not seem that way.

How can you say the iPhone is overpriced; compared to what?

• Iphone 4S Unlocked (USA) = $599 (Apple site)
• Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II = $544 (Amazon)
• Motorola DROID RAZR XT910 = $649 (mobilecity)

In the US btw, many of the contract smart phones are priced more expensive that the iPhone... so how does that hold up to your statement?

Apple's cut as you put it is all down to the rationalization they achieve on the supply chain i.e. higher volume = improved margin -- yes you could argue that's why they should be even cheaper; but sorry that not how the commercial world operates.


-------
Also, before it get touched on I'd like to point out that we should avoid getting too stuck on RAM and processor specs. On the PC vs Mac parts debate -- you need only look at the performance stats for the new macbook air (some parts are worth more than others e.g. SSD vs more RAM).

There are many articles stating why both Apple and Microsoft smartphones are choosing to stay with a lesser amount of RAM (512Mb vs 1Gb)
i.e. Because it uses less battery, similarly faster processes use more battery -- that's also possibly why even though the same chipset is shared between the ipad2 and the iPhone 4s; the iPhone 4s chipset has been clocked to run at a lower speed to further conserve battery. This same argument is also most likely valid for the lack of 4G (HTC EVO 4G was the first with this -- battery life on 4G was only 3 hours).

Many believe that Android phones suppliers are chasing the processor and RAM game to try to stay ahead of the operating system lag issues and of course to play the "mine is bigger than yours game" -- ultimately what counts is the how well the performance is (not the size of what's under the hood)

Microsoft btw has acknowledge even with Windows 8 that they have significantly reduced the RAM foot print and process requirements (required of course for there attempts to get into the tablet game)

 

[MattyW]

How can you say the iPhone is overpriced; compared to what?

• Iphone 4S Unlocked (USA) = $599 (Apple site)
• Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II = $544 (Amazon)
• Motorola DROID RAZR XT910 = $649 (mobilecity)

In the US btw, many of the contract smart phones are priced more expensive that the iPhone... so how does that hold up to your statement?

Apple's cut as you put it is all down to the rationalization they achieve on the supply chain i.e. higher volume = improved margin -- yes you could argue that's why they should be even cheaper; but sorry that not how the commercial world operates.


-------
Also, before it get touched on I'd like to point out that we should avoid getting too stuck on RAM and processor specs. On the PC vs Mac parts debate -- you need only look at the performance stats for the new macbook air (some parts are worth more than others e.g. SSD vs more RAM).

There are many articles stating why both Apple and Microsoft smartphones are choosing to stay with a lesser amount of RAM (512Mb vs 1Gb)
i.e. Because it uses less battery, similarly faster processes use more battery -- that's also possibly why even though the same chipset is shared between the ipad2 and the iPhone 4s; the iPhone 4s chipset has been clocked to run at a lower speed to further conserve battery. This same argument is also most likely valid for the lack of 4G (HTC EVO 4G was the first with this -- battery life on 4G was only 3 hours).

Many believe that Android phones suppliers are chasing the processor and RAM game to try to stay ahead of the operating system lag issues and of course to play the "mine is bigger than yours game" -- ultimately what counts is the how well the performance is (not the size of what's under the hood)

Microsoft btw has acknowledge even with Windows 8 that they have significantly reduced the RAM foot print and process requirements (required of course for there attempts to get into the tablet game)

However all the things you list cost money to put in a phone , you can't say apple is overpriced just because they are trying to save battery.

The baseline iPhone 4S model with 16 gigabytes (GB) of NAND flash memory carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $188. When the additional $8 manufacturing cost is added in, the total increases to $196. The other iPhone 4S models are identical to the baseline version, with the exception of the addition of more NAND flash. This gives the mid range, 32GB model a BOM of $207, and the high-end 64GB version a BOM of $245

Link: http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/iPhone-4S-Carries-BOM-of-$188,-IHS-iSuppli-Teardown-Analysis-Reveals.aspx

So for 50 dollars cheaper you get a SG2 which has another another slot of DIMM RAM {which costs more}, a faster processor {which possibly doesn't cost more or does, I wouldn't know}, a bigger battery which costs more, faster connection speeds {which probably cost more for the chip}, not sure if that one you linked to has NFC but some of the american ones do {which cost more}, might not be true but apparently the screen costs between 30-60% more to manufacture { http://www.oled-info.com/tags/market-reports/isupply }, Samsung also pays microsoft license fees for every estimated between $5-$15 dollars. All this for $50 dollars cheaper and not from samsung mind you but from amazon unlike the iphone which is directly from apple

Also apple has a far far easier time using economies of scale to their advantage and I do believe that is how the world operates, apple only produce a few phones at a time and thus can buy massive amounts of materials in bulk for cheaper. It costs apple about $200 dollars to produce that phone they sell for $599 and that is pure profit for them the scale gets even worse on the more expensive models, it costs about $250 to produce the 64Gb model which they sell for about $800

This should illustrate what I mean aswel.

The iPhone has made Apple more than half of the mobile phone industry’s overall profits.
It accounts for just 4.2 per cent of the global mobile phone market share in the third quarter of this year, but the company has still managed to rake in 52 per cent of profits, according to Canaccord Genuity.
Analyst Michael Walkley said that it was 'remarkable' such a big share of the profit had been generated.
He claims the company is poised to claim an even larger share in the December quarter.
Apple is predicted to take at least 60 per cent with 29 million iPhone sales, up from the firm’s earlier estimate of 27 million.
Mr Walkley said: 'With Nokia in the midst of a challenging smartphone strategy transition and our checks indicating RIM and Motorola Mobility continue to struggle in North America given the increasingly competitive Android smartphone market, we believe Apple will gain further value share in the December quarter and could capture over 60 percent of industry profits.'

Mr Walkley also increased his price target on Apple from $545 to $560.
In the third quarter of 2011, Samsung and Apple combined make up 81 per cent of the money made for the smartphone market, with Samsung accounting for 29 per cent up from 19 per cent in the June quarter.
The rest of the eight largest manufacturers,Nokia, RIM, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG, HTC, all came in with under 10 per cent of the profits.

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...---rakes-impressive-52-industrys-profits.html

If the bolded statement alone doesn't tell you apple is ripping you off for the price of the phone I don't know what to say, samsung sells more phones than apple yet ends up with a {massively} smaller slice of the profit pie you could call that good business and from an investors standpoint it is but from a consumer stand point it is a rip off.

 

[Acydebyte]

I think that this thread has actualy hit the nail on the head so to speak....

Do i care that you can buy all the apple internals for $XXX and its sold for $XXX... No ! Do i care that it only has a XXMhz over the SG2 that has XXMhz and XXGB or RAM.. NO i dont.... Do i care that apple is chargiing me more than they should, No, because they arent in my opinion...

I didnt buy my apple products for the specs on the box, i bought them for the user experience, Apple didnt sell me a Screen, with a hard drive, RAM, keyboard and a mouse... They sold me a single unit computer with an amazing display, all built into one that seamlessly interacts with my phone, tablet, DVD machine etc.. They sold me an experience not a bunch of circuit boards......

If specs and prices etc are important to you, go get a PC, Laptop and a Droid Tablet or Phone.. That way you will get what you want and will feel proud to walk out the shop knowing you got a good deal...

I will go get my Apple products and you know what my wallet will be a bit lighter than yours afterward, however ik will feel proud everytime i use one of my Apple products, why... because i know that evertime i touch the power button it WILL work.. Everytime.....

On a side not, my wife just got a brand new top of the range W7 Laptop from her company, the thing is spec`d out if the park i7 Processor 4GB RAm, 600GB HDD etc... my 3yrd old iMac still boots up faster, connects to the internet quicker, loads MS Office faster etc...

Not sure of who here has any idea of systemic thinking, Apple have created their own isolated ecosystem and as such they can control any variables within the system, any good system architect knows, a system is only as good as its weakest link.....

 

[vinodh]

I have a MacBook Pro and a custom built desktop PC. Both devices are used for different tasks but cost similar amounts of money. Neither Apple or the manufactors of the various components of my PC held a gun to head wrt to purchasing their products. Personal choice and a free market is something we should enjoy. Not pick apart to create arguments to ruin perceprtions of products that potential users may not even have any experience with.

 

[Zyzzyva]

There are things about macs which i generally can't get anywhere else.

- The trackpad is unmatched. I still can't work out why a pc vendors put such crap in their machines. Controlling your cursor on a laptop is vital to the experience. 16 gigs of ram doing nothing most of the time is far more useless to most people.

- Smart flat battery design, which gives the laptop incredible battery life for its weight as well as lasting longer.

- Aluminium unibody is both beautiful and strong. The whole machine has essentially no flex. It's also incredibly light considering how strong it is.

- Screen. Apple does the leg work for you by generally using screens with fantastic viewing angles. Although it must be said they skimped on the resolution of 13 inch macbook pro. The 13inch air is much better. Its just nice knowing you don't have to think about it when you buy a mac, you just know it'll be a quality screen. A trackpad, keyboard, and screen are deal breaker aspects of a laptop.

- Design touches. I'm aways amazed when the sleep light goes invisible when turing off. Their use of lasers to drill microscopic holes in the unibody is just one of many instances where they show fantastic attention to detail. The design and engineering aspect of that just gets me every time. Its kinda the same when a Ferrari owner sits and looks at the stitching on his seats and oodles at the precision and care of it all. Its art i tell ya. Sure, it doesn't really matter i guess, but i'd rather have the pleasure of it than not.

- Minimalism. A closed macbook sitting on a desk is a thing of minimalist and engineering beauty. It's a machine designed with absolute attention to detail and pedantic care, with every instance of cruft and excess removed to leave a "sculpture" of near perfection. I'd rather look at it and enjoy the perfection of its body than use a heavier/hot in some cases/lower battery life/sticker covered/ creaking/gordy / glowing plastic machine which technically has higher specs.

- The only laptop which can run OSX, Linux, and Windows without any fuss. Sure you could Hackintosh a machine but its never the same. Who wants to put up with all of that work when you can avoid it. I have better things to do with my time.

- Font rendering. OSX just does fonts better than windows. Every time i boot up windows i just don't know how i put up with such skinny jagged characters for so long. Sure it isn't a big thing but i'd rather enjoy the best.

-OSX, nuff said. You could write a book on this one point (Although this is a personal preference, others might prefer windows).

 

[Zyzzyva]

I guess I'm not going to make any friends with my next comment, but...

Its become clear to me not everyone has an eye for design or really the same visual sense. Which is fine, not everyone is the same or has the same preferences; some feel beauty is superfluous and others feel it is vital. Nothing makes this more clear than browsing a "show your linux desktop" thread. Over the years i've been intrigued to see what the average linux user presents as their preferred visual setup or customisation. 99 times out of a hundred what you get is an inconstant jumble with glaring failings in term of beauty and design. Sure beauty is subjective, but clearly some are more sensitive to certain ailments than others.

The advanced linux user will even make comments about beauty wasting cpu cycles and the like. I guess is understandable, since they occasionally live in a world of text which they have become proficient at. I must agree there is something incredible satisfying and efficient in controlling your computer through a line of text, but then for the average human such things are pointless and excessive. Gladly, ubuntu and the like have been making huge strides in refining the experience and lowering the workload for the average person.

Its this vast difference in personalities and emphasis which often amazes me, and its also this difference in personalties which makes some people love macs and other people love something else. Which is just fine because there is a choice.

//edit// wow, coming back to this thread it seems my tone in this post comes across as rather snobbish. That wasn't my intent, but the fact remains people focus on different things. Some care about x and other care about y. But i think this is changing as the industry matures and those who design computers are not primarily made up of a certain demographic. The need to balance art and technology is becoming clearer by the day, where in the past, especially with windows and linux, the focus was so squarely on the engineering because those who built computer were so heavily interested in just the engineering. Now companies are really beginning to understand the value of art and the the perspective of the average person, and the need to make computers approachable and pleasant - basically more "human friendly".

 

[[)roi(]]

... If the bolded statement alone doesn't tell you apple is ripping you off for the price of the phone I don't know what to say, samsung sells more phones than apple yet ends up with a {massively} smaller slice of the profit pie you could call that good business and from an investors standpoint it is but from a consumer stand point it is a rip off.

But the retail prices are fairly similar, so are you really upset that Apple is better at the supply chain stuff vs Samsung? Sorry don't get the crux of your argument -- getting upset about Apple's better margin is for me the same type of argument as for example why one supermarket's milk is cheaper than another.

 

[Velenoso]

There are things about macs which i generally can't get anywhere else.

- The trackpad is unmatched. I still can't work out why a pc vendors put such crap in their machines. Controlling your cursor on a laptop is vital to the experience. 16 gigs of ram doing nothing most of the time is far more useless to most people.

- Smart flat battery design, which gives the laptop incredible battery life for its weight as well as lasting longer.

- Aluminium unibody is both beautiful and strong. The whole machine has essentially no flex. It's also incredibly light considering how strong it is.

- Screen. Apple does the leg work for you by generally using screens with fantastic viewing angles. Although it must be said they skimped on the resolution of 13 inch macbook pro. The 13inch air is much better. Its just nice knowing you don't have to think about it when you buy a mac, you just know it'll be a quality screen. A trackpad, keyboard, and screen are deal breaker aspects of a laptop.

- Design touches. I'm aways amazed when the sleep light goes invisible when turing off. Their use of lasers to drill microscopic holes in the unibody is just one of many instances where they show fantastic attention to detail. The design and engineering aspect of that just gets me every time. Its kinda the same when a Ferrari owner sits and looks at the stitching on his seats and oodles at the precision and care of it all. Its art i tell ya. Sure, it doesn't really matter i guess, but i'd rather have the pleasure of it than not.

- Minimalism. A closed macbook sitting on a desk is a thing of minimalist and engineering beauty. It's a machine designed with absolute attention to detail and pedantic care, with every instance of cruft and excess removed to leave a "sculpture" of near perfection. I'd rather look at it and enjoy the perfection of its body than use a heavier/hot in some cases/lower battery life/sticker covered/ creaking/gordy / glowing plastic machine which technically has higher specs.

- The only laptop which can run OSX, Linux, and Windows without any fuss. Sure you could Hackintosh a machine but its never the same. Who wants to put up with all of that work when you can avoid it. I have better things to do with my time.

- Font rendering. OSX just does fonts better than windows. Every time i boot up windows i just don't know how i put up with such skinny jagged characters for so long. Sure it isn't a big thing but i'd rather enjoy the best.

-OSX, nuff said. You could write a book on this one point (Although this is a personal preference, others might prefer windows).

Great post! Apple products are gorgeous and well specced. I don't mind paying a premium for that at all and you will never again catch me with that plastic rubbish in my home or office.

 

[noxibox]

Well, no. This is a laptop, and Apple's most expensive laptop lists for 25 000. That includes the import taxes that the OP cheated the government out of. Anyone care to forward his post to SARS?

There's only VAT, and if they don't check a parcel or person coming through the airport then there's no cheating.

OK, no tired old car analogy this time. Some people wear diamonds. But if a cubic zirconia is good enough for you, go with it.

Diamonds are just common rocks. Very common in fact. Apt analogy though because diamonds are also hugely overpriced.

Great post! Apple products are gorgeous and well specced. I don't mind paying a premium for that at all and you will never again catch me with that plastic rubbish in my home or office.

The Mac Pro is somewhat arbitrary.

Last time I compared an equivalent (actually slightly better) Dell desktop machine was significantly cheaper than a Mac Pro here, and the Dell came with a better warranty and support. Even the Dell was way more than building the same machine out of high quality parts myself, so the total Apple premium was huge. Premium laptops are closer to the price of a Macbook Pro, usually being superior in regard to CPU speed as well as hard drive size and speed, however the ones I've seen don't have a screen as good as Apple's and none come close to the trackpad.

 

[MattyW]

But the retail prices are fairly similar, so are you really upset that Apple is better at the supply chain stuff vs Samsung? Sorry don't get the crux of your argument -- getting upset about Apple's better margin is for me the same type of argument as for example why one supermarket's milk is cheaper than another.

I thought I made it very clear, with the samsung phone you get significantly more {e.i bigger battery, more RAM, more expensive screen technology exct.} Yet apple still sell the phone for more, if an iphone cost $1 to make and it sold for $599 that is called being ripped off, apple being better at the supply side of it has nothing to do with it. The fact is the galaxy s2 a {technologically} superior phone {note I mean in terms of pure specs, not saying the iphone isn't better in many ways}, can sell for cheaper then a competitor selling {a similiar or worse even cheaper to manufacture model} then the competitor is ripping you off. Also this should more clearly illustrate one of my points...

Apple iPhone 4S 16GB - FACTORY UNLOCKED On AMAZON {like the galaxy, which in fairness is apples to apples} cheapest I can find is $869

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...-options=see-all-buying-options&condition=new

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...-options=see-all-buying-options&condition=all

I didn't even do a semi-proper search so it's more than possible I missed something but that's what I managed to find with a quick amazon and google search. The better margin apple has was only used to illustrate my point that apple is robbing you blind, my argument is very clear on the same site a phone that costs <$200 for apple to make is selling for 4 times that {3 on the apple site}, the samsung galaxy s2 {which in fairness I can't find a price breakdown for} but should following simple logic be more expensive than the iphone to manufacture sells for cheaper now please explain to me how this is not called being ripped off. Also considering specs it's far more fair to compare the samsung to the 64GB iphone 4s model since {as mentioned it has many components that cost more money} the 64GB model is I think $200 dollars more expensive than the 16GB model {I could be wrong} anyway if you are happy to pay the premuim thats fine but it's not just me who thinks apple products are over priced.

At any rate as said earlier in my posts apple make solid products, I have even purchased a few myself and while their products are very reliable and the "it just works" slogan is well chosen as their products do just work, I do still think their products are over-priced ecspecially but not limited to the south african market {I understand this is core's fault but never the less}.

 

[bwana]

There's only VAT, and if they don't check a parcel or person coming through the airport then there's no cheating.

Nonsense - you're required to declare all goods and pay VAT/Duties on anything and everything exceeding the allowances.

 

[clasqm]

Diamonds are just common rocks. Very common in fact. Apt analogy though because diamonds are also hugely overpriced.

Really? I take it you're not married or engaged, then. Try giving a woman a fake diamond engagement ring and let us know how that works for you. But please feel free to let me relieve you of any of those "common" diamonds that are cluttering up your backyard. I mean really, you can't move without stumbling over another damn piece of diamond boulder.

And contrary to what you seem to think, there is no natural price, any more than which is overpriced. There is only what people are prepared to pay. You are not prepared to pay the price for an iPhone? Fair enough. Don't. Buy your Samsung phone and be happy with it. Other people see something in the Apple phone and think it is worth the asking price. What markup Apple charges is not your problem or mine. All that matters is whether we are prepared to pay the asking price. If Apple (or Samsung for that matter) sells something for R5000 and I am prepared to pay it, then whether it cost them R10, R100 or R1000 to make is simply not my problem. It's called capitalism. Look it up.

 

[[)roi(]]

I thought I made it very clear, with the samsung phone you get significantly more {e.i bigger battery, more RAM, more expensive screen technology exct.} Yet apple still sell the phone for more, if an iphone cost $1 to make and it sold for $599 that is called being ripped off, apple being better at the supply side of it has nothing to do with it. The fact is the galaxy s2 a {technologically} superior phone {note I mean in terms of pure specs, not saying the iphone isn't better in many ways}, can sell for cheaper then a competitor selling {a similiar or worse even cheaper to manufacture model} then the competitor is ripping you off. Also this should more clearly illustrate one of my points...

Apple iPhone 4S 16GB - FACTORY UNLOCKED On AMAZON {like the galaxy, which in fairness is apples to apples} cheapest I can find is $869

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...-options=see-all-buying-options&condition=new

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...-options=see-all-buying-options&condition=all

I didn't even do a semi-proper search so it's more than possible I missed something but that's what I managed to find with a quick amazon and google search. The better margin apple has was only used to illustrate my point that apple is robbing you blind, my argument is very clear on the same site a phone that costs <$200 for apple to make is selling for 4 times that {3 on the apple site}, the samsung galaxy s2 {which in fairness I can't find a price breakdown for} but should following simple logic be more expensive than the iphone to manufacture sells for cheaper now please explain to me how this is not called being ripped off. Also considering specs it's far more fair to compare the samsung to the 64GB iphone 4s model since {as mentioned it has many components that cost more money} the 64GB model is I think $200 dollars more expensive than the 16GB model {I could be wrong} anyway if you are happy to pay the premuim thats fine but it's not just me who thinks apple products are over priced.

At any rate as said earlier in my posts apple make solid products, I have even purchased a few myself and while their products are very reliable and the "it just works" slogan is well chosen as their products do just work, I do still think their products are over-priced ecspecially but not limited to the south african market {I understand this is core's fault but never the less}.

That's a matter of opinion -- sorry but I don't agree.

Many believe Android requires more RAM and CPU to provide a similar experience, the bigger battery could in turn be a consequence of more hungry components, and consider that not everyone likes such a huge phone...

Enjoy your phone and choice of computer... I'm btw very happy with mine and no I don't feel like I've been ripped off.