Apple Selling Its Monitor Stand for SGD$1,365; Got Slammed By Netizens

By
Andrea Tan
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Last Updated on 2019-06-10 , 9:44 am

I don’t know about you, but the title was so ridiculous that my brain didn’t even want to process it right.

So just to clarify in case you still had some faith in Apple and their reasonable price tags, the USD$999 (SGD$1,365) doesn’t so much apply to this:

Credits: Engadget

But to this:

Credits: CNET

Just… Why

Apple products have never been cheap, but the cost has always been justified to the millions of loyal Apple fans.

That applies to the Pro Display XDR (the monitor) that was announced to be USD$4,999- expensive but reasonable; no one batted an eye. Rumour has it that a human is inside the monitor to show you the sharpest image, so okay, can pass.

But judging by reports of how the audience gasped when the cost of the Pro Display XDR stand was revealed, it’s safe to say that this is finally crossing the line.

Credits: MacRumors

But still, Apple tries to convince it’s customers that it’s all worthwhile since it remains sturdy while tilting up to 25 degrees, changing height and rotating into portrait and landscape modes.

Credits; engadget

Yeah no it didn’t work. I can get that for $10 from Taobao.

People Are Angry

Some point out that the Pro Mac series is for professionals only and professional equipment is always expensive. USD$1,000 is supposed to be nothing to their real target audience (instead of the memers around the internet). However, that’s really missing the point, as this Twitter user countered:

Credits: Aidan_T_Lynch (Twitter)

It goes back to whether the cost is justified, and here it definitely isn’t.

This product was the final straw for many. Complaints long overdue about Apple’s streak of overpricing minimal/useless upgrades saw the light of day at last because of the Pro Stand.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to expect many to swear off Apple products after this.

Others though, who probably aren’t even in the target demographic for the Mac Pro series have no choice but to handle absurdity like they always do:

With Memes

A couple of people remembered that the iPhone XS is the same price as the new stand.

As Gizmodo pointed out, “aside from Apple’s VESA mount adapter, the Pro Stand is your only non-DIY choice for keeping that fancy monitor from falling over.”

Well, screw that. Tons just went right ahead and chose the DIY option.

Bad Marketing

The monitor is about USD$5,000, the stand USD$1,000. Tech websites all over pretty much agree that this was a stupid thing to do.

As 9to5Mac says:

“This should never have been a $5,000 monitor with a $1,000 monitor stand: it should simply have been a $6k monitor. The world would have had the same reaction it did to a $5k one – either ‘ouch’ or ‘decent value for what you get,’ depending on perspective – and we’d all have gotten on with our day.”

This tactic actually stops the stand from being optional as it is now, but it’ll look better on Apple because most people already think of the stand as a compulsory part of the monitor. In that way, it’s supposed to be included in the price, not available as an add on.

To continue to make the stand optional however, Business Insider has another suggestion:

“Apple should have presented it with the full package price and an optional $1,000 discount for the professional video editors and developers watching that already own a compatible stand,” referring to the fact that most professionals already have their own stands or mounts.

In other words, it’s all about the way this extra cost is presented. The way Apple did was just massively insulting.

Or maybe, to Apple fans, that’s classic.

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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Andrea Tan
Email: [email protected]