Suddenly, Apple’s cheapest devices are a fantastic value

On By Pranco

As Apple fans (en Terry Pratchett fans) know well that there is a difference between cheap and value for money. The lowest price is not necessarily the best value for your money. You get what you pay for and all that.

That’s an argument in favor of Apple’s product ecosystem as a whole, which has consistently offered a better user experience than its cheaper rivals, but has historically offered guidance. inside that ecosystem too. We have felt that Cupertino’s for several years intermediate devices represent the most attractive compromise between value and power, and that has become especially apparent recently as the company has adopted its upsell strategy of leaving key features out of its base products.

Until now, that is. Suddenly the received wisdom is in danger of being thrown out the window. Right now, Apple’s entry-level products look like a strangely fantastic value.

Take the 10th generation iPad, Apple’s current basic tablet. When this came out two years ago, I praised the design, the larger screen, the cameras, the processor and the 5G support, but I couldn’t give it a recommendation because the price had increased from $329 to $449 and I no longer considered it a budget tablet. Well, that price has now almost completely dropped, and for $349 we can enjoy its qualities without reservation.

On the iPhone front, I wouldn’t go so far as to recommend the SE, which hasn’t been updated in a while and wasn’t particularly dazzling even then (although next year’s update should make a big change in that). But it’s worth noting that this year’s non-Pro models are more attractive than they have been in a while. The iPhone 16 has its compromises, but they’re palatable considering the hundreds you’ll save if you don’t go for the premium models.

More recently, Apple has made changes to its Mac range, which is good news for customers on a budget. The entry-level MacBook Pro made the most headlines when it received an M4 update last week with twice the RAM and an extra Thunderbolt port, but the quieter doubling of MacBook Air RAM allocation at the same price, the points may be more important as it brings solid performance under $1,000.

However, the highlight of Apple’s week of Mac announcements was undoubtedly the M4 Macmini. Aside from the new chipsets (which represent a double upgrade over the M2 it used to have), the new model gets extra CPU and GPU cores and a switch from rear USB-A ports to USB C ports on the front. The highest RAM level has increased to 64 GB and it is easier to get support for three displays.

But far more important than these valuable technical upgrades is the physical redesign, which sees the mini drop from 7.7 to 5 inches square and lose more than a pound of weight in the process. Finally we get a Mac mini worthy of his name. And it starts at just $599.

Are these recent examples indicative of a longer-term trend? Is Apple willing to relax the upselling and accept that a large portion of customers are only interested in the budget models and deserve to be well taken care of? Well, it’s hard to say at this point. If next spring’s new iPhone SE lives up to expectations more optimistic predictionsmaybe we’re on to something.

But in the meantime, let’s just enjoy the fact that Apple’s cheapest products are good. It might not last long.

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Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which brings all the Apple news you missed last week into a handy, bite-sized overview. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a cup of coffee or tea on a Monday morning, but it’s also nice if you want to read it during lunch or dinner.

The truth behind Apple’s most unpopular decisions: It’s not about you.

The Mac mini Finally lives up to its name.

The first Apple Intelligence are characteristics changeable.

The M4 Mac mini illustrates the unhealthy nature of Apple obsession with the power button.

Apple’s week of exciting Mac announcements got out to a rocky start.

M4 Mac mini is smaller, more powerful and can connect three displays.

From Apple Mac accessories Finally switching from Lightning to USB-C.

Podcast of the week

This week is full of goodies from Apple! We have a new iMac, new MacBook Pros and a new Mac mini, all equipped with the new M4 chip! We talk about the new products and more in this episode of the Macworld Podcast! And we promise: no tricks!

You can watch every episode of the Macworld Podcast Spotify, Sound cloudthe Podcasts appor our own website.

The rumor mill

Has the new M4 iMac just tip us to a new Mac display from Apple?

Software updates, bugs and issues

AirPods Pro 2 firmware-7B19 makes new possible iOS 18.1 Hearing functions.

And with that we are ready for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you would like to receive regular roundups, please sign up our newsletters. You can also follow us Facebook, Wiresor Tweet to discuss the latest Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.