I made my biggest mobile purchase last week – while on a whale-watching excursion. Why? Timing was (and I think still is) critical. Read on for more details… (Yes, I know it’s Amazon Prime Day, but I haven’t found much there. Nothing as close to as good as this deal.) I was on an Alaskan […] The post Defeating Apple Pricing and RAMageddon at the Same Time appeared first on Lazy Man and Money.
I made my biggest mobile purchase last week – while on a whale-watching excursion. Why? Timing was (and I think still is) critical. Read on for more details…
(Yes, I know it’s Amazon Prime Day, but I haven’t found much there. Nothing as close to as good as this deal.)
I was on an Alaskan cruise – bald eagles are more common than strong wifi. I’m lying. The wifi was fine in most of Alaska; it’s just that I was so busy. I don’t anticipate coming back to Alaska anytime soon (if ever), so I figure I might as well get my money’s worth and see as much as I can.
About a month ago, I decided it was probably time for the kids to get their own computers. Their school gives them MacBooks for use during the school year. However, the surveillance is strict. They can’t download their own software, or even parent-approved software. My son was worried about writing an essay for a scholarship on the computer because it wasn’t school-approved in advance. I tried to install some free art software on my son’s computer and ran into a roadblock: no one at the school knew who had the admin privileges to do it.
There’s also the three summer months when they have no access to a computer. For a long time, this was a positive thing – it encouraged the kids to get out and enjoy the good weather. However, as they get older, the roadblocks to not having a computer seem to be multiplying. I had set them up with accounts on a computer at a desk that I rarely use. However, I can’t keep the area clean – it gathers stuff from many unfinished projects.
As much as I’d love for them to be Windows people, it makes sense for them to stay in the Apple world. Much of the world runs on Apple technology. They have Android devices, and we have a Google Pro family plan. They can pick a path or choose to combine the best of both ecosystems later on.
One of the reasons why I jumped on the Apple bandwagon is the pricing. They control the whole ecosystem including the hardware, operating system, and apps. To me, this feels like a company that expects to be better than Dell/HP/Asus (hardware), Intel (chips), Microsoft (OS), and Google (mobile OS and App store) in every area. They are doing a great job because everything works well together, but there’s a reason Apple’s margins have historically been ridiculously high. The other reason why I avoided Apple is that they refuse to implement very basic technology. I had removable batteries, storage (SD cards), and wireless charging back in my Palm Pre almost 20 years ago. At least they figured out wireless charging.
(Sorry for the rant. Let’s get back on track.)
Besides Apple’s pricing, computers have recently gotten a LOT more expensive. The companies building out AI data centers have been buying up all the memory and storage. This shortage has left consumer companies, such as laptop and smartphone makers, having to pay extra to secure the remaining supply of memory. That extra charge is passed on to the consumer. It’s at least three times as expensive as it used to be. The industry has dubbed the increase in memory prices “RAMageddon”.
I’ve wanted to get a new laptop for a little while now, but I can’t justify it. I bought one with 64GB of RAM a couple of years ago, and now I’m spoiled. Today, the cost of the memory alone would be almost as much as the entire laptop.
The RAMaggeddon problem is so bad that Apple CEO Tim Cook has said cost increases are “unavoidable”. In the past, Apple has had a lot of control with pricing because of its huge market share. That isn’t enough to help them against RAMaggeddon.
How to Beat Apple Pricing and RAMaggeddon
One of the best ways to get a good price on Apple products is to buy a refurbished product. Everything I’ve read says that they are practically the same as new. I feel like enough people have done this that, if it were a problem, there would be many people raising caution. I’ve always had great luck with renewed products.
Apple had 13-inch MacBook Airs for $759 a few weeks ago. They were M4 chips (released May 2025) with 16GB of RAM (good enough for them). I hemmed and hawed about it for a couple of days because they don’t really need a new laptop. When I was ready to buy, they disappeared from Apple’s website. I figured Apple probably wouldn’t keep them around because they released a less capable MacBook Neo for $599. The MacBook Neo uses a chip from their iPhones and cuts a couple of other corners. A new MacBook Air starts at $1099. Since I’m buying two, it’s a savings of around $700 when you factor in taxes.
I saw that they came back in stock while I was on the cruise. I figured that I’d let it go a couple of hours to enjoy the whales. However, they went out of stock again and were replaced by the same deal in different colors. I wasn’t picky, but I didn’t want to risk them running out again. Also, the whale watch got a little boring. They weren’t jumping over the boat, Free Willy style. That’s why I decided to buy right there on the boat.
The good news is that this deal is still available. I didn’t have to buy as quickly as I thought, I guess. I think this is the best deal in this price range that’s widely available.
However, some people might be able to do even better. I was able to use our military discount for another 10% off. I believe that teachers and students can get a similar deal. It seems like my middle school kids don’t count as “students” for some reason, so I was happy that the military discount applied. It was a little tricky to use, as I had to find Apple’s military store, log in that way, and then find the refurbished laptop. That brought the price to $683, plus tax.
Final Thoughts
I haven’t been as excited by a purchase in a long time. The stars aligned, and it’s the right time to buy. I think computers are likely to get even more expensive for the next year or two. The memory and storage companies can’t just ramp up production fast enough – it takes time to build chip fabrication plants.
The kids can use a computer that will get them through high school. Also, it’s what they are used to, which is a big win.
The post Defeating Apple Pricing and RAMageddon at the Same Time appeared first on Lazy Man and Money.
