And you thought $70K was pricey for a new Mac
Apple produced lots of chuckles among the tech press with the release of its ultra-powerful and oh-so-pricey new Mac Pro computer.
You know, the one that starts at just $5,999, but when loaded, tops off at $52,599, as noted by 9to5Mac. And that's before Apple's suggested add-on accessories, which can top it out as high as $69,252.54, or about three-quarters of the median price to buy a home in West Virginia.
This is the new Mac that's being built right here in the USA, in Texas, unlike Apple's flagship product, the iPhone, which is assembled and shipped for delivery from China.
The new Mac Pro, aimed at creative professionals, gets really expensive once add-ons like RAM, power and memory get added.
And it got us wondering. If an Apple computer can start at $6,000 and end up costing more than 10 times that amount once you start clicking on accessories, what happens if you do that with other Apple products?
Have some fun with us here.
The iPhone: The top of the line model, the 11 Pro Max, starts at $1,099 and ends at $2,007.19 with extra storage, Apple Care, a battery-powered case and an accessory wireless charger.
The iPad: Would you spend $2,441.09 for a tablet that aims to replace the computer? The iPad Pro, the top of the line model, starts at $799. Add extra storage, the ability to connect the tablet to cellular service, Apple Care, a case and the Apple Pencil for drawing on the iPad, and you've got yourself a tablet with one mega-price tag.
Macbook Pro, 16 inch. The latest in the professionally aimed laptop line starts at $2799 to walk out the newest and largest laptop from Apple. Add more power, storage, Apple Care, an accessory mouse and memory card reader and you're at $7,248.42. Or $8,547 if you'd like to add an external $1,299 27-inch display monitor from LG.
Apple Watch. This is one of the lowest-priced products in the Apple lineup, starting at $199 for last year's Edition 4 models. How high could this get? How about $1,079.67? Or $1,869.48 for the Hermes luxury edition? To get to Grover Cleveland and company, we opted for Apple's "Gold Stainless Steel" edition of the Watch, which starts at $799, added Apple Care and a charging dock. The Hermes watch didn't grow dramatically in size with accessories, starting at $1,499 and ending at $1.8K plus.
While Apple takes adding to the cart to a new level, price-wise, the company is not alone in techland.
A Samsung TV costs more than two times the original starting price once we started adding accessories and warranty. My favorite, the "invisible cable," for connecting the TV to the power source. The cable's "clean look and cable length helps avoid cable mess and clutter behind the TV," according to Samsung. And the price of luxury? Just $299.99. The TV itself, a 65-inch QLED 4K UHD set starts at $2,599, then add the cable, soundbar, wall mount and warranty, and ca-ching: $4,749.95
Finally, let's really have some fun and outfit our home with everything. Total: $88,031. Still not enough to buy a home in West Virginia, but you're almost there.
In other tech news this week:
YouTube cracked down on racist taunts. The video streaming company said it will now take down videos that lob insults at people based on race, gender expression, sexual orientation or other “protected attributes.” The Google-owned company will also prohibit veiled threats of violence, taking a step further into moderating what people can say on the videos they create and upload.
A Ring security camera was hacked. A family in Mississippi claims a hacker gained access to a Ring camera placed in their 8-year-old daughter's room and started talking to her.
Google can now offer two-way translation in real-time. Update the Google Assistant app for iOS, or simply use your Android phone, say "Hey Google, translate Spanish (or whatever language) for me," and when out and about, your spoken words will turn into translated audio and text. The person on the other end can respond to the app as well.
How to remove your data from sites like MyLife and TrufhFinder: We did a deep dive this week on "people search engines" that buy our data from states and counties and look to re-sell them to us. How to get out? We have some suggestions.
This week's Talking Tech podcasts:
How to remove your data from MyLife and others.
How tech has changed since 2010
Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, @jeffersongraham