TFW Apple's 2015 Revenue is literally larger than multiple countries entire GDP

This is literally what branding is.

Why do so many people by cheaply made Nike shirts? Branding.

Salt Life started their startup by throwing "Salt Life" bumper stickers to anyone who would receive them, now they sell their brand to clothiers for a handsome loyalty, or just pocket the retail for themselves by manufacturing their own product. Welcome to the free market system, OP

>First off go to /g/ with your fucktard apple-hate

It is overpriced compared to the better alternative in both price and everything else.

Macbooks are over $1000, why do you need to pay $1000 to browse the internet and send some emails? You can get a Thinkpad which has better build quality, better keyboard, is easily user-serviceable so you can easily clean it or replace parts yourself which you can buy cheaply on ebay... At the downside of being heavier/slightly clunkier.

Oh and it's 1/6th of the cost.

>The chinks and the NSA know everything about you.

What are you talking about? Android is open source and I don't use Google Play services. I never installed them, I use F-Droid to install Free(as in freedom) and Open source apps, which by the way, work much better since they don't have ads, premium bullshit and their sourcecode is available for eachone.

Also I use cyanogenmod for my rom instead of stock.

>I'm sorry your commie-pinko mind can't fathom why someone pays more for a premium item. Maybe your hate is a projection of your poor ass that has to result in cheap fucking Google-chink botnet hybrid

yeah you're right. I really DON'T understand why someone would spend multiple times more for an equal or inferior product just because "Da marketing says it's good and it's more expensive so that must meen it's better"

You're not making money on the 5% of the population that is objective, you make money on the 95% of the population that are the cattle.

>What is branding

>Do so many people really buy shitty iPhones and macbooks for exuberant prices
What % of revenue is iTunes

So how does that fit in with the free market?

Doesn't the entire existence of such products being successful(as you guys have mentioned) go against the ideas of the free market and the invisible hand?

But this is free market. It doesn't have to be the perfect one. Adam Smith perhaps didn't think about that the consumers also can be a target of a product.

Consumers buy what satisfies them. Sometimes you don't have to create the perfect product to make them buy it. You only have to make them think that this is perfect or that it is just what they want and need.
The consumers are buying because they are happy with their choice.

I can't apply to the apple example but as a big car fan it applys to me too. I can buy myself a perfect Volvo 2015 in a perfect condition but somehow i want that 2006 Mercedes because of its... i don't know, image? Or how it looks?

But all of this in my opinion is just part of the free market. Luxury satisfies people not with the quality but with the way they make you feel like you are superior.

The free market also incorporates vast amounts of persuasion and advertising, spending money to convince people your trash is not trash.

>The free market also incorporates vast amounts of persuasion and advertising, spending money to convince people your trash is not trash.

So is the invisible hand bullshit clearly evident by this?

what happened to the theory of "The companies that provide the best value get rewarded for it" instead of whoever simply plays off human emotion or fundamental psychological flaws in marketing and branding is the one that wins?

Seems like to have a successful product you just need to convince people to buy your shit by whatever means instead of actually providing something

>t is overpriced compared to the better alternative in both price and everything else.
>Macbooks are over $1000, why do you need to pay $1000 to browse the internet and send some emails? You can get a Thinkpad which has better build quality, better keyboard, is easily user-serviceable so you can easily clean it or replace parts yourself which you can buy cheaply on ebay... At the downside of being heavier/slightly clunkier.
>Oh and it's 1/6th of the cost.

Overpriced to you, but not to everyone else who buys it.
>build quality, keyboard, user-serviceable, etc...
no one gives a fuck about your OPINION on these subjects. Apple computers, since you are specifically talking about this one product that they make, which amounts to 1/4 of their revenue, have a great build quality. Awards, customer service ranks and lifespan of the product shows this to be true. You may think otherwise, but Chinkpads don't have anywhere close to the reliability track record the Apple's computers do... Keyboard comment is literal /g/ shit-tier comment. And the fact that you think a major of people give a fuck about servicing their own technology, just shows how inherently retarded you are when it comes to the market. Do people give a fuck how hard/easy it is to service their own cars? No you fucktwat! Most people can't even use technology to it's limits, so they don't care about being able to open it up and replace ram or hdd. For fuck's sake man, the world doesn't revolve around your pinko-neet ass, no matter how much your mom tells you it does.

ahhh look...
>"at the downside of..."
see what that means pinko... price = product (cost+experience). if the downside of product B is big enough to elevate product A, even though it costs more, people will buy it...

>Android is open source
You still don't get how they are a business do you?

>yeah you're right. I really DON'T understand why someone would spend multiple times more for an equal or inferior product just because "Da marketing says it's good and it's more expensive so that must meen it's better"

It's only inferior to your neet-/g/ shit tier eyes. I don't know what schools are teaching now, but why you can't understand how/why two different products that offer similar services/results can be wildly different in price is beyond comprehension.

DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND WHY CARS/TRUCKS HAVE WILDLY DIFFERENT PRICES? WHAT ABOUT HOMES? TELEVISIONS? LITERALLY ANY OTHER PRODUCT GROUP?
>please go back to your circle jerk

>they are objectively inferior and overpriced
Jeez, Bill.
You'd think you have enough money.

>Overpriced to you, but not to everyone else who buys it.

But it is. The value that you get is objectively overpriced what you pay for what you get.

>no one gives a fuck about your OPINION on these subjects

They're not opinions, they are objective facts.

You don't need a $1200 computer that you can't swap out parts in to browse the internet and read emails. you can buy a $150 used laptop for that.

>And the fact that you think a major of people give a fuck about servicing their own technology, just shows how inherently retarded you are when it comes to the market

Yeah because most people are absolute retards. Really no wonder that Apple is a big and popular company when over 60% of the US adult population is overweight and so many people are in debt or would be "in serious trouble if they had an unexpected $1000 medical bill" or have nearly no savings to enter retirement-age with.

i guess you're right, you need to play the market of retards willing to overpay for garbage because it's flashy

>You still don't get how they are a business do you?

Android isn't a business, it's an operating system.

>inb4 they spy on u and collect ur data

It's Free and Opensource.

>DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND WHY CARS/TRUCKS HAVE WILDLY DIFFERENT PRICES? WHAT ABOUT HOMES? TELEVISIONS? LITERALLY ANY OTHER PRODUCT GROUP?

It costs a lot more but it is not better.

Your argument literally boils down to "U only don't like it becus ur poor"

>but why you can't understand how/why two different products that offer similar services/results can be wildly different in price is beyond comprehension

The product is inferior and it makes no sense to pay 5x as much for something that underperforms.

Explain to me why a Macbook is better than a Thinkpad for the average person. What specific uses does the average person(or really anyone) have that they need to pay 5 times as much

> $150 dollar used laptop will perform the same as a macbook

You really expect a normie to buy a used laptop, swap the OS and install the programs they had before. Why would anyone do that? Besides, most people use it in college for projects. I doubt a $150 used laptop will run adobe fireworks or photoshop at the same rate.

You don't understand that most people are paying for the OS and the name brand, as well as free tech support. You can buy older cars that perform a lot better than new ones, it's just that no one wants to perform maintenance or be held responsible if anything goes wrong.

People believe that the service is worth the price they are paying for. You don't understand the market.

Again opinions, opinions, opinions.
I have had an iPhone 5S since it came out and I've loved it so much that I won't upgrade until I it falls apart.
Yes I could have gotten a Galaxy. But the truth of the matter is Apple products are incredibly stable. Shit just works.
After my PC went on the fritz, I got a Mac Mini for making apps, and the same thing. It's stable and it just works. When I had a problem I just called Apple and got free tech support. Yes I know the ins and outs of Windows, but sometimes you don't want to tinker and just want shit to work. And you can't get that with anyone else. That's what you pay for, quality. Go buy your chink laptops and phones, but when you have hardware issues you got what you paid for

This is why I'm invested in stuff like this. I love it when you spend your hard earned on that shit. I'm on the other side now, reaping the rewards of this kind of mentality. Feels so good.

>Why would anyone do that?

Why would anyone learn a tiny bit about a piece of technology that they use every single day?

Gee I dunno. Why would anyone want to learn about something they use?

>Ins and outs of Windows

Gnu/Linux is superior in every way

>but when you have hardware issues you got what you paid for

Never had a single problem, you are retarded.

since when are thinkpads less expensive?
stop buying used and go for t/w and then see cheaptard

Well why wouldn't you buy them used?

I bought mine for ~$220 and it has served me perfectly thus far. couldn't be happier in fact. I run Arch Gnu/Linux on it and everything just werks perfectly.

No, because they're still the best product in terms of advertising and brand awareness.

Everyone knows what they're getting with an iPhone. Everyone knows what one looks like.

Noone knows what your shitty chinese phone does. Noone knows what it looks like.

Being THE goto smartphone IS providing best value for most of the buying public.

>shitty chinese phone

It's not shitty if its specs are literally better than an $800 phone.

Enjoy getting cucked though. I guess it's no surprise apple thrives with so many retards around

It's been half a century since we learned that the "free-hand" theory is completely bullshit.

Your cancer to believe Apple makes most of their money off iPhones and laptops.

Apple makes most money off accessories such as headphones, chargers, batteries, warranties, and other gimicy crap.

apple does provide the better product/service. they provide conformity, ease of use, interest from women, a good phone that does everything a normal person needs and breaks infrequently, good computers for people who aren't intelligent enough to build their own, simple operating system, etc.

These products have been deemed better by the free market as evidenced by their continued purchase.

Except it is shitty because its not as sleek and shiney and rounded and glass and steel and gold limited edition as the iPhone, nor does Kanye or Taylor or whothefuck ever have one. It's a black plastic box that looks like a knock off version.

I can build a PC, have used Linux as main OS for years, and have used windows for years. I'll say that if I had the money to burn, I'd get a Mac.

Even though Apple jailbroken is much better than any Android rooted.

please go take an economics class

>"no-one gives a fuck about your opinions"
>gives a lot of opinions
k

>apple lifespan is great
yep, confirmed, you are an idiot and you lose.

That's good to hear. I'm on a macbook pro with a ssd right now. I love them and am ok with paying a premium for a reliable, easy, and pleasant computing experience. I imagine most of the market is this way as well.

>The one time I had a problem with my macbook
>Spilled jack and coke all over keyboard
>Took it to apple store
>Replace keyboard and other parts
>No charge
>Never bought a warranty or applecare or anything
>wtf? cool brand bro will keep buying

Uhh, technically they are more advanced, A9 shits on any other mobile CPU and got a much better optimisation, which leads to a much better user experience before we even get to a much better operation system. Comparing them to cheap shit shows that you don't even understand the technology.

Other than that, there is obviously branding, service and support. If you want to make big bucks, you sell a feeling, the product is just a part of it. iPhones feel comfy, get support for years and just work.

You can either buy a cheap brick from a faceless company for 200 bucks without any support or a premium feeling and performing phone everybody you know has, with a better user experience and support for 800. Anybody who isn't homeless and cares about having the best product would pick the second option, hence Apple performs pretty well in the first world, while the poorfags in 3rd world countries get chinkphones.

It's even more ridiculously obvious with macs, you can get some Asus 31241515 or Thinkpad X1235, that got nasty stickers, are fat and basically presented as throwaway goods for the poor, or a slick Macbook Pro that stands out even before you open the box. Then there is the whole OS aspect. OSX used by professionals or Windows used by office drones, what sounds more appealing?

That's bullshit. They do make most of the money with iPhones.

>Gnu/Linux is superior in every way
It has a shitty interface, making it irrelevant for normal people before they realize that it doesn't support any of the commercial software they want to use.

Where's the right click? How do I find the taskbar? How do I stop the icons from jumping?

Apple's marketing is so good that even the Chinese buy the Apple brand phones instead of identical knock off made in the exact same factory.

>It has a shitty interface

Which does?

Which desktop environment specifically are you referring to? You can completely customize any DE to however you want, that's a lot more than you can say for wangblows.

>they realize that it doesn't support any of the commercial software they want to use

Like which? There are Free and Opensource alternatives for nearly everything except maybe like AutoCAD, which let's be real, not many people are going to be using.

right click has been built into the OS forever now user.

taskbar? cmd-opt-escape if you're looking to force quit

Icons only jump when the program needs your input for something. (install finishes, click ok)

>Which desktop environment specifically are you referring to?
All of them, have yet to see one that isn't an abomination. Liked the idea of KDE but the actual execution looks like a mess, Cinnamon/MATE are dumb/uninspired, Xfce looks like it's decades behind the trends, GNOME/Unity is the closest they got to decent but it's clunky and pretty inflexible actually.

>You can completely customize any DE to however you want
You and me can, a normal person who wants to use a PC can't and/or doesn't want to waste their time on that shit. That's actually another huge pro for macs, you start the shit, log in and it's ready. With some shitty Windows laptop you spend the first hours deleting the bloat and configuring it, specially in the newer versions with all the privacy mess.

>There are Free and Opensource alternatives
That all have the same interface problems and irrelevant because they aren't the industry standard like Office or CS. Jesus, there is not a single decent looking music player.

Linux never will become relevant for the mainstream until they sort their hobbiest look out, no matter how great the software underneath is.

A lot of the knock offs use plastic. Besides, they aren't running iOS so it's irrelevant either way.

>All of them, have yet to see one that isn't an abomination

Is this an abomination?

Pic related

>a normal person who wants to use a PC can't and/or doesn't want to waste their time on that shit

How retarded do you have to be? It's not difficult. literally look up a wiki and copy paste commands and spend a little bit of time to customize.

You don't HAVE to, but the option to customize is cruical.

If you want, you set up whatever de you want, install a theme, copy someone else's configs and leave it like that.

I dunno man, these icons jumping all the fucking time I can't stop them.

>Is this an abomination?
Oh yes. Outside of looking dry and lacking album art, the record button is distracting and shouldn't be in a music player. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly functional, as are most Linux distrus but fuck me, it's ugly.

In comparison iTunes might be a bloated mess but boy, it's pretty and colorful and shit.

>It's not difficult. literally look up a wiki and copy paste commands and spend a little bit of time to customize.
It's not but it's unnecessary as shown by OSX and Winshit. If you have to get shit done, you don't want to waste time with making the UI look less ugly.

>but the option to customize is cruical.
For you maybe. Some people want shit just to work.

Really, there is nothing to discuss. Linux is freely available to anybody, yet people don't bother with it, even after a mess like Windows 8. You can blame it on their idiocy or whatever, what's left is that it's not a viable option for the masses now.

Best mobile processor is actually the galaxy note brah

Can provide source

Exynos 5433? Doesn't it get shit on single threaded performance and efficiency?

The exynos is best at multithread, which is all that matters for android

Samsung are fucking shitty.

Apple computers last long and are reliable.

>inb4 hurrr durrrr this windows can do just as much for half of the price!

Windows computers get ridiculously slow after 2-3 years of use.

Apple products are considered luxury items, whether you like them or not. More precisely, social status signals. Rich people buy them to fit in, and poor people buy them to feel better than other poor people. Exactly like Starbucks.

This doesn't exactly make it a better processor overall though, does it?

Though it's generally hard comparing mobile CPUs given how big of a factor the OS is, plus the fact that companies adjust their shit for benchmarks.

I honestly believe the split second faster touch response is what hooks people into iphone products. It's small, but subconscious and important.

More info (caution, reddit)
>reddit.com/r/Android/comments/3iqz57/i_never_noticed_the_touch_screen_response_latency/

Made the switch from 5 years of Android to iOS a week ago, never noticed any difference in touch response time, hell iOS animations make it feel slower sometimes. The big difference is the lack of stuttering and lag though and that was fucking annoying and made the experience on Android seem second class.

Also one aspect I haven't seen mentioned here is innovation. Not in the "Apple invented X" sense but simply by delivering finished products with a clear concept that works and making choices, other companies would be afraid to take, which in turn earns them the association with an entire product class and leads to iPhones or iPads being synonymous for the phones/tablets for people who aren't into tech (aka. most)

>Windows computers get ridiculously slow after 2-3 years of use

This, so much this. I got tired of having to do a clean install of Windows on machines that are only a few years old and switched to Linux for the older machines. Macs are definitely great in that aspect, but they become obsolete in relatively the same time period.

Retards detected

Winfag detected

Nothing wrong with using Windows, but looking at it from an investment standpoint, Macs generally require a lot less maintenance and replacement, which is why a lot of smaller schools opt to buy them nowadays rather than something with Windows on it.

I was hoping your business sense would make up for your complete lack of understanding in technology, but alas, I'm on Veeky Forums.

Windows being a maintenance hell is a fact, not sure if they fixed it with 10 but until 7 you had to reinstall the crap every couple years because its registry just bloats up and you have no way to do anything against it, sans couple semi effective programs. The fragmentation was pretty extreme too and the included tools were slow as fuck.

Besides the whole security thing. You have to actively try to get malware on macos or loonix. Not a fault of Windows per se since it's the most popular target but not something you care about when you have to deal with the crap.

>technology understanding
>Windows, literally the plebiest-tier OS that virtually every poorfag and tech illiterate uses

Not saying that Windows is bad, but you're definitely not a tech genius just because "LE BUILT MUH GAYMING PC". Get over yourself, manchild.

You also didn't start by offering a reason as to why Windows would be a better investment than a Mac. Return to /v/ or /g/ from whence you came.

These people believe that snake oil registry cleaners are required to run Windows.

Jesus christ on a stick. Educate yourselves.

Windows getting slower every few years is a fact that everyone who uses it has to deal with. Stop the the fanboy bullshit, no one is outright trashing Windows or keeping you from your overpriced gaming console.

To be fair, Apple's stock price isn't doing that awesome as it used to.

I noted how the registry cleaners are almost useless. The problem is that you either have to rely on them, waste even more time and do it manually or just let it get bloated, because Windows is like a retarded child you need to take care off all the time when it comes to maintenance.

Don't bother, he just wants to fanboy and pretend Windows has nothing wrong with it because "MUH BABY DUCK SYNDROME".

Every OS has a few cons, and this is one of Windows' cons.

This is a prime example of why not every child should be sent to college.

You simply cannot educate people this stupid.

>Desire and status are rational
>Implying all the companies in the world aren't constantly making up ways to cut cost of the manufacture.

Dude, DUUUUUUUUDE.

It's not about the specs you little shit. No wonder you're a NEET.

Apple products are not purchased for the specs, you dumb little cunt...

Exorbitant*

Exuberant means really cheerful and energetic, you dirty peasant.

Fucking Americans can't even speak one language.

this is a prime example of why you'll remain a kissless virgin

>this thread
>1 (one) quote from a book written 200 years ago
>a product completely dominates a very competitive market
>it's overpriced because you can get a thinkpad

I've got a 2011 macbook that I've used for on average about 4 hours a day and dropped numerous times and it still works like new

once one of the fans broke but i still used it until it got too hot

they're doing fucking something right

>WINDOWS COMPUTERS

what the fuck does that mean?

It's just am operating system, you know you can install osx on any computer, right? It doesn't need to be a macbook or an imac

>It's not about the specs you little shit. No wonder you're a NEET.

Ah the go-to insult by tech illiterates

>Apple products are not purchased for the specs, you dumb little cunt...

For le status?

>Fucking Americans can't even speak one language.
how do you know he's American? Why are you assuming

It means a computer running Windows

>shitty iPhones and macbooks

Ignorance. People with technical sense (and enough money) buy apple products for superior user experience (hard to argue this when it comes to mobile devices).

...and while there are plenty of arguments for PC over Mac (many of which are true) and PCs are better than Macs for many business uses, it's undeniable that iOS is superior than windows when it comes to most creative digital fields.

There might be plenty of people paying for the brand, but they are obviously making legitimate, high quality products.

I said iOS, but meant macOS

You can install osx on a computer that isn't an overpriced piece of shit from apple if you wished to

You can install osx on any computer, you can build one yourself for $500 instead of wasting money.

This argument is invalid

Yes but if we stop being autistic for one second, I think for the purpose of this thread, "Windows computer" refers to a computer with Windows installed by the manufacturer or at least a computer intended by the manufacturer to run with Windows.

No it doesn't

You don't have to be tech illiterate to realize that specs alone don't mean shit if crippled by bad software and put into even worse hardware aka. almost any Android phone in existence. Or that there is more to a product, like the vastly superior macbook trackpads.

Far from any, you still need a very specific set of hardware and it would be technically illegal, which obviously doesn't mean shit for private user but not an option for a business in the first world.

You still won't get the entire all in one package as you would with the iMac. Besides, you're not including the cost of a 4/5k 16:10 screen. Apple stuff is actually cheap when compared to similar products and not some half assed shit.

He said

>if we stop being autistic for one second

Connections are the most valuable asset in capitalist society, and apple products give a notion of prestige and belonging, a "street cred", if you will. If you fail to recognize this fact about Apple and other premium brands you are objectively an autist.

So is buying Apple stock actually worth it?

If so, would I need a large number of shares to see any decent dividends?

I assume 5-10 would do shit.

You are ignoring the fact that value is subjective, not objective. You don't think apple products are worth their price but a lot of people do, and this could be for a number of different reasons, not just because of specs.

The invisible hand of the market means the product makers and service providers that better SATISFY the consumers will be successful, while those that fail will go out of business.
Apple, with very intelligent marketing, has made it's own name be considered by a vast amount of people a symbol of high status, of coolness and beauty, that's why people are willing to spend money on their products, it does not matter if there are products with better specs from different brands, they don't have the luxury status that Apple convinced people it does and thus people don't consider them as valuable and thus they don't satisfy people like Apple products do.

Value is subjective, success comes from better SATISFYING consumers, and this can be done in many ways, not just making mechanically better products.

But everybody and their dog has an Apple. Fucking art grads have them.

I've got a 10 year old Macbook pro that, aside from the battery packing in, still works well (though I don't use it any more). Build quality counts for a lot.

Anyway, it's funny to look at all the whining posts by these tech autists who think that anyone who doesn't take as much of an interest in computer specs as they do is retarded. I'm in architecture and construction, I don't go around calling people who live in houses retards if they don't know the difference in structural timber grading or the ins and outs of planning law. If a product sells more in the market, then the market has deemed it the better product, end of.

>Apple had more revenue in 2015 than the GDP of Finland

Apple is truly the arch-nemesis of Finland. Killed the paper industry and Nokia all at once.

>If a product sells more in the market, then the market has deemed it the better product, end of.

By that logic, since MLM "fat loss" scam product companies makes hundreds of millions a year each in profit, they are better than Starting Strength, a routine/book that has sold a lot of copies and is utilized by tens of thousands of people but has not earned so much money.

The market doesn't function rationally, you can sell bullshit to anyone because most people are utter retards.

You need to grasp that just because something is 'better', doesn't mean it's a better product. You might say that Birdman is a better film, but Transformers 4 made over a billion dollars in the same year, so it's a better product.

Ok. So are MLM scams offering a better product/service? Is that why they do so well?

Why do blogs posting clickbait/scam/affiliate links everywhere and ads doing better than some blogs offering legitimate, tangible information on whatever topic?