The Macbook Air with 16GB RAM and 512GB isn't really priced competitively here in Germany. It's almost 1600€.
I'm not an Apple fanboy, and I'm still very displeased with many of their decisions (touchbar being #1 on MBPs). But if you consider the packaging (small, light, sturdy, now-decent keyboard), and consider their performance, and then consider macOS, I think they are more than competitive.
Even if you match every spec, including size/weight and durability, it comes down to Windows vs macOS. Ironically, macOS is free while Windows is not, but macOS is worth more (to me and many others).
- crappy webcam,
- no built-in SD card reader (a 1TB SD card is ~200$, and my music does not need to be stored on an expensive SSD)
- magsafe.. if this was the only downgrade, I'd upgrade, but TBH I love magsafe on my mac and I would miss it if I upgrade.
Oh wow, that's cool, I didn't know that. Do you have a link to where I can download the free edition of macOS? Google doesn't seem to be helping me.
what laptop are you buying where you need to purchase a Windows license?
Or if you buy a bare system or build your own, you need to buy Windows yourself.
Apple gives their OS away, but in theory you can only run it on their hardware.
If you don't understand why this isn't free then I have a bridge to sell you.
If you're only looking for computers that are comparable according to the usual hardware specs (cpu, ram, etc.), a Mac costs 25-50% more than the cheapest comparable PC.
If you also throw ergonomic factors like weight and battery life into the comparison, there's no price difference.
(This was USA prices.)
That's true of many other common goods worldwide. Unless you can buy a locally made item in a lower purchasing power country, you will usually pay a currency exchange equivalent price for the item. Actually you often pay more because the local shop selling the product cannot get bulk pricing and pass along the discount to you.
Finally, when you add the local taxes - 23% in Portugal, for example - the price can be much higher compared to Alaska, US (< 2%). That last bit is really not Apple's fault.