From the $999 stand to the $400 wheels, Apple is straight up trolling us

It’s the circle of life: Each time Apple announces a new product, there’s an accessory or an upgrade that costs way more than what you’d expect. Sometimes, it’s a RAM upgrade that makes your wallet scream in anguish; other times, it’s an inexplicably pricey dongle. 

And like clockwork, this wakes up several armies: One comprised of people who loathe Apple and would never buy an Apple product, another consisting of Apple followers who think the company has crossed a line, and, finally, the ever-loyal Apple soldiers who think Apple is right to price its stuff at a premium because it’s just that much better than the competition. A giant debate ensues, Apple reaps a fat reward in terms of publicity (proof: this article), and in the end you either buy the damn thing or you don’t. 

With the freshly launched Mac Pro, however, Apple turned this whole thing up to eleven. The machine itself is expensive, but it’s understandable given the powerful components within. The optional 6K-inch Pro Display XDR is pricy as well, but it, too, has the specs to back it up. The also-optional $999 stand is insane — but all right, at least it has a design that matches the monitor. 

Now that the Mac Pro is available to order, other pricing extravaganzas came to light. If you want wheels on the bottom of your Mac Pro’s case, you’ll have to dish out an absolutely offensive $400. Even for Apple faithful, it’s hard to justify this price, as the wheels are just… wheels. 

And then came the news that the Pro Display XDR, if equipped with Apple’s special nano-texture glass (which costs an additional $1000), can only be cleaned with a special Apple cloth. It comes in the box (thanks heavens), but if you lose it, you’ll have to get a new one, and while there’s no word yet on how much that will cost, I’d be surprised if it were free. Or cheap. Or reasonable, even. 

Sure, it’s the Apple way. Some people are enraged and some are disappointed and some may even find a perverse pleasure in paying hundreds of dollars for a set of wheels, and Apple, again, gets the publicity.

It does, however, feel like Apple’s messing with us at this point. I can imagine how the meeting in which they set these prices went. 

“You saw how the internet went crazy when we announced the $999 stand. Let’s do that again!”

“But everything is already insanely overpriced, sir.”

“What about the wheels? How much are the wheels?”

“Four dollars, sir, but—”

“Let’s amplify that by a hundred!”

I’m not in the market for the Mac Pro nor the Pro Display XDR — these are total overkill for the vast majority of users — so I’ll never experience the salty tears your body involuntary produces when you spend 400 bucks on a set of wheels. I’m just enjoying the show. 

But when you buy an expensive, pro-grade product (the Mac Pro can be priced up to $52,000, depending on the configuration) you expect to get something extra in return. When you buy a luxury car, at least you get the floor mats for free. If Apple made a car, the floor mats would be a thousand dollars. Each. 

The crazy prices are also easier to swallow when they’re at least loosely based in reality. A 32GB RAM module is pricier than a 16GB RAM module. But a set of wheels or a dongle? That’s a bit harder to process. No matter how much you love Apple products.

For now, Apple is both having the cake and eating it. Everyone’s talking about it, and people are buying. Even the competitors are happy, because they get an easy marketing ploy: Make fun of Apple for its overpriced crap. 

There has to be a point when too much is too much, though. Let’s wait and see how much that replacement cloth costs.