Apple Online Store remains very expensive for upgrades

Abe Olandres July 30, 2013 · 2 min read

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About 5 years ago, we wrote about “Why Apple’s Mac are still way expensive” and compared HDD and RAM upgrades on the Mac are way overpriced. We checked again today and it’s still the same.

We went to the Apple PH Online Store and looked for HDD and RAM upgrades for the Mac and found the prices to be still way expensive.

Here are the ones we found so far.

Apple PH Store: Apple Memory Module 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 (PC3-12800) – 2x8GB @ Php20,000

VillMan: Corsair SODIMM DDR3 PC1600 16GB – 2x8GB @ Php6,000

The RAM or memory modules are the most expensive of the lot, going as high as 300% as the rate of other stores.

Apple PH Store: 1TB SATA Hard Disk Drive Kit for Mac Pro @ Php8,490

VillMan: Western Digital 1TB WD10EZRX Green 64MB Cache Hard Disk Drive @ Php3,088

For the hard disk drive upgrades, the price difference is more than double — ranging from 250% to 300% the price of other local stores (like VillMan).

Apple PH Store: 2TB SATA Hard Disk Drive Kit for Mac Pro @ Php14,190

VillMan: Western Digital 2TB WD20EZRX Green 64MB Cache SATA 6GB/s Hard Disk Drive @ Php4,480

We’re not sure why Apple hasn’t yet normalized their pricing for these parts. And while pre-built systems like the Macbook Pro and the Mac Pro has already become very competitive, the upgrades are just outrageously expensive.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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38 Comments

joseph · 13 years ago

d2 po s pinas wla pong nabibilihan???

Joseph · 13 years ago

sir yuga, pls help nman po…i wanna ask kung saan makakabili ng ssd for my macbook air…my macair is only 64gb but i found on youtube you can replace your hard drive easily….pls help…….

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 13 years ago

Try iFixit.

Zander · 13 years ago

You can Try OWC you can increase your storage at a max to 480 Gb SSD at a Low Price and Good Quality.

Joseph · 13 years ago

sir yuga, pls help nman po…i wanna ask kung saan makakabili ng ssd for my macbook air…my macair is only 64gb but i found on youtube you can replace your hard drive easily….pls help…

snowden · 13 years ago

overpricing is what made Apple big, rich and greedy!

newbie · 13 years ago

newbie question lang po, pede po ba gamitin yung memory na nabibili sa VillMan dun po sa mac book pro? thank you po sirs

oo · 13 years ago

yes you can basta compatible sa specs. mas mura pa sa sellers sa tipidpc for your HDD and RAM upgrades

Erwin Agusttin · 13 years ago

Apple is considering other sources for their semiconductors. Most of the previous Macs have Samsung/Toshiba parts.
Prestige pricing, Premium feel in the minds of Americans, which is their main market. But now theyre struggling with adaptation instead of innovation.

tarush · 13 years ago

Simple business analogy…

Make the online Apple upgrades cheaper= death of local Apple resellers

metre9dmt · 13 years ago

so what else is new? mac products are always seen as prestige products and are priced as such. though i like steve jobs and apple’s industrial design, my biggest turnoff are its prices which are only for the wealthy people can afford. this is also the reason they’re having a hard time fighting android phones because they have no products at all price ranges, puro high-end prices.

Atavan · 13 years ago

Oo nga. tapos pag gumamit ka ng ibang part/component at na-harm ka kasalanan mo pa. Tulad nung namatay na stewardess/flight attendant! Pinatamaan sya ng banal na Kidlat ni Almighty Jobs sa pagsuway sa utos na dapat apple parts lang bibilhin mo.