Apple sticks with 256 GB of base storage to push its cloud

256 GB of base storage on a Mac: Apple's strategy to push you to the cloud

Apple has turned storage into a luxury item. Current models start with 256 GB of SSD, a capacity a cheap fairground USB stick matches for little money. The company does allow configurations up to 2 TB, though, at a premium. The question isn't why the base option is so stingy, but what that stinginess is for: to push customers toward the cloud and toward upgrades with margins the hardware no longer justifies.

The 256 GB base and the upgrade business

The assumption is that RAM is what's expensive, so the saying goes. But storage is precisely the component whose price has collapsed on the open market. Even so, Apple keeps the minimum capacity at 256 GB and makes the jump to a reasonable figure a decision that hurts your wallet. The result: either you pay upfront for a higher configuration, or you subscribe to iCloud to pay monthly for the space the hard drive never gave you. Two revenue streams from the same shortcoming.

Proprietary hardware and the escape routes

The strategy holds up because internal upgrades are no longer a user option. With soldered components, the external route is reduced to a 1 TB hard drive over USB, a workaround many consider beneath them. It's no surprise that some longtime buyers have ended up on a Linux PC: the hardware quality isn't in question, but the price of upgrades has swept away loyalty to the Apple brand.

If the trend of stitching the base capacity at 256 GB to inflate cloud bills continues, Apple's margin looks bulletproof. The open question is how much stinginess customers will tolerate before looking for a manufacturer less creative with their wallets.