Many gamers like to make fun of Apple as a gaming platform because of its inability to play video games at a consistent pace. However, the brand has started to invest more time and money into gaming throughout the years. Some Apple products are even the golden standard for gaming in specific genres. But this comes with a catch: it’s costly.
Apple is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. It has recently reached its trillion-dollar market cap, making it a worldwide phenomenon. In some countries like the US and China, it’s the standard used for quality products. It excelled in almost everything except gaming.
The History of Apple and Gaming
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Apple didn’t have a good history with gaming, but to be fair, it wasn’t on the brand’s agenda to excel in gaming during the past. Instead, it concentrated more on making good products that excel in their ways.
When the band released its first models of the iPhone and the Mac, it wanted to take over the world by storm. They plan to do this through brand recognition and product quality. They succeeded at doing that. The iPhone looked like the phone of the future, and the Mac did pretty well in its field, being able to play some less demanding games of the time.
But as the years went by, it was clear that Apple wasn’t trying to invest in the gaming industry. Instead, it wanted to excel even more in brand recognition. It created new models of iPhone every year, each having its own sets of upgrades. It also invested more time into its Mac models, such as the Mac Air. However, if Apple wanted to make more money, it eventually had to penetrate the billion-dollar gaming industry.
An Attempt Into Gaming
Apple recently made strides into gaming, and the brand did it smartly. It didn’t try to develop its hardware, knowing that there are already many competitive brands, such as NVIDIA and AMD. Moreover, it didn’t try to antagonize them either. Instead, the brand built a close relationship with these potential competitors and paid them to make the gaming hardware they needed. It’s a smart move for a trillion-dollar company and one that poses no risk whatsoever.
Throughout the years of development, Apple created a gaming rig that can perform by gamers’ standards. The new MacBook Pro has one of the best specs for any laptop in the market, but only those in higher configurations. This is the same for the Mac Pro, the desktop version of the MacBook.
The base versions of these products aren’t good for gaming, sporting only an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU. It can play some of the older games and less demanding games of the current generation, but it can’t play it on higher graphics. So you’ll need to upgrade the base versions of these products. How much will it cost? A lot.
The Cost of Apple Gaming
The max configuration of the MacBook Pro can set you back by about $2,300, and that only upgrades the storage and the overall look of the screen. Sadly, it doesn’t upgrade your average 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU specs. What you want to look for is a fully upgraded Mac Pro.
The fully upgraded Mac Pro is a beast, sporting a 28-core CPU and an AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo for its GPU. It can play any modern games at high or ultra-setting but at the price of a staggering $50,000. That’ll make sure you’ll be in debt in gaming forever.
With this in mind, it’s better to stick to mobile gaming. The new versions of the iPhone are powerhouses in the mobile gaming community. If you want to play with no screen stuttering, the iPhone is for you.
Considering the expenses of Apple gaming, what are some good alternatives for you?
Alternatives
PC Building
Apple is too costly as a brand for gaming. Moreover, your ability to make a gaming computer is limited, and with high prices on top of that. One of the best alternatives to Apple is to build your own gaming computer. The process is much rewarding, and if you’re smart, you can save a lot of money in doing it.
You can choose to hunt used parts or maybe use older models for your PC. You can also choose to be creative with your builds and overclock them instead.
Consoles
Your cheapest alternative to Apple gaming is to purchase consoles. Consoles are affordable and reliable, and because of their added features, they’ve become a good investment for entertainment. They might not have the same apps as PCs, but you can now watch and listen to music on consoles.
It’s the best choice for those who are new to gaming and for those who are on a tight budget.
Apple gaming is not worth it, not at this time. So unless they are willing to pull down their prices, you’re better off making your gaming computer at a much lower price.
Meta title: What Budget Should You Have When Gaming on Apple?
meta desc: Gamers might like to make fun of Apple. However, it has made changes to make its products more appealing to gaming enthusiasts. But it comes at a great cost.