Apple monitor stand that costs more than an iPhone sparks online uproar
By Amy Woodyatt, CNN Business
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(CNN) - Apple product launches always get buzz, but one new gadget announcement has left some people bemused: a monitor stand that costs nearly as much as some computers.
At its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose this week, Apple (AAPL) revealed a collection of new products, including a monitor stand for $999.
That's on top of the hefty price tag for its new Mac Pro desktop, which starts at $6,000, and a display monitor, the Pro Display XDR, a 32-inch 6K retina LCD display ($4,999).
"The Pro Stand has an intricately engineered arm that perfectly counterbalances the display so it feels virtually weightless, allowing users to easily place it into position," the company notes on its website.
The stand is optional: Mac Pro users could technically lean a monitor against the computer itself instead. It's unclear as of now if the new system will be compatible with third-party monitor stands. CNN has contacted Apple for comment on this.
But the stand caused a stir on social media, with some technology fans mocking the price of what is generally regarded as an unexciting accessory.
After all, the stand is more expensive than an iPhone X, which is currently for sale on Apple's website starting at $749.
Twitter user Aidan Lynch wrote in a tweet: "The pro stand costing more than most laptops and phones outside of Apple's realm is the ultimate middle finger to any consumer that is seriously considering their machine. Every new device Apple has released in the last year is a cash grab in exchange for no new functionality."
Another Twitter user tweeted: "This Apple mac pro screen stand, i repeat STAND, costs $999, let that sink in for a moment."
Apple has developed a reputation for hiking product prices without necessarily hampering sales. Sometimes there are practical reasons for the price increases due to the components inside.
Apple has not yet responded to CNN's request for comment on the cost of the product.
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In addition to the new Mac Pro and its accessories, Apple also announced new features coming to iOS 13 and that its iTunes music platform will be replaced by a trio of desktop apps called Music, TV and Podcasts. It also teased a menstrual cycle tracker coming to the Apple Watch.
Apple accused of censoring negative reactions to its $999 Mac Pro stand
Chris Merriman - The Inquirer
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APPLE HAS BEEN accused of using copyright infringement as an excuse to take down videos showing developers booing at the reveal of its $999 Mac Pro stand.
According to our distant bastard step cousins at The Register, who first spotted it, a number of YouTube videos with titles like "WWDC 2019 Pro Stand Crowd Reaction" have been issued takedowns after Apple has requested they were yanked on copyright grounds.
These unofficial postings are, technically, subject to copyright, but it seems that not only is it almost unheard of for Apple to actively pursue clips from WWDC (after all, it's free publicity), but in this case it has only gone after videos showing the negative reaction.
When the $999 stand was mentioned, there were audible gasps and surprised laughter, followed by boos and cat-calls in the auditorium. But evidence of it is hard to come by, on YouTube or anywhere on social media, where other parts of the presentation are there in all their 210-minute pile-inducing glory.
So far, neither Apple, nor the sites involved have explained what exactly is going on, but circumstantially at least, it looks like Apple is going back on its claim that things won't 'be like 1984', the George Orwell novel where expunging inconvenient history is commonplace. There, and the Trump White House.
In fairness to Apple, its own version of WWDC is still available (below), boos and all, but it seems that isolating that bit in a way that makes it easy to find is a bridge too far for the highly-strung tech giant.
The Apple Mac Pro, a cheese grater-like replacement for the has-been-bin design, isn't just expensive in the stand department. The basic model will retail for $5,999, before adding in the monitor or its stand, with some estimates putting the cost of a fully-pimped version (based on component prices) at an eyewatering thirty grand. Boo. No, really. Boo.
