OK, so maybe it’s telling that I noticed this, but recently Apple changed the way it presents items in the “refurbished/clearance” section of its store. (Maybe I know this because maybe I’m an obsessive tech shopper and maybe I check it multiple times per week. Don’t judge.)
Unfortunately, as is happening just a little too often with Apple these days, the changes mean the page in now prettier, and less functional.
Now, on some level I can see why Apple decided to redesign that part of the store. Here it is from the Wayback machine (h/t 9to5Mac by way of Ubergizmo.com):
So, yeah, sure, probably due for a redesign.
Here’s what it looks like now:
And that’s certainly prettier. But here’s what’s driving me nuts—in the interest of some sort of fealty to symmetry married to a disdain for differentiation, the refurbished store doesn’t offer enough specs on the devices that it’s listing for you to browse.
So… which MacBook Pro with a 2.3GHz i5 would you like…. the $1099 one or the $1269 one? Need more information? Of course you do!
So you get to click into every single product entry that interests you to figure out (a.) why the prices are different and (b.) whether or not they have the 512GB storage that you require of your MacBook Pro, as you know you’ll never go back from the storage you’ve got in your 12-inch MacBook, you just want a little more screen and speed. (Yes, I’m projecting.)
What differentiates those devices? The year the MacBook was released (since Apple doesn’t do product numbers), the amount of RAM and the amount of storage space. (Yes, maybe video technology as well if you’re picky.) So why couldn’t those details be put on the search screen so you don’t have to dig?
Remember that old store? Here’s what the results looked like:
Wait… you’re telling me I used to just be able to glance at the page, see what I could buy and how much I would save… and then get on with my day? Crazy talk.
Are we being punished for being cheap? (Don’t answer that Apple.)
Todd Stauffer 