Apple's biggest driver of profits has been through negative value.

The cheapest Macbook will be sold in bulk to businesses more than it will to hobbyists. Cutting out 8gb of RAM (about $20 cost) maximises margins on high volume sales.

Individual purchases are more likely to either not need the extra memory ($20 saved) or need more memory in which case you have an inflated $200 upsale on your hands ($180 profit)

Because Apple have the biggest mindshare of all brands they have convinced the whole market anything cheaper than $800 for a phone must have something wrong with it or be dated. Their iPhone SE reinforces this message.

Mass market buyers will not miss things you will find on $500 Android handsets like USB 3.0 or VRR (money saved) and those in the know will upsell themselves to the Pro line.

I have no issue with how much Apple charges for their products and every problem with what you're getting for your money.