And you’re right that Apple is hesitant to change prices on models. But that cuts both ways. Apple notably held off of bumping prices across their product line for a considerable amount of time, very plausibly eating the cost of RAM price increases.
It would definitely be atypical but given the unique and extreme nature of the current situation, I wouldn’t be shocked if they cut prices somewhat once the RAM situation relaxes.
The first gen apple TVs were $300.
The second gen was $99.
The first and second 4k gen were $179.
The third gen was $129.
They might not drop prices on existing models, but they have definitely dropped prices on new versions of product lines.
They then bumped UP the 3rd gen: $249 (+$100) and $199 (+$70).
And the 4th gen has only one option, at $299.
So we've not only "not dropped" prices on the 4K Apple TV, but they've gone up forty per cent.
They have dropped the price of the MacBook Air a few years ago and the Mac Mini as well. So your statement is categorically false.
That said, with cpu, ram and storage prices the way they are right now, prices won't be dropping soon. But there is hope long term.
All the pricing is bad everywhere.
I hear you though on the cost. The Mac Mini was a killer deal a year ago, especially if you could get it on sale for <$500. Not today though.
If anything, the longer you hold your laptop, the more you amortize the cost, and can more easily afford the next one.
My work machine went from an M1 with 32GB to an M4 with 24GB and it definitely wasn't worth the time to upgrade.
I had to prove the OP wrong though; my M1 Max's keyboard died this year, and I had to upgrade to the M5 max this season, after the hikes. I kissed 9k EUR goodbye for something not much better functionally than the M1 Max it replaced, bought for 3.4k Canadian dollars in the wonderful 2021 (that was barely over 3200 EUR back then).