Why not? It may be stupid, but I'm buying it if material feels right to my skin.
Apple knows this. So of course they did not set the price P to maximize Q. They set the price P to maximize PQ.
The question should be why P maximizes PQ. I submit that it is because of dopey articles that create a luxury effect around the product. I believe that if necessary, Apple would (and may even already) write and publish these articles themselves.
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/18/beats-pill-vear-returns...
This product's primary purpose is to generate this exact wave of online ridicule and media coverage (like this BBC article).
It makes Apple's other "expensive" accessories (e.g., a $129 FineWoven case) seem perfectly reasonable by comparison.
It generates millions in free PR, all centered on the theme of "Apple as an exclusive, luxury brand."
They aren't selling a sock for $230. They are selling the conversation around it. As others have predicted, it will sell out.
/r/technology is sadly not available from that day but the Internet was full of the same few jokes:
iPad?! More like maxipad amirite?
iPad? So they glued 4 iPod Touches together?
Lol, Apple making the same thing others already made but worse?!
The thing of greatest value to most "netizens" (haha) is ridicule. They love dunking on stuff. In fact, even today if you go to reddit's front page you will almost certainly see a post from /r/clevercomebacks or /r/murderedbywords or so on and so forth.
I don't blame them. When I was young, I too found this enjoyable for reasons that seem so alien to me today I cannot even comprehend why I did it. I, a Linux using child, called the IE and Windows users "Microserfs" in moments of great wit. Perhaps pg was right in that dunking is adaptive for those primarily seeking engagement[2]
That's not to say that anyone is wrong or right about whether some product is good. I thought the iPhone sock was some kind of joke release, but I've definitely passed the point where I know what appeals to the kids (six-seven skibidi). It's just that a gauge that always reads 1.0 on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0 is not a gauge that you can use diagnostically.
0: https://www.reddit.com/r/self/comments/auwq1/im_already_tire...
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/51r158/no_apple...
To people with bad taste who buy stupid garbage for thousands, such as any of the hideous big shoes of the last decade adorned with a fancy label, this is already on order.
Can't wait to hear the ATP hosts spend 45 min "not" glazing this thing like they do with every iPhone case
Ultimately, it's a fashion thing, it'll sell, I can't blame them for putting it out there, but I'd definitely wonder about any friends buying it
(1) makes companies market (lie) more aggressively, because it ends up working out.
(2) makes prices irrational, because if a bunch of stupid people will buy your shit product, why would you care about the 1% who actually do their research?
Because this place loves outrage just as much as any other community. And it’s no fun to make fun of others in a thread that gets flagged and hidden.
If Microsoft had tried to sell a "limited edition" zoom sock for $220 it would have produced a lot of mockery and no sales.
This hypothesis of course may be false - maybe Apple is better suited to take those irrational dollars and deploy them more rationally.
(2) People who "do their research" aren't entitled to anything. Maybe they just won't buy it? Then it's not for them. I don't understand what "makes prices irrational" would even mean in this context. The right price is whatever maximizes P * Q.
Sure, Apple will remain a trillion-dollar company for a long time, partly because its competition keeps shooting itself in the foot. Windows and Android are hostile towards power users and bloat the system with pre-installed apps, and they are both stepping on the gas.
But the real question is: how long can brand loyalty alone sustain the hype of new Apple products? And when will Apple stop being considered a "growth" company?
This is just some high fashion accessory they release, like a clothing company selling wallets on the side. It's not a big deal.
Yes Apple is still an up-market brand. You can be a luxury company that sells products that start priced in the middle while offering high end stuff that also sells very well... or better, iPhone 15 Pro Max was their top selling individual item last year, not the standard iPhone 15.
Having a subset of the influencer/trendmakers who buy only the high end stuff helps push up the brands popularity. Even if it's only more novelty stuff like this.
This 'sock' is a very loud fashion item that will show up in celebrity photos and youtube videos.
That's the entire point, though. Microsoft can't do this.
This move only works precisely because Apple is not just a tech company anymore, but (as dmix also points out) a luxury/fashion brand.
The fact that Microsoft would fail is the proof. This isn't a "tech accessory" play; it's a "luxury brand" play, where the "ridicule" from outsiders (i.e., tech-focused people) is part of the marketing that signals exclusivity to the target audience (fashion-focused people).
Flag my comment, someone is already upvoted for calling this “irrational” and another for calling the buyers cucks. Your boos mean nothing, I’ve seen what makes you cheer.
There is a great joke about this:
A woman rushes into Yves St. Laurent's studio.
"Oh Yves!" she cries, "you've got to help me, I'm in a panic, I have this gala coming up and I have no hat to wear"
Calmly, Yves walks to the nearest table, picks up some rolls of ribbon and starts draping them around the woman's head, and in 10 minutes flat he has made this fantastic creation.
She looks in the mirrow "Oh, Yves, you've saved me, how much do I owe you?"
He says "make it 2500 euros"
She starts yelling "2500 euros??? are you mad? for a bunch of ribbon?"
Calmly, Yves starts to unwind the ribbons spooling them up as he goes and when he's done he hands the woman the ribbons. "The ribbons, you can have for free."
https://www.ssense.com/en-th/women/product/issey-miyake/whit...
It isn't a handbag. It isn't a shoulder bag. It doesn't look good. I won't be fashionable. It isn't a open question. It's a sock.
As he put it - when you're shopping for a $100M yacht, a $2 car is almost an impulse buy.
The ipad jokes were about its name, not the product itself. See also the Nintendo Wii.
Online ridicule is meaningless. People ridicule everything that goes on to be successful. They also ridicule everything that goes on to fail.