I say this as having owned 3 Macs for the last 10 years. 4-8 years ago, the gap between Apple and the rest was so stark, it seemed paying for a premium Apple product was a no-brainer.

Even Linus got a Macbook air because the hardware was such a leap ahead.

Not only has the gap closed, Apple have been left behind, with inferior build quality in key areas (keyboards). This has coincided with raising prices further.

The 'Apple tax' is now a real phenomenon, not just the price of premium.