Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 50 posts

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#31

Post by FeloniousHam »

pasbesoin wrote: post #22

I've been pretty happy with my Moto G5+ 4/64 GB, except for a few things: Updates: Its lesser powered successor, the Moto G6 (no + in the U.S.) runs Android 8. The G5+ certainly could. Moto's X4 has the same 630 CPU along with a GB less RAM and, I've read, will be advanced to Pie. The G5+ could be, if Moto chose to do so. Camera. Take one of these "budget" models, and add $50 or even $100 to the price to put in a top…

Why not buy older or used models then?

You're never not ever going to get the latest technology/functionality in a low margin device--because return on investment, I guess.

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#33

Post by jbob2000 »

joe_hills wrote: post #9

Microphone and camera quality is very important for some of my side projects, and professional-grade equipment can add up quickly in price, volume, and weight. I'm not spending $1000 on a phone, I'm spending $1000 on a very small and portable (admittedly not quite pro-level) video camera that works well enough in a wide range of light conditions and noise environments.

What kind of side projects do you do? The microphones on smartphones really suck, you can’t capture anything unless you’re in a fairly quiet room or speaking to it up close. The lense just isn’t large enough to capture enough detail. Recording video drains the battery extremely fast. Even as a hobbyist, I find it extremely limiting.

I bought some used recording equipment that’s probably 10 years old for $200, it’s miles ahead of what my smartphone can do.

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#34

Post by pasbesoin »

FeloniousHam wrote: post #31
pasbesoin wrote: post #22

I've been pretty happy with my Moto G5+ 4/64 GB, except for a few things: Updates: Its lesser powered successor, the Moto G6 (no + in the U.S.) runs Android 8. The G5+ certainly could. Moto's X4 has the same 630 CPU along with a GB less RAM and, I've read, will be advanced to Pie. The G5+ could be, if Moto chose to do so. Camera. Take one of these "budget" models, and add $50 or even $100 to the price to put in a top…

Why not buy older or used models then? You're never not ever going to get the latest technology/functionality in a low margin device--because return on investment, I guess.

I've started thinking about this. Although I'd want some way -- for a reasonable upcharge -- of assuring that the hardware, particularly the camera, was in excellent condition.

Pixel 1's are below $300, I understand, and I'd be reasonably happy with one, except I believe their support window is about done. (Last Google phone with a headphone jack, to boot, IIRC. On the other hand, lesser storage capacity and no microSD support; microSD support is very nice, with my G5+.)

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#35

Post by LyndsySimon »

Need? No, I don't need it. I have an iPhone X, which I paid $1,200 for. It replaced a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, which I think I paid $700 for.

My X gives me better integration between my MBP, iPad, and AirPods. Siri is actually somewhat usable now, though it has room for improvements. I use it quite a bit while driving to "read" and respond to text messages, and I almost always have my AirPods in while driving. I drive a Jeep, without doors, and I've noticed some hearing damage that I attribute to the wind noise at highway speeds. My AirPods mean I can listen to podcasts or music without cranking the volume so high that people can hear it in their houses next to the road.

It's neat that my iPhone has so much processing power, but I rarely use it. The camera is good enough that I don't feel I have to carry my dedicated camera with me on a daily basis anymore, but when I do, I occasionally transfer my photos from it to my phone to post something on Instagram or upload through Lightroom to a shared gallery. I do all of my photo post-processing in Lightroom on my iPad, and usually have it with me.

At the end of the day, though, it's purely a luxury item. I like having good tools, and I make enough money to buy some. The difference in satisfaction for me between using my old S7 Edge and the iPhone X is enough to justify the cost to me.

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#37

Post by dagoat »

pasbesoin wrote: post #29
temporallobe wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Un, speak for yourself...I SO MUCH need a car that'll do 0-60 in 1.9 seconds. If you can find a car in that price range that can actually do that, please let me know.

Don't the 100K-ish Teslas, in monster mode or whatever it is, get within a few tenths of a second of this? 2.3 seems to stick in my mind, for some reason. Maybe even 2.2 or 2.1 . And that was a year or more ago.

Ludicrous mode. And you can't get 1.9 for 80k. That is ludicrous. P100D is ~135k starting. Off the top of my head a Z06 will do just under 3 and you can pick them up for <=80k new

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#38

Post by twiceaday »

roryisok wrote: post #20

When I heard what they were charging for the iPhone X I thought it was a joke. but I know several people who now have them, and they all say it was worth it. And they can't explain why. I suspect they're all deluding themselves, like people who have watched 9 seasons of a terrible TV show and try to convince you it was worth the time and you should watch all 9 seasons too. I can't understand it. I wouldn't even spend…

Phones evolve. The evolution to a near edge-to-edge OLED screen is a costly one, look at the competition. In your ideal world Apple would delay the X by three years and continue to pump out forehead + chin LCD phones with spec bumps? iPhone X is the future you can have today, at a premium. If you don't want to spend the extra money, wait. You can buy it in 2020, when all new phones look like it. It's not like Apple is forcing you to buy it. Each phone they make is overpowered so that older phones are still good-enough for every day tasks, they release new iOS patches to even five year old devices, and they specifically advertise the older phones with price drops at every keynote. What is it that you want them to do differently? You want them to treat people like you as their target demographic for new phones?

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#39

Post by mamcx »

>when you can probably get good performance

This is a big problem with android. Performance sucks overall, and like windows, degrade over time. The quality of apps is not there.

And also, android is the worst if you care a bit about privacy and security.

When you must decide between a clear superior product (iPhone) vs a overall inferior (except if you take a lot of care in researching, have luck or expend almost the same money) and have a tight budget? Go for the best, because we don't have money to waste money. ---

BTW: My policy is buy the previous model when needed, so I still not expend that much neither waste money with android.

Re: Ask HN: Do you really need a $1000 phone?

#40

Post by berbec »

dagoat wrote: post #37
pasbesoin wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't the 100K-ish Teslas, in monster mode or whatever it is, get within a few tenths of a second of this? 2.3 seems to stick in my mind, for some reason. Maybe even 2.2 or 2.1 . And that was a year or more ago.

Ludicrous mode. And you can't get 1.9 for 80k. That is ludicrous. P100D is ~135k starting. Off the top of my head a Z06 will do just under 3 and you can pick them up for <=80k new

FatF taught us all you need is a 9-speed FWD DSM.
Post reply on HN