Aren't phones supposed to get cheaper every year?
An iPhone is a Veblen good [1]. The purpose of buying an iPhone is to advertise your economic resources.
Like a Gucci handbag or a Rolex watch. With a smaller markup.
With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
21–30 of 730 posts
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agree. People will spend $1000 (or more) for relatively minor features on their cars. A phone is with you 24/7 - it's less like a tool, or even a digital assistant, and more like a cybernetic implant. The amazing thing isn't that phones cost so much but that competition is such that you can get an excellent product with top-of-the-line CPU, radio, RAM, screen, everything for $1,000 instead of $100,000 or $1,000,000.
> competition is such that you can get an excellent product [..] for $1,000 The really interesting part is that for ~$1000 you get the best product available at any price . That's the magic of economies of scale in consumer markets, especially technology. It's so incredibly expensive and largely fruitless to step out of the economy of scale, that practically speaking no-one does it. I don't have a yacht like Paul All…
Great thing about America is that no matter how rich or poor you are, you drink the same coke - Andy Warhol.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#23Aren't phones supposed to get cheaper every year?
They do, an iPhone 6s is cheaper now than when it was released.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#24Nobody looks at a top of the line PC with the best graphics card(s) and say it's crossing a threshold. Everybody understands it's for a certain demographic. According to rumors, they're still going to have various models and price points. Also, iPhones are extremely economical because no other phones receive OS updates for as long. My iPhone 6, which cost $749 at the time, is coming up to 3 years old. It's still flaw…
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Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#25Funny thing. We in India pay regularly close to $1000 (oh the irony there) for a regular iPhone 7 - and they sell a lot here.
Yep, Australia too.
iPhone 7 32 GB
Australian price: AU$1,079 ... US Price: $649
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#26From the so far leaked rumors I don’t see anything to justify the price. If anything there is a regression with the absence of TouchID. But I guess we will have to wait and see in two days.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#27Not excusing the price, but people these days spend multiple hours a day on their phones. Phones are as important as cars for example. How high prices can go ? Even higher imo People are ready to pay for expensive cars for a better experience and higher "social standing". Phones are not that different in this regard
We carry these things on our bodies damn near most of the day. We use them in our down time to read books and news. To communicate with others and consume information in a matter of seconds. To remind ourselves of things occurring throughout the day. To keep track of grocery lists, diets, fitness activities, sleep cycles and etc. It's basically the first fully functional extension of our body. So, absolutely... why the hell not pay more? It's almost like paying slightly more for a bionic arm that will get you a little closer to truly experiencing the sense of touch you've been missing for years.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#28This is a very good strategy in my opinion. The iPhone will be the Rolex of the smartphone market and purchased as a fashion item and a status symbol.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#29For $1,000 can it be durable as well as good looking? How about a serious IP (Ingress Protection - dust and water) rating?
Good looking? iPhones stopped being good looking since they added the camera that sticks out like a sore thumb.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#30Nobody looks at a top of the line PC with the best graphics card(s) and say it's crossing a threshold. Everybody understands it's for a certain demographic. According to rumors, they're still going to have various models and price points. Also, iPhones are extremely economical because no other phones receive OS updates for as long. My iPhone 6, which cost $749 at the time, is coming up to 3 years old. It's still flaw…
I see your 3 year young iPhone and raise my 6 year old Motorola Defy. I bought it new in 2011 for about 1/4 of what the then-current iPhone would have cost. It still works flawlessly, the battery is fine as well (~5 days of normal use on a single charge or ~7 hours of screen time). If the battery were to fail I could just replace it, no tools required.
Oh, the thing is waterproof and 'shock-proof' (although the latter is to be taken with a grain of salt, my wife managed to break the glass on hers after about three years).
In other words, it does not take an expensive iPhone to last longer than a contract period. Well-built phones can last a long time, much longer than the 2 years which most people seem to consider as normal.