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With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

nytimes.com

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Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#81

Post by Symbiote »

jkaptur wrote: post #19
sho wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Andy Warhol: "What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drin…

This was said before fancier soft drinks were sold, I assume.

For example, some bars round here sell this cola: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fentimans_Curiosity_Cola

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#82

Post by StudentStuff »

yodsanklai wrote: post #72
ihateneckbeards wrote: post #5

Not 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

> Not excusing the price, but people these days spend multiple hours a day on their phones That's my reasoning when I buy a new computer. I can buy a MBP for $2000, use it for 3 years and sell it used for $1000. $30 a month is a bargain considering I use it between 5-10 hours a day. I may pay a mac a little more (20%?) than the competition but it's worth it considering it's subjectively better (and objectively differ…

Much of this logic is why I stopped buying new computers or phones. I'd rather use a $70 T440 that I've upgraded and know how to repair most everything on than haul a MBP that I'll need to get a pro to service, that also happens to have terrible ventilation. I mean, my last MBP literally cooked itself, comparatively this T440 has a giant grill that it rapidly removes heat through (though its 15w i5 doesn't make much).

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#83

Post by comstock »

yodsanklai wrote: post #72
ihateneckbeards wrote: post #5

Not 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

> Not excusing the price, but people these days spend multiple hours a day on their phones That's my reasoning when I buy a new computer. I can buy a MBP for $2000, use it for 3 years and sell it used for $1000. $30 a month is a bargain considering I use it between 5-10 hours a day. I may pay a mac a little more (20%?) than the competition but it's worth it considering it's subjectively better (and objectively differ…

What might be interesting is if the iPhone X ends up being a device that combines more laptop-like features into a phone.

Better keyboard/mouse/display integration. Support for laptop-like apps. Then it could be worth laptop-like pricing.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#84

Post by yodsanklai »

dannysu wrote: post #18

Nobody 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…

> Also, iPhones are extremely economical because no other phones receive OS updates for as long.

Good point. Also they sell extremely well on the second-hand market.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#85

Post by sanxiyn »

yodsanklai wrote: post #72
ihateneckbeards wrote: post #5

Not 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

> Not excusing the price, but people these days spend multiple hours a day on their phones That's my reasoning when I buy a new computer. I can buy a MBP for $2000, use it for 3 years and sell it used for $1000. $30 a month is a bargain considering I use it between 5-10 hours a day. I may pay a mac a little more (20%?) than the competition but it's worth it considering it's subjectively better (and objectively differ…

iPhone provides software update much longer (typically two times longer) than any Android phones in the market, so it actually has longer life. If you plan to use it for a long time, it makes sense.

I agree if you plan to use iPhone for less than 2 years it's probably expensive.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#86

Post by theshrike79 »

nikofeyn wrote: post #32
dannysu wrote: post #18

Nobody 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…

> It's still flawless, no speed issues or any issues. The only thing bad is that the battery isn't as good as before. so, not flawless? i can replace the battery on my phone, which is very reassuring and also practical for times away from a charger.

How often are you away from a charger or a portable power bank, really?

We can all imagine theoretical situations where one would need to swap batteries, but they're just that - theoretical. In practice you can either find/borrow/buy/steal a charger or you carry an USB powerbank with you if running out of battery is an issue for you.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#87

Post by brianSP »

Yetanfou wrote: post #30
dannysu wrote: post #18

Nobody 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 latte…

I see your 6 year young iPhone and raise my 14 year old Nokia 1100. I bought it new in 2003 80~ dolla. It still works flawlessly, the battery is fine as well (~31 days of normal use on a single charge or ~16 hours of screen time). If the battery were to fail I could just replace it, no tools required.

Oh, the thing is bulletproof (although it must be taken with a grain of salt, chuck norrys managed to break the glass on his 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 10 years which most people seem to consider as normal.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#88

Post by zaroth »

I like paying $1,000 for a device like this because I want Apple (and competitors) to know I would absolutely spend $1,000 - BUT it had better hold up, perform beautifully, bring me something technologically compelling, and do some damn cool stuff.

At $1,000 sets a very high bar. Excited to see if they meet it!

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#89

Post by stoolpigeon »

tekklloneer wrote: post #64
TeMPOraL wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most new phones are pretty damn good, even the mid range. For the first week, at least. Then they start to accumulate cruft and slow down, eventually becoming barely usable. I've experienced it in the past. I see it happen for my friends and family. I decided some time ago to save up that $750 - $1k and go for the high-range phones, so that I can use them for two or three years without daily frustrations. The top-m…

I disagree - I've used a $300 stock android phone for just over a year now, and I haven't really run into any "cruft" issues. But, poor android performance is a very valid problem with android.

I have a Nexus 5X and then I bought my wife a Moto G4 plus and I was really impressed with her phone which was a good amount cheaper than mine.

We've both had them for a while now and they are both good phones but I think I'll spend less on my next phone since I can and still get something that works very well.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#90

Post by devwastaken »

After recently doing a bit of research into a new smartphone, I begun to understand why people buy Iphones, even if they're really really expensive. Firstly, you can explain it away financially with monthly payments, like any phone through a provider, but the biggest pain point I had is proven reliability. Take any popular Android phone, and you'll see a history of unsolved hardware problems from the manufacturer, such as boot loops. I can't afford to have my phone just 'break' itself and have to deal with my provider or some such nonesense. It was a real problem looking through dozens and dozens of different phones and knowing that each one of them tried to re-invent the wheel in some way that will probably break.

In the end, I settled for a Moto Z Play, at the recommendation of a programming blog, and that it had excellent reviews on the outlets I could find it. But, even with that, I accidentally bought an international version from Amazon unknowingly until I tried to purchase accident protection from Motorola, and they had to direct me to Indian support, which their phoneline was offline for all the times I tried to call. After ordering the proper U.S. version through motorolas site, though, everything has been fine. But thats a lot of technical stuff and throwing direct money (no monthly payments) at a single item. I can understand why people would just go to their providers site, and order an Iphone after trying, or not trying, to do research into smartphones.

For reference, I was able to return the international version even though I had used it for a week or so, and once refunded bought the U.S. one. Motorola tries to provide a monthly payment mechanism through 'Affirm', but Affirm was... Firm in that I didn't have a checking account in my bank, because my bank gives it a different name (though still is a checking.). The main saving grace of motorola is that AFAIK, their accident protection can send me a new phone before I have to send a broken one back in the future if(when) it does break.

And after all of this, still no 4G on it, because AT&T doesn't do that unless you have an 'AT&T' phone IMEI supposedly.

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