Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hear you, I can't find a car I can drive through the bottom of a lake either.
I don't crash my car once a week.
But you throw your phone at the wall once a week? I think your problem requires a different solution.
With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
161–170 of 730 posts
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
So your last generation iPhone still gets updates? I would not call that a excellent benchmark in my book. The trouble with iOS devices is that they stop being usable the moment you can no longer update the OS in the way that most applications only support the newest OS (happened to several iPads here with e.g. Amazon app, Twitter, Youtube) - because updates roll out to the majority of users so fast compared to Andro…
6 is almost 3 generations ago. The 7S/8 (we're not sure) comes out tomorrow. You can buy a 7 now. The 6S was released 2 years ago. The 6 was released 3 years ago.
I have a 5S and it still gets updates and works the same as the other poster described. I haven't even replaced the battery and still get a days usage.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#163Nobody 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. My iPhone 6, which cost $749 at the time, is coming up to 3 years old. Uh, what? I'm on my second ~$70 Android smart phone in eight years. It's a tad slow, but we're talking about literally a few seconds of waiting, nothing truly inconvenient. I have honestly never been impressed by anything a $600+ iPhone can do beyond what my phone can. The only drawback is that it isn't co…
> It's a tad slow, but we're talking about literally a few seconds of waiting, nothing truly inconvenient.
Few seconds waiting for what? There's a big difference between a few seconds waiting for an app to load and, say, for it to register that you've tapped a key on its on-screen keyboard.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
That misses a key point I was making: OS updates. Yes, I too have a Nexus 4 (bought in 2012) and it still works fine. But no more updates. I don't consider that on par with say my previous work laptop, which was also 3 years before I upgraded. I also own a Moto E (2nd Gen, $60-ish) and bought a Moto G+ for my brother this year, but I can't count on them to receive OS updates for as long.
Okay, but why do we need "software updates"? If the phone still works and is able to do the job what difference does it make?
I had a Moto G for over 3 years that cost $150 in 2014 and which continued to work perfectly with zero updates (Android 4.4) during that period.
It finally died last month when I tried to recharge it on an USB cable that I wired backwards (on a motorcycle). Replaced it with a $120 Lenovo that's fantastic, does everything I could think of and more.
I think people who are ready to buy an iPhone for over $1000 would in fact pay any price; Apple should try to sell those for $2500 and see what happens.
For the rest of us, a $120 Android phone is more than enough.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#165Nobody 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…
So your last generation iPhone still gets updates? I would not call that a excellent benchmark in my book. The trouble with iOS devices is that they stop being usable the moment you can no longer update the OS in the way that most applications only support the newest OS (happened to several iPads here with e.g. Amazon app, Twitter, Youtube) - because updates roll out to the majority of users so fast compared to Andro…
I have an iPhone 6 (not 6s) and can still use pretty much "most applications that only support the newest OS".
The only things I can't do involve hardware-based features for things I don't have in my phone.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well I would like to see version 1.0 sofware that receives only security updates than the current status quo that we update a huge amount of your apps every week to change a button a bit. Every update there is a risk that something is going to be broken, even at the OS level. This is pathetic that we are going this direction.
As it stands I think that Nexus 5 is getting neither - no functionality or security updates
This is partly because of hardware manfacturers not supporting the latest version of Android. I think Google latest attempt to separate hardware drivers from Android itself should help a lot though the advantage will really be seen 2 years from now. If what Google is attempting works just like iOS and iPhone you will get the latest version of the OS barring a few hardware based features that your phone hardware doesn't support.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#167Earlier 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…
I wonder what phone Bill Gates uses nowadays!?! He said many times he's very loyal to MS but they have all but stopped making phones, so every choice left is a bad one...
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#168Not 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
Even then, there will always be lower-tier iPhones and lower-tier "other" devices that will be cheaper and work just fine for most people, just like most people only need a Corolla, Camry, Civic, etc. for their daily car needs and not necessarily the newest BMW 3 or 5 series, etc.
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, guess what, my elderly Nokia actually has a browser, no whatsapp but then again I wouldn't use that even if my phone supported it.
How well can you access HN on it?
My Nokia from 2009 can handle it just fine. I still use it whenever i break yet another smartphone (written from Nokia 6303i).
Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
As an Android dev, I see the total opposite sentiment. Most new phones are pretty damn good, even the mid range. I assume things will go the same way as the PC. Cheaper hardware for most, Apple still holding onto a niche in the market.
Android security updates are the only reason to update my Nexus 5. A decent midrange phone, with an open bootloader, would probably do me for many years.
How are you still getting security updates for the Nexus 5? The last security update they released was from October 2016.