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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

#411

Post by Tepix »

Yetanfou wrote: post #378
Tepix wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you install a more recent version of Android (such as 4.4) on the Defy (it shipped with Android 2.3 or so), it will be too slow for use (for my taste,anyway). I tried it with a faster Defy+. Even with Android 4.4 it will be a very insecure phone. With Android 2.3 it will be laughably insecure. Visit one wrong webpage and your phone is owned. No thanks.

In what way would this be "a very insecure phone"? It runs Android 4.4.4 just fine. I patched the one glaring bug ('Stagefright'), it runs the latest browsers (Firefox/Fennec, Lightning, PB) without problems. While there is lots of talk about 'Android being insecure' it is hard to find actual examples of Android devices which are used in a sensible way (i.e. which do not get fed whatever APK just downloaded from getf…

Well, if you haven't fixed CVE-2015-3864, CVE-2015-3876 and CVE-2015-6602 chances are you are still vulnerable by visiting a wrong web page.

Just look at the monthly security fix notes. There are critical vulnerabilities getting fixed every month.

Here are more critical ones: CVE-2017-0764, CVE-2017-0756 from the September patchlevel that also affects Android 4.4.4. See https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-09-01

In August 2017, three more. In July one. In May another two. Still not convinced?

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

#412

Post by beager »

whafro wrote: post #408
beager wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm genuinely curious if credit card companies get involved with warranty-related actions, or really anything beyond the fitness and accurate representation at the time of purchase. As far as I can tell, thigs like AppleCare and EU VAT protections cover an almost entirely exclusive set of concerns, namely, the fitness of the product after initial purchase.

I'm not knowledgeable enough to compare directly to VAT, but many credit cards extend a product's existing warranty (90 days to two years, depending on the card), and some offer things like 90-day purchase protection (if the price changes or if merchant/manufacturer won't accept a return, the credit card will). Purchase protection took care of a theft I had in my house last month. They just needed a receipt and a pol…

Thanks for the response. This is something that's not well known to me and in the age of retailers trying to upsell the same thing for a fee, I'm not surprised that it is obscured.

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

#413

Post by lagadu »

ihateneckbeards wrote: post #16
jayd16 wrote: post #14

Earlier 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.

Mid range cars can also drive pretty much like top of the range cars, they share most features yet people like high end cars.

That's just not true in any possible way. The handling and driving experience of a nicer sports car is absolutely nothing like a regular midranger, not to mention all the quality of life features.

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

#414

Post by mbroncano »

Jdam wrote: post #342
wil421 wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you bringing up healthcare on an iPhone discussion? Trying to figure out how it is relevant to the pricing of an iPhone in Sweden.

As a European, I noticed that discussions held here about X in the US _always_ converge against their healthcare. "Salary in the US is higher" - but heir healthcare sucks "Weather in California is nicer than in Oslo" - But you don't have healtcare "New York is such a great city to live in" - But you're left for dead

You got it right, it's difficult to imagine for a European what it's like to deal with having no medical care if unemployed.

In addition, the fact that's part of every discussion gives a hint of how much of an issue this is.

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

#415

Post by ghaff »

beager wrote: post #412
whafro wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not knowledgeable enough to compare directly to VAT, but many credit cards extend a product's existing warranty (90 days to two years, depending on the card), and some offer things like 90-day purchase protection (if the price changes or if merchant/manufacturer won't accept a return, the credit card will). Purchase protection took care of a theft I had in my house last month. They just needed a receipt and a pol…

Thanks for the response. This is something that's not well known to me and in the age of retailers trying to upsell the same thing for a fee, I'm not surprised that it is obscured.

In all fairness, it's not a standard thing. Most of the extended card protections that go beyond purchase dispute resolution/defective product come from various premium cards more so than basic no-charge ones.

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

#416

Post by problems »

idonotknowwhy wrote: post #328
exodust wrote: post #274

Planned obsolescence is my biggest gripe with Apple and other brands that do this. My 2012 iOS device is now stuck on iOS9. I wouldn't mind except they bundle web browser updates with the OS. This is wrong. The web browser on iOS9 does not support javascript ES6 features such as the "Let" statement. Any web sites that use let statements will fail on iOS 9. I discovered this recently when browsing on my iPad3, 2012 mo…

Apple have a lot to answer for, and there are a lot of flaws with iOS devices, but this isn't one of them. 5 years of updates for a smartphone is pretty good. From Android, I think only certain Sony phones even come close to that. By now, the battery cells will be damaged, the CPU/RAM too slow or limited, the flash memory wearing out. Time for a new phone :)

If you run custom ROMs on Android that situation is currently better than anything - you can still get updates for a Galaxy Nexus from 2011. Xiaomi is also currently providing official updates for 4+ years on some devices.

The official situation should change too - with the release of Android 8 there is now a more defined layer separating the HAL from the rest of the OS, allowing updates to be pushed out universally.

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

#417

Post by lagadu »

problems wrote: post #398
sanxiyn wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Not necessarily true - if you have the know how or know someone who does, you can run a custom rom on your Android device, Lineage is updated weekly for many devices and will easily provide many more years of life. Once it's set up it's pretty hands off too, so just knowing one person who can do it for you once is pretty much enough. The official situation is slated to improve now with Android 8 separating the HAL an…

> Lineage is updated weekly for many devices

You see, right there you described why most people, myself included, aren't interested in that. I can't be bothered to care about weekly OS updates, I tolerate the 1-2 yearly updates to my android because as someone in the security industry I understand the need for updates but that's it. A phone isn't something I care about tinkering with, it's a tool and I want it to work well with as minimal maintenance getting in the way as possible. I couldn't even be bothered to root my current phone, much less install a different OS.

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

#418

Post by matwood »

glogla wrote: post #316
StudentStuff wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)…

I kind of wanted to do that, for the hipster geek cred, but after retina screens, actually usable touchpads and operating system that just works and also is unix at the same time ... I just can't go back.

I have also looked at switching to Linux over OS X and the retina/hidpi alone stops any attempt. I actually had someone on here argue that no one needs retina, and that it didn’t make any difference visually!

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

#419

Post by skywhopper »

The author of this article has soaked up the conventional wisdom about Apple's pricing. Yes, they don't sell cheap phones, and sure they make a healthy profit, but it doesn't then follow that the product is overpriced. The iPhone has always been an extremely high-quality product and has always been competitively priced versus comparable models from other phone makers. So why do they have the reputation of premium pricing?

This $1000 iPhone X may be nearly as expensive as a Macbook Air, but that's entirely reasonable: it's a far more powerful and sophisticated computer in a much smaller package. Why would you expect it to cost less?

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

#420

Post by jsjohnst »

walterstucco wrote: post #350
alkonaut wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work at a keyboard 8h per day, so I happily pay $100 for a keyboard that is nice, even though I could get one for $20. Same with the phone. Even if it's just some minor improvement I use it so much that it's worth it. Also it depends on what you use it for. If you use it for web browsing/messaging/email/phone calls then most phones will do. But other features such as the camera might be very dependent on price. Add…

Except a good keyboard really makes the difference, an iPhone is worse in many ways from my Xiaomi Mi5, that costed 200 euros. For example you can't use the iPhone as an usb disk.

I don't know about you, but I most certainly can use my iPhone as a USB disk.
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