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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

#601

Post by ascagnel_ »

trimbo wrote: post #572
dep_b wrote: post #533

I think Apple hit a point where producing an exclusive phone with top features in every department wasn't really possible anymore at their scale. We've seen them stuck at 16GB for a really long time simply because upgrading all phones to 32GB would consume another whopping 15% of the SSD market. OLED screens in that quality and format aren't produced in enough quantities to put on every iPhone - yet. But people expec…

> OLED screens in that quality and format aren't produced in enough quantities to put on every iPhone Apple's scale is amazing but I don't really get this observation. Is this is because Samsung has been shipping OLED at Apple-level volumes for years, so they've already sucked up most of the supply?

It's that Samsung/LG don't have the production capacity to make OLED screens at the volumes Apple will need to put it on a mass-market phone.

To give you an idea of the discrepancy: Samsung's two flagship phones (S8/S8 Edge) sold roughly 12MM in their first quarter of availability (April-June 2017), while the current iPhone models sold 40+ million units in their third quarter of availability (same time frame).

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

#602

Post by Broken_Hippo »

chimeracoder wrote: post #539
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't protect you against accidental breakage. Outside of that, I rely on actual consumer protection laws, which aren't so hefty in the US - hence folks using credit cards to get some extra protection. It isn't like you are taking a big risk with Apple or your phone company ripping you off anyway. http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guar...

> That doesn't protect you against accidental breakage. Check your cardholder agreements. Mine do.

> Check your cardholder agreements.

Only some of us haven't kept those in many, many years. And the one I had back then certainly didn't have such things, but it might have changed since the late 90's. For myself personally, it doesn't seem worth the hassle. Another bill every month that is non-necessary when I could just save some money to cover such things or get it repaired. It kinda sucked not having an actual card in the US, but here it isn't.

Is this sort of thing common on credit cards nowadays? I saw two replies mentioning their banks, and I'm now wondering how widespread such a thing is.

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

#603

Post by kobeya »

ghaff wrote: post #578
kobeya wrote: post #558

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You drop it and break the screen at your own fault and your card will replace it? Sorry I don't buy it.

It's only for 120 days but, e.g. this is from one of Chase's cards: What's covered: "Eligible personal property that has been damaged, stolen, or involuntary and accidental parting with property within 120 days from the date of purchase" This is in addition to a year of additional warranty protection and various other purchase protections.

That text wouldn't cover accidental damage due to your own fault.

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

#604

Post by pera »

leipert wrote: post #498
grecy wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> US has the cheapest iPhone It is interesting to note among Developed countries, the US has the cheapest everything . Cars, computers, building materials, clothes, TVs. You name it, it is cheapest in the USA. It is interesting to note this is because people in the US have much less disposable income than people in other developed countries. Companies can charge higher prices in other developed countries because peop…

Really? To me it seems like the US has a higher disposable income per household (after taxes) [1]: US ~41k, Switzerland ~36k, France ~30k and Germany ~32k [1]: http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/income/

In Argentina and Brazil taxes are so high that it's often cheaper to travel to the US just to buy a laptop like a MBP (for instance, the cheapest touch bar model is about $3k USD). And to give some perspective: the average salary over there is ~10 times lower than here in the US.

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

#605

Post by wil421 »

oAlbe wrote: post #472
seppin wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. you buy subsidized insurance. do Europeans really think the USA is just a free for all ?

There's a point below which you can't afford any kind of even subsidized insurance. Not if you want to keep paying rent, buy food, car insurance to keep going to work, phone bill, electric bill and so on. Whereas in the part of Europe where I live, the less you have the less healthcare costs you. EDIT: The less it costs for the same quality.

I'm not really sure where you get your information. Anyone can get Heath insurance from the healthcare.gov marketplace.

Your salary requirements factor into the price. Someone making only 17k a year is capped at $54 a month premium. There are caps at certain salary intervals.

> Whereas in the part of Europe where I live, the less you have the less healthcare costs you.

100% true for the US as well. Please don't listen to news or internet comments. Verify the facts!

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

#607

Post by kobeya »

wil421 wrote: post #594
kobeya wrote: post #564

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You walk into an emergency room and get treated without paying a cent.

Seriously, if I believe what everyone comments on HN I would think hospitals are turning sick or injured people away.

My mama taught me to not talk about things I don't know anything about. I wish more people listened to their mamas.

To the curious Europeans out there, if you lose your job you can stay on your job's health plan for 18 months while you look for new work. If you're unemployed that long then you'd qualify for Medicaid after that, the government insurance program for the poor. If for whatever reason you really didn't have insurance you will nevertheless never be turned away from any hospital emergency room. This "die in he street because you have no insurance" is a myth and total hogwash.

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

#608

Post by david-cako »

sah2ed wrote: post #326
skookumchuck wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Common pricing strategy is to have 3 price points: 1. a cheap stripper model used to bring people into the showroom 2. an expensive deluxe model with every bell and whistle. It's primary purpose is to frame the next one as being affordable: 3. the mid-price mid-range one you're expected to buy. Of course, the price-is-no-object people will buy (2) anyway, and that's just extra gravy. You'll see this technique used ac…

Also called price anchoring [0] in marketing. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchoring

As an extension, I suspect that the extreme initial price reports (base model iPhone X at $1300 at one point?) are another form of anchoring. Apple is likely intentionally desensitizing people to the price.

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

#609

Post by danans »

GuB-42 wrote: post #280
Kluny wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also know a guy who made his living for many years repairing and reselling iPhones, who simply buys the top of the line as soon as it comes out and resells the old one to pay for it, at as close to full price as he can get away with. Since he always gets the most specc'd out phone available, treats it very carefully, always inside an otterbox, and is a pretty decent salesman, he usually gets his price. He also clai…

A good strategy, however he is not really the owner of the phone. He is essentially renting it from the next buyer. One consequence is that he has no option but treat is carefully, use a case, a screen protector, etc.. which is kind of ironic considering how much effort is put on the exterior design of the phone. Selling the phone also has a non-zero cost : you have to find a buyer and make the transaction. In that g…

This sort of strategy could also have a high opportunity cost in terms of one's time, depending on the value of your time. But it might make sense for someone who gets enjoyment out of the strategy itself, even if the upside is only saving a few hundred bucks.

It's similar to why I make DIY furniture for my home. While the cost of materials is lower than what I would pay for a finished piece at a furniture studio, that doesn't account for the time and effort I put into it. But for me the effort itself is a net positive that it's hard to put a price on, just like the joy of arbitraging iPhones might be for this person.

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

#610

Post by kobeya »

oAlbe wrote: post #472
seppin wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. you buy subsidized insurance. do Europeans really think the USA is just a free for all ?

There's a point below which you can't afford any kind of even subsidized insurance. Not if you want to keep paying rent, buy food, car insurance to keep going to work, phone bill, electric bill and so on. Whereas in the part of Europe where I live, the less you have the less healthcare costs you. EDIT: The less it costs for the same quality.

Before that point you qualify for free insurance through one of many government welfare programs. Learn about the system before you criticize it.
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