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Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

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Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#191
post #87

The iphone X is very overpriced when viewed as a utility object, because it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone. But it is very reasonable when viewed as a fashion accessory. A $1000 phone to go inside a $2000 purse is not crazy at all. People keep looking at apple as a tech company and struggling to understand them, but if you view them as a luxury/fashion company who happens to specialize in technology t…

>>> it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone That is not correct. Try taking a photo of a text document with a $250 phone, the text is not readable because the camera and the software is terrible. A better phone would allow you to not have a dedicated scanner.

A $250 phone is plenty able to take a legible photo of an A4 text document.

I know of no phone that can replace a dedicated scanner, though. I regularly use my phone for quick scans, but even the iPhone X can't scan an A4 document at 300dpi. Even if it could, I wouldn't be able to hold it steady enough to do so.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#192
post #87

The iphone X is very overpriced when viewed as a utility object, because it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone. But it is very reasonable when viewed as a fashion accessory. A $1000 phone to go inside a $2000 purse is not crazy at all. People keep looking at apple as a tech company and struggling to understand them, but if you view them as a luxury/fashion company who happens to specialize in technology t…

>>> it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone That is not correct. Try taking a photo of a text document with a $250 phone, the text is not readable because the camera and the software is terrible. A better phone would allow you to not have a dedicated scanner.

I use a Nexus 5X. Refurbished for $180 ($270 new) on amazon right now. The picture quality is excellent and for something basic like taking readable pictures of text documents it's perfectly fine. In fact it's pre-pre-descessor was perfectly fine for that task. I was using it extensively for just that purpose.

These expensive phones are luxury devices with almost no added utility. A few milliseconds of delay can make a big difference in how a device feels, and be expensive to get rid off, but they don't fundamentally alter what you can do with the device.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#193
post #87

The iphone X is very overpriced when viewed as a utility object, because it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone. But it is very reasonable when viewed as a fashion accessory. A $1000 phone to go inside a $2000 purse is not crazy at all. People keep looking at apple as a tech company and struggling to understand them, but if you view them as a luxury/fashion company who happens to specialize in technology t…

Imagine your annual income is $200k, and you expect your iPhone X to last 2 years. Imagine you're very busy with work and parenting, and it's very valuable to you to be able to take high quality pictures of your baby and share them with family and friends. A smartphone is the most convenient way to do that. A smartphone that costs ~$1000 takes much better pictures, and faster shutter response, than a smartphone that costs $250.

Is the iPhone X worth an extra $375 per year for the person described above? Of course.

Does it need to provide 4x the utility to be worth 4x the price? No. The marginal utility just needs to be cost-effective, vs. the other ways to 'buy' utility with the same amount of money.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#194
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s terrible because any difference between carrier prices is a large multiple of what the sticker/brochure says. Most plans here (New Zealand) are over 2 years, so any difference in price is 24x greater at the end of the contract. And no one here is paid per month, that’s seen as completely antiquated and they are paid per week or per fortnight.

Really? Nobody is paid per month? Coming from the UK that is unexpected. Are jobs wages advertised per week? What are the real advantages? Surely it's a bit harder to pay for larger purchases as it requires more controlled saving and spending?

I’m sure someone is paid per month but I’ve never come across it. The advantage is fairly obvious - you get to have your money. How much interest are you missing out on? Having your employer in debt to you for up to a month per pay is fairly primitive.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#195
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s terrible because any difference between carrier prices is a large multiple of what the sticker/brochure says. Most plans here (New Zealand) are over 2 years, so any difference in price is 24x greater at the end of the contract. And no one here is paid per month, that’s seen as completely antiquated and they are paid per week or per fortnight.

I live in NZ and I would have said that virtually every salaried worker is paid monthly.

Have spent years on salary and so have most people I know, paid fortnightly. Seems like we need some real data.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>> it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone That is not correct. Try taking a photo of a text document with a $250 phone, the text is not readable because the camera and the software is terrible. A better phone would allow you to not have a dedicated scanner.

I use a Nexus 5X. Refurbished for $180 ($270 new) on amazon right now. The picture quality is excellent and for something basic like taking readable pictures of text documents it's perfectly fine. In fact it's pre-pre-descessor was perfectly fine for that task. I was using it extensively for just that purpose. These expensive phones are luxury devices with almost no added utility. A few milliseconds of delay can make…

I remember looking at that phone last year, the cheapest was 350 euro and all the sellers were out of stock.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#197
post #87

The iphone X is very overpriced when viewed as a utility object, because it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone. But it is very reasonable when viewed as a fashion accessory. A $1000 phone to go inside a $2000 purse is not crazy at all. People keep looking at apple as a tech company and struggling to understand them, but if you view them as a luxury/fashion company who happens to specialize in technology t…

Imagine your annual income is $200k, and you expect your iPhone X to last 2 years. Imagine you're very busy with work and parenting, and it's very valuable to you to be able to take high quality pictures of your baby and share them with family and friends. A smartphone is the most convenient way to do that. A smartphone that costs ~$1000 takes much better pictures, and faster shutter response, than a smartphone that…

What's the marginal utility over a 500$ Galaxy S8?

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#198
post #187
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't necessarily need to be a fashion accessory to justify that price. You're not just getting aesthetics for the money, you're getting performance, battery life, display quality, etc. I'm using my phone a lot on a daily basis, so it's worth paying a bit more to get the best available. There's nothing functionally different about a $2000 purse. Besides, comparing iPhones to purses is basically the same sort of…

I hope you aren't claiming there is anything from a utility perspective that would make the iPhone X a rational purchase, aside from the appearance of wealth which can be utility depending on which business you're in. otherwise there is simply none, let's please cut the bullshit here. well all in all, the premium is purely for the fashion/wealth thing

Recently bought one myself, and it’s the best phone I’ve ever had. I have zero interest in having a status symbol, but for a nicer screen, camera etc. it’s worth the premium over the other models for me.

You should be a bit more open-minded and realise that it’s not the case that everyone who makes a different assessment of value from you is merely status-seeking.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1kg of gold is 1/10th the size of a coke can and is worth around $40k. If you want to save something in a life threatening situation, that's a fairly reasonable choice.

If you want to save something in a life threatening situation, that's a fairly reasonable choice. I wasn't talking about a life threatening situation. I was talking about a "life threatened by not being able to float well enough to breathe" situation combined with a "life threatened by not getting out of a sinking thing fast enough" situation. Also if you think it's a reasonable choice, and the next person thinks it'…

I was merely illustrating that gold has high value and high density.

The hypothetical "1kg gold bar" would be the size of a highlighter more or less. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlighter

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#200
post #21

I think market analysts continue to miss the mark on this story. What I keep hearing over and over are variations of "people are turned off by the $1,000 price tag." I think this is a complete misread. People don't pay $1k for an iPhone because it's the practical thing to do. If practicality is the #1 priority for phone shoppers, they will simply buy a 7 or 8. I don't think this comprises the top of the market, thoug…

I get a new iPhone every 2-3 years. This year I spent $10 a month extra to get the best possible screen and camera on a device I use hours every day. Not because it’s a status symbol. And very happy with my purchase.

You are willing to spend money on the best. I can nto believe that you evaluated the difference between best and second best and decided the best was sufficiently better to justify spending 10$ a month on.

You wanted the best and it wasn't to expensive for you. It might not be a status symbol in the sense that you want others to know you're rich, but it's really hard to justify spending more than 500$ max on a phone these days unless you want something essentially useless (like it being "the best" in some measure).

My Nexus 5x is a few years old by now, but it's still hard to see the utility of upgrading it to something flashier for me.

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