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The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

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Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#41

Post by dangus »

The practice itself doesn’t really bother me, but I do find it to be a strange and questionable marketing technique.

This amount of money represents a 4% price difference at most.

That means that someone in Apple marketing decided that increasing customer confusion and reducing goodwill was worth a gain of 4% on some but not all of the phones they sold.

I get it - being operational is important for the success of the business. Considering every single detail from the packaging to the included accessories to the way the product is sold and priced is incredibly important. But it seems like Apple is getting into the dangerous territory of sacrificing customer goodwill over it. Buying an iPhone now feels like signing a contract for cable rather than something that’s fun and exciting.

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#42

Post by lotsofpulp »

rgovostes wrote: post #13
roamerz wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with that. Apple should not appear to be in bed with any particular vendor. They have done a good job in the past maintaining their independence and it should continue. It’s just a chip off their armor but they are additive.

The first four models of iPhone were exclusive to Cingular/AT&T in the US until 2011. The first unlocked devices were sold in 2012.

That was back when they were trying to break the mobile networks hold on phone software.

There’s no reason for Apple to sell out now, except for being a sell out. It’s a shameful look for Apple.

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#43

Post by MattGaiser »

Isn't it practically $699 for most people? I would guess the vast majority of iPhone users have a contract with their phone with a major carrier. The $729 is the edge case pricing.

And phones have long been advertised at a subsidized price in exchange for a long term contract anyway.

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#44

Post by vineyardmike »

whoisburbansky wrote: post #35
Bud wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normally I'd agree, but in this case there is one possible justification: Verizon is the only carrier supporting the highest-speed variant of 5G, at least for now and the foreseeable future. And Apple wanted to highlight those speeds.

Agreed that I think this is pretty much the only reason why, and it makes sense for them to do that; what's the point of selling 5G on a flagship phone if you can't even get past 4G speeds on other networks' "5G"?

Pick your apple-sheep/skeptic variety:

Realistically, its a pandemic where they already delayed production and apple probably didn't have anything else big finished to present besides typical camera upgrades and a new body.

Or apple-cynically, apple stopped innovating and the iphone is now just playing catch up to android blah blah blah.

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#45

Post by stetrain »

MattGaiser wrote: post #43

Isn't it practically $699 for most people? I would guess the vast majority of iPhone users have a contract with their phone with a major carrier. The $729 is the edge case pricing. And phones have long been advertised at a subsidized price in exchange for a long term contract anyway.

Only if you don't count T-Mobile/Sprint as a major carrier.

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#46

Post by DaiPlusPlus »

joejohnson wrote: post #30
ctvo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of things the US should do. Our government is down at the moment, and on-call has no idea how to resolve the issue.

The corporations have been running the country since it was a nation.

I wonder if DOW Chemical and P&G were backing the Federalists in the 1700s or not...

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#47

Post by yumraj »

Anyone who is saying, oh it's just $30 is living in a bubble..

- Many people buy these on a monthly installment, so $30 can be 1-2 months of installment. (not sure which exactly I have not verified).

- From a Marketing standpoint the difference is $6xx vs $7xx pricing, which has a psychological impact. This is why a very very large percentage of prices end in .90-.99

- This seems to be the first time Apple has done this and it sets a bad precedent.

- More than the precedent, it seems Apple is willing to do this to derive a little extra revenue, which at least in my mind is a negative for their brand. So, it's interesting that they are OK with this.

- Based on this, In future, will they also be open to selling Data?? Who knows...

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#48

Post by 2bitencryption »

floatingatoll wrote: post #33
mangoman wrote: post #2

I saw that on their page - I wasn't as offended about the pricing differential as the post, but I was groaning during the whole verizon pitch. I wonder how much verizon paid for that placement. It felt extremely out of place and very cringy IMO.

I remember the iPhone launching as an AT&T exclusive or something back in the day. Did whichever US carrier it was get the same duration of exclusive placement?

Ah, Cingular wireless, gobbled up by AT&T after the iPhone announcement.

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#49

Post by buzzerbetrayed »

vineyardmike wrote: post #15
ralph84 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least they didn't force a U2 album on you this time

Listening to U2 Album >>> Listening to Verizon talk about 5g

Not when listening to Verizon talk only lasts for 5 minutes, but the U2 Album is stuck in your library for years.

Re: The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

#50

Post by mensetmanusman »

wmf wrote: post #22
mensetmanusman wrote: post #7

I understand Apple’s approach to Verizon here. Just like the initial iPhone needed one carrier to get things right, 5G infrastructure testing will be like that. It is in Apple’s best interest if their users experience 5G as best as the current infrastructure allows (which isn’t great yet, because it will take a decade for a full rollout). It makes sense to have the carriers bend over backwards to see who gets to be t…

It's a slap in the face to T-Mobile which has had nationwide 5G for a while.

The operators brought this on themselves. There is no standard definition of 5G, even though the industry knows the rollout of features will be in waves.

Does 5G for T-mobile technically mean exactly the same thing as for Verizon? Probably not.

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