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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

#51
post #37

Why doesn't the US have universal laws that cover price transparency in general? There are so many industries that get into shady territory: rental cars ("facility use fees"), hotels ("resort fees"), internet access ("mandatory equipment rental fees"), even SF restaurants ("SF mandate"). I'm saying Apple is wrong, and so are many other companies, and shouldn't we have fixed this with a law by this point?

Not to mention dentists, doctors, hospitals, etc. I have an eye doctor appt this week and I literally have no idea if it's gonna cost me $50 or $500.

I asked straight up before seeing the doc about the cost and nobody knew. They finally estimated "about $1,500" and my total bill was around $5,000. And if I refuse to pay it, they send me to collections. It's insane what they are allowed to do.

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

#52
Eh... it's $30, I'm not too concerned with that on it's own but I don't like seeing Apple get in bed with Verizon/AT&T. I was repulsed by seeing "Verizon" on the screen so much during that presentation and 5G is a joke right now for most Americans at least. It all felt very.... beneath Apple.

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

#53

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…

Are end-users even going to have a "5G experience"? The average user isn't going to really notice faster downloads or lower latency relative to good LTE. If anything it seems like Apple is doing the wireless carriers a favor by carrying the marketing water for 5G

> If anything it seems like Apple is doing the wireless carriers a favor by carrying the marketing water for 5G

The iPhone has been on a very incremental upgrade cycle for years now and people have been hanging on to their phones longer and longer. So the new iPhone's biggest competitor is the iPhone people have in their pocket. This is one of the few years where Apple gets to point to a big-obvious difference between the model years.

So the 5G dog-and-pony show serves Apple as much as it does the carriers.

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

#54
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 wonder how much verizon paid for that placement

My guess is either buildout commitments or prioritisation for iPhones.

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

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

Maybe not corporations, but the wealthy were definitely kicking up a storm over British taxes and import restrictions, and then later driving a lot of the pro-slavery arguments.

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

#57

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…

Are end-users even going to have a "5G experience"? The average user isn't going to really notice faster downloads or lower latency relative to good LTE. If anything it seems like Apple is doing the wireless carriers a favor by carrying the marketing water for 5G

I think netflix users might notice.

If they can push ‘download local’ and it takes 1 second to do so, that might be an interesting thing :)

Also, 1 GB games that take 1 second to update will be nice.

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

#58
post #37

Why doesn't the US have universal laws that cover price transparency in general? There are so many industries that get into shady territory: rental cars ("facility use fees"), hotels ("resort fees"), internet access ("mandatory equipment rental fees"), even SF restaurants ("SF mandate"). I'm saying Apple is wrong, and so are many other companies, and shouldn't we have fixed this with a law by this point?

Not to mention dentists, doctors, hospitals, etc. I have an eye doctor appt this week and I literally have no idea if it's gonna cost me $50 or $500.

It's pretty typical in my experience to go to a clinic like that and the staff will have no idea what your insurance will eventually charge you.

It's a complete mess that we need a uh, universal, solution for.

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

#59
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?

I understand that was more because AT&T/Cingular was the only carrier willing to allow a phone that they literally weren’t allowed to see until launch day onto their network. Didn’t the other carriers baulk at Apple and tell them to pound-sand for thinking they’d let them use their network without any oversight of their phone’s software system or similar?

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

#60

Why doesn't the US have universal laws that cover price transparency in general? There are so many industries that get into shady territory: rental cars ("facility use fees"), hotels ("resort fees"), internet access ("mandatory equipment rental fees"), even SF restaurants ("SF mandate"). I'm saying Apple is wrong, and so are many other companies, and shouldn't we have fixed this with a law by this point?

Over the past couple of decades, our elected representatives have prioritized the welfare of corporations over the welfare of human beings. Price transparency laws harm corporations and benefit consumers; therefore, they are unlikely to be approved for law by the elected representatives.
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