The real prices of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini • Hacker News Board

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

#331

Post by samatman » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:22 PM UTC

saagarjha wrote: post #325

samatman wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the same price because it's not the same device . Did Apple increase or decrease their profit per iPhone on this round? Y'know, I have no idea. I do know that trying to come to a conclusion about it on the basis of not including a charger and headphones is impossible.

> all their other iPhones Take a look at iPhone SE's price before and after October 13th.

I wasn't aware of that, but I don't think the exception of their cheapest phone is particularly interesting or relevant.

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

#332

Post by spaetzleesser » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:23 PM UTC

jonathanberger wrote: post #11

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?

Don’t forget healthcare “totally random cost between a lot and infinity. Find out months or years after treatment. ”.

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

#333

Post by colejohnson66 » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:24 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #304

TwoBit wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple branded cables are terrible quality. It's due to something about trying to be different..

They seem top quality to me - what am I missing?

Unplugging by pulling the cable (and not where you’re supposed to: the plug) stretches the silicone sheathe ever so slightly. Over time, that can cause the sheathe to rip. I’ve seen it many times and done it myself too.

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

#334

Post by saagarjha » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:25 PM UTC

samatman wrote: post #331

saagarjha wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> all their other iPhones Take a look at iPhone SE's price before and after October 13th.

I wasn't aware of that, but I don't think the exception of their cheapest phone is particularly interesting or relevant.

The others dropped $100 as they usually do after an event–except they usually don't lose accessories as well.

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

#335

Post by marcinzm » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:26 PM UTC

kevindong wrote: post #300

marcinzm wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly I did the math last benefit cycle and if your employer doesn't fully pay for it the better insurance may not be worth it. The additional per month cost cancels out any savings no matter how much usage you get out of it (if you take the out of pocket max into account).

The expectation with all forms of useful insurance (health, auto, umbrella, home/renter's, life, etc.) is that for most people most of the time, they'd be better off not having it. But in the rare cases when someone does genuinely need it (e.g. your house and all of your possessions burn down, you need treatment for cancer, etc.), it prevents financial ruin.

My point isn't insurance vs. no insurance. My point is that the type of insurance doesn't actually matter that much if you're the one paying for it (versus having premiums covered by your employer). If you get a bad accident on the low end company insurance you pay your $10k out of pocket max. On the top end insurance you pay $4k but also paid $8k more in premiums during the year. The insurance companies did the math to make sure they come out ahead no matter what you choose.

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

#336

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:27 PM UTC

theshrike79 wrote: post #263

ssully wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of their reasoning, I don't mind it because I have a box filled with unused phone charges and headphones from my families phone purchases. My only real concern is first time phone buyers. I think Apple stores (online or in person) should ask if you need headphones/wall charger when you purchase and just include a free set if you do.

Oh, they will upsell the SHIT out of accessories when you go grab the new phones. They won't mention you can get a 23W usb-c charger for $12 from Ikea, they'll sell you the $39 Apple one.

[deleted]

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

#337

Post by Retric » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:29 PM UTC

readams wrote: post #297

Retric wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone I know that got a USB-C phone eventually complained about loose cables. I have been using the same 6 year old lighting cable without issue. On it’s own that doesn’t mean much, but plenty of people dislike USB-C from personal experience.

They tend to get dust packed into them that you can fix with a pin.

Good to know, but that would still be a major design issue.

Thinking about it, the best common data connector for interment use might be those credit card chip readers. They can handle more connections in a week than you need to recharge your phone in years. Sure they eventually ware out, but that’s in a business setting.

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

#338

Post by VibrantClarity » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:38 PM UTC

samatman wrote: post #268

VibrantClarity wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Canada the carriers show the cost of the plan and then tell you how much extra is tacked on for the phone. The prices are still outrageous here, but it is nice to be able to quickly tell how much money you save or lose by bundling it.

Seems like that's how it works here? https://www.verizon.com/basic-phones/?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D48197... This is just a list of phones, plus how much extra a month you pay to get a phone with that plan.

Yes. They didn't advertise that way when I lived in the States a few years ago.

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

#339

Post by __d » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:40 PM UTC

sam_bristow wrote: post #292

JoelTheSuperior wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair I've maintained for a while now that the reason Apple uses lightning on the phones is because it's quite frankly much more durable than USB-C.

USB-C cables are less durable than lightning cables. But the ports are more durable than lightning ports. I'd say that's a good compromise given the relative costs of a phone vs a cable. That said, my Nokia 6.1 had the USB-C port fail in just a couple of years. Apple's design for the USB-C ports on their laptops looks extra nice and durable though. They are machined out of the aluminium of the case itself.

My partner's 12" MacBook has a (single) USB-C port, which has become increasingly loose over time. To the point where she has to listen for the distinctive sound it makes when charging when she plugs it in, and wiggle the connector until it connects properly.

So despite the apparent solidity of the machined shell, something in the system wears over time.

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

#340

Post by gumby » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 10:54 PM UTC

soperj wrote: post #303

jiggawatts wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is another aspect to this people might be missing: If every phone that is shipped must come with a charger, but half the chargers are never used, then the marginal value gained by customers from the manufacturer improving that product is also halved. So why bother making the charger good? Half the people won't use it! They'd have to pay for something that's not a direct benefit to the product they do want to bu…

>This is the point of standards Except apple doesn't use standards. They use their own proprietary ports.

> Except apple doesn't use standards. They use their own proprietary ports.

Actually Apple is pretty standards compliant, sometimes excessively so. I have no illusion that they are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, but the idea that they "don't use standards" is a canard.

For video they long used open standards (DVI, Displayport, HDMI, now standard DisplayPort over Type C); they were one of the first to adoptt USB (much to the gnashing of teeth on the part of previous apple owners), the iPod originally used firewire; and lightning when it came out was the only insert-either-way connector (apple was on the USB board that designed Type C, but lightning predates type C) and now they use Type C (much to the gnashing of teeth of various parties). Their wireless chargers are Qi compatible, though their devices aren't :-(. Their USB implementations long required quite compliant devices rather than windows' "just install a flaky driver" leading to "hey this USB thingie doesn't work on Apple".

I had hoped this year they'd ditch lightning for type C on at least the high end phones but no luck.

On the software side, especially when they were the underdog they were quite standards compliant (image, music, video files, PDF, RTF etc) and are responsible for removing DRM from their music store. They didn't roll out their own formats until they were in a stronger position but have retained support for most of these old formats.