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Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

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Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#11

Post by kraig911 »

Both Apple and Samsung really need something to differentiate premium beyond color finishes and brand.

Either add some premium service like some sort of concierge on call, or I dunno some premium UI interface that is definitely measurably better then there is no reason to buy a more expensive phone. App's are all starting to look the same and it doesn't matter anymore. I'm a long time iOS user because I started that way and while

I love the platform it's only because of all the apps i've bought that keeps me on it. While I hate using android I'd probably learn to deal with it's nuisances for a difference of $200.

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#12

Post by Someone1234 »

kraig911 wrote: post #11

Both Apple and Samsung really need something to differentiate premium beyond color finishes and brand. Either add some premium service like some sort of concierge on call, or I dunno some premium UI interface that is definitely measurably better then there is no reason to buy a more expensive phone. App's are all starting to look the same and it doesn't matter anymore. I'm a long time iOS user because I started that…

> premium UI interface that is definitely measurably better

Samsung has tried that to death. It has had the opposite effect, instead of people seeing the additional functionality as a benefit, it is criticised as clutter (and in fairness some of it does slow the device).

Worse still Samsung turns around and blames their "premium features" for why their phones lose software updates sooner. And then people see more benefit in a cheap phone with virgin Android then a premium phone with supposed premium features, since updates last longer and the phones are borderline disposable.

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#13

Post by drzaiusapelord »

_pmf_ wrote: post #10

> Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap Other local phones, since you'd be hard presses to find something un-Chinese about the iPhone.

The OS? The software ecosystem? The App store? 99.999% of the apps? The brand? The industrial design? Just because something is manufactured somewhere, doesn't mean it originates from that place.

Is there even a homegrown Chinese mobile OS? Re-skinning android doesn't count.

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#14

Post by JohnTHaller »

Someone1234 wrote: post #12
kraig911 wrote: post #11

Both Apple and Samsung really need something to differentiate premium beyond color finishes and brand. Either add some premium service like some sort of concierge on call, or I dunno some premium UI interface that is definitely measurably better then there is no reason to buy a more expensive phone. App's are all starting to look the same and it doesn't matter anymore. I'm a long time iOS user because I started that…

> premium UI interface that is definitely measurably better Samsung has tried that to death. It has had the opposite effect, instead of people seeing the additional functionality as a benefit, it is criticised as clutter (and in fairness some of it does slow the device). Worse still Samsung turns around and blames their "premium features" for why their phones lose software updates sooner. And then people see more ben…

Unfortunately, Samsung didn't wind up designing a better UI, they wound up designing a complicated one with dozens of features that no one wanted or used instead of taking the standard Android UI and adding a handful of premium features really well (like split screen multi-tasking pre-Android 7). The mess of features and objectively poor design made for an annoying UI for users along with a long, long time for Samsung to get updates out if they got them out at all. I had a Galaxy S4 and won't be buying Samsung again.

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#15

Post by dingleberry »

xiaomi phone is capable to block mobile data (and wifi) on app level. Say, gmail can access data on wifi only, chrome on mobile only and whatsapp on both mobile and wifi. It's a finer control than disabling background data.

Before xiaomi, I used asus and it eats mobile data like crazy with no control other than airplane mode.

bonus is that xiami has finer permission control too on app level. I can disallow whatsapp to access my contact and camera, for example. whatsapp can still function; however, it shows phone numbers instead of names in chats.

so even though xiaomi is cheaper, it's more powerful to use. definitely great user experience, easily beats any, more expensive android devices i ever use: motorolla, asus, samsung, etc

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#16

Post by enra »

dingleberry wrote: post #15

xiaomi phone is capable to block mobile data (and wifi) on app level. Say, gmail can access data on wifi only, chrome on mobile only and whatsapp on both mobile and wifi. It's a finer control than disabling background data. Before xiaomi, I used asus and it eats mobile data like crazy with no control other than airplane mode. bonus is that xiami has finer permission control too on app level. I can disallow whatsapp t…

iOS has this too for cellular: Settings > Cellular > Use Cellular data for.

I used it on my recent trip, so I dont accidentally use all my roaming data.

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#17

Post by gggmaster »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #13
_pmf_ wrote: post #10

> Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap Other local phones, since you'd be hard presses to find something un-Chinese about the iPhone.

The OS? The software ecosystem? The App store? 99.999% of the apps? The brand? The industrial design? Just because something is manufactured somewhere, doesn't mean it originates from that place. Is there even a homegrown Chinese mobile OS? Re-skinning android doesn't count.

Please, no more NIH syndrome. Linux, which is built by an international community, is good enough.

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#18

Post by drzaiusapelord »

gggmaster wrote: post #17
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OS? The software ecosystem? The App store? 99.999% of the apps? The brand? The industrial design? Just because something is manufactured somewhere, doesn't mean it originates from that place. Is there even a homegrown Chinese mobile OS? Re-skinning android doesn't count.

Please, no more NIH syndrome. Linux, which is built by an international community, is good enough.

Linux is just a kernel. Android is an entire ecosystem made by an American company. I think its a stretch to call Android an international product.

Its probably also a stretch to call Linux international considering its founder is an American citizen now and the vast majority of contributors are Americans and American companies. Not to mention its essentially a clone of an American proprietary product.

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#19

Post by nimos »

I think the problem is far worse for high end Android manufactures. Apple at least has a unique ecosystem that serves as a point of differentiation. What does Samsung have to differentiate itself? A logo?

Apple is a luxury brand and people are willing to pay for luxury goods. If you amortize the additional cost of an iPhone over a year or two it's really not that expensive from a luxury/status good standpoint. Less expensive than visiting Starbucks 5 days a week.

People need to be able to justify that cost though and with Apple they can because it is a substantively different product and integrates well into the entire Apple product line. What can premium brand Android purchasers say?

Re: Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones Are Good – And Cheap

#20

Post by moosingin3space »

Someone1234 wrote: post #12
kraig911 wrote: post #11

Both Apple and Samsung really need something to differentiate premium beyond color finishes and brand. Either add some premium service like some sort of concierge on call, or I dunno some premium UI interface that is definitely measurably better then there is no reason to buy a more expensive phone. App's are all starting to look the same and it doesn't matter anymore. I'm a long time iOS user because I started that…

> premium UI interface that is definitely measurably better Samsung has tried that to death. It has had the opposite effect, instead of people seeing the additional functionality as a benefit, it is criticised as clutter (and in fairness some of it does slow the device). Worse still Samsung turns around and blames their "premium features" for why their phones lose software updates sooner. And then people see more ben…

As an Android user for 4 years, I've noticed the increasing quality of cheaper phones, and with the developer interest that phones like the OnePlus 3 draw, it becomes very hard to justify spending more.
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