Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

631–640 of 730 posts

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#631

Post by csomar »

I already paid $1,000 for my iPhone 7+ though it would cost $869 if I was living in the US (I don't know though if the prices in the Apple site are pre-VAT).

Apple next challenge is not making people pay $1,000 for an iPhone. People already do that. Apple next challenge is bringing globalization, breaking the VAT, and putting profits in safe havens away from the fiscal preys.

People already pay thousands, dozens and hundreds of them for luxury. Apple upping its price might have the reverse effect: People line up to buy the highest price iPhone because it is not "accessible for everyone". Apple always got your back with a cheaper version but you really want the expensive one otherwise you are out of line.

We are getting close everyday to the confrontation between IT giga-multi-nationals and the traditional countries/governments of the world. We are probably still too far from the real battle but everyday is showing more why these two are not friends.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#632

Post by drzaiusapelord »

ChemicalWarfare wrote: post #593
drzaiusapelord wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you can buy partly subsidized or receive fully subsidized healthcare (ACA/Medicaid). That's on top of programs like COBRA and in worst case scenarios welfare from the state, county, or federal levels. We also have CHIP on the federal level which is a separate program just for children, where the parents may have insurance but for some reason cannot insure their kids. That's on top of what the states themselves…

upvoted. as far as the rural areas vs ACA are concerned - before ACA a lumberjack/construction/handyman/hunting-fishing guide etc type dude could by themselves cheap health insurance that wouldn't break the bank off-season. now it's an ordeal.

The problem there is that low rent health insurance didn't cover anything. You'd had catastrophic plans with $2,500+ deductibles and a cap at $25k. It didn't cover preventative maintenance, doctor visits, kids, drugs, etc. It only made sense in a "what if I injure myself at work, but not too seriously" kind of way.

I imagine ACA mandated insurance is a net boon here even if the monthlies are more.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#633

Post by csomar »

veidr wrote: post #291
alkonaut wrote: post #189

A lot of people just get the best iphone every 24 months (e.g. rich people, or people who have a generous smartphone policy at work). Having a model that gets another couple of hundred bucks from those people is pretty clever I think. This is basically the S-class phone (To make a car analogy, because that's what we do). The S-class Mercedes costs twice as much as the "Normal" E-class, and each time they launch a new…

I'm totally one of those people. I buy myself the best iPhone, every single year. But your car analogy, while popular, isn't really that illustrative. Most of my friends have a nicer, more expensive, car than I do. Buying a previous-year showroom-demo Nissan SUV from the dealer saved me something like $20,000, compared to buying a Lexus or Audi, even one a few years old. That's two decades of having the best phone. I…

Maybe you don't drive that much? I appreciate the luxury of the new Audi A4 especially when I'm on a 3-4 hour driving route.

If you don't drive much, try smaller cars: A1, Mini-cooper, BMW series 1, etc...

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#634

Post by csomar »

blubb-fish wrote: post #300
Retric wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people spend more time on their phone than their PC. So, 1,000$ is not an unreasonable price if it's noticeably better. It's like spending 200+$ on a pair of shoes, they don't need to be that much better fit to be worth it. I mean 1,000$ seems bad, but that can translate to under 30 cents an hour if you're spending 4 hours a day on your phone.

so you spend also excessive amount of money on water because you drink it several times a day? there is objectively no reason to spend more than 200 Euro on a smartphone - except for attempting to inflate one's ego.

You are confusing price insensitivity. If the iPhone is a better phone, I'll just buy it and save myself the hassle of dealing with the stupid android one.

But getting to the water point: Yes, people spend too little on the water they drink. They should be more careful but generally speaking it is not that serious. (ie: Focusing on quitting smoking will have more significant health improvement)

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#635

Post by dancing_shark »

ksec wrote: post #248

If we take a look from a Global Perspective, US has the cheapest iPhone ( All prices excluding sales Tax ), and everywhere else had it more expensive. i.e The $1K Prices may be making a big waves in US, but elsewhere in the world they have been paying that much for an iPhone already. And in terms of iPhones / Population / Apple Store, the US has it most. While in Japan 60% of the Smartphone are iPhone ( i.e Higher th…

> Around iPhone 5 Apple started to put up additional $100 USD to ALL iPhone price in HK, as a way to combat the black market trading,

This post is informative, but can I suggest that we not adopt the "black market" nomenclature for cases where people buy hardware in one location, and then re-sell it?

Companies like Apple may brand this a "black market", but that implies that companies have a right to perform perfect price discrimination across the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination

I suggest we reserve the phrase "black market" for cases where contraband is being exchanged, or for cases where items were obtained through crime (e.g. the sale of stolen goods).

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#636

Post by StreamBright »

idonotknowwhy wrote: post #324
StreamBright wrote: post #107

1000 USD phone, still no audiophile option to listen to music. I am extremely disapointed with the direction Apple is going with all of this "we remove X because you do not need it anymore" approach.

It appears as though a lot of iPhone and Apple fans are down-voting you. I; too, would expect a better DAC+AMP for that money.

HN has 10-20% fanboys, so I don't mind. I actually preferred Apple because it used to have a decent DAC so I did not carry a music player with me my phone was just fine.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#637

Post by [deleted] »

Splines wrote: post #597
Retric wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people spend more time on their phone than their PC. So, 1,000$ is not an unreasonable price if it's noticeably better. It's like spending 200+$ on a pair of shoes, they don't need to be that much better fit to be worth it. I mean 1,000$ seems bad, but that can translate to under 30 cents an hour if you're spending 4 hours a day on your phone.

> So, 1,000$ is not an unreasonable price if it's noticeably better. But if $500 gets you 90% of the way there, is that last $500 really worth it? Same with shoes - I regularly spend less than $100 on my shoes and find that they are perfectly comfortable, last a long time, and fit all my needs. 0 complaints. Spending another $100 might give me a better experience (at the very least it might make me feel happier when…

[deleted]

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#638

Post by coverband »

Jdam wrote: post #342
wil421 wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you bringing up healthcare on an iPhone discussion? Trying to figure out how it is relevant to the pricing of an iPhone in Sweden.

As a European, I noticed that discussions held here about X in the US _always_ converge against their healthcare. "Salary in the US is higher" - but heir healthcare sucks "Weather in California is nicer than in Oslo" - But you don't have healtcare "New York is such a great city to live in" - But you're left for dead

I was reminded of this again over the weekend when listening to this story on the radio: http://www.npr.org/2017/09/10/549489252/emperor-x-we-are-muc...

"Like many musicians, Matheny went years with minimal health insurance, or none at all. In Germany, with no insurance, he wound up in debt of about €30,000 — roughly $35,000. That's what Matheny calculated he would have owed in the U.S. if he did have insurance."

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#639

Post by chimeracoder »

typomatic wrote: post #613
dogruck wrote: post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strange how the US healthcare setup is largely unchanged over many years, yet the general perception is that it's suddenly total chaos. I'm not saying the status quo is best, but we didn't suddenly plunge into a crisis.

People are getting relatively poorer in comparison to their health care costs. So yes, we have been getting worse, and at some point the character of a problem changes into a crisis, which can seem "sudden".

> People are getting relatively poorer in comparison to their health care costs.

That's not really true; total expenditures have increased, but that's largely because the treatments and care that people are choosing are different (and more expensive) than previous ones.

Put another way: today you can still get the same type and quality of care that was available in the 1960s, and it'll be cheaper than it was in the 1960s (measured in 2017 dollars). You just probably don't want it, because it's nowhere near the current expectations and standards of quality of care.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#640

Post by StreamBright »

Tsiklon wrote: post #244
StreamBright wrote: post #107

1000 USD phone, still no audiophile option to listen to music. I am extremely disapointed with the direction Apple is going with all of this "we remove X because you do not need it anymore" approach.

I always thought the Audiophile option was an external DAC? Though the DAC that iOS devices have shipped with was traditionally quite strong. I have an Oppo HA-2 and it works great with my iOS devices (though i use it as a portable amp for my work computer). There's also the likes of Audeze who are shipping Headphones and Earphones with a Lightning cable DAC in addition to the usual 3.5mm TRS jack.

Depends. I am not a crazy audiophile so I am happy with the DAC in the iPhone 6s.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-6s-plus-audio-qualit...

Post reply on HN