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Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

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Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#81
post #21

I think market analysts continue to miss the mark on this story. What I keep hearing over and over are variations of "people are turned off by the $1,000 price tag." I think this is a complete misread. People don't pay $1k for an iPhone because it's the practical thing to do. If practicality is the #1 priority for phone shoppers, they will simply buy a 7 or 8. I don't think this comprises the top of the market, thoug…

>"they want to be seen with it"

How does this contradict the article? Demand is limited because fewer people will or can spend $1000 on a status symbol. Seems like basic economics.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#82
post #2

iPhones are technological marvels, masterpieces of engineering. But Apple software is getting worse and worse. I have recently started playing with my Mom’s phone which is some cheap Huawei Android and surprise - I can do the same on this phone as on iPhone - Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Inbox, Google Search, Google Allo, Google Drive, Firefox, bank applications, Spotify, MS Outlook - everything works OK. The f…

If you're anything like me, losing out on iMessages will be painful. I'm itching to get back to iOS.

Also being able to access all of the apps that I've purchased on my phone again will be a very nice plus.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#83

What do people buy $1000 smartphones for? For gaming I can get a pretty good gaming PC for that amount, or Xbox One X with a VR headset. I've never seen anybody do anything really cool with their phone - everyone browses the internet, checks the email, does chats/videochats, maps, take photos, and some silly mobile gaming. I do that all on my sub $200 phone.

JS-heavy sites are night-and-day faster on iOS, thanks primarily to faster CPUs (which is mostly due to better L2/L3 caches). The iPhone X has 8MB of L2 cache; your sub $200 phone likely has no L2 at all. Even high end Android phones have, at most, 1MB of L2 cache. This shows up pretty clearly in Speedometer scores. https://browser.geekbench.com/ios-benchmarks https://browser.geekbench.com/android-benchmarks

You are not wrong, but that's like arguing that a Porsche is the only way to drive.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#84

What do people buy $1000 smartphones for? For gaming I can get a pretty good gaming PC for that amount, or Xbox One X with a VR headset. I've never seen anybody do anything really cool with their phone - everyone browses the internet, checks the email, does chats/videochats, maps, take photos, and some silly mobile gaming. I do that all on my sub $200 phone.

JS-heavy sites are night-and-day faster on iOS, thanks primarily to faster CPUs (which is mostly due to better L2/L3 caches). The iPhone X has 8MB of L2 cache; your sub $200 phone likely has no L2 at all. Even high end Android phones have, at most, 1MB of L2 cache. This shows up pretty clearly in Speedometer scores. https://browser.geekbench.com/ios-benchmarks https://browser.geekbench.com/android-benchmarks

Which websites are you talking about? I'm yet to encounter any important ones that are really slow.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#86
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This year I spent $10 a month extra to get the best possible screen and camera on a device I use hours every day. Not because it’s a status symbol. And very happy with my purchase. And this is how they get people. You didn't spend an extra $10/month, you spent an extra $400 compared to getting the 8. I don't blame you, I think it's worth it, but that's a terrible way to think about prices.

Why is that a terrible way to think about prices? Most people earn money at a predictable rate per month, so it’s perfectly reasonable to talk about these phone payment plans in the same terms. Obviously this isn’t true for things like credit card or mortgage payments, where interest is likely a significant factor, but AFAIK these cell phone payment plans are interest free.

It’s terrible because any difference between carrier prices is a large multiple of what the sticker/brochure says. Most plans here (New Zealand) are over 2 years, so any difference in price is 24x greater at the end of the contract. And no one here is paid per month, that’s seen as completely antiquated and they are paid per week or per fortnight.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#87
The iphone X is very overpriced when viewed as a utility object, because it doesn’t provide 4x the utility of a $250 phone. But it is very reasonable when viewed as a fashion accessory. A $1000 phone to go inside a $2000 purse is not crazy at all.

People keep looking at apple as a tech company and struggling to understand them, but if you view them as a luxury/fashion company who happens to specialize in technology they make a lot of sense. Nobody complains ferraris are overpriced for the mileage they get and the amount of trunk space, because utility is not the point of a ferrari.

I expect the iphone X to sell really well, to the crowd that buys luxury. The question is whether that is a big enough market to sustain the volume.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#88

Goodness. Everyone is speaking with such authority. I bought my X because I wanted to switch out of Android and because I only buy a phone once every three years it pays to buy the best phone I can buy. Why should I care that it’s 1000$ when I buy a phone once every three years?

Because $1000 is a lot of money to most people.

Re: Apple iPhone X Demand Limited, Wall Street Analysts Say

#90
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This year I spent $10 a month extra to get the best possible screen and camera on a device I use hours every day. Not because it’s a status symbol. And very happy with my purchase. And this is how they get people. You didn't spend an extra $10/month, you spent an extra $400 compared to getting the 8. I don't blame you, I think it's worth it, but that's a terrible way to think about prices.

Why is that a terrible way to think about prices? Most people earn money at a predictable rate per month, so it’s perfectly reasonable to talk about these phone payment plans in the same terms. Obviously this isn’t true for things like credit card or mortgage payments, where interest is likely a significant factor, but AFAIK these cell phone payment plans are interest free.

It's an intellectually dishonest way to de-emphasise how much it costs in total by showing you the smaller monthly amount. You are basically using a marketing trick on yourself to justify the money spent.
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