Other I think im getting old....

[tbayrgs]

Value in a purchase will of course vary widely for each of us. You don’t spend much time on your phone so spending that amount of money seems excessive for your needs.

Conversely, I spend more time using my phone than any other piece of hardware. It’s my primary camera, point of all my communication (personal and work), used for most of my daily audio playback (music, audiobooks, podcasts), navigation, research, web browsing, YouTube and other video when I’m not home, my smart home management, our family calendars, list and to do management, etc. I could keep going. No other piece of tech or device comes close to the utility I get from my phone. Consequently, I’m willing to pay for the best experience I can get.

I generally use an iPhone as my daily driver but I also own a Pixel 2 and if I had to choose an Android phone as my sole smartphone, it would proabably be a Note 9.

Everyone’s mileage will vary in this discussion.

Oh, and I am most definitely old.

 

[mhdena]

I find myself basically using my phone for texting, taking pictures, and light browsing...reading the news before bed. If I use my phone more than an hour a day, I would be surprised. I do really value taking pictures. It is quite important to me, so I do value getting a new device every couple years or so, but its getting WAY harder to justify the price.

Disposable income isn't an issue for me. It's value. If there is something that is truly powerful enough to need a heavy duty processor, wouldnt it be way better to play it on an iPad Pro?

So am I just getting old here or I am just simply no longer the demographic for Apple phones?

Its also wisdom to realize when you already have all the crap you don't really need and don't need more, IMO.

I got a 7Plus last year and an iPad Pro at Best Buys Black Friday sale.

If there are some good 8Plus deals at Costco I may get one of those. I'm not ready to change all the cables and charging accessories I already have.

 

[puma1552]

Has it really? Look what I posted about the iPhone 3GS 64GB, the no-contract price was $699. Adjusting for inflation, a 64GB iPhone XR at $749 is cheaper than the 2008 iPhone 3GS. The Xr may not be the flagship, but it's a tremendous pocket computer.

You can't compare yesterday's flagship to today's bottom rung model.

 

[now i see it]

Each year or maybe every two years in the future, Apple HAS to upgrade the iPhone hardware or their business model will crash. The iPhone is going to get updated incrementally for as long as Apple is in business. Just because they build a new model each year, doesn't mean everyone has to buy a new one each year. The last few generations of iPhones can be used for many years until iOS kills them or they simply die.

There are tens of millions of people still using an iPhone 6 or earlier and at some point these devices won't be very pleasant to use anymore. It is these people that the new phones are really meant for, not the bored enthusiast who wants a shot in the arm every year.

Who wouldn't agree that the new Xs Max is an awesome upgrade for the guy whose been toting a 6 Plus around for the last four years?

 

[John webstar44]

I also want to point out that the 2080 ti is launching in like a week as well lol, I dont know if that counts as irony but i got a chuckle out of it.

Jesus don't get me start on the pricing here in the uk £1399 for geforce 2080ti

 

[Hustler1337]

Each year or maybe every two years in the future, Apple HAS to upgrade the iPhone hardware or their business model will crash. The iPhone is going to get updated incrementally for as long as Apple is in business. Just because they build a new model each year, doesn't mean everyone has to buy a new one each year. The last few generations of iPhones can be used for many years until iOS kills them or they simply die.

There are tens of millions of people still using an iPhone 6 or earlier and at some point these devices won't be very pleasant to use anymore. It is these people that the new phones are really meant for, not the bored enthusiast who wants a shot in the arm every year.

Who wouldn't agree that the new Xs Max is an awesome upgrade for the guy whose been toting a 6 Plus around for the last four years?

I'm one of those guys that is currently toting his launch day 6 Plus to this day. It'a definitely time for me to upgrade as my iPhone is getting kinda painful to use daily. However, Apple aren't exactly appealing to users like me with their current price trends.

£1k for a phone? No thank you.

 

[corriewf]

As others have said, I think there's a bit of both. With the early subsidized phones and plans to go with, this was uncharted waters for AT&T and they eventually had to correct (by separating device payments from the service) and finding ways to adjust plans to both be competitive and use resources efficiently. There's a lot more devices and users on all the networks these days and streaming video is a big data hog. As others carriers have joined in, they've added their own pricing structures and changes, too (IIRC, T-Mobile never subsidized iPhones).

Plans themselves tend to favor families/groups and almost always have (add-a-line was always something like $10, family texting was only a bit more than adding texting to one line), but I suspect even with a device payment plan an individual is looking at around $90/month for a postpaid service on a recent iPhone. If you included the initial $299 down payment, that ends up adding about $12 to the "good old days" plan prices if you strictly wanted to do 24 months of phone/service with no money down out of the gate. Those prices are fairly close, even if the carriers have tweaked features (unlimited texting and calls, unlimited data with throttled video instead). It's different, but I remember not that much further back when $50/month only got you some voice minutes. Fortunately, the iPhone is available on all the big carriers, MVNO resellers like Xfinity Mobile, prepaid MVNOs, and so you can have a really nice device and get some sort of cheap service if you're not picky.

I think in the early days, we were thrilled with just about everything on our phones because things that used the gyroscope and accelerometer just seemed cool. Since there's so much money to be made in games, in-app purchases and pay-to-play games took over. For me, I still have a few timeless favorites and have added some new ones, but mine tend to be single purchases.

On the other hand, I really have no issue with software developers who have moved to subscriptions for productivity software, as a few bucks every year to ensure quality products continue is much better than a pay-$5-initially and in two years the company is out of business because everyone bought a copy.

I have moments where I feel like the tech world is less exciting than it was maybe ten years ago, but I also appreciate the fact that things have matured at an amazing pace and I can do just about anything that I need with my iPhone or iPad that still seem a bit insane compared to where we were ten years ago.

When I left AT&T 2 years ago on plans that included a subsidized phone, I was paying $150 after taxes. Currently the plans on AT&T without subsidizing my phone cost roughly $150 after taxes. Not only are they the same cost, they now throttle to 480p. I also recall as they rolled out 4G LTE, they painted a picture of no longer needing to throttle folks... Now we are looking at 5g and the same song and dance. They CLAIMED by making customers pay the full price for devices, we would save money, but we didn't.. We lost the subsidy and they raised the prices back up on plans so we get stiffed.

Now you have smartphones in everyone's pockets. These A12s and Snapdragons...ios12..android Pie... AMOLED..LED.. they are all comparable from a functionality standpoint. In theory, prices should be going down minus inflation. I dont understand the price points of ANY of these devices pushing 1k. It doesn't make sense to me. Even $600 back when a smartphone was a luxury device, status symbol, that not many people had, only made sense because they were those things... I could certainly rationalize $1,000 if we are talking bleeding edge tech that no one else is doing. Ok, your paying $1,000 and you're a pioneer.. Google Glass right? So far no one has been able to tell me a single thing in the app store only this iPhone X can run. So I am a bit stumped on the value.

I fully agree with you on the dev end. Subscriptions for continued software development and support. But lets be honest, the pay to play IAP has really killed mobile gaming from a quality standpoint. I see a cash grab on every front here. Cell service, device, and apps. What we are getting for our money is hard to even explain anymore.

 

[ecschwarz]

You can't compare yesterday's flagship to today's bottom rung model.

Comparisons are hard because back in the 3GS days, that was it outside of a prior-gen model. The Xr is not a repackaged X or 8, so it's hard to say if it's really the "default" model and the Xs treated as the step-up (such a slot wouldn't have existed in 2009).

 

[corriewf]

Jesus don't get me start on the pricing here in the uk £1399 for geforce 2080ti

I dont think the performance for ray tracing is worth it with this first gen device. It can't run 60fps consistently with ray tracing enabled and it's going to take years before there are many games with ray tracing. It's rumored that without ray tracing enabled, it's only a 10%-15% boost over the 1080ti.. Personally, while I will wait until Sept 20th for benchmarks to truly decide, this seems like a skippable generation.
[doublepost=1536870911][/doublepost]

I'm one of those guys that is currently toting his launch day 6 Plus to this day. It'a definitely time for me to upgrade as my iPhone is getting kinda painful to use daily. However, Apple aren't exactly appealing to users like me with their current price trends.

£1k for a phone? No thank you.

And I think you kinda have to get applecare if you are spending that much on a phone... So add another 200... plus tax..

 

[puma1552]

Comparisons are hard because back in the 3GS days, that was it outside of a prior-gen model. The Xr is not a repackaged X or 8, so it's hard to say if it's really the "default" model and the Xs treated as the step-up (such a slot wouldn't have existed in 2009).

Agreed, comparisons are hard given how the lineup has changed and grown. I guess I look at it the way Apple probably does - the Xs and Xs Max are today's 3GS equivalents, with the Xr being a budget model. Granted there was no 3GS Max, but yeah, I think if anything the top 3GS should be compared to the top Xs, or at worst, the top Xr.

 

[John webstar44]

I think I will not be upgrading my iPhone X AND iPhone XR till 2021 cannot be doing this each year.
the longest phone I had was the iPhone 6 for three years.

 

[akash.nu]

Do the folks paying these prices for the latest and greatest have actual use cases for it? I am not judging anyone here, I am genuinely curious if there is something I am missing.

Good point. This is completely dependent on specific users. If one uses their smartphone for image and videos processing then sure the extra horsepower will get used. Same for mobile gamers who like to play more complex games. For everyday usage such processing power is definitely overkill.

 

[Kulfon]

It is a very sad life story

I used to spend most of my day on my smart phone. I remember the 3GS days and just about any app was amazing and cool.. Beer glass that emptied as you tilted your phone? Amazing! Angry Birds? Fantastic! I couldn't believe what I could do on a small device that fit in my pocket. I got the 3GS, then the 4, then the iphone 5. I paid $299.99 on a two year contract and I remember the threads here wondering if ATT was going to let everyone upgrade early one year into their contract.

Fast forward 5 years or so.. Contracts for subsidized phones are gone. At first, plans got cheaper to rationalize paying for your phone over 20-24 months, but rate plans have gone back up. There is little incentive to stay with one carrier over the other. Rate plans have shot through the roof. Unlimited is 480p streaming land.

Games I used to enjoy playing on my phone were single charge purchase. Now everything is "free" with IAP to actually progress. The rare games I do find worth playing, I play on my ipad for a better experience. That is if I have the time or if I would not prefer playing on my gaming rig.

I find myself basically using my phone for texting, taking pictures, and light browsing...reading the news before bed. If I use my phone more than an hour a day, I would be surprised. I do really value taking pictures. It is quite important to me, so I do value getting a new device every couple years or so, but its getting WAY harder to justify the price.

Disposable income isn't an issue for me. It's value. I recently built a 1080ti gaming rig with all of the bells and whistles for $1,500...Everything top of the line in that build. I look at devices like the iPhone Xs Max, and I think about that gaming rig. I think about my recent 4k projector purchase that was cheaper. The dollars just dont add up for me, even on the Xr side.

I can't think of the last game on a mobile device that didnt seem to run well on the devices cpu. I get the new A12 is powerful, but is it even warranted for what is available in the app store? Is there anything there that an A11 or A10 couldn't handle? Then, I think most of us have ipads... If there is something that is truly powerful enough to need a heavy duty processor, wouldnt it be way better to play it on an iPad Pro?

So am I just getting old here or I am just simply no longer the demographic for Apple phones?

 

[Koobs]

For me the device is glued to my hip almost every minute I'm awake, so I don't mind paying a premium for it. With that being said, I have slowed down on upgrading every year. I agree with the OP's post that an iPhone 6 can do almost everything that an iPhone X can do.

 

[Kulfon]

Somehow getting old and playing games does’t add up for me

Yeah and Nvidia kinda jumped the shark on that pricing as well. I'm happy with my 1080ti. I could use EVGA's step up program and pay $750 for the new 2080ti, but I am waiting to see if there is a value. I will say at least compared to the new iphone A12 that Nvidia showed a new use case in Ray Tracing technology. So there is a new way to play games for their cards. Again, im probably getting old, but I dont care much about ray tracing, but I at least can understand why folks do and will pay $1,200 for it.

 

[corriewf]

It's funny you mention this, I did something similar. End of June I picked up a really, really nice carbon fiber Italian road bike (Colnago) for $1200 (granted, I negotiated it all the way down from its $2400 MSRP but still). Less than a mid tier Xs Max, which really shows just how absurd Apple's prices have got.

I like my iPhones, but I'll have that Colnago for years and years.

EDIT: iPhones have always been enjoyment purchases for me - all my other Apple stuff is decade old junk that unfortunately keeps working (see sig) so it's been easy to justify spending money on a phone just as an unnecessary want, knowing my MBP I'm typing this on and the display it's projected onto are 8 and 10 years old, respectively, but at this point the pricing has gotten ridiculous and it's really hard for me to justify an upgrade, especially if even laying out close to a grand doesn't even get you the flagship, but rather the "budget/low end" model, which is a turn off.

You spent $1,200 on a bike?!?!? Hey man you know they have those at walmart for a dollar ninety nine? I'm kidding! I was actually thinking about getting a bike this year. You really have to spend some money if you want something that will last for years. Weight, ride quality, durability, you truly get what you pay for. It is quite easy to rationalize $1,200 on a device that will last possibly decades if you take care of it. You also have the added health bonus!
[doublepost=1536872029][/doublepost]

Has it really? Look what I posted about the iPhone 3GS 64GB, the no-contract price was $699. Adjusting for inflation, a 64GB iPhone XR at $749 is cheaper than the 2008 iPhone 3GS. The Xr may not be the flagship, but it's a tremendous pocket computer.

The 3GS had ZERO competition and the technology behind the 3GS was not found in any other device in the quality that Apple provided. In the case of the Xr, it's actually an older tech screen that is being made by competitors.

Back in 3GS day you paid a premium for having a device no other company could provide. Additionally, it was subsidized so you didnt even pay the $699, you paid $299.
[doublepost=1536872350][/doublepost]

Good point. This is completely dependent on specific users. If one uses their smartphone for image and videos processing then sure the extra horsepower will get used. Same for mobile gamers who like to play more complex games. For everyday usage such processing power is definitely overkill.

Do people really do image and video processing on a small device? I am seriously asking. Excuse my ignorance.

I am always looks for some complex games on ios to play. I have an ipad pro from last year. Any suggestions?

It is a very sad life story

You should start a gofundme for me... if you truly care.

 

[HobbesInVA]

I think I will not be upgrading my iPhone X AND iPhone XR till 2021 cannot be doing this each year.
the longest phone I had was the iPhone 6 for three years.

For most consumers, it's not practical or feasible to upgrade every year. Even if a person does an early upgrade via IUP, the IUP monthly payment increases each year. Those increases does not include the monthly wireless carrier payment. It's plausible a married couple will spend over $300 a month total for 2 unlimited lines plus 2 IUP payments.

The price for smartphones increases every year...fair enough...But I don't perceive I'm getting better hardware/software in a phone each year. Unless the smartphone user needs start-of-the art hardware for gaming, photography, or CPU demanding apps, the user can't appreciate 5-25% faster processing times on a smartphone if he/she uses the phone for social media, email, texts, streaming music, etc.

I have to question is Apple over-engineering its products when 80% of the population remains happy with pre iPhone X phones. I still prefer Touch ID over FaceID. Apple is falling back to its previous bad ways when it offered too many models. I recall when Steve Jobs came back he reduced the number of products and models that were offered. I can't keep up with all the iPhone models now.

 

[now i see it]

Do people really do image and video processing on a small device? I am seriously asking. Excuse my ignorance.

Heck yeah (but not in a professional way).
Image editing on an iPhone isn't constrained by the CPU so much as it is RAM. The iPhone 6 Plus is miserable to use as an image editing platform (for personal use) because of its 1 GB Ram. Very frustrating.

Lots of people shoot their videos on the iPhone and then edit them with one of the few better video editing apps to share with others. This is where CPU horsepower and RAM really shine during the rendering.

Another application that really shines on a high horsepower CPU is time lapse rendering. This can take f o r e v e r on a slow phone (using an app like LapseIt). So a powerful phone is of great value to people who do these things.

Messaging, email and web browsing? Not really.

 

[corriewf]

[/QUOTE]

It sounds like you and I are very similar in how we assess our purchases. Maybe I worded that in a way that doesn't make sense. I meant to imply that I can afford to easily buy the Xs Max with top tier memory, but that I fail to see what I get for that money over my current device....or the older devices. Unless I buy an older device today that is comparable to the device I currently own, I dont see an entry point to ios that makes sense.

For most consumers, it's not practical or feasible to upgrade every year. Even if a person does an early upgrade via IUP, the IUP monthly payment increases each year. Those increases does not include the monthly wireless carrier payment. It's plausible a married couple will spend over $300 a month total for 2 unlimited lines plus 2 IUP payments.

The price for smartphones increases every year...fair enough...But I don't perceive I'm getting better hardware/software in a phone each year. Unless the smartphone user needs start-of-the art hardware for gaming, photography, or CPU demanding apps, the user can't appreciate 5-25% faster processing times on a smartphone if he/she uses the phone for social media, email, texts, streaming music, etc.

I have to question is Apple over-engineering its products when 80% of the population remains happy with pre iPhone X phones. I still prefer Touch ID over FaceID. Apple is falling back to its previous bad ways when it offered too many models. I recall when Steve Jobs came back he reduced the number of products and models that were offered. I can't keep up with all the iPhone models now.

And in bold is exactly why I started this thread. I truly am curious if im now old and out of touch and there is this state of the art gaming etc going on, on these devices that I just don't know about. Improved Camera..battery.. Ok, I can understand those improvements. The A12, what does it do that A11 in the original iPhone X didnt do? Or hell, the A10...A9..What is the new functionality that has increased the cost of these phone drastically? I think as a consumer, that is Apple's biggest disconnect.

I am not saying we should not pay $1000 for a smartphone, I am asking why we need to. I would totally be ok with some young guy popping into this thread and saying, hey old man you can do blah blah blah on the A12... get with the times!
[doublepost=1536874409][/doublepost]

Heck yeah (but not in a professional way).
Image editing on an iPhone isn't constrained by the CPU so much as it is RAM. The iPhone 6 Plus is miserable to use as an image editing platform (for personal use) because of its 1 GB Ram. Very frustrating.

Lots of people shoot their videos on the iPhone and then edit them with one of the few better video editing apps to share with others. This is where CPU horsepower and RAM really shine during the rendering.

Another application that really shines on a high horsepower CPU is time lapse rendering. This can take f o r e v e r on a slow phone (using an app like LapseIt). So a powerful phone is of great value to people who do these things.

Messaging, email and web browsing? Not really.

Just checked out Lapseit on my ipad. That is really really cool! Thank you for sharing that!

It looks like Lapseit on Android and iOS hasnt been updated in 3 years. I wonder if it is even utilizing any of the new processor features etc.

 

[Skika]

Its a tool.

 

[ecschwarz]

And in bold is exactly why I started this thread. I truly am curious if im now old and out of touch and there is this state of the art gaming etc going on, on these devices that I just don't know about. Improved Camera..battery.. Ok, I can understand those improvements. The A12, what does it do that A11 in the original iPhone X didnt do? Or hell, the A10...A9..What is the new functionality that has increased the cost of these phone drastically? I think as a consumer, that is Apple's biggest disconnect.

The OLED displays have added some cost and I think Apple is passing that along to the consumer. I think for your interests and use case, the Xr (or its future descendants) may be the upgrade when it comes time. Unlike in the past when there was only one new iPhone model and everything else was a price drop, there are two distinct models with a lot of new tech (just like with the 8/X launch last year). If you're not interested in the few bleeding edge features of the Xs price spot, the Xr is probably the phone to get, especially with pricing more in line with prior "flagship" phones.

This is vastly different from the days when you either bought the new model or last year's. It's even different from the 5c release because the Xr is not a repackaged, cheapened X (current-gen SoC, new cameras). I think the idea is that if you want a new iPhone that is going to work well for a few years, the Xr is the model to look at. If you're the type of person that may want something a bit more showy (to show off, or you enjoy the latest and greatest, etc.), the Xs "class" is for you.

I suspect once OLED prices drop a bit and the tech matures, you'll see whatever is at the Xr price point get it. As much as car analogies fall flat on their face here, the Xr more like the "regular" sedan and the Xs is the all-electric spare-no-expense-on-tech model.

If you look at the era where Apple has been selling phones at full-price, the cost to get in the door on a current-gen phone has increased by $100 ($650->$750). Some of that is supported by the industry, and that the Xr is sort of a Plus model, so then the price may have been static. Looking at it as a $650->$1000 jump ignores the fact that there's anything between the last year's device slot (8/8 Plus) and the go-all-out model in Apple's lineup.

 

[corriewf]

The OLED displays have added some cost and I think Apple is passing that along to the consumer. I think for your interests and use case, the Xr (or its future descendants) may be the upgrade when it comes time. Unlike in the past when there was only one new iPhone model and everything else was a price drop, there are two distinct models with a lot of new tech (just like with the 8/X launch last year). If you're not interested in the few bleeding edge features of the Xs price spot, the Xr is probably the phone to get, especially with pricing more in line with prior "flagship" phones.


This is vastly different from the days when you either bought the new model or last year's. It's even different from the 5c release because the Xr is not a repackaged, cheapened X (current-gen SoC, new cameras). I think the idea is that if you want a new iPhone that is going to work well for a few years, the Xr is the model to look at. If you're the type of person that may want something a bit more showy (to show off, or you enjoy the latest and greatest, etc.), the Xs "class" is for you.

I suspect once OLED prices drop a bit and the tech matures, you'll see whatever is at the Xr price point get it. As much as car analogies fall flat on their face here, the Xr more like the "regular" sedan and the Xs is the all-electric spare-no-expense-on-tech model.

If you look at the era where Apple has been selling phones at full-price, the cost to get in the door on a current-gen phone has increased by $100 ($650->$750). Some of that is supported by the industry, and that the Xr is sort of a Plus model, so then the price may have been static. Looking at it as a $650->$1000 jump ignores the fact that there's anything between the last year's device slot (8/8 Plus) and the go-all-out model in Apple's lineup.

Not sure how I feel about Xr. The display is old tech at 720p and the ram is also going to limit it. Is it good enough on iOS? Sure... BUT is it good enough for a $750 price tag? Not sure. OLED has been around for a long time. I had the first OLED device Samsung produced in July 2010, the Samsung Galaxy 1. That's 8 years of improvements and maturity. If this device was sold for $650, I think it would be an easy choice for me. I think for $750 they actually would have provided a better value with an OLED or 1080p screen with an A11. You wouldn't notice too much of a performance difference with an A11, but you will notice that display, every time you look at it. It's a tough decision on that one.

 

[HobbesInVA]

The OLED displays have added some cost and I think Apple is passing that along to the consumer. I think for your interests and use case, the Xr (or its future descendants) may be the upgrade when it comes time. Unlike in the past when there was only one new iPhone model and everything else was a price drop, there are two distinct models with a lot of new tech (just like with the 8/X launch last year). If you're not interested in the few bleeding edge features of the Xs price spot, the Xr is probably the phone to get, especially with pricing more in line with prior "flagship" phones.

This is vastly different from the days when you either bought the new model or last year's. It's even different from the 5c release because the Xr is not a repackaged, cheapened X (current-gen SoC, new cameras). I think the idea is that if you want a new iPhone that is going to work well for a few years, the Xr is the model to look at. If you're the type of person that may want something a bit more showy (to show off, or you enjoy the latest and greatest, etc.), the Xs "class" is for you.

I suspect once OLED prices drop a bit and the tech matures, you'll see whatever is at the Xr price point get it. As much as car analogies fall flat on their face here, the Xr more like the "regular" sedan and the Xs is the all-electric spare-no-expense-on-tech model.

If you look at the era where Apple has been selling phones at full-price, the cost to get in the door on a current-gen phone has increased by $100 ($650->$750). Some of that is supported by the industry, and that the Xr is sort of a Plus model, so then the price may have been static. Looking at it as a $650->$1000 jump ignores the fact that there's anything between the last year's device slot (8/8 Plus) and the go-all-out model in Apple's lineup.

Good points! If I was going to upgrade I would move from the X to the Xs. I didn't need a large phone like the XsMax. I would chose the Xs because I prefer OLED over LCD. I do appreciate that Apple give 3 different options for the X line up.

 

[ecschwarz]

Not sure how I feel about Xr. The display is old tech at 720p and the ram is also going to limit it. Is it good enough on iOS? Sure... BUT is it good enough for a $750 price tag? Not sure. OLED has been around for a long time. I had the first OLED device Samsung produced in July 2010, the Samsung Galaxy 1. That's 8 years of improvements and maturity. If this device was sold for $650, I think it would be an easy choice for me. I think for $750 they actually would have provided a better value with an OLED or 1080p screen with an A11. You wouldn't notice too much of a performance difference with an A11, but you will notice that display, every time you look at it. It's a tough decision on that one.

I do think the Xr is a weird device in that it sort of slots between the old spots of the 8 and 8 Plus in many ways, which makes the price work (8 was $699, 8 Plus was $799). If you took the X/Xs/Xs Max of the picture and looked at the Xr as a replacement for the 8/8 Plus, it sort of fits. I know the RAM is speculation at this point, but the 8 had 2GB RAM, and the 8 Plus/X had 3GB RAM. While pixel count could be better on the display, it is the same DPI as the 8, just more real estate, also kind of fitting in line with a "put something halfway between the 8 and 8 Plus" as a spiritual successor. I'm in no hurry to replace my 8 Plus, but I am curious to see what the teardowns on this device reveal (and if I was in the market this year instead of last, I might have gotten the base Xr, despite the prettiness of the OLED on the higher-end models).

 

[artfossil]

Its a tool.

My purchasing policy is the same for phones as for other things: I buy what I need when I need it and I purchase the best I can that meets my needs and is within my budget.

For phones, the 30 month ATT Next plan tracks well with both my needs and desires.

(In the last three years I’ve become much more reliant on my phone. Hence my move to an 8+ last year, both for the expansive screen and the excellent camera.)