Other iPhones Aren't Worth More Than $600 (To Me)

[The-Real-Deal82]

Prices are out of whack but tech has improved greatly since the prices were in that 600-700 range. In pretty much every area and parts have cost more too.

Not just apple the rest of the comp aren’t also in or close to that 1k range too

That market is limited though and you can buy the XR which has most of the tech of the XS albeit without the OLED screen, stainless bezel and additional camera lens. Does the additional tech bumping the cost up make the device any more capable? I doubt it does to be honest.

 

[The Game 161]

That market is limited though and you can buy the XR which has most of the tech of the XS albeit without the OLED screen, stainless bezel and additional camera lens. Does the additional tech bumping the cost up make the device any more capable? I doubt it does to be honest.

Depends

For some better camera features and OLED are must haves for me. Going from OLED to LCD wouldn’t work for me personally after being used to the better display.

Hell this years new phones it sounds like new camera features is the only thing of good improvement we may see

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Depends

For some better camera features and OLED are must haves for me. Going from OLED to LCD wouldn’t work for me personally after being used to the better display.

Hell this years new phones it sounds like new camera features is the only thing of good improvement we may see

You’re a tech enthusiast at the extreme end though I would say. You are well sold on an OLED screen because you have well researched the technology etc. You’ve also said in the past that you prioritise you’re spending to accommodate your hobby over other things.

For me I couldn’t see enough of a difference in OLED over LCD. Sure OLED is better, but I’m not convinced it’s better enough or a must have on a phone. I’d agree if it was a tv. The camera point is good but then pretty much any iPhone from the 7 to date can take a great picture. Not many of us print on A3 from our phones with most pictures used on social media, texts or stored on the device itself or cloud. I’m struggling to see the benefits compared to doubling the cost of a contract for the privilege which is why I’m perhaps more aligned with the averages consumer despite being interested in tech.

 

[Nacho98]

$1000 is bogus, but I paid it.

I have always upgraded every 18-24 months, and have kept the sting out of the initial price by doing so; it's easier to come up with $600-$700 than $1000 by keeping the old one until the value is zero. This has worked well for me with phones.

Conversely, I let my old 15" 2010 MBP linger way too long, and last fall at 8 years old finally replaced it with a new 2015 15" which was wayyyy overdue. I got $260 from Gazelle for the old machine which was impressive, but I still had to part with $1500 on top of that for the new machine. Hoping to keep this one for one more year, then upgrade when I can still get a nice chunk of money for the current one.

 

[44267547]

Depends

For some better camera features and OLED are must haves for me. Going from OLED to LCD wouldn’t work for me personally after being used to the better display.

Hell this years new phones it sounds like new camera features is the only thing of good improvement we may see

I actually think the rumored ‘Reverse charging’ feature would be more useful/attractive for charging the AirPods/Apple Watch. The ‘triple lens camera’ sounds interesting, but I’m fairly satisfied with the quality with the photos now with my iPhone, I’d like to see something more about the reverse charging.

 

[I7guy]

I actually think the rumored ‘Reverse charging’ feature would be more useful/attractive for charging the AirPods/Apple Watch. The ‘triple lens camera’ sounds interesting, but I’m fairly satisfied with the quality with the photos now with my iPhone, I’d like to see something more about the reverse charging.

The reverse charging feature I suppose could be useful, but I would be concerned about draining the cycles on the battery even faster than they go now. But I suppose we will find out in short order.

 

[Wide opeN]

I'm buying up front from here on out. I'm going to open a specific account and divide estimated cost by 36 months.

Not playing the finance phone game any more. If my old model has any value after 3 or more years, I'll happily roll those savings to the next phone.

 

[Momof2.1107]

I'm buying up front from here on out. I'm going to open a specific account and divide estimated cost by 36 months.

Not playing the finance phone game any more. If my old model has any value after 3 or more years, I'll happily roll those savings to the next phone.

That is exactly what I am doing for next year’s release. I have a certain amount deducted from my paycheck into my T-Mobile Money account (I receive 4.00% APY interest every month for depositing $200 a month). I already have money transferring every paycheck to be able to fall back on for emergencies including y daughter and I phone upgrades. I have a excel document to keep track, so by July 2020, I’ll have over $2500 saved for our upgrade.

 

[Hieveryone]

I think a fair price for the iPhone is $749 for the flagship. All this $999 and higher is just crazy. The XR should be $499.

Oh and it should LAST. None of this upgrade every year or 2 mess. Should last a solid 4 years no slow downs. 3 for the ambitious who like upgrading.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I buy in full from Apple when I get a new phone. I don't see the need to finance when I have the cash on hand.

With this being a subjective topic, there is no right or wrong answer. We all have our particular price points for items.

 

[ericwn]

I think a fair price for the iPhone is $749 for the flagship. All this $999 and higher is just crazy. The XR should be $499.

Oh and it should LAST. None of this upgrade every year or 2 mess. Should last a solid 4 years no slow downs. 3 for the ambitious who like upgrading.

Phones have lasted that long for a long time already. As discussed many times, the maturing of the technology leads to less obvious improvements every year and as a result most people update every other year or even later.

 

[Shirasaki]

I actually think the rumored ‘Reverse charging’ feature would be more useful/attractive for charging the AirPods/Apple Watch. The ‘triple lens camera’ sounds interesting, but I’m fairly satisfied with the quality with the photos now with my iPhone, I’d like to see something more about the reverse charging.

This feature already works on iPad Pro 2018 by using USB dongle. But if one can touch Apple Watch back to recharge it with iPhone, that would be fantastic.
As for the triple lenses, it will not help me taking good photos when zooming in anyway.

 

[Nacho98]

I think a fair price for the iPhone is $749 for the flagship. All this $999 and higher is just crazy. The XR should be $499.

Oh and it should LAST. None of this upgrade every year or 2 mess. Should last a solid 4 years no slow downs. 3 for the ambitious who like upgrading.

Seems like you must be one of the "ambitious who like upgrading" yourself, because if you weren't, you'd be well aware that you can get 4-5 years out of an iPhone and have been able to for some time now...

 

[ZeitGeist]

The phone is worth whatever price the market is willing to pay.

Yes, and a significant enough share of the market agrees with the OP, by drops of 20% or more in premium upgrades, and return rates at carriers that hovered in the 20% range.

Apple’s panicked reactive responses all but confirm this.

 

[44267547]

This feature already works on iPad Pro 2018 by using USB dongle. But if one can touch Apple Watch back to recharge it with iPhone, that would be fantastic.
As for the triple lenses, it will not help me taking good photos when zooming in anyway.

If reverse charging actually is a feature, then it certainly would be beneficial for something like my AirPods, it would be just one less lightning cable that I would have to use in the car/or at home when I can just simply place it on my smart phone to charge when necessary.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

I think a fair price for the iPhone is $749 for the flagship. All this $999 and higher is just crazy. The XR should be $499.

Oh and it should LAST. None of this upgrade every year or 2 mess. Should last a solid 4 years no slow downs. 3 for the ambitious who like upgrading.

What you personally think is a fair price, and reality, don't necessarily align. Apple has always tried to maintain a certain profit margin percentage since the beginning of the iPhone (as should any successful corporation). Matter of fact, based on the numbers in this article, the profit margin % has actually been higher with older phones that were priced cheaper as it cost much less for the bill of materials.

The newer phones cost more to make and Apple is choosing not to sacrifice profit margin in doing so. Even compared to new Samsung phones, Apple's profit margin is only around 5-7% higher. The profit margins do not take into account the costs of marketing, research & development, logistics, staff, packaging, software, etc.

Today's phones do last as long as you wish they would. And while I am sure everyone would like a less expensive phone....no one forces you to pay the prices. There are alternative devices, the ability to hold onto existing phones longer, etc. If you want new tech with advanced features, it will come at a cost.

https://www.techwalls.com/production-costs-of-smartphones/

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

What you personally think is a fair price, and reality, don't necessarily align. Apple has always tried to maintain a certain profit margin percentage since the beginning of the iPhone (as should any successful corporation). Matter of fact, based on the numbers in this article, the profit margin % has actually been higher with older phones that were priced cheaper as it cost much less for the bill of materials.

The newer phones cost more to make and Apple is choosing not to sacrifice profit margin in doing so. Even compared to new Samsung phones, Apple's profit margin is only around 5-7% higher. The profit margins do not take into account the costs of marketing, research & development, logistics, staff, packaging, software, etc.

Today's phones do last as long as you wish they would. And while I am sure everyone would like a less expensive phone....no one forces you to pay the prices. There are alternative devices, the ability to hold onto existing phones longer, etc. If you want new tech with advanced features, it will come at a cost.

https://www.techwalls.com/production-costs-of-smartphones/

If Apple stepped away from the profit margin approach a little with a less greedy outlook, they’d see significantly less consumers are using their cutting edge devices. From a design perspective you want to brag about your technology reaching as many people as possible. The sad thing is the majority of consumers see the price and settle for older or cheaper models. That might be fine for profits, but it’s sad for innovation.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

If Apple stepped away from the profit margin approach a little with a less greedy outlook, they’d see significantly less consumers are using their cutting edge devices. From a design perspective you want to brag about your technology reaching as many people as possible. The sad thing is the majority of consumers see the price and settle for older or cheaper models. That might be fine for profits, but it’s sad for innovation.

It indeed sucks for us as the consumers. But I’m also not in the room when they talk strategy. If the case can be made that less people are compelled to upgrade due to the maturation of the product combined with extended reliability, then perhaps reducing the sales price wouldn’t do Apple as much good as perceived. Yes there are people who won’t upgrade due to cost but there are also those who wouldn’t upgrade even at a lesser cost. In that case, Apple would be justified from a business perspective in keeping profit margins higher despite less units sold. I’m obviously not in the room to know if that’s the case but I speculate they have a decent grasp on what they are doing.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It indeed sucks for us as the consumers. But I’m also not in the room when they talk strategy. If the case can be made that less people are compelled to upgrade due to the maturation of the product combined with extended reliability, then perhaps reducing the sales price wouldn’t do Apple as much good as perceived. Yes there are people who won’t upgrade due to cost but there are also those who wouldn’t upgrade even at a lesser cost. In that case, Apple would be justified from a business perspective in keeping profit margins higher despite less units sold. I’m obviously not in the room to know if that’s the case but I speculate they have a decent grasp on what they are doing.

Personally I think the fact the XR has sold pretty well out of the range shows there is still a demand for newer iPhones. It’s priced competitively though, whereas the XS isn’t. Then again I don’t think the XS is a much better phone so perhaps the mid tier is the focus and that seems to suit consumers. I know I won’t bother looking beyond an XR variant at my next upgrade as I won’t need to.

 

[blairh]

Personally I think the fact the XR has sold pretty well out of the range shows there is still a demand for newer iPhones. It’s priced competitively though, whereas the XS isn’t. Then again I don’t think the XS is a much better phone so perhaps the mid tier is the focus and that seems to suit consumers. I know I won’t bother looking beyond an XR variant at my next upgrade as I won’t need to.

The XR has outsold the XS and XS Max for one reason and one reason only. Price. And rightfully so. You would need to want things offered by the pricer iPhone's to justify purchasing them over the XR.

I just find the XR to be a very odd device size-wise. Between the 5.8" and 6.5" offerings. And more narrow than the Plus line. I believe Apple lost out on potential XR sales because customers found the 6.1" screen too big.

 

[ZeitGeist]

The XR has outsold the XS and XS Max for one reason and one reason only. Price. And rightfully so. You would need to want things offered by the pricer iPhone's to justify purchasing them over the XR.

I just find the XR to be a very odd device size-wise. Between the 5.8" and 6.5" offerings. And more narrow than the Plus line. I believe Apple lost out on potential XR sales because customers found the 6.1" screen too big.

Agreed, and as we saw, Apple has been incessantly pushing and plugging the iPhone XR with special financing promotions.

It’s why I initially upgraded to an XR, before I returned it to my carrier in disgust after 2 weeks. It was less the price it was that I found the UI/UX experience unacceptable for an iPhone - and apparently most of my clients agreed with me, as did 20% of buyers that also returned their iPhone X models (return rates are a metric that is never disclosed by Apple nowadays - it used to be less than 2%, which they touted at that time. I wonder why they no longer do? )

Ultimately, the X-period will be remembered as another of Apple’s mistakes, once we make it last 2021, which I’m sure Apple is looking forward to, as much as we are.

 

[Shirasaki]

return rates are a metric that is never disclosed by Apple nowadays - it used to be less than 2%, which they touted at that time. I wonder why they no longer do?

And they never disclose the shipped iOS version and number of devices loaded with that version as well, which is an interesting way to see how many iPhone iPad iPod touch Apple Watch are sold during a period. I swapped my iPhone XS Max for three times in total, and none of them are shipped with iOS 12.3.1, but iOS 12.1.4. iPad Pro is a bit better as they are shipped with iOS 12.2 or so. Apple Watch is ok as one I bought is shipped with watchOS 5.2.1 (latest at that time).

It is only natural for human to hide stuff that does not want other people to know. Apple is of no exception. Perhaps iPhone XS Max sale is plummeting real hard?

 

[Wide opeN]

And they never disclose the shipped iOS version and number of devices loaded with that version as well, which is an interesting way to see how many iPhone iPad iPod touch Apple Watch are sold during a period. I swapped my iPhone XS Max for three times in total, and none of them are shipped with iOS 12.3.1, but iOS 12.1.4. iPad Pro is a bit better as they are shipped with iOS 12.2 or so. Apple Watch is ok as one I bought is shipped with watchOS 5.2.1 (latest at that time).

It is only natural for human to hide stuff that does not want other people to know. Apple is of no exception. Perhaps iPhone XS Max sale is plummeting real hard?

Xs Max is for two people, the nerds, like myself and the vein who could care less and just want to be seen with the best.

This will always be the case going forward, especially with prices being what they are.

 

[44267547]

Xs Max is for two people, the nerds, like myself and the vein who could care less and just want to be seen with the best.

This will always be the case going forward, especially with prices being what they are.

To be honest, I never see the Max much in public. Usually the smaller 5.8 Xs. But either way, I don’t think the Max really proves that you’re a ‘nerd or want the best’, I just think it’s for those really want a larger display for having the extra ‘view-ability’. I mean, that’s why it smart phones have grown so popular over the years, because larger displays [with incorporating larger batteries] allow for more content when viewing photos/videos/media/gaming, etc.

 

[blairh]

To be honest, I never see the Max much in public. Usually the smaller 5.8 Xs. But either way, I don’t think the Max really proves that you’re a ‘nerd or want the best’, I just think it’s for those really want a larger display for having the extra ‘view-ability’. I mean, that’s why it smart phones have grown so popular over the years, because larger displays [with incorporating larger batteries] allow for more content when viewing photos/videos/media/gaming, etc.

As a previous 6S Plus user, I got the Max because I missed the wider screen after using the X for a year. At this point my eyes just strongly prefer a larger screen, and I really enjoy typing with two hands versus one. Hence why I'll probably get an 8 Plus this fall instead of an XR. (And why I'd love a potential future foldout iPhone.)