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An iPhone is a totally discretionary purchase. If you thought it was too much money, then why did you buy it in the first place?
Because I wanted it, doesn't mean it's perfect. People in relationships complain about the other, doesn't mean the pros can't outweigh the cons.
 
But Apple does offer nice and current/powerful iPhones for well under $1000.

Don't forget that the iPhone 8 is still a pretty great smartphone, and a 64GB 8+ is still $699. And, a 64GB Xr is just $50 more, or another $50 to get the iPhone Xr at 128GB for $799.

That's a lot of phone for the money, and I'd likely pick the Xr if I didn't have $1000-$1450 plus tax and AppleCare+ for the flagship models. Also, with iCloud drive and iCloud photo library and iMessage on the cloud then 64GB could be very useable, while 32GB is a bit too low due to the size of Apps these days.
 
It is pretty shocking tbh. For reference, I decided to see what my monthly installments were for my 7 Plus (when I first signed up for the Upgrade Program) and it was ~$40. For the Max, it's up to $60!

That's a massive spike in price. I can't imagine paying for these things outright every year. I feel like the upgrade programs (even w carrier) are the only way to go.
Upgrade program tricks some unsuspecting people into how much they are really spending, although most people "lease" their phone for a year then upgrade.
 
To keep things in perspective, a brand new iPhone 6 Plus 128GB on launch day in 2014 cost $949.
So compare that gimped phone with the superior XsMax today, and the XsMax looks like a bargain (well almost). It's price falls right in line with what you're getting.
 
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Hey, I don’t claim that Apple wants to sell the most, just that as a company trading at the stock market they are interested in retaining a certain amount of profit. I don’t think market share is an interesting metric for them, and it’s not going to help the company if it can’t pay the bills.

Add to that that the market and devices are mature, so not many people will upgrade yearly like they did a while ago.

I think we're on pretty much the same page then. :) I suppose that's my point, they retain or increase profit by bumping prices up in response to people upgrading less frequently.
 
Have you also noticed the 36 month contracts being introduced here in the UK? This is how the new iPhone is being marketed by my carrier O2:
df256eb7588e0c497f98fe88dbd6e00e.png

Phones are so expensive and upgrades are down so they try and make it cheaper over 3 years. I think this will be the norm going forward.

Have you noticed how iPhones even though they may be a similar price to Samsungs etc are a hell of a lot more expensive on contract? Now O2 is even doing 36 month contract. Madness if you ask me.

Look at this S9 for example. Free for 24 months at £32 pm on O2.
 

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Have you noticed how iPhones even though they may be a similar price to Samsungs etc are a hell of a lot more expensive on contract? Now O2 is even doing 36 month contract. Madness if you ask me.

Look at this S9 for example. Free for 24 months at £32 pm on O2.

I had noticed that yeah! It’s like iPhones are deliberately fixed higher to keep them premium. I saw I could get an S9 Plus for £30 upfront and £28 p/m thereafter. It’s mental when if you buy them sim free they cost roughly the same.
 
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The cost of technology, hardware components, inflation, manufacturing costs, all is included in to a smart price phone today. I don’t know where the cap Will stop with iPhones rising, but it’s clear that they are unobtainable for some, Its just really matters how the consumer justifies the price of a smart phone, if it’s something that appeals to them.
 
Have you noticed how iPhones even though they may be a similar price to Samsungs etc are a hell of a lot more expensive on contract? Now O2 is even doing 36 month contract. Madness if you ask me.

Look at this S9 for example. Free for 24 months at £32 pm on O2.

Not really a fair comparison as the S9 is almost a year old now and they are most likely running promotions to get rid of stock. Compare it to something like the Note 9 or pay attention to the price when the S10 is brand new next year.

Do you guys pay interest on that? Here in the US all our carriers do payment plans but they are 0% interest so it really is just the price spread out over 24 months. My XS Max will cost $50 a month so £66 a month over 3 years sounds insane. That's £2,376 total!

Edit: oh looks like that includes the data plan too? Never mind that's way cheaper then
 
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#00,12,32

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#01,12,32

I am sorry but these prices are too high. Its almost like buying a computer. For almost 1500 I can get a MacBook Pro. Actually my father just did surfing this summer few months ago. Or even 999 on the cheap end is good new mackbook air.

And you cannot type letters on a phone, make spreadsheets, and so many other things you can only do on a computer.

I need a phone to just make phone calls. And the occasional website. Or yelp helps me decide where to have dinner once in a while when I don't feel like cooking. And some photos. But nothing fancy. So 1449 is too much. Will be hard to justify a new phone in 5 years.

Thank god for cheap androids like my Motorola g4 play which was only 150 dollars. Or they have a g6 at Costco for 229 I think. Apple is getting too expensive.
 
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https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#00,12,32

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#01,12,32

I am sorry but these prices are too high. Its almost like buying a computer. For almost 1500 I can get a MacBook Pro. Actually my father just did surfing this summer few months ago. Or even 999 on the cheap end is good new mackbook air.

And you cannot type letters on a phone, make spreadsheets, and so many other things you can only do on a computer.

I need a phone to just make phone calls. And the occasional website. Or yelp helps me decide where to have dinner once in a while when I don't feel like cooking. And some photos. But nothing fancy. So 1449 is too much. Will be hard to justify a new phone in 5 years.

Thank god for cheap androids like my Motorola g4 play which was only 150 dollars. Or they have a g6 at Costco for 229 I think. Apple is getting too expensive.

That's your use case, and that's fine - and right for you and many others.

But I think you hit the nail on the head, and for a huge number of people, their phone IS their computer.

Some of us may prefer a full computer, with a proper keyboard (heck, I have the keyboard case for my iPad because for me it makes it a bit more useful for typing when I'm on the move but don't want to take my 15" MBP)... But, in a pinch I can deal with my iPhone. Actually thinking about it some more, the computer I use outside of work probably 50% of the time is my iPhone - but for me the phone is more about consuming that curating (except probably Facebook / Instagram posts and comments).

I know from the websites I own and manage too though, that more than 50% of the traffic on every single one of them is now mobile traffic. That was quite a revelation to me when that happened at the end of last year....
 
And at these same price points? I'm sorry, but I like having the nicest phone, even if I know I may not necessarily need all of the features. I would like to wait for the XI, but if it costs the same as the Xs Max, I'm just gonna buy the Xs Max instead of letting the value depreciate.
I'm still using a 6S and recently got a brand new battery. It feels almost brand new. I tend to go about two cycles before upgrading. I'm probably a bit over that currently however. If I pull the trigger this time, I'll likely have plenty of time to prepare for what pricing I'll be looking at for the next one.
 
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#00,12,32

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#01,12,32

I am sorry but these prices are too high. Its almost like buying a computer. For almost 1500 I can get a MacBook Pro. Actually my father just did surfing this summer few months ago. Or even 999 on the cheap end is good new mackbook air.

And you cannot type letters on a phone, make spreadsheets, and so many other things you can only do on a computer.

I need a phone to just make phone calls. And the occasional website. Or yelp helps me decide where to have dinner once in a while when I don't feel like cooking. And some photos. But nothing fancy. So 1449 is too much. Will be hard to justify a new phone in 5 years.

Thank god for cheap androids like my Motorola g4 play which was only 150 dollars. Or they have a g6 at Costco for 229 I think. Apple is getting too expensive.

It sounds as if your use case doesn’t require an iPhone or any smartphone at all. Good for you- it’s just not necessarily applicable to the way others use theirs - for many people their smartphones are their main computer platforms.
They certainly are no PCs but any smartphone or tablet is a computer.
 
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#00,12,32

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-xs#01,12,32

I am sorry but these prices are too high. Its almost like buying a computer. For almost 1500 I can get a MacBook Pro. Actually my father just did surfing this summer few months ago. Or even 999 on the cheap end is good new mackbook air.

And you cannot type letters on a phone, make spreadsheets, and so many other things you can only do on a computer.

I need a phone to just make phone calls. And the occasional website. Or yelp helps me decide where to have dinner once in a while when I don't feel like cooking. And some photos. But nothing fancy. So 1449 is too much. Will be hard to justify a new phone in 5 years.

Thank god for cheap androids like my Motorola g4 play which was only 150 dollars. Or they have a g6 at Costco for 229 I think. Apple is getting too expensive.

Apple has always been expensive, are you just noticing now.
 
Curious where the acrimony is over the prices of data fees and cell plan costs? Unless you are on a bare bones plan, in which case you may want to ask yourself why do you need a flagship Apple phone, the costs are also quite high.

Agreed but the carriers do not get a free pass around here. Any thread involving data plans has the gnashing of teeth and calls for the rolling of heads.
 
Apple has always been expensive, are you just noticing now.

Yes but Iphone SE wass only 400 dollars. And att has it now for 194.99 at bestbuy prepaid. Its prepaid but its still an iphone. And my iparents 6 was only 650 dollars. So even the basic at 1100 dollars is almost double. And the max at 1449 dollars is slightly over double. So 650 dollars was bot bad. So it is expensive now. It was back then but not too bad compared to now. And we will never have a 650 again. Even used it will take years to get a 650. Apple does bot depreciate much.
 
I'm still using a 6S and recently got a brand new battery. It feels almost brand new. I tend to go about two cycles before upgrading. I'm probably a bit over that currently however. If I pull the trigger this time, I'll likely have plenty of time to prepare for what pricing I'll be looking at for the next one.
Yup, I've decided to wait for the 11
 
You must not know a lot of people. The most used iPhone today is the iPhone 6s - a 4 year old phone.

Wow. That's shocking. I don't know a single person who's iPhone was in working condition three years later.
 
Except Samesung isn’t offering equivalent tech. Their brand new $1000 galaxy 9 is outperformed by a 3 year old iPhone in benchmark tests.

I disagree. Apple might be offering current tech but they are charging a lot more for it than other android manufacturers. The iPhone Xs max starts at £1,099 in the U.K. and that’s for 64GB of storage. The note 9 which has more features than the max costs the same same but you get 512GB of internal storage. The base note 9 is only £899 over here and you get 128GB of storage.

Apple seem to be charging a lot more than Samsung who also offer cutting edge premium tech.

It’s only the ecosystem that’s keeping me with Apple.
 
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