iPhone X Is the Thousand dollar price of X justified based on new Tech?

[Raist3001]

We all know what the X costs. Many folks do not see the price tag worthy of the X. I don't wish to debate why one feels its not worth the price tag. I am looking to discuss the new tech released and weather or not this was worth the price increase over previous phones.

With the X we got an OLED display, FaceID, True depth camera, Wireless charging.

Do you feel this new tech is worth the price increase. Considering what apple has released in the past...Better LCD screens, higher resolutions, TouchID, 3D touch, better camera......none of which drove the price to a thousand dollars. Is it the OLED display that is the main culprit? The true depth camera?

EDIT:
I am not looking to debate the justification of a purchase. That is not the point of this thread.

 

[jav6454]

Is it justified for you? You need to ask yourself that question not others. For me, it isn't and never will be at a $1000. Why? It doesn't have that extra innovation that requires $1000 price tag for me.

HDR? The 8 has it.
Bionic CPU? 8 Has it
Wireless charging? 8 Has it
FaceID? I'm happy with TouchID so I could care less
Other than that... whats really new with the X? Form factor, about time.

 

[Raist3001]

Is it justified for you? You need to ask yourself that question not others.

I am not looking to debate the justification of a purchase. That is not the point of my thread. I am speaking solely weather the tech justifies the price.

 

[boltjames]

I am looking to debate the justification of a purchase. That is not the point of my thread. I am speaking solely weather the tech justifies the price.

The difference between the 8 Plus and the X is $200, not $1000.

Yes, the unique features of the X are worth $200.

And it's "whether".

 

[noobinator]

$200 is not much to me so it is entirely worth it. Someone eating Ramen and living check to check may see differently but they probably shouldn't be owning an iPhone at all.

 

[saltd]

Yes, it’s worth the premium over the older style iPhones, which aren’t really that much cheaper. This is a device you’ll likely use for thousands of hours, so I think it’s a no brainer.

 

[alphaswift]

Apple has reasons why the phone is priced the way it is. Is it justified? It doesn't matter, really. They're selling a crap ton of them. Can you justify spending the money yourself? Only you can answer that.

 

[jav6454]

I am not looking to debate the justification of a purchase. That is not the point of my thread. I am speaking solely weather the tech justifies the price.

It actually boils down to you. Do you perceive that what the X offers justifies a $200 jump in the price tag? If you can answer straight away yes, then the X is for you. However, if you need to justify your purchase, then very likely you don't need it and an 8 would suit you better.

 

[DNichter]

For me, yes. I thought the increase in screen size and the reduced overall size/bezel was worth the cost alone. There was some advanced work to get the OLED screen as it is with very minimal bezel. I think this improves the overall experience of using the phone. On top of that, you get the OLED screen itself, the better rear camera, the TrueDepth front facing camera, Face ID, and gesture based UI. In my eyes, a $200 jump in cost was worth the upgrades you get from the X.

 

[Raist3001]

Can you justify spending the money yourself?

if you need to justify your purchase, then very likely you don't need it and an 8 would suit you better.

Let me say again that I am not looking to justify my purchase of the X. I am looking to understand weather as a community we believe that the new tech and options of the X, justify the price increase, considering what apple has released in the past which did not drive the price of previous phones to 1000 dollars.

 

[DNichter]

Also, the tech in the X is very new (OLED, minimal bezel, TrueDepth camera). Costs will come down as it matures. Similar to the original MacBook Air.

 

[spacemnspiff]

I am not looking to debate the justification of a purchase. That is not the point of my thread. I am speaking solely weather the tech justifies the price.

Your statement makes it sound that everything apart from the cost of the components is trivial. If you believe, maybe you try an experiment yourself before asking that question you asked. Can you make an phone just with the components? If you can, then you are a Apple competitor in the making. That answer will help you in your assessment and will be a personal education experience for you.

Your simplified discounting the cost of software, R&D and NRE and everything else associated with bring a product to market, is simply preposterous.

 

[noobinator]

I was just checking the math to see how much each phones costs to build (materials) vs how much they charge etc.

I found the 8 Plus 64gb costs $295.44 to build and they sell for $799. So divide cost by sales price and you get 37%.
I found the X 64 gb costs $370.25 to build and they sell for $999. So divide cost by sales price and you get 37%.

Seems Apple has a bit of a formula.

 

[Raist3001]

Your statement makes it sound that everything apart from the cost of the components is trivial. If you believe, maybe you try an experiment yourself before asking that question you asked. Can you make an phone just with the components? If you can, then you are a Apple competitor in the making. That answer will help you in your assessment and will be a personal education experience for you.

Your simplified discounting the cost of software, R&D and NRE and everything else associated with bring a product to market, is simply preposterous.

Not at all what I am saying. There wasn't any R&D and NRE and everything else associated with bringing a product to market associated with any previous iPhone release?

 

[DNichter]

Your statement makes it sound that everything apart from the cost of the components is trivial. If you believe, maybe you try an experiment yourself before asking that question you asked. Can you make an phone just with the components? If you can, then you are a Apple competitor in the making. That answer will help you in your assessment and will be a personal education experience for you.

Your simplified discounting the cost of software, R&D and NRE and everything else associated with bring a product to market, is simply preposterous.

That's a great point, we can't just look at components. R&D, software, manufacturing. It all plays a part in the ultimate cost. I'd imagine the X was the highest cost in these areas since the original iPhone.

 

[Raist3001]

I was just checking the math to see how much each phones costs to build vs how much they charge etc.

I found the 8 Plus 64gb costs $295.44 to build and they sell for $799. So divide cost by sales price and you get 37%.
I found the X 64 gb costs $370.25 to build and they sell for $999. So divide cost by sales price and you get 37%.

Seems Apple has a bit of a formula.

Thank you

 

[DNichter]

I was just checking the math to see how much each phones costs to build vs how much they charge etc.

I found the 8 Plus 64gb costs $295.44 to build and they sell for $799. So divide cost by sales price and you get 37%.
I found the X 64 gb costs $370.25 to build and they sell for $999. So divide cost by sales price and you get 37%.

Seems Apple has a bit of a formula.

Sure, but do you think component costs are all it takes to build and sell iPhone's? Obviously Apple makes healthy margins, no arguing that, but component costs are just one part of it.

 

[barkomatic]

Let me say again that I am not looking to justify my purchase of the X. I am looking to understand weather as a community we believe that the new tech and options of the X, justify the price increase, considering what apple has released in the past which did not drive the price of previous phones to 1000 dollars.

Since this forum is filled with people who own either an iPhone X or other models I don't think you'll arrive at a consensus if that is what you're looking for. You're trying to take something subjective, like value, and turn it into an absolute.

Everyone is going to pile on and insist that either the iPhone X is definitely worth it or definitely not.

 

[eyoungren]

…but they probably shouldn't be owning an iPhone at all.

See, that's an assumption.

There are things that come every year called tax refunds. Once the bills and necessary things are paid off you can use that for other things. Carriers will place you on leasing for phones and devices as well, so the remainder of your refund can be used for the down required to lease a phone.

People who do this, such as my wife and I, upgrade every 2 to 3.5 years. Right now I am still using a 6s+ and my wife has a 6s.

So, don't just assume because the ramen-eating poor people have an iPhone that it was a bad financial decision on their part. It very well could have been. But you'd be wrong if you were apply that to my wife and I.

 

[noobinator]

Sure, but do you think component costs are all it takes to build and sell iPhone's? Obviously Apple makes healthy margins, no arguing that, but component costs are just one part of it.

This kind of goes without saying. I was going by with what we can quantify easily based on public info, which is materials cost.

 

[Raist3001]

Since this forum is filled with people who own either an iPhone X or other models I don't think you'll arrive at a consensus if that is what you're looking for. You're trying to take something subjective, like value, and turn it into an absolute.

Everyone is going to pile on and insist that either the iPhone X is definitely worth it or definitely not.

I agree....I was just looking to understand how folks valued the new tech which may have contributed to their acceptance of the price increase considering previous releases and prices.

 

[Adelphos33]

The price premium for the X gets you
- FaceID
- OLED Screen
- Better camera in a more compact form factor
- Stainless steel casing
- "Giffen good" premium feel

What it doesn't get you
- New use cases
- Better performance
- More screen real estate compared to the 8+

 

[noobinator]

See, that's that assumption.

There are things that come every year called tax refunds. Once the bills and necessary things are paid off you can use that for other things. Carriers will place you on leasing for phones and devices as well, so the remainder of your refund can be used for the down required to lease a phone.

People who do this, such as my wife and I, upgrade every 2 to 3.5 years. Right now I am still using a 6s+ and my wife has a 6s.

So, don't just assume because the ramen-eating poor people have an iPhone that it was a bad financial decision on their part. It very well could have been. But you'd be wrong if you were apply that to my wife and I.

whatever floats your boat. I'm just saying if people are barely skating by it's not the most financially sound decision to buy a $700+ phone. I'd personally probably save the huge tax refund every year so I wasn't eating ramen and living paycheck to paycheck throughout the year but different strokes for different folks.

 

[Raist3001]

The price premium for the X gets you
- FaceID
- OLED Screen
- Better camera in a more compact form factor
- Stainless steel casing
- "Giffen good" premium feel

What it doesn't get you
- New use cases
- Better performance
- More screen real estate compared to the 8+

Thank you Adelphos33. In your opinion then, the new features were enough to accept the price increase?

 

[Adelphos33]

Thank you Adelphos33. In your opinion then, the new features were enough to accept the price increase?

I own an iPhone 8+, but the iPhone X is an impressive piece of tech. I haven't spent enough time with one to really give a definitive answer. You have to figure it out for yourself. What I can say is that new iPhones going back to at least the 7 give you very good performance with the current apps and basically all iOSs. Frankly it's hard to argue that my 8+ is really a better buy than a brand new 6S at this point. It's all subjective.