Is the iPhone 5S worth $650?

[davistld01]

Hell, no!!! No phone in the universe is worth $650...even an iPhone, but especially one like the 5s that's just a halfass improvement (?) over the. "5".

My recommendation? Spend $350-400 on a nice 5, and you'll be just as happy...and less broke.

 

[I7guy]

I think the 5s is the biggest ever midlife refresh of an iPhone, but that's just IMO, like your comment was just in your opinion.

 

[sixrom]

It's purely personal, with new models on the horizon I'd wait. The 5S is a warmed over 5, it'll drop in value once the new ones are released.

 

[lordofthereef]

I doubt Google is making a loss on the Nexus 5.

It costs LG about $200 to make it.

So production cost is $200. Great.

Then you have packaging, shipping, research and decelopent, etc.

Build cost is only one price of the puzzle in terms of throwing a new phone into the market. The difference between that and other costs is that this number stays constant throughout production when calculating unit cost. The other values (namely research and development) go down the more units are sold.

Are they actually losing money? I'm not sure. But more than $200 went I to getting that Nexus 5 into and one persons hands.

 

[FelixDerKater]

I've always been curious as to why the phones are the same price as the tablets with cellular antennas. Larger displays and batteries would seem to suggest a higher price.

In the subsidized markets, these prices have been able to go on relatively unnoticed to the average consumer.

 

[Bacong]

I've always been curious as to why the phones are the same price as the tablets with cellular antennas. Larger displays and batteries would seem to suggest a higher price.

In the subsidized markets, these prices have been able to go on relatively unnoticed to the average consumer.

you're thinking about it backwards. it's harder (read: more expensive) to fit good hardware in smaller spaces. the iPad Air has similar specs to the 5s but in a much bigger form.

 

[Robster3]

i'm looking to buy a new phone off contract, however i can't help noticing the huge price difference between the latest nexus 5 ($350) and the iphone 5s ($650) despite the nexus 5 being better hardware wise. Where is the $300 difference coming from?

If i didn't have a lot of apps already, i think the nexus 5 would be a no-brainer to me?

5s?

 

[I7guy]

I'm looking to buy a new phone off contract, however I can't help noticing the huge price difference between the latest Nexus 5 ($350) and the iPhone 5S ($650) despite the Nexus 5 being better hardware wise. Where is the $300 difference coming from?

If I didn't have a lot of apps already, I think the Nexus 5 would be a no-brainer to me?

Maybe with 64 bit, fp reader etc the 5s has better hardware, better execution and holds its value better. "Better" is a value judgement.

 

[AppleRobert]

You tell me.

Image
Image
Image

Forget about Feb 20th cause you won't return what you bought. I was going to wait for the ip6 but that is too far off as far as I'm concerned. And the 5s was my first iphone and I totally felt purchasing it outright was worth it.

----------

Maybe with 64 bit, fp reader etc the 5s has better hardware, better execution and holds its value better. "Better" is a value judgement.

Better than what was previously released to me no doubt because this is the first iphone I felt I wanted to purchase and that is even with being stubborn about the screen size only being 4". You can imagine how I felt when they were even smaller!

 

[rockitdog]

It's only worth what you're willing to pay for it.

 

[aneftp]

It's very difficult to judge the true market value.

Once subsidies are dropped. Than the free market prices are much easier to decipher for high end phones.

 

[I7guy]

It's only worth what you're willing to pay for it.

Exactly. Market value is what it can be sold for.

 

[aneftp]

Exactly. Market value is what it can be sold for.

The market has spoken when subsidies are lifted. Even though you claimed 2007 was 2007 and too old of data with me. The fact is that Apple could not move as many iPhone 2007 at the $599 price and had to slash their prices to $399 when no subsidies were involved.

Ok. Let's fast forward to 2014. China mobile. The worlds biggest mobile carrier at over 750 million subscribers is only expected to sell 12 million iPhones this year since they offer no subsidies. That is a paltry number in relation it's sheer size. Granted the average Chinese doesn't make as much as the average USA citizen. But there are still quite a few wealthy Chinese customers with the economy there.

 

[I7guy]

The market has spoken when subsidies are lifted. Even though you claimed 2007 was 2007 and too old of data with me. The fact is that Apple could not move as many iPhone 2007 at the $599 price and had to slash their prices to $399 when no subsidies were involved.

Ok. Let's fast forward to 2014. China mobile. The worlds biggest mobile carrier at over 750 million subscribers is only expected to sell 12 million iPhones this year since they offer no subsidies. That is a paltry number in relation it's sheer size. Granted the average Chinese doesn't make as much as the average USA citizen. But there are still quite a few wealthy Chinese customers with the economy there.

2007 is history. Fast forward to 2014. What are the 5s models going for on Craigslist and eBay in the US? That is the question, not what they sell for in china.

 

[aneftp]

2007 is history. Fast forward to 2014. What are the 5s models going for on Craigslist and eBay in the US? That is the question, not what they sell for in china.

Depends on the local market with craiglist. I can get a 16gb 5s pretty easily for $450-500 tops these days.

 

[I7guy]

Depends on the local market with craiglist. I can get a 16gb 5s pretty easily for $450-500 tops these days.

If you can actually buy one for that price, great. Market price of preowned goods by owner is usually locally driven, cars are a great example of this. iPhones hold their value very well so I'm not worried about taking a hit in mine when it comes time to sell.

I checked local Craigslist: $550 to 625

 

[EbookReader]

It's in the subheading of the article, right beneath the headline...

T-Mobile confirmed that it does not make a profit on the phone, suggesting that Google helps out with a subsidy when purchased at Google Play.

That's a subheading that CNET made up.

Here's the only thing T-Mobile rep confirmed from that article.

A representative confirmed to CNET that it pays full retail price when it purchases the phone from Google's manufacturing partner, LG.


This physical retailer in the UK is selling the Nexus 5 unlocked/no contract at £60 less than Google Play UK.

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/nexus-5-down-to-just-240-sim-free-at-carphone-warehouse-50013418/

Here's a bargain for you -- the Google Nexus 5 has dropped to just £240 SIM free at Carphone Warehouse. That's £60 cheaper than at Google Play

or look at this hypothetical scenario

iphone has a 40% profit margin for Apple.

It cost Apple $300. Apple sell it to the retailers like AT&T/Verizon/Sprint/T-Mobile at $500. These retailers sell the iphone at $600-650. They need to pay for physical retails/overhead, employees etc...

cost $300
sold at $500

= 40% profit margin.


If you want to believe that Google is losing money for each Nexus 5 sold at $349/$399, you need to provide better evidence beside something that CNET made up as a sub-headline.

Not when Asus/Google is making profits from selling the Nexus 7 at $229.
Not when Xiaomi is selling a better specs phone than the Nexus 5 at $327.
Not when a physical retailer like Carephone Warehouse is able to sell it £60 cheaper than at Google Play in the UK.

 

[Radiating]

Hell, no!!! No phone in the universe is worth $650...even an iPhone, but especially one like the 5s that's just a halfass improvement (?) over the. "5".

My recommendation? Spend $350-400 on a nice 5, and you'll be just as happy...and less broke.

That's funny, I just spent just under $2000 with tax on two iPhone 5S 64GB phones.

The fingerprint sensor on the 5S is revolutionary and unlike any other fingerprint sensor available, it's the only sub dermal full finger sensor, which makes it faster than entering a lock code. It just works even if you have dust or dirt on your fingers which nobody else's will. The camera is also revolutionary and is 4 times better in low light than any other competitor, that's a huge difference as the primary issue with smartphone pictures is grain, and the processor is a huge improvement, while it has around the same speed or slightly more than a nexus 5 or s4, it has 4 times more graphics power leading to a noticeably smoother experience.

 

[I7guy]

^^^^^ this is exactly right. Even on the new s5 the finger has to be swiped.