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No, that's not definitely true. It very much depends on one's grandfathered account. That is why ATT is ending subsidies even for grandfathered accounts.

Take me as an example. I have a grandfathered ATT 350 phone/rollover/free night & weekend + unlimited data account. With taxes it runs me $85 per month. Cost of subsidized phone was $399 or about $16/mo over 2 years. Total out of pocket is $101. But, of course, I sell the phone at the end of the contract and recoup about half of that so end cost is more like $93/month.

If I decide to stay w/ ATT I can keep my plan but will have to pay full price for my phone like everyone else. So effectively that is a $35/mo price hike, or no difference than what non-subsidy customer are paying.

The same plan for a no subsidy customer is $60 for the unlimited plan + $40 access charge + $849 ($35/mo) for the phone. Total pre-tax out of pocket is $135/mo. Even if you can get $400 for the phone after two years it's still significantly more than under the old subsidized plan.

I wasn't arguing whether one method is cheaper than the other.

All I was saying is that the "free" phone isn't really "free"

Someone is paying for the phone... and it's not the carrier. So that leaves you ;)
 
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Guys how much space does iOS 9.3 takes of the iPhone storage?

I've been doing some maths in the itunes store and it seems I will use less than 5GB between APPs, Games and Music. I'm thinking about save 100$ and get a 16GB version. What do you think?
I would strongly recommend spending the extra $100 to get 4x the storage. This way you have room for music (Apple, Spotify Offline, etc), videos, photos, etc without likely ever worrying about running out of space.

In my experience, most people I know with 16gb phones tend to run out of space from casual use after a year and a half and then complain they can't run a software update or say the phone gets slow. Obviously it will run like crap if there is no swap space left on the storage.

Just do yourself the favor of spending $100 extra and get the 64gb version. I'd literally take a 32gb (or larger) 5s before I'd take a 16gb SE/6/6s.
 
I just don't understand why make a 9.7 "PRO" iPad...

The old lineup made sense and people knew what it meant...

Mini = Small
Air = Light
Pro = Big

Now they have a Mini, Air, Pro and Pro!

It's just marketing. Giving it the "Pro" tag makes people think it's in a different class. The 9.7" iPad usually starts at $499, and this year they're bumping that up to $599. People will be okay with it though, because they'll see it as some sort of "professional" device squeezed down into the 9.7" form factor, rather than an updated iPad Air. It bothers me too, but I can't really blame them.

Much like still having their introductory iPhones have 16gb and then jumping to 64gb as the second tier. It's brilliant marketing. They can still say the phones start at a cheap price, and you can quadruple your storage for only $100 more! When really if they would stick to their old format and offer 32gb as the entry level tier, many of us would be content to not spend the extra $100.
 
They don't but if you look at most past events they usually bring in a very new product or substantial updates. Honestly, a smaller ipad pro, watch bands and an upgrade iPhone 5S is not enough reason IMHO to warrant a special event and the hype around.

Well, I disagree. While the iPhone SE may look almost identical to the 5s, the spec upgrade is substantial. Same story with the 9.7" iPad Pro.
 
Guys how much space does iOS 9.3 takes of the iPhone storage?

I've been doing some maths in the itunes store and it seems I will use less than 5GB between APPs, Games and Music. I'm thinking about save 100$ and get a 16GB version. What do you think?

As long as you don't like to keep pictures or videos on your phone it'll be fine. But if you do like to use your phone as a camera, then I highly recommend you get the 64gb. Also, remember that the operating system takes up some space. You won't actually have 16gb to work with. It'll probably be more like 11gb.
 
Guys how much space does iOS 9.3 takes of the iPhone storage?

I've been doing some maths in the itunes store and it seems I will use less than 5GB between APPs, Games and Music. I'm thinking about save 100$ and get a 16GB version. What do you think?

I've always used the 16GB iPhones, and I've never had a problem with the storage, even when I had Navagon maps installed on it.
 
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I just don't understand why make a 9.7 "PRO" iPad...

The old lineup made sense and people knew what it meant...

Mini = Small
Air = Light
Pro = Big

Now they have a Mini, Air, Pro and Pro!

Remember when they made fun of Microsoft Windows and other hardware because they had so many confusing models? Now Apple is going in that direction
 
I wasn't arguing whether one method is cheaper than the other.

All I was saying is that the "free" phone isn't really "free"

Someone is paying for the phone... and it's not the carrier. So that leaves you ;)

Right, but that is my point. My cost w/ subsided phone is $35/mo less than w/o the subsidy. So while I might be paying for it, I'm paying a lot less with it than w/o.
 
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Another tremendous example of the Reality Distortion Field alive and well. One of Apple's greatest modern business triumphs is the repackaging of existing into new. Take the iPad: sure the internals have been updated year on year but ultimately what's the most important feature in a tablet? The screen surely. And that's not really moved on since iPad 3 (I have one of them and an iPad Air 2 and the user experience is frankly basically the same). Then the 'new' SE: a repackaged 5S with better internals.

It's a brilliant approach. No one can keep creating revolution every year - or even every 2 years - so why not extend the product lifecycle with model refreshes packaged as new products - particularly if there's not much out there competitor-wise to beat on quality, finish and ecosystem.

To me the key question is when's the next genuine step change for the iPad. I don't see the Pro as being it. Full HD OLED screen anyone?
 
While the OLED screen is ok on the Apple Watch, I really prefer the LCD screen for larger devices. If Apple switches to all OLED I'll hold off on updating devices until I absolutely have to.

OLED screens are arguably better, since they offer better viewing angles without a large backlight bleeding through them from behind. Though they do (or did) have one big downside: a short optimal display life.

If manufacturers have managed to clear that one big hurdle, I'd prefer an OLED screen to an IGZO display.
 
Guys how much space does iOS 9.3 takes of the iPhone storage?

I've been doing some maths in the itunes store and it seems I will use less than 5GB between APPs, Games and Music. I'm thinking about save 100$ and get a 16GB version. What do you think?
What do we think? Erm... on behalf of the Internet, WE don't CARE!!!!!!!!
 
The camera bump has always bothered the heck out of me, probably my least favorite thing about my iPhone 6 (I have always used my phones without cases but was forced to use one for the first time with my 6). So I was thrilled to see it disappear on the SE. Imagine my surprise to see it re-appear moments later on an iPad, probably the one apple product where it's the most detrimental...
 
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Ahhh this is so tempting me to switch to iOS. Perfect screen size, headphone jack at the bottom, beautiful design (contrary to 6/6S), good price! I still hope this will inspire some Android phone manufacturers to start making high-end 4" smartphones again.
 
OLED screens are arguably better, since they offer better viewing angles without a large backlight bleeding through them from behind. Though they do (or did) have one big downside: a short optimal display life.

If manufacturers have managed to clear that one big hurdle, I'd prefer an OLED screen to an IGZO display.

"...arguably better.." For who? These are personal devices that I alone use, they are always put in an ideal position for me to view the screen, so 'better viewing angles' has no interest for me. I am aware that they draw less power from the battery, but when I'm reading I want a whitish background and black print which would negate most of the battery savings.
 
Yeah, it is kind of funny. i've been waiting for this iPhone, since my 5c is on it's last legs, and while the design isn't excitingly new, the lack of a camera bump totally makes up for it. I'm always keen for devices to be as tiny as possible (I use an 11 inch MBA, and will get the new MB once the processor gets a bit of a bump). But if you make a phone thinner, but have to have the camera poking out, I don't think you're really arrived at a resolved design. i'm very pleased with the iPhone 5SE. I had two worries about it in the lead up. The more minor one was that it might be called "SE", which I don't think is a great name, but my greater worry was that it would be thinner, but marred with a camera bump. So I'm sold.

I would just call it an iPhone 5S2 or the new 4" iPhone. The Tim Cook Apple nomenclature is getting absurd now. Air, Pro, Plus, SE, all just confusing consumers at some point. "What's the difference between the Air 2 and 9.7 inch Pro?" That's what people will say. Not "oh Pro means 4 GB of RAM and Apple Pen support."
 
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Anyone know if the Apple Upgrade program allows me to ditch my 128gb 6s for a new SE after a year*? If so, that smaller form factor is my preference. The 6s is nice and fast, but just doesn't fit in my pocket as nicely as my old 5S did, and Force Touch means nothing to me.

*ETA: is that an "upgrade" under their terms, or will they dash my hopes?
 
I like the iPhone SE. It's a bit like the iPhone 5c in that it's cheap and doesn't have all the new features. Some people just need a regular phone and don't want to pay ridiculous amounts of money for it, and that shouldn't mean they should just use a 3 year old model that can't even download apps anymore since none of them support its old operating system. There should always be an up to date iPhone that just doesn't do everything and costs less.

But Apple really has to get their product names together because this is getting quite silly now. Or they should just do what they really want and release the 9.23-inch iPad Air Pro 3 Mini SE Plus.
 
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Interesting how cnet is neither showing nor mentioning the "better" camera is also protruding now ...

 
The chamfered edge is a welcome change. It is still way better than the curved glass which makes it impossible to put on a screen protector properly.
Unfortunately, this was not announced at the same time as the 6s and I had already bitten the bullet to get the ping-pong paddle 6s...
 
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Who is offering carrier subsidies (in the US) to get it for free these days?

Gary

Verizon is the only remaining carrier that offers subsidies that reduce the initial cost of phones of the 6s to $199/299/399, but they still embed the other $450 from the price of those phones in the "line fee" of your contract.

After you pay it off the remaining $450 balance over the two year term, the line fee returns to the the $15-20 it was originally. Nobody has ever really gotten a carrier to provide them with a free iPhone in exchange for service. Kind of a misnomer, because a lot of people are under the impression that they paid nothing for an iPhone.

Nothing is free unless it's stolen or given away and Apple does not just give things away.
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Anyone know if the Apple Upgrade program allows me to ditch my 128gb 6s for a new SE after a year*? If so, that smaller form factor is my preference. The 6s is nice and fast, but just doesn't fit in my pocket as nicely as my old 5S did, and Force Touch means nothing to me.

*ETA: is that an "upgrade" under their terms, or will they dash my hopes?

I asked for you today and was told they'd do it. The specialist will have to get a manager to make it happen, but it's essentially considered a voluntary downgrade from Apple's perspective. Apple Stores are pretty accommodating and flexible so long as their inventory system allows for it. The places they can't be flexible all involve their fixed payment arrangements with banks and carriers so unless Citizen's One has a problem with it, you should be good :)
 
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Thanks for the advice guys, it looks like the 16GB is for me. If I run out of space for pictures I don't mind paying 1$ a month for icloud. I could be like that for 7 years and expend less money than the 64GB for the same amount of storage.
What do we think? Erm... on behalf of the Internet, WE don't CARE!!!!!!!!

I was asking for advice... and people here was very helpfull.

But I have to say that eight of this "!" seems a lot to me. Do you actually care, don't you? xD
 
It's just marketing. Giving it the "Pro" tag makes people think it's in a different class. The 9.7" iPad usually starts at $499, and this year they're bumping that up to $599. People will be okay with it though, because they'll see it as some sort of "professional" device squeezed down into the 9.7" form factor, rather than an updated iPad Air. It bothers me too, but I can't really blame them.

Much like still having their introductory iPhones have 16gb and then jumping to 64gb as the second tier. It's brilliant marketing. They can still say the phones start at a cheap price, and you can quadruple your storage for only $100 more! When really if they would stick to their old format and offer 32gb as the entry level tier, many of us would be content to not spend the extra $100.
The only difference between the iPad pro and a air aside from size and speakers is a stylus?! What's professional about that? I don't get the appeal.
 
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