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snowboarder

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2007
538
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Let's compare 2 top-of-the-line iPhones, 2016 vs 2018:

iPhone 7+ 256GB - $969
iPhone Xs Max 512GB - $1449

That's 50% more. Technology is getting cheaper, they don't bring any new features,
talk about the new bionic processor for 30 minutes (that thing is AMAZING, makes the Xs
10% faster LOL). You think it's unfair? 512GB is new, expensive because it's new.

iPhone 7+ 256GB - $969
iPhone Xs Max 256GB - $1249

30% more. Same 256GB storage MUST be cheaper in 2018 than 2 years ago.
No comments.
 
I remember the days when there was only one model and it would retail for 650€ or 1€ down payment on a 49€ plan and people thought that was a expensive phone.

now it’s 1.249€ or 550€ down on a 79€ plan. Crazy
 
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Apple is slowly losing loyal customers while failing to attract new ones. They just use whatever leftover (especially the design) and hope it lasts long enough.
Ironically, this is also happening. I don’t understand the world we are living right now.
B8A7E7E1-2B86-4785-B23F-96B127F3BDF7.jpeg
 
Apple is slowly losing loyal customers while failing to attract new ones.

What are you talking about? Apple is losing no one. They maintain original customer base, while they are attracting Android users. Numbers are up YoY.

I think the people who say they are leaving are looking for drama points.

Here's the issue, the iPhone has looked basically the same since the iPhone 6/Plus. With the X and dropping the home button and adding a glass back, this is a very simple change, the phone is very much, skin wise, iterative. This is not smack talking. It is what it is. Why must they change anyway? What's wrong with holding on to a good design aesthetic?

Anyway, I will always admire the iPhone 4/S, it was an amazing phone design, although with a bit of an attena flaw. The iPhone 8/Plus/X/XR/XS/Max, wow a lot of models, is pretty darn good. Given it's size, if was the same design as the 4, it might not have worked out so well.

Love the glass back.
 
Let's compare 2 top-of-the-line iPhones, 2016 vs 2018:

iPhone 7+ 256GB - $969
iPhone Xs Max 512GB - $1449

That's 50% more. Technology is getting cheaper, they don't bring any new features,
talk about the new bionic processor for 30 minutes (that thing is AMAZING, makes the Xs
10% faster LOL). You think it's unfair? 512GB is new, expensive because it's new.

iPhone 7+ 256GB - $969
iPhone Xs Max 256GB - $1249

30% more. Same 256GB storage MUST be cheaper in 2018 than 2 years ago.
No comments.
Technology is indeed getting cheaper. That’s why the iPhone 7+ 256GB costs much less than $969 today.

But don’t compare apples and oranges. Are you trying to argue that the cost is the same for a ****** LCD in 2016 and 6.5” OLED in 2018? They’re not. Go back to math class.

A10 vs A12 Bionic is much more than 10%. How about you look at benchmarks that are updated to fully utilize the A12.

It is true that Apple are nowadays offering pricier options. But you are still free to buy the iPhone XR. It’s a huge jump from the iPhone 7.
 
I tend to agree with the OP here. Apple need to grow income and profits, and since they are nearing the peak of possible raw units sold, they need begin to increase margins even higher than they already are. They are releasing features that amount to solutions in search of a problem and then charging you for them.

At the risk of being accused of looking for drama points, this is the first iPhone I am not buying on release day in addition to having sold my Series 3 Watch with no plans of replacing it. This is on top of me having zero desire to replace my 2013 MBP (I have a 2017 for work that is not $1500 better than my 2013), and having just replaced a 2010 iMac with a self-built PC that destroys a current iMac at half the cost. My first Windows machine since 2006! They are not releasing anything compelling enough to warrant an upgrade and yet their prices are increasing a pretty fast clip.
 
A12 is 10% faster than A11. My bad. And A11 was 5% faster than A10. Still AMAZING!!!
OLED in 2018 is nothing new. It's not a revolution. It is what everybody is using.
Just because Apple makes it sound like something is more important than the discovery of fire,
it's not necessarily true. They are selling depth of filed adjustment that way, even though
it's been used for a few years already, when Lytro first presented it 10 years ago, it was a big deal.
Not today.
I'm very fair, I'm comparing 2 top-of-the-line iPhones separated by just 2 years.
50% more expensive. True.
 
To a LOT of people, an iPhone is still a status symbol. Not so much in America, but there are places where an iPhone is a big deal.

There is no question that Apple could charge even more than they are now. Someone willing to pay $1099 for a 64gb X Max would most likely pay $1199 for it. They will keep raising the prices until people don’t bite. That point hasn’t happened yet. Either realize the “Apple Tax” is alive and well and take it, or look to a comparable android. My plan all along was to grab an 8+ to hold me over to the X Plus. Here we are, and I’m unwilling to pay to play. I am giving my 10 year old my 8+ and Apple Watch once my Oneplus 6 arrives.

I have only ever had 1 iPhone, so it’s not like I have a lot invested. I love the idea of them and how smooth they are, but it’s just so much cheaper to buy a top tier android phone like a 6T every year or 2. The max storage 6T is cheaper than the base model XR, and it’s going to be as fast as I need. My wife is hooked on apple, so once her X breaks I’ll buy her one. Just can’t stomach the price for myself when I don’t feel like I’m getting a “deal”.
 
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Apple is slowly losing loyal customers while failing to attract new ones. They just use whatever leftover (especially the design) and hope it lasts long enough.
Ironically, this is also happening. I don’t understand the world we are living right now.
View attachment 781922

What a load of rubbish you spout. Apple are selling more iPhones then ever before.
 
A12 is 10% faster than A11. My bad. And A11 was 5% faster than A10. Still AMAZING!!!
OLED in 2018 is nothing new. It's not a revolution. It is what everybody is using.
Just because Apple makes it sound like something is more important than the discovery of fire,
it's not necessarily true. They are selling depth of filed adjustment that way, even though
it's been used for a few years already, when Lytro first presented it 10 years ago, it was a big deal.
Not today.
I'm very fair, I'm comparing 2 top-of-the-line iPhones separated by just 2 years.
50% more expensive. True.
Stop publishing fake numbers. That’s all you are doing at the moment.
5E966CE4-4283-46DE-8C30-B8B486924035.png


See attached image. Compare iPhone X (A11) and iPhone 7 (A10). That is not 5% difference.

And you can stop talking about discovery of fire and all other crap. It’s not relevant to the discussion.

The hardware cost of iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 is less than iPhone XS Max in 2018. This is why the prices are different. Apple’s margin haven’t changed much throughout the years. What has changed is that Apple use pricier parts in their products, hence the same margin will amount to more money. That’s why their stock price keep going up.

And again, Apple offer more phones than just the iPhone XS Max 512GB. The iPhone XR is a great buy for most people. And you don’t need to sell your kidney to afford the iPhone XR.
 
No doubt about it, the tech with Apple is becoming more expensive with the iPhone increases, Apple Watch price, even other products like the HomePod that are starting well above other smart speakers. What it really comes down to is one thing, can the consumer justify the price point for the product they're receiving. Some will say yes and some will say no. It really depends on what somebody wants from the product, customer service, warranty, etc. Those are all things that play in Purchasing decisions with Apple products, especially the iPhone that has increasingly become more expensive.

For me, I find value in Apple products, because there is no other competition in the market that can even touch Apple in quality, customer service, security etc. But again, my point as I was saying, depends on what the consumer finds value in.
 
I can only add the obvious information, which I said a few years ago, and cannot be argued against :)

Take ANY technology curve.
You start low, and as years pass the tech/spec/speed ramps up fast, until you get to a point where the curve starts to flatten out.
It's simply not possible to maintain the curve/advancement in later years than you had in the early years.

Apple are in those later years. The cheap phones are still using some/many items from the earlier years.
The cheaper phones will, without any question advance up this curve faster than Apple can move away from them.

That's not to say Apple can't stay in front, or at the front, but they cannot maintain the gap that used to be.

As every year passes this gap has, is and will continue to close.

The individual components that make up a phone, will become easier to make at the higher quality, and for a lower price point. So that you can/will be able to build a phone for much less with every and every "Nearer to the best" components.

This is simply a fact.

Imagine showing someone the cheapest Chinese clone/phone you can buy today, alongside the launch of the iPhone 1 or 2.
The iPhone would be dead in the water in every single specification.
That's where we are now.

This will only continue, and it's going, inevitably to get to the point where the mass of people are going to more and more question the costs of the expensive devices, other than the strong core brand followers.

The only real place I can see for phones to go now is:
1: Power increases to the point you can dock a iPhone into a monitor and it run MacOS, but Apple would never want that.
2: Foldable phones, to allow people to have a phone and tablet in one device.

Apple I think will do this, but they will be years behind others, and probably do it very well, when finally do do it.

Next future I feel is not going to be phones, it's going to be AR glasses, but we are a long long LONG way away from such a future device being of a practical quality to be sold to the mass market.

Perhaps in 20 years time we'll all have them?
 
Technology is indeed getting cheaper. That’s why the iPhone 7+ 256GB costs much less than $969 today.

But don’t compare apples and oranges. Are you trying to argue that the cost is the same for a ****** LCD in 2016 and 6.5” OLED in 2018? They’re not. Go back to math class.

A10 vs A12 Bionic is much more than 10%. How about you look at benchmarks that are updated to fully utilize the A12.

It is true that Apple are nowadays offering pricier options. But you are still free to buy the iPhone XR. It’s a huge jump from the iPhone 7.

Yes it is, particularly in price. Thats the point isn't it.
 
...
The hardware cost of iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 is less than iPhone XS Max in 2018. This is why the prices are different. Apple’s margin haven’t changed much throughout the years. What has changed is that Apple use pricier parts in their products, hence the same margin will amount to more money. That’s why their stock price keep going up...

The cost of labor has gone up too.
 
I just laugh when they say during these announcements this is the most powerful iPhone yet. Okay. Did not expect it to be less powerful. I'm not happy about the prices but the market does and lots of advanced market research.
 
Apple is slowly losing loyal customers while failing to attract new ones. They just use whatever leftover (especially the design) and hope it lasts long enough.
Ironically, this is also happening. I don’t understand the world we are living right now.
View attachment 781922

It's time to hang up the rounded sides for a while. 6, 6S, 7, 8, X, Xs, and even Xr - all the same thing. I was surprised when the X last year had the same ol' same ol'. I'd like to see them try squared off sides again and breathe a little life into the total design again. Losing the home button was inevitable, and the glass back is a great addition to go back to, but get outside the box a little bit with the design now that we are talking about the $1500 price point. None of the phones - X included - have really felt truly fresh to me since the 6 came out.
 
What are you talking about? Apple is losing no one. They maintain original customer base, while they are attracting Android users. Numbers are up YoY.

I think the people who say they are leaving are looking for drama points.

Here's the issue, the iPhone has looked basically the same since the iPhone 6/Plus. With the X and dropping the home button and adding a glass back, this is a very simple change, the phone is very much, skin wise, iterative. This is not smack talking. It is what it is. Why must they change anyway? What's wrong with holding on to a good design aesthetic?

Anyway, I will always admire the iPhone 4/S, it was an amazing phone design, although with a bit of an attena flaw. The iPhone 8/Plus/X/XR/XS/Max, wow a lot of models, is pretty darn good. Given it's size, if was the same design as the 4, it might not have worked out so well.

Love the glass back.

Laugh, you obviously haven't been looking at all the news, sites, reviewers, etc all saying they are ditching Apple after years. Many on this site have as well after this annoucement including myself after years of Apple stuff. Apple isn't keeping people. Heck, most of the people who have iPhones at work were shocked and said I am not getting a new one for sure.
 
What a load of rubbish you spout. Apple are selling more iPhones then ever before.
The most they ever sold were the iPhone 6 models, they haven't been able to reach that again.
[doublepost=1537054307][/doublepost]
Laugh, you obviously haven't been looking at all the news, sites, reviewers, etc all saying they are ditching Apple after years. Many on this site have as well after this annoucement including myself after years of Apple stuff. Apple isn't keeping people. Heck, most of the people who have iPhones at work were shocked and said I am not getting a new one for sure.
Apple loses 5 costumers gains 500, it's a vicious cycle. There's too much marketing invested in a way to attract newer costumers and it seems to be working. Those who leave almost always come back. :confused:
 
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The most they ever sold were the iPhone 6 models, they haven't been able to reach that again.
[doublepost=1537054307][/doublepost]
Apple loses 5 costumers gains 500, it's a vicious cycle. There's too much marketing invested in a way to attract newer costumers and it seems to be working. Those who leave almost always come back. :confused:
I doubt it this year with those prices.
[doublepost=1537055788][/doublepost]
Stop publishing fake numbers. That’s all you are doing at the moment. View attachment 781940

See attached image. Compare iPhone X (A11) and iPhone 7 (A10). That is not 5% difference.

And you can stop talking about discovery of fire and all other crap. It’s not relevant to the discussion.

The hardware cost of iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 is less than iPhone XS Max in 2018. This is why the prices are different. Apple’s margin haven’t changed much throughout the years. What has changed is that Apple use pricier parts in their products, hence the same margin will amount to more money. That’s why their stock price keep going up.

And again, Apple offer more phones than just the iPhone XS Max 512GB. The iPhone XR is a great buy for most people. And you don’t need to sell your kidney to afford the iPhone XR.

You know, just to compare....Note 9 kills the iPhone X in overall performance. The CPU and Memory is the only two places the X edges it. And technically the score I got was a little low for a Note 9, probably due to some app.

iPhone X 256gb

iIgj6s5.png



Note 9 512gb/8gb

6iISkTT.jpg
 
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I doubt it this year with those prices.
[doublepost=1537055788][/doublepost]

You know, just to compare....Note 9 kills the iPhone X in overall performance. The CPU and Memory is the only two places the X edges it. And technically the score I got was a little low for a Note 9, probably due to some app.

iPhone X 256gb

iIgj6s5.png



Note 9 512gb/8gb

6iISkTT.jpg
Seems like in 4 tests one year old iPhone won 50% of them. And the UX could be animations.
 
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I doubt it this year with those prices.
[doublepost=1537055788][/doublepost]

You know, just to compare....Note 9 kills the iPhone X in overall performance. The CPU and Memory is the only two places the X edges it. And technically the score I got was a little low for a Note 9, probably due to some app.

iPhone X 256gb

iIgj6s5.png



Note 9 512gb/8gb

6iISkTT.jpg
Back when iPhones didn’t come with powerful CPU’s compared to Android flagships like the Galaxy S4, Apple was doing everything they could so iOS would be optimized and faster than any other phone in the market and it was working well. Since they started having the best mobile CPU’s they stopped caring about their own OS and just throw everything into it meaning it became sluggish, heavy and slow. Apple could optimize their software so much better if they wanted, they did something with iOS12 but it’s still not enough to beat Android flagships which are faster nowadays, what a turn around.
 
The new prices are funny. 7nm processor is much better than 10nm , but it's cheaper to produce.
I will laugh with the bill of materials , Apple is asking 1500 for something that cost 450 as much.
Having said that, i will keep my Iphone 8 another year at least.
 
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