Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad Air 2 Material Costs Hold Steady Starting at $275, but New Storage Tiers Erode Profit Margin

Acorn said:
not really sure what the point of this article is. That is component costs only. apple has a ton of people they have to pay over that. so its not really that much per device.
Click to expand...

"The 16 GB Apple iPad Air 2 costs Apple roughly $275 TO BUILD". IT DOESN'T say the cost of the parts.
 
Are these not the prices Foxconn paid for the parts, not Apple? How much does Apple pay Foxconn to make them?
 
SteveBlobs said:
Have you seen Apple's profits? We are being gouged.
Click to expand...

I don't think that word means what you think it does.

----------
Amacfa said:
It's surprising that many casual users can't update their phones. Many of them aren't too techie and lack the aptitude to clear enough space in their phones. Some can, but I find myself assisting a lot of my friends with the process. Even as a power user, It took my a while to clear space from my old 16gb 5s, eventually I became frustrated and just cleared the whole damn phone.
Click to expand...

I would think a power user would know that he can just plug his phone into a computer and it will update with almost no free space available.

----------
Amacfa said:
And the next step up (64gb) which is the size of my 6+, is too much. I have a ton of videos and photos, a few large games, and I still have 32gb left. I have no idea what to do with it, even as a power user who records a lot of video.
Click to expand...

So you're saying that in just 2 weeks of using the 6+, you have already filled it with more data than would fit on the 32 GB model (since you have 32GB remaining). Sounds like 64 isn't "too much" but it's just right. Especially since you shoot so much video, I wonder why you'd prefer to be TOTALLY out of space already?
 
Amacfa said:
And what if your not home, traveling, or don't use iTunes? I shouldn't need iTunes, it should just work.
Click to expand...

In those cases you have an inconvenient few days. But you said you were the "power user" friend who was STILL incapable of figuring out a 2 minute fix, which is pretty pathetic. Sorry, if that's really the situation, then at least be honest about what you are - the one eyed man in the land of the blind. Tell your friends that they are overestimating your competence and they will be happy once they find a friend who can truly be helpful, or take the phone to the Apple store for 30 minutes to do the upgrade. You can do the upgrade on ANY computer with iTunes, for god's sake!
 
"Erode profit margin" are the 3 words we don't want to hear in relation from Apple. Even if it is rumour websites saying it. We take it with lots of salt but still not nice to hear.

High margin Apple. Apple need to understand this or get the **** out of the IT industry. Don't go backwards on a policy that works for 10+ years.
 
the8thark said:
"Erode profit margin" are the 3 words we don't want to hear in relation from Apple. Even if it is rumour websites saying it. We take it with lots of salt but still not nice to hear.

High margin Apple. Apple need to understand this or get the **** out of the IT industry. Don't go backwards on a policy that works for 10+ years.
Click to expand...
Why would they get out now, with all their cash on hand and their record high stock price and massive sales?

They've always had good profit margins. There've always been people like you saying that Apple's current policy would lead to doom. They've been gluing and soldering for the past few years (leading to the record high stock price).
 
cameronjpu said:
In those cases you have an inconvenient few days. But you said you were the "power user" friend who was STILL incapable of figuring out a 2 minute fix, which is pretty pathetic. Sorry, if that's really the situation, then at least be honest about what you are - the one eyed man in the land of the blind. Tell your friends that they are overestimating your competence and they will be happy once they find a friend who can truly be helpful, or take the phone to the Apple store for 30 minutes to do the upgrade. You can do the upgrade on ANY computer with iTunes, for god's sake!
Click to expand...

Not sure if I offended you to provoke such a emotional reply. I'm really putting my thoughts on here for someone at Apple to see them. Your opinion and disection of my experiences is irrelevant. Nice try at compartimentalizing me in an effort to set up a straw man, though.
 
icerabbit said:
I am holding off upgrading until there's 2GB of RAM by default, and possibly 32GB as base as well. I'm certainly not getting the mini 3 retina, which I looked forward to, but Apple just had to merely make it a mini 2 with a glued on touch id button.

Anyhow, it doesn't make sense to me get slightly faster response time but be hampered by the same 1GB of RAM and still have constant reloading issues, out of memory crashes, ...
Click to expand...

Some chap, posting before you, said:
"I'm guessing the 16GB exists to upsell people to the 64GB and preserve the profit margins."

I very much value this comment.

For the consumer, especially for the younger generation, 16GB has become a meaningless ROM capacity, unless it can be supplemented (as in the case of Android or Windows OS hardware...)

Now, it is for 100% sure that the new iPad Air2 is coming with 2GB RAM. Apple never commented about it; in the future they will never do so, either.

As for your preference for 32GB ROM for base value, we all would love to see that, asap. We'll need to wait until the alleged iPhone6S will appear in Sept. 2105. If, there, they eliminate 16GB and start with 32GB as base (and also hopefully standartise on 2GB for the RAM), then we may also expect to see 32GB as base value for the alleged iPad Air 3 in October 2015. Otherwise, no hope till late 2016!...:confused:
 
mafaky said:
For the consumer, especially for the younger generation, 16GB has become a meaningless ROM capacity, unless it can be supplemented (as in the case of Android or Windows OS hardware...)
Click to expand...

the 16GB storage is not ROM. ROM stands for Read Only Memory. It has very little usage in the computer world since about 20 years ago. It's suitable to simply call it storage space or memory.
 
Amacfa said:
The base price of the iPhone 6 16gb is $649.

I've always ordered the base model when I bought 3GS, 4, 4S, 5S. It was enough space. Occassionaly I would delete a few apps or photos. When I got my 5S, it would fill up too quickly and the iOS updates required almost half of the space of my phone just to update

And the next step up (64gb) which is the size of my 6+, is too much. I have a ton of videos and photos, a few large games, and I still have 32gb left. I have no idea what to do with it, even as a power user who records a lot of video.
Click to expand...

Okaaay...but the topic of this thread is "iPad Air 2 Material Costs...." And the base price of an iPad Air 2 is $499. So I'm not understanding the point of your response to me about the iPhone.
 
TallManNY said:
Also targeted at schools, point of sale uses, airports (haven't you seen the lounges with row after row of iPads), hotels (a free iPad for use in the hotel room isn't that uncommon at higher end hotels), events (I was handed an iPad at an event as basically an easy way for everyone to have the material for the conference, gave it back at the end of the day), locked down work environments, etc. There are tons of ways in which 16Gb is perfectly acceptable storage. It just shouldn't be purchased by a consumer. So you guys did the right intervention here and sales persons should be able to educate the typical consumer to buy the 64gb.

I think margins are going to go up, because the 64gb is going to be the most common iPad. However I also think the 16gb has another year of life in it, so that Air 3 will also come with 16gb. It is sufficient for so many uses.
Click to expand...

All excellent points -- things I thought about before but failed to express here -- especially the education and point-of-sale uses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back