iPhone 8 Predicted to Cost $999 For 128GB And $1,099 For 256GB, With No 32GB Model

[atmenterprises]

Because you're wrong. Your numbers are a complete falsehood. I would know.

Full Retail 256 GB 7 Plus = $969+tax.

AT&T Installment Plan = $48/mon.

After 12 months I have paid $576 and trade in the phone hassle free for a new model.

I've also saved an additional $300 on service over the 12 months ($40/mon vs. $15/mon device fee) compared to cost of using the exact same phone on the same AT&T plan.

If you were to attempt to sell your full retail unlocked phone in order to upgrade at the 12 month mark, you wouldn't even come close to recouping the costs that I have compared to your uninformed decision.

If you really need an unlocked phone for switching carriers, as some people do, then its a perfectly legitimate decision. But don't pretend like it is cheaper than the leasing options because its not even close.

So let's get this straight....

You pay $48/month just to finance the phone on top of whatever your service plan is, so I'll assume low and say $45/month.

I pay $869 for a 128GB model and $45/month for service.

At the end of one year you've paid $1116. I've paid $1409. Advantage: you.

At the end of two years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

At the end of theee years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

Let's total it up...you pay $3348 over three years. I pay $2489.

I mean, if you want to pay out your behind for the latest and greatest every year go ahead, but my brain tells me there aren't enough features to upgrade every year and it's money down the drain.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

So let's get this straight....

You pay $48/month just to finance the phone on top of whatever your service plan is, so I'll assume low and say $45/month.

I pay $869 for a 128GB model and $45/month for service.

At the end of one year you've paid $1116. I've paid $1409. Advantage: you.

At the end of two years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

At the end of theee years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

Let's total it up...you pay $3348 over three years. I pay $2489.

I mean, if you want to pay out your behind for the latest and greatest every year go ahead, but my brain tells me there aren't enough features to upgrade every year and it's money down the drain.

Don't forget that you have a phone at the end of 3 years worth something and he has nothing.

 

[atmenterprises]

Don't forget that you have a phone at the end of 3 years worth something and he has nothing.

Yes!

 

[Moorepheus]

So let's get this straight....

You pay $48/month just to finance the phone on top of whatever your service plan is, so I'll assume low and say $45/month.

I pay $869 for a 128GB model and $45/month for service.

At the end of one year you've paid $1116. I've paid $1409. Advantage: you.

At the end of two years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

At the end of theee years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

Let's total it up...you pay $3348 over three years. I pay $2489.

I mean, if you want to pay out your behind for the latest and greatest every year go ahead, but my brain tells me there aren't enough features to upgrade every year and it's money down the drain.

Actually, he only pays 48/month (interest free) until the phone is paid off. So, after 3 years, if you both kept the same phones, you would both be even. He would only make 18 payments at $48, then the rest would be the same as you. There is no winner here, not after 3 years, or even 2, you both come out the same.

However, after reading the original post, he would have a 1 year old phone, while you would have a 3 year old phone.

 

[v0lume4]

Actually, he only pays 48/month (interest free) until the phone is paid off. So, after 3 years, if you both kept the same phones, you would both be even.

So you can opt to keep the device and pay it off instead of trading in?

 

[Moorepheus]

So you can opt to keep the device and pay it off instead of trading in?

With he payment plan, the phone is yours once you make all the payments or you pay the balance.

 

[JackANSI]

I'm surprised how many of the "I'll wait for the second gen" types are chomping at the bit to buy what looks like will be more of a "first gen" device, rather than one building on previous knowledge/experience. So I would suspect the thing will sell well even at those prices or a bit more.

But, even if only 50% of the rumors are true I fully expect to see plenty of issues with this one.

 

[TurboPGT!]

I pay $869 for a 128GB model and $45/month for service.

At the end of one year you've paid $1116. I've paid $1409. Advantage: you.

At the end of two years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

At the end of theee years you've paid $1116. I've paid $540. Advantage me.

Let's total it up...you pay $3348 over three years. I pay $2489.

I mean, if you want to pay out your behind for the latest and greatest every year go ahead, but my brain tells me there aren't enough features to upgrade every year and it's money down the drain.

Paying for the privilege to upgrade hassle free every single year is of course part of the overall value, and the main reason to go this route. Otherwise you would choose a 24 month plan, instead of a 12 month plan, in which you pay even less per month.

I don't know where you get your estimate of $45/mon for service cost because that is unrealistic/uncommon. A fair comparison is to AT&T's most popular plans that are used by most users, and the cost difference between subscribing to one with a leased phone vs. an unlocked phone.

Because of the fact that unlocked phones are heavily disincentivized by the carriers, the plans are too.
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Don't forget that you have a phone at the end of 3 years worth something and he has nothing.

Wrong, I have a brand new phone at the end of 3 years. He has a 3 year old phone.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Because of the fact that unlocked phones are heavily disincentivized by the carriers, the plans are too.

Stop spreading this lie. The plans are the same price. Look it up. The plans are only more expensive if you bought a subsidized phone under a 2 year contract which doesn't exist anymore.

The part of your argument that would actually make you less wrong if it was true is 100% false.

 

[Glideslope]

BBC Panorama 'Apples Broken Promises'

Nice Diversion.

 

[curtvaughan]

So you rent your phone for half the price of buying it? What happens to that phone when you get a new one before paying it off? Do you get to sell it or does the carrier get it back? I'm genuinely curious because I buy my iPhones outright so that I can sell them when I get a new one for roughly 75% of what I purchased it for.

I don't see the appeal of paying 50% of the total cost of the phone and not getting anything back out of it when I want to switch to a new one after a year if I choose to.

My plan is the same either way with AT&T. I'm paying the plan cost +$20 per line whether I am paying on a phone or not.

I leased my iPhone 6+ 30 months ago from Sprint. My payment on the lease is around 35/month. After two years, I had the option to "upgrade" by swapping the 6+ for a 7/7+ at roughly the same monthly lease payment (I think it would have been about $5/month higher). I declined due to the phone jack issue. So I continue over the last 6 months to pay the lease on the 6+. At some point in the near future, I can decide either to turn it in on a newer phone lease, or keep the phone on a buyout option when the lease = the original cost of buying the phone plus some 10% interest. I bought an LG V20 outright when I decided not to swap the 6+. I'm not sorry for that decision. I can still use my 6+ (with new battery) for another year or so, and in the meantime, acclimate to Android on the V20, which has amazing DAC sound through the headphone jack, and a really nice camera.

 

[Sevendaymelee]

I bet your MacBook Pro is also running an SSD where your windows machine is running a 5400RPM spinning HHD. If you were to spend $100-$200 on an SSD for that windows 10 laptop, to perform as good or better than the MacBook Pro and would have saved you $1000 as well. I have 2 dells throw away laptops ($500 each), that I bought a few years again. I replaced the HHD with a SSD, upgrade to Windows 10 and they fly. 10-12 seconds boot times and everything is smooth as glass.

It's so funny to hear people compare a windows laptop they probably paid $500-700 against a MPB in which they paid 1400 or more for. Just not the same.

That is not my experience. I really don't know how you can go back to Windows but more power to you.

 

[smorrissey]

Bye Apple, Hola Xiaomi!

 

[curtvaughan]

Don't forget that you have a phone at the end of 3 years worth something and he has nothing.

These days, I would say that after three years, even your iPhone is worth very little on Craigs List/Ebay. Three years for a phone is a long time. Apple product resale has been traditionally quite good, but I think that stat is on its way down. I doubt my 6+, even in good shape with fairly new battery, would fetch $150 in today's market. But I could be wrong ...

 

[lazard]

No, I'm not. 128GB 6 Plus was $950. 128GB 8 is rumored to be $999.

and the 8 plus will tack on another $100.

 

[curtvaughan]

That is not my experience. I really don't know how you can go back to Windows but more power to you.

My experience, the last time I bought an MBP eleven years ago, the first Intel (1,1) 15 incher, was as you describe. At that time Windows XP was the main PC distro, and Linux desktop systems were still way lagging in driver support and graphical frontends. XP and the Windows Server platforms had become fairly sophisticated with Active Directory and Exchange shakehands operations with Outlook, which was an attractive price point in the corporate / higher education environment (where I worked until I retired in 2007). Anyway, a year before I retired I bought that MBP (1,1). After a month or so of ramping up on OSX, I absolutely loved it. Seamless integration of hardware and software was an amazing experience. That MBP ran me around $2000, and at that time was top of the line. That machine STILL RUNS, and I keep it around for nostalgia regarding the old Apple corporation. Apple stood behind that machine until a year or so after Jobs died, at which point there were no more upgrades or security updates available. Since it still runs, I have it dual booted with Mountain Lion and Linux Mint. That verbosity is only to make this final conclusion: Windows 10 is not Windows XP; Linux circa 2006 is history, and is replaced by sophisticated system software and graphical interfaces rivaling both Apple and Microsoft without the high cost and snooping; Apple stuff is thin, very high priced, and has a planned obsolescence window of roughly 4 to 5 years - which these days is appropriate for declining hardware quality. Just my opinion. Sorry. I miss Apple from the old days - it was expensive, but worth it. Now it's expensive.

 

[Michael Scrip]

These days, I would say that after three years, even your iPhone is worth very little on Craigs List/Ebay. Three years for a phone is a long time. Apple product resale has been traditionally quite good, but I think that stat is on its way down. I doubt my 6+, even in good shape with fairly new battery, wouldn't fetch $150 in today's market. But I could be wrong ...

A three year old iPhone today would be the iPhone 5S

You might think there wouldn't be a lot of value left in it... but I'm seeing between $150 and $200 on Ebay.

It's not a lot... but it's not nothin'

 

[Macaholic868]

So if other companies do it then it justifies Apple doing it? The logic on this forum does make me laugh.

Out of interest what clothes company releases annual products that increases the price by hundreads of pounds to catch up with their competitors?

That's the beautiful thing about capitalism. Just because it's for sale doesn't mean that we have to buy it and consumers who vote with their wallets generally win in the long run. Join me in passing on the 8. If enough of us do it Apple executives will get the message. Just as they did with the Pro line.

 

[curtvaughan]

Old MacBook Pro (1,1) booted up with Linux Mint - photo taken with LG V20 in a dark room. That keyboard, btw, is still amazing - just enough resistance to feel secure, great feedback, smooth as silk. The little red plug on the left would be a <drum roll> MagSafe connector. It is on its third user replaceable battery. Silly, I know, but I love that this 11 year old laptop still runs like a PRO. Later ...

 

[moxin]

i like how Apple announces the price "$999 Only!"

 

[BvizioN]

WTF are you talking about? When was the last time you did the math? It hasn't made sense to buy full retail in years.

Oh man, someone needs to be dragged back to primary school! If you think you paying less just because you paying small amounts monthly you are clearly diluted.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

View attachment 699858

Old MacBook Pro (1,1) booted up with Linux Mint - photo taken with LG V20 in a dark room. That keyboard, btw, is still amazing - just enough resistance to feel secure, great feedback, smooth as silk. The little red plug on the left would be a <drum roll> MagSafe connector. It is on its third user replaceable battery. Silly, I know, but I love that this 11 year old laptop still runs like a PRO. Later ...

Yeah, the 1,1 was a pretty good machine. The aluminum case was too thin, so it bent too easily. The hard drive was more of a pain to change than it should have been. And I did more MLB swaps on those than should have been necessary, there were definitely some issues there, I tended to pretty strongly recommend AppleCare for them.

But the keyboard was great, MUCH better than current MBPs. The MagSafe connector was a great idea for users, and Apple probably made a very smart move abandoning it, they'll get a lot of repairs and replacements from smashed machines because they dropped that connector.

And don't get me started on the battery. It was so convenient to do a quick battery swap, you could avoid charging for weeks if you had enough batteries. Plug in the computer? Why bother? Just put a couple spares on an external charger, and swap batteries.

 

[Patrick P]

Actually we pay about 1/2 the cost of the phone over 12 months, then get a brand new model. Oh, and we pay less per month than you do for the plan itself, since carriers incentivize it.
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No need to rethink, the numbers don't lie. As I expected, all of the triggered unlock lovers haven't run the numbers themselves in the last few years. You cannot possibly come out "ahead" in any sense of the word by buying unlocked.
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Actually it looks like the unlockers that haven't done math in years. They think this is still 2009.

In Germany you only get incentive as a new customer. T-mobile wanted more than Apple for the iPhone 7 from me.
With this upgrade program you have a 24 months contract and have to pay 1200 dollars for the last phone if you decide not to take a new one.
Its a simple calculation: You pay a little service fee and don't have to sell your iPhone yourself every year. But it's not cheaper as you don't loose 600 dollars in the first year if you sell it.
So its definitely not as "black and white" as you like it to be I think.

 

[atmenterprises]

Paying for the privilege to upgrade hassle free every single year is of course part of the overall value, and the main reason to go this route. Otherwise you would choose a 24 month plan, instead of a 12 month plan, in which you pay even less per month.

I don't know where you get your estimate of $45/mon for service cost because that is unrealistic/uncommon. A fair comparison is to AT&T's most popular plans that are used by most users, and the cost difference between subscribing to one with a leased phone vs. an unlocked phone.

Because of the fact that unlocked phones are heavily disincentivized by the carriers, the plans are too.
[doublepost=1494879830][/doublepost]
Wrong, I have a brand new phone at the end of 3 years. He has a 3 year old phone.

I pay $45/month as a pre-paid customer with unlimited talk/text and 6 GB of data. $40 with auto pay....so you're paying even more than that? Then my point is even more valid about how much better it is to pay full retail.

 

[Col4bin]

1) Why would you plan on keeping it for 3-4 years? How does that benefit you? Moreover, how do you even know that you'll still feel that way in a year?
2) Even if you do have such a "plan"...what are you losing by paying that same amount over 20 months while keeping your options open? Absolutely nothing, is the answer.
3) Did you know that with most carriers your monthly device fee is on average $15/mon cheaper if you are on an installment plan? So I guess you can not only afford to drop $1000 on a phone you may want to sell in a year, but you can forgo $15/mon savings on already overpriced cell service? Yeah, you really beat the man on that one.

Why do you care if I choose to keep my phone for 3-4 years? (Because it debunks the whole premise of your argument.)