Other It's just a phone.

[esk]

I've just upgraded from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 7 Plus and while I do think it's a great Phone it's still just a phone.

My iPhone 5 needed to be charged every 12 hours and iOS 10 was the last update it took. iOS 10 was running slow, but not unusable slow.

So I got the iPhone 7 Plus and it's a good Phone. It does everything my iPhone 5 did just better and faster. After using it for a couple days I don't feel like any Phone is worth such a high price tag, because it's simply just a phone and therefore very limited.

Do you feel the same? Do you want to have a great Phone and don't care about the price tag? Do you use a Phone in a way that justifies the price tag for you.

I'm not hating or anything. I just feel like a $300 Android would have serve me as well as the iPhone 7 Plus.

 

[MandiMac]

After using it for a couple days I don't feel like any Phone is worth such a high price tag, because it's simply just a phone and therefore very limited. [...] I just feel like a $300 Android would have serve me as well as the iPhone 7 Plus.

As someone who regularly tests and reviews Android phones, I know that I wouldn‘t be happy with the overall package Androids currently offer. There seems to be trade-offs everywhere. Great power, but hideous design. Good battery life, but monstrous dimensions. Nice price tag, but bad display. Love the appearance, but old Android version and lags on the launcher. On iPhone, I‘m happy. I understand that you feel that every iPhone is doing well enough, and that is true. Try a budget phone or a mid-end phone though, and you‘ll notice the differences.

 

[eyoungren]

Do you feel the same? Do you want to have a great Phone and don't care about the price tag? Do you use a Phone in a way that justifies the price tag for you.

Nothing I do has changed since my HTC Touch Pro in May 2008. Therefore, as long as a phone can do the basic functions I ask of it (not hard by 2008 standards) then I buy based on aesthetics.

As long as the phone looks good and I like that, I buy it. I am sensitive to price though. Past a certain point looking good enough would come in to play.

However, most inexpensive phones look exactly that - inexpensive. Made with cheaper materials and generally more ugly looking. So, a certain price tag is justifiable because only at a certain price level does quality of construction, materials used and design start to show value.

Or…I'm not paying for plastic and ugly. But I'm not in the financial class to buy diamonds with pocket change.

 

[rafark]

It's not just a phone. It's also camera, a web browser, a tv (streaming), and much, much more. It's a full fledged computer the size of your hand.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I've just upgraded from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 7 Plus and while I do think it's a great Phone it's still just a phone.

My iPhone 5 needed to be charged every 12 hours and iOS 10 was the last update it took. iOS 10 was running slow, but not unusable slow.

So I got the iPhone 7 Plus and it's a good Phone. It does everything my iPhone 5 did just better and faster. After using it for a couple days I don't feel like any Phone is worth such a high price tag, because it's simply just a phone and therefore very limited.

Do you feel the same? Do you want to have a great Phone and don't care about the price tag? Do you use a Phone in a way that justifies the price tag for you.

I'm not hating or anything. I just feel like a $300 Android would have serve me as well as the iPhone 7 Plus.

Your iPhone 5 did not have dual speakers or a dual lens camera or 3D Touch and was not water resistant and did not have a 1080p display.

 

[JackieInCo]

Your iPhone 5 did not have dual speakers or a dual lens camera or 3D Touch and was not water resistant and did not have a 1080p display.

I just learned something myself from your post. I've owned a 7+ for the past four months and had no idea it had dual speakers. I thought it was just my 8+ that did.

 

[44267547]

I just learned something myself from your post. I've owned a 7+ for the past four months and had no idea it had dual speakers. I thought it was just my 8+ that did.

Actually, your iPhone 8 Plus actually has improved 25% louder stereo speakers over the iPhone 7.

 

[JackieInCo]

Actually, your iPhone 8 Plus actually has improved 25% louder stereo speakers over the iPhone 7.

I know the 8+ sounds a lot louder then any other phone I've owned when playing music through it's speakers.

I have both phones because I have three lines.

 

[Starfia]

That was my reaction too. Do our iPhone 7 Plus devices look the same?

 

[kamikazeeMC]

Using my 'phone' to communicate with people is to the bottom of its uses aha.

 

[AlliFlowers]

Our mobile devices haven't been "just phones" in 20 years(ish). They can do more than any room sized computer from the 70's or "personal computers" from the early 80's. Maybe the problem is that we still refer to them as phones instead of "mobile devices," or even..."personal computers?"

 

[Julienne]

Everything I have is apple. Love my iMac, and iPad Pro 10.5, I did get the 7 and I gave my old iPhone 5 to my aunt.

I had the 7 for a little over year now, and I like it very much. The only thing I miss is selling my iPhone 5. When I'm in the garden all day, it sure fits in my pocket a lot better. I might buy the new iPhone SE as a secondary phone.

 

[silverblack]

OP, I understand what you mean as I had the same thought when I was deciding on a tablet purchase recently. I was looking for an Android tablet for mainly entertainment (already have iPad Pro from work). My choices were the high end Galaxy Tab S3 ($700) vs the Tab A ($300). Like you, I thought, why spend twice when both essentially perform the same tasks. So I went with the cheaper option.

My conclusion? YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! It’s the details that add up to a much less enjoyable experience. The touch screen is just a little less responsive, the screen is not as vibrant (LCD vs oLED), the processor was a little sluggish (1/2 second slower here and there), the finger print reader is missing, the ambient light sensor is not sensitive (screen always too bright or too dark), Knox was missing, the speakers on one side of the tablet instead of both...

I suppose the same goes for everything (cars, houses, vacations). What defines luxury or top model are the little upgrades that add up.

 

[eyoungren]

It's not just a phone. It's also camera, a web browser, a tv (streaming), and much, much more. It's a full fledged computer the size of your hand.

Yeah and other than a camera it's poor for each of those.

Or would you argue that web browsing on an iPhone is better than a 30" monitor, watching a movie at home is better on an iPhone than a 100" TV, or that the iPhone has the ability to connect connect multiple monitors, a keyboard and mouse and function as any other computer on a network?

Argue all you want that the iPhone is great at each of these things but I don't see it.

 

[lyceumHQ]

I've just upgraded from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 7 Plus and while I do think it's a great Phone it's still just a phone.

My iPhone 5 needed to be charged every 12 hours and iOS 10 was the last update it took. iOS 10 was running slow, but not unusable slow.

So I got the iPhone 7 Plus and it's a good Phone. It does everything my iPhone 5 did just better and faster. After using it for a couple days I don't feel like any Phone is worth such a high price tag, because it's simply just a phone and therefore very limited.

Do you feel the same? Do you want to have a great Phone and don't care about the price tag? Do you use a Phone in a way that justifies the price tag for you.

I'm not hating or anything. I just feel like a $300 Android would have serve me as well as the iPhone 7 Plus.

Yes and no. The iPhone 5 was released in 2012. Making it 6 years old. Besides the battery you say it was usable. Not great but usable.

So how much did it cost you per year of usage?

I would put money on a 6 year old android phone being useless in less than half that time. And it certainly wouldn’t have been only one OS version behind. In fact if it got a single full android os update I’d be surprised.

So you’d need to buy another phone. So you $300 android becomes two $300 androids.

Now let’s talk about if it has an issue. You contact the manufacturer and send it off to a repair centre. Hope they actually repair it and send it back to you in working order.

Yes the iPhone has an inflated price tag. But the 7+ will still be working and usable in 5 years. If it develops an issue you can go to an Apple store and they will sort it there an then. It will receive updates when every other iPhone does.

So for that price tag you’re not just getting a phone. You’re getting a phone that will last, customer service that won’t leave you with no phone and updates for a good for years to come.

For me personally. That’s worth the extra.

 

[eyoungren]

Maybe the problem is that we still refer to them as phones instead of "mobile devices," or even..."personal computers?"

Yeah, I have a problem with referring to them as personal computers.

At work, I have a Mac that is connected to three monitors a keyboard and a mouse. I have Suitcase Fusion whcih keeps over 7000 fonts organized, InDesign which allows me to design ads and put out Classifieds, Legals and a newspaper. And I have Acrobat DC Pro with an $800 plugin that allows me to edit PDFs inside Acrobat, Photoshop and Illustrator to help with that.

I send press ready PDFs to our printer every week. All of this done using a Windows 2012 server as our file server. Something an iPhone cannot even connect to, let alone a filesystem.

The last time I checked my boss was not ordering iPhones to replace my Mac or the PCs the editor, sales reps and reporters use.

So, until the iPhone can do any of this I have a real problem with it being called a computer. That may technically be a definition but it's certainly no replacement.

 

[belvdr]

So, until the iPhone can do any of this I have a real problem with it being called a computer. That may technically be a definition but it's certainly no replacement.

It really depends on the use case. In yours, it is obvious it's not a replacement. For someone who browses and checks social media and such, it could very well be. It is certainly not a "one size fits all" scenario.

 

[eyoungren]

It really depends on the use case. In yours, it is obvious it's not a replacement. For someone who browses and checks social media and such, it could very well be. It is certainly not a "one size fits all" scenario.

But it's often presented that way and it's really that which I object to.

And, just personally, I prefer to use the largest screen I can find for doing things like viewing movies, TV or browsing the web. I hate doing things like that on my phone because the screen is too damn small.

 

[KUKitch]

But it's often presented that way and it's really that which I object to.

And, just personally, I prefer to use the largest screen I can find for doing things like viewing movies, TV or browsing the web. I hate doing things like that on my phone because the screen is too damn small.

When are phones presented as replacements for computers? To call them not computers because you can do all of what you do on your computer is silly... I agree that the biggest screen is typically the best, but that doesn't mean the phone does those things poorly - it just has different constraints.

Hell, I yell at my sister to use her 12.9 iPP - hand me down from my brother when he got a 10.5 and she just goes "eh, I prefer to just use my phone"... I definitely don't get that, but she does her computing (except for work stuff) on her iPhone. For her, it is a one size fits all - obviously it isn't for you, or me for that matter - but they're definitely not "phones" and I don't have any problem calling them computers, though perhaps that's just a legacy term in the end

 

[eyoungren]

When are phones presented as replacements for computers? To call them not computers because you can do all of what you do on your computer is silly... I agree that the biggest screen is typically the best, but that doesn't mean the phone does those things poorly - it just has different constraints.

Hell, I yell at my sister to use her 12.9 iPP - hand me down from my brother when he got a 10.5 and she just goes "eh, I prefer to just use my phone"... I definitely don't get that, but she does her computing (except for work stuff) on her iPhone. For her, it is a one size fits all - obviously it isn't for you, or me for that matter - but they're definitely not "phones" and I don't have any problem calling them computers, though perhaps that's just a legacy term in the end

I can't point you to any marketing material, but it's been implied in the past that as these things get more powerful they can replace computers.

Now, Apple's recently (it seems to me) stepped away from that because they are saying they still sell computers so I can only guess someone somewhere inside Apple has realized the fallacy of that.

 

[noobinator]

Sounds like you should have gotten the cheapo Android since having a flagship isn't your desire. To many of us, it's more than a phone though so we don't mind spending iPhone X prices. To me it's a phone, productivity tool, and my hobby.

 

[DNichter]

As with any device, its value depends on the users' needs. If it doesn't bring any value to you and what you need it for, then return it. A cheap Android will serve you well, although not nearly the same experience.

 

[belvdr]

But it's often presented that way and it's really that which I object to.

And, just personally, I prefer to use the largest screen I can find for doing things like viewing movies, TV or browsing the web. I hate doing things like that on my phone because the screen is too damn small.

I'm not sure why you'd object to it.

I don't like the screen size either, but everyone is different. I know of one person whose family no longer has any laptops or desktops. They went strictly phone only.

 

[NT1440]

Yeah and other than a camera it's poor for each of those.

Or would you argue that web browsing on an iPhone is better than a 30" monitor, watching a movie at home is better on an iPhone than a 100" TV, or that the iPhone has the ability to connect connect multiple monitors, a keyboard and mouse and function as any other computer on a network?

Argue all you want that the iPhone is great at each of these things but I don't see it.

Sure, it’s better when I’m in the car, on a train, or literally anywhere that my desk isn’t...

 

[AlliFlowers]

At work, I have a Mac that is connected to three monitors a keyboard and a mouse. I have Suitcase Fusion whcih keeps over 7000 fonts organized, InDesign which allows me to design ads and put out Classifieds, Legals and a newspaper. And I have Acrobat DC Pro with an $800 plugin that allows me to edit PDFs inside Acrobat, Photoshop and Illustrator to help with that.

What you've just described is anything but "personal." You have a professional set-up with professional needs. An iPhone (or any smartphone) is personal.