iPhone X Rant: I'm over the notch

[The-Real-Deal82]

YES! of course! Branding is huge! An Iconic design backed with engineering and marketing only a few products can achieve that and are usually highly successful; Rolex, Porsche, Christian Louboutin shoes, iPod's, iPhone's... etc. Creating a product that can easily be identified without looking at a logo or name is pretty rare. Add that with a quality product you've got something millions of people want at a premium price

iPhones are so common these days they’ve lost their exclusive appeal. I don’t think iPhones have ever been in the same league as super luxury watch and car brands though. They are premium in their own sector but you’ve never needed to be super rich to own one.

 

[tsturbo]

What notch? I am so over the notch I don’t even notice it!

 

[boltjames]

iPhones are so common these days they’ve lost their exclusive appeal. I don’t think iPhones have ever been in the same league as super luxury watch and car brands though. They are premium in their own sector but you’ve never needed to be super rich to own one.

That is true of the past 10 years, but not the next 10.

The iPhone was always a premium product designed to command a premium price but the wireless carriers were desperate in their acquisition strategies, put huge subsidies on the hardware, gave away iPhone's for $0 or $99 on a two-year contract. So the iPhone became the #1 smartphone in units sold. Offer someone a free BMW or a free Kia, guess which one they'll choose.

Flash forward a decade and wireless carriers no longer subsidize the hardware, they are now sold at their legitimate prices, and the iPhone is still what it always was- a premium product. Just not discounted. So you have to pay more. You now pay BMW prices for your BMW. Kia people are now priced out. As they should be.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

That is true of the past 10 years, but not the next 10.

The iPhone was always a premium product designed to command a premium price but the wireless carriers were desperate in their acquisition strategies, put huge subsidies on the hardware, gave away iPhone's for $0 or $99 on a two-year contract. So the iPhone became the #1 smartphone in units sold. Offer someone a free BMW or a free Kia, guess which one they'll choose.

Flash forward a decade and wireless carriers no longer subsidize the hardware, they are now sold at their legitimate prices, and the iPhone is still what it always was- a premium product. Just not discounted. So you have to pay more. You now pay BMW prices for your BMW. Kia people are now priced out. As they should be.

I’ve already had this discussion with you in another thread. iPhones have not had subsidies in every country yet have gained popularity. In Europe we’ve always had to pay an upfront cost as well as a monthly contract which is on average £300. You’d be lucky to find a new iPhone which is free with the contract being at least £100 a month. You may have had huge discounts in the US but I doubt anywhere else has had such generosity from carriers.

Every smartphone over £500 is a premium product and they are owned by all demographics.

Your belief Apple is willing to shed tens of millions of users worldwide in order to market their products to the elite is not shared by myself. They haven’t got to this stage to throw their grip away. They’ll continue producing iPhones at various price points at the high end to satisfy the market for many years yet. The iPhone X is just their niche offering to appeal to the non mainstream wanting to spend more than is already needed.

 

[JediZenMaster]

iPhones are so common these days they’ve lost their exclusive appeal. I don’t think iPhones have ever been in the same league as super luxury watch and car brands though. They are premium in their own sector but you’ve never needed to be super rich to own one.

How is 45 dollars a month for financing a phone super rich? Also the Pixel XL with sales tax is not so much cheaper than iPhone.

Is it a psychological barrier of seeing 999.00 vs the 960.00 before tax for the note 8?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

How is 45 dollars a month for financing a phone super rich? Also the Pixel XL with sales tax is not so much cheaper than iPhone.

Is it a psychological barrier of seeing 999.00 vs the 960.00 before tax for the note 8?

Did you miss the bit where I said:

‘you don’t have to be super rich to own one...’

The iPhone X however is not £45 a month where I live unless you pay £549 upfront for the handset. The iPhone 8 or 7 are perhaps the biggest sellers here though and again you don’t have to be super rich to own an iPhone.

 

[JediZenMaster]

Did you miss the bit where I said:

‘you don’t have to be super rich to own one...’

The iPhone X however is not £45 a month where I live unless you pay £549 upfront for the handset. The iPhone 8 or 7 are perhaps the biggest sellers here though and again you don’t have to be super rich to own an iPhone.

I took that as “you don’t have to be super rich to own an iPhone until now”.

Here with AT&T I only paid sales tax and pay about 45 a month.

I would love to see receipts of people who go out every weekend spending money on liquor and other things. I just don’t get why people are loosing their mind over the price and better yet attempting to put their hand in my wallet.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I took that as “you don’t have to be super rich to own an iPhone until now”.

Here with AT&T I only paid sales tax and pay about 45 a month.

I would love to see receipts of people who go out every weekend spending money on liquor and other things. I just don’t get why people are loosing their mind over the price and better yet attempting to put their hand in my wallet.

No you assumed wrong there.
Americans only have to pay £747 for the base model iPhone X so it’s not so much of a big deal over there. If we had your prices I doubt anybody would care but it’s a significant jump in price here. It’s given the iPhone 7 a new lease of life though as it’s selling pretty well again.

I’m sure people who go out every weekend on this piss have no issues buying the X anyway. I don’t think you even have to be super rich to buy the X. It is extortionately expensive but I don’t consider myself rich by any means? I just can’t justify spending that much on an iPhone when there are other options.

 

[JediZenMaster]

No you assumed wrong there.
Americans only have to pay £747 for the base model iPhone X so it’s not so much of a big deal over there. If we had your prices I doubt anybody would care but it’s a significant jump in price here. It’s given the iPhone 7 a new lease of life though as it’s selling pretty well again.

I’m sure people who go out every weekend on this piss have no issues buying the X anyway. I don’t think you even have to be super rich to buy the X. It is extortionately expensive but I don’t consider myself rich by any means? I just can’t justify spending that much on an iPhone when there are other options.

iPhone 7 is still a good phone but I am the type of person who upgrades every year.

I agree that it’s an expensive purchase but It’s sorta interesting how polarizing this phone is. The other options don’t work for me really because I don’t like Android.

 

[jmgregory1]

The notch seems to be something people who don’t have an iPhone X, or are just clickbaiting, complain about. When I’m using the X for most basic tasks, I don’t even realize it’s there. And when watching videos on YouTube in landscape, I’m typically far too into watching what’s onscreen (when in expanded mode) to notice the notch. I think the only negative is that onscreen copy can get cut off, but that’s not a regular issue so not a big deal.

 

[boltjames]

I’ve already had this discussion with you in another thread. iPhones have not had subsidies in every country yet have gained popularity. In Europe we’ve always had to pay an upfront cost as well as a monthly contract which is on average £300. You’d be lucky to find a new iPhone which is free with the contract being at least £100 a month. You may have had huge discounts in the US but I doubt anywhere else has had such generosity from carriers.

Every smartphone over £500 is a premium product and they are owned by all demographics.

Your belief Apple is willing to shed tens of millions of users worldwide in order to market their products to the elite is not shared by myself. They haven’t got to this stage to throw their grip away. They’ll continue producing iPhones at various price points at the high end to satisfy the market for many years yet. The iPhone X is just their niche offering to appeal to the non mainstream wanting to spend more than is already needed.

Apple, as the innovator of the smartphone, had the lucky fortune to be the only supplier in a very good stock position for years in the early era of the carrier arms race. In the vast majority of countries there were competing carriers looking to lock up customers and discounting the phones as a result.

As for the UK, if the iPhone's weren't subsidized then you should have nothing to complain about now except for scarcity of inventory and a terrible exchange rate with the US, you are already used to paying more for Apple products than others do.

For the third time, Apple doesn't want to shed customers. But it's out of their control. Here in the US, their biggest market, where I used to get a $0 iPhone 5C for my daughter and a $99 iPhone 6 for myself on a two year contract, I now need to spend $349 for my daughter to get into an SE and $1250 to get into an X. That's not because of anything Apple has done, it's the carriers ending the gravy train. I'm sure Apple would love the carriers to offer ridiculous subsidies again, hell they'd ship 3x more product that way.

 

[UL2RA]

It's fine for everything else, but it's definitely annoying when trying to watch movies full screen.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Apple, as the innovator of the smartphone, had the lucky fortune to be the only supplier in a very good stock position for years in the early era of the carrier arms race. In the vast majority of countries there were competing carriers looking to lock up customers and discounting the phones as a result.

As for the UK, if the iPhone's weren't subsidized then you should have nothing to complain about now except for scarcity of inventory and a terrible exchange rate with the US, you are already used to paying more for Apple products than others do.

For the third time, Apple doesn't want to shed customers. But it's out of their control. Here in the US, their biggest market, where I used to get a $0 iPhone 5C for my daughter and a $99 iPhone 6 for myself on a two year contract, I now need to spend $349 for my daughter to get into an SE and $1250 to get into an X. That's not because of anything Apple has done, it's the carriers ending the gravy train. I'm sure Apple would love the carriers to offer ridiculous subsidies again, hell they'd ship 3x more product that way.

The iPhone has been non subsidised throughout most of Europe since its inception. Where there has been carrier subsidies in the US and Asia is something I know little about. I know Australia, South Africa and South America have always had higher prices than even the UK so when you say the vast majority of countries I assume you mean your country and certain Asian countries. The subsidy thing is not even an issue for me so is irrelevant to any point I was making.

Apple are not going to shed customers as long as they supply iPhone 8 variant devices. If they solely supply one device at the X price point then it’s inevitable they’ll lose a significant number of their user base. They are not going to risk that as we all know.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

iPhone 7 is still a good phone but I am the type of person who upgrades every year.

I agree that it’s an expensive purchase but It’s sorta interesting how polarizing this phone is. The other options don’t work for me really because I don’t like Android.

I think it’s polarising because it’s a nice phone but people can’t get their heads around why it carries a bigger premium than we are already used to with the iPhone? I couldn’t justify it when you can get an iPhone 8 from £300 less which offers the same iOS experience. I guess people are annoyed by the split Apple have created, I know I am.

 

[JediZenMaster]

I think it’s polarising because it’s a nice phone but people can’t get their heads around why it carries a bigger premium than we are already used to with the iPhone? I couldn’t justify it when you can get an iPhone 8 from £300 less which offers the same iOS experience. I guess people are annoyed by the split Apple have created, I know I am.

I could understand if it was the only phone they offered but there are many other options with iOS.

The X offers different things. Better display, Face ID, better front facing camera. I remember also when the initial iPhone was released people complained about the price and said no one would buy it but here we are though.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I could understand if it was the only phone they offered but there are many other options with iOS.

The X offers different things. Better display, Face ID, better front facing camera. I remember also when the initial iPhone was released people complained about the price and said no one would buy it but here we are though.

People naturally want the best Apple can offer and up until now you’ve been able to get that for under £700 plus a contract. Now the best is £1k before the contract is added which brings many contracts up to £1600 ($2130). I’m not sure the anger is widespread here as I think people are just quietly buying other iPhones instead. The iPhone 7 is outselling both the 8 and the X in Europe’s largest market in this period so it’s clear Apple are still popular here, just not their premium offerings. The landscape is changing and the latest and greatest are not necessarily the mainstream any more.

 

[boltjames]

I think it’s polarising because it’s a nice phone but people can’t get their heads around why it carries a bigger premium than we are already used to with the iPhone? I couldn’t justify it when you can get an iPhone 8 from £300 less which offers the same iOS experience. I guess people are annoyed by the split Apple have created, I know I am.

I think you're the only one who can't get your head around why the X carries a premium over the 8. The differences in features are very obvious. They aren't free.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I think you're the only one who can't get your head around why the X carries a premium over the 8. The differences in features are very obvious. They aren't free.

I doubt I’m the only one. Over 60m iPhone 8’s and 8 Pluses have sold in the last two and a half months so the question would have resonated with more than one person at some point.

 

[boltjames]

I doubt I’m the only one. Over 60m iPhone 8’s and 8 Pluses have sold in the last two and a half months so the question would have resonated with more than one person at some point.

No. Those 60M are the people who didn't want a crappy Android and couldn't afford the iPhone X. I think we call them the middle class.

 

[rockitdog]

What notch? I am so over the notch I don’t even notice it!

Go watch a video in full screen and get back to me.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

No. Those 60M are the people who didn't want a crappy Android and couldn't afford the iPhone X. I think we call them the middle class.

Sorry you are definitely baiting with stupid comments like that. Those contacting me are right, I’m done.

 

[Shinigami301]

It's fine for everything else, but it's definitely annoying when trying to watch movies full screen.

Why would you do that? You would be cutting off far more of the scene than the sensor area does.

 

[rockitdog]

No. Those 60M are the people who didn't want a crappy Android and couldn't afford the iPhone X. I think we call them the middle class.

This entire statement is laughable. Because $200-$300 separates the middle-class from the well-to-do?

 

[Shanghaichica]

How is 45 dollars a month for financing a phone super rich? Also the Pixel XL with sales tax is not so much cheaper than iPhone.

Is it a psychological barrier of seeing 999.00 vs the 960.00 before tax for the note 8?

Prices in the UK are much more expensive. We have to pay for the phone and also the cellular service. At my carrier the cheapest monthly price you can pay for the iPhone X converts to $105 a month and that is only for the base model.
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Apple, as the innovator of the smartphone, had the lucky fortune to be the only supplier in a very good stock position for years in the early era of the carrier arms race. In the vast majority of countries there were competing carriers looking to lock up customers and discounting the phones as a result.

As for the UK, if the iPhone's weren't subsidized then you should have nothing to complain about now except for scarcity of inventory and a terrible exchange rate with the US, you are already used to paying more for Apple products than others do.

For the third time, Apple doesn't want to shed customers. But it's out of their control. Here in the US, their biggest market, where I used to get a $0 iPhone 5C for my daughter and a $99 iPhone 6 for myself on a two year contract, I now need to spend $349 for my daughter to get into an SE and $1250 to get into an X. That's not because of anything Apple has done, it's the carriers ending the gravy train. I'm sure Apple would love the carriers to offer ridiculous subsidies again, hell they'd ship 3x more product that way.

The exchange rate is poor now thanks to Brexit but Apple have taken advantage of the situation more so than other companies. For Apple they now work on a 1:1 exchange rate for most of their products so whatever the price is in dollars we pay the exact same in pounds. I’m not happy about this but I don’t have much choice because I like Apple products.

 

[Rockies]

I do wish Apple would get rid of the notch. It is like a talking to a person with a pimple on there face, it is there you just don't want to look at it.