iPhone XS Regret? I wanted a cheap iPhone and I ended up with an iPhone XS 256 GB

[RodDavies]

To me, this is the dilemma that consumers are facing, is Apple’s price points are not consumer friendly, at least without the help of monthly carrier payments. The technology is great, but it doesn’t change the fact ‘It still is a phone’’.

I would say "it still is JUST a phone". A good one, yes with some added attributes, no doubt. But Apple have priced these things as Luxury Goods, not "merely" a premium product. Plenty of other manufacturers have really REALLY nice alternatives at mere mortal pricing, rather than Kardashian pricing.

 

[akash.nu]

I would say "it still is JUST a phone". A good one, yes with some added attributes, no doubt. But Apple have priced these things as Luxury Goods, not "merely" a premium product. Plenty of other manufacturers have really REALLY nice alternatives at mere mortal pricing, rather than Kardashian pricing.

I guess the same argument can go with any other product really, such as designer clothes, shoes, expensive cars. People pay for something if it’s worth to them even when cheaper options are available out there.

 

[davedvdy]

Plenty of other manufacturers have really REALLY nice alternatives at mere mortal pricing, rather than Kardashian pricing.

Those manufacturers are all competing with each other tooth and nail since they are running the same mobile OS (Android), and that's the difference. There isn't any exclusivity of Android any more than Windows on desktop computers. I'm not crazy about the pricing, but that's the reality of this.
Even Google has to compete with itself when it releases Pixel phones, since their OS runs on so many other phones by other manufacturers.

 

[44267547]

I would say "it still is JUST a phone". A good one, yes with some added attributes, no doubt. But Apple have priced these things as Luxury Goods, not "merely" a premium product. Plenty of other manufacturers have really REALLY nice alternatives at mere mortal pricing, rather than Kardashian pricing.

It’s not just Apple facing the influx of pricing, it’s Samsung as well with their smart phones with prices. As I mentioned, the tech sector in general seems to be stagnated and saturated in the market currently. The only way that’s going to change is offering pricing alternatives and more structure for the consumer.

 

[I7guy]

It’s not just Apple facing the influx of pricing, it’s Samsung as well with their smart phones with prices. As I mentioned, the tech sector in general seems to be stagnated and saturated in the market currently. The only way that’s going to change is offering pricing alternatives and more structure for the consumer.

This is the flip side of carrier subsidies. Bring me back subsidies, two year contracts and unlimited data. I want a top tier iphone to cost $399, like the good old days.

 

[bizzle]

I'm happy with my $224 Essential PH-1 with 128GB of storage. Sure, it has it's quirks, but in a lot of ways it's great. Yeah, I got it on a deal, but even at closer to $400 they were going for, it's was still a great buy. Spending $1000+ on a phone no matter how great the camera is, how neato xyz feature is, regardless of storage capacity is just straight up insane.

Unfortunately Apple has locked a lot of people into hundreds of dollars of music, video, apps and such that they can only run on iOS, so switching to Android isn't that easy.. but I don't spend money on things that are phone specific so it was easy for me and there are tons of great phones in the $200-500 price range.

I am not trying to make this Android vs iOS, but at least with Android you can get a great phone at every price point and not have to get the model that is already three years old and still pay $450+ for it.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

This is the flip side of carrier subsidies. Bring me back subsidies, two year contracts and unlimited data. I want a top tier iphone to cost $399, like the good old days.

I wish we had that even back then! We’ve always had to pay for our iPhones.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'm happy with my $224 Essential PH-1 with 128GB of storage. Sure, it has it's quirks, but in a lot of ways it's great. Yeah, I got it on a deal, but even at closer to $400 they were going for, it's was still a great buy. Spending $1000+ on a phone no matter how great the camera is, how neato xyz feature is, regardless of storage capacity is just straight up insane.

Unfortunately Apple has locked a lot of people into hundreds of dollars of music, video, apps and such that they can only run on iOS, so switching to Android isn't that easy.. but I don't spend money on things that are phone specific so it was easy for me and there are tons of great phones in the $200-500 price range.

I am not trying to make this Android vs iOS, but at least with Android you can get a great phone at every price point and not have to get the model that is already three years old and still pay $450+ for it.

Even those of us locked into iOS don’t have to buy the priciest iPhone though. A lot of people are buying older devices, the XR or keeping phones longer than previously. This aggressive pricing is changing the way people upgrade but the consumer is perhaps the only party who isn’t losing at this point. The landscape is changing and Cook said Apple are working on getting the costs down. Obviously without affecting their 70% margin on each device of course lol.

 

[Koogs]

Not sure I agree with you about the phones wearing out from use. The battery yes but speed wise/ screen wise/ interface doesn’t really.
The 6 series phones where dogs. Especially the 6+. I had one for two years. They where slow. The display was too big for the processer to handle. Also the slowdown of the battery made those phones super slow. The 6s was the first capable phone that is still fast. Anything passed a 7 is very fast and you wouldn’t feel much of a difference speed wise between that and the flagship phones today u less the battery is bad and you don’t have the settings in battery on to slow down the phone for longer battery life.

I meant condition from use. buttons wear out, screen scratches up a bit, battery loses health. Generally screen output and speed stay the same except for new apps, upgraded OS etc.

Either or, if you have a 7 and its still fast, i could see waiting. If you are looking to buy a new 7 from Apple at $450...... I think you're better served spending the extra few hundred for the newer design.

 

[eyeseeyou]

The biggest motivation to upgrading my 64gb iPhone X is storage at this point. I had to manually delete a bunch of downloaded music and move a lot of pics and videos to iCloud and now I worry about filling up my storage whenever I take raw or highest res photos.

I would’ve got the higher storage model but didn’t need 256gbs and wasn’t willing to pay that much more for something I didn’t really need.

My favorite thing when selling phones were customers like yourself.
Either they used very little storage or pushed their capacity to the limits.

I will delete pictures and other stuff.

The phone today is more than just a phone.
With every iteration I find myself using more and more space.

I asked myself if it was more cost effective to micro manage the space on my phone of just enjoy being sloppy and spending a little more.

I purchased the 512 max this time and I love it. I have all my pictures, music, 15 full length movies (120 on my itunes which get rotated frequently) and I shot video after video without t worrying about space.

It comes down to how you use your phone.

More times than not the customer would come back in and say spending the extra $ for the space was worth it.

 

[burgman]

I'm happy with my $224 Essential PH-1 with 128GB of storage. Sure, it has it's quirks, but in a lot of ways it's great. Yeah, I got it on a deal, but even at closer to $400 they were going for, it's was still a great buy. Spending $1000+ on a phone no matter how great the camera is, how neato xyz feature is, regardless of storage capacity is just straight up insane.

Unfortunately Apple has locked a lot of people into hundreds of dollars of music, video, apps and such that they can only run on iOS, so switching to Android isn't that easy.. but I don't spend money on things that are phone specific so it was easy for me and there are tons of great phones in the $200-500 price range.

I am not trying to make this Android vs iOS, but at least with Android you can get a great phone at every price point and not have to get the model that is already three years old and still pay $450+ for it.

Problem with your argument is a three year old Iphone is still current on software and security updates, very, very, very few Android phones do. Plus buying a Apple refurb at that price point comes with a warranty.

 

[bruinsrme]

The biggest motivation to upgrading my 64gb iPhone X is storage at this point. I had to manually delete a bunch of downloaded music and move a lot of pics and videos to iCloud and now I worry about filling up my storage whenever I take raw or highest res photos.

I would’ve got the higher storage model but didn’t need 256gbs and wasn’t willing to pay that much more for something I didn’t really need.

Storage upgrade costs are highway robbery

 

[x-evil-x]

Storage upgrade costs are highway robbery

meanwhile the 64-128 gig upgrade on the Xr is 50$ but they dont have that option on the flagships because they want to make 150$ more on you even.
Apple knows most people would go with 128 gig over 256 and offering it at 150$ more with no middle doesn't sit well with me.
Especially since they offered 128 gigs in previous + size phones.

 

[MacModMachine]

That's what I'm thinking now too. I know after a few days I won't care about the money anymore. A few hundred bucks more won't make any difference in my life. The phone on the other hand is something I use six hours a day.

Sounds like you answered your own question.

I use my phone for everything , i do not considered myself obsessed using it....not for facebook , but most important capturing my familys photos , travel , bookings , videos. Larger size in my opinion is worth the money.

I have moved all my life over to an ipad and phone now. The desktop/laptop game is irrelevant to me.

 

[bruinsrme]

meanwhile the 64-128 gig upgrade on the Xr is 50$ but they dont have that option on the flagships because they want to make 150$ more on you even.
Apple knows most people would go with 128 gig over 256 and offering it at 150$ more with no middle doesn't sit well with me.
Especially since they offered 128 gigs in previous + size phones.

Flagships should start at 128 then 256, 512.

Better yet 128 and 512 with $150 difference

 

[Phone Junky]

Storage upgrade costs are highway robbery

Agreed. But the shareholders love 'em.

 

[akash.nu]

Flagships should start at 128 then 256, 512.

Better yet 128 and 512 with $150 difference

What’s the rational behind this?

 

[x-evil-x]

Flagships should start at 128 then 256, 512.

Better yet 128 and 512 with $150 difference

But how would they upsell people on sizes they don’t need them? Apple is playing with people and it’s obvious. They know if they offered 128 gig standard the amount of people that would upgrade to 256 would be much much less

 

[44267547]

But how would they upsell people on sizes they don’t need them? Apple is playing with people and it’s obvious. They know if they offered 128 gig standard the amount of people that would upgrade to 256 would be much much less

That’s why I didn’t like that Apple did, when they offered 128 and 256 GB, 128 GB is way more than I would need, and I found 64 GB to be the perfect amount of storage for my needs, but I understand everybody else’s might be different. By charging 128 GB, they set a higher price point for the iPhone, which is unappealing for most.

 

[bruinsrme]

But how would they upsell people on sizes they don’t need them? Apple is playing with people and it’s obvious. They know if they offered 128 gig standard the amount of people that would upgrade to 256 would be much much less

Having worked in a store, Apple marketing confused and frustrated many people.

The differences between the 7 and 8 hardware/capacities, for the average user, didn’t help.

I saw the frustration first hand. Many are not entrenched into the Apple eco system and to change to android isn’t such a big deal.