Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
:-( WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE NOBODY HAD A CELL PHONE! IF WE WANTED TO CALL SOMEONE WHILE WE WERE AWAY FROM HOME WE HAD TO USE A PAYPHONE! A CALL COST A DIME! THEN THE PHONE COMPANY JACKED IT UP TO A QUARTER! HIGHWAY ROBBERY! PAYPHONES USED TO BE INSTALLED IN BOOTHS SO YOU COULD HAVE A PRIVATE CONVERSATION BUT THEY GOT RID OF THEM! THEY BUILT THESE GOOFY LOOKING THINGS CALLED "KIOSKS" INSTEAD! SOUNDS KIND OF FOREIGN TO ME!

I have no idea how old you are, yet I'll bet you where a teen before the 70's. I can remember payphone boots back in 1980 and soon where killed off to Kiosks by late 80's. But if you think a US/Canadian quarter was a rip off when that occured ... I got some knowledge/experience that'll make you rethink $.10 was a rip off.

back in the early 80's my parents long known the value of a quarter, especially my father when I kept loosing apartment keys while at grade 1 some 30 kms away from home and at summer camp. After maybe the 5TH key he got fedup and started giving me Jamaican quarters: same size and weight as a Canadian/US quarter at 'threads of lint' the cost. Payphones, vending machines cannot tell the diference. I found out at age 10 ... the video arcade games here in Toronto (both the East/West sides of Yonge St just steps north of Dundas St) also couldn't tell the difference. When my parents taught and made me to do laundry ... I figured out the washer/dryer also couldn't tell - I kept the quarters that 2wks of laundry and bought my first toy truck and Hot Wheels cars lol. Standing in the apartment elevator was NOT fun the 3rd week - my hide was torn due to that. lol. Still cellphone will do better ... yet I worry 5G mmWave is NOT up to task during severe Hurrican season.
 
I used to survey my high school classes about 6-10 years ago, and when I stopped, Apple was consistently around 91-93% of the school. Seems higher now. The AirPods and iMessage are a huge draw for them.
 
In the US. I don't know anyone using iMessage outside of it, frankly.

That being said, my goddaughter who's in her early teens is manic about Apple products and by god I have no idea why
 
my 3 teenage siblings have never wanted anything bar an iphone. i don't blame them. to this day you can still instantly identify snapchat/instagram stories that were posted from an android phone. never understood why phones with supposedly superior cameras struggle so much with image quality on social media.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MartyvH
$63K is the US household median income

That is around $100,000 Australian, which puts you well within the definition of affluent in Australia. It makes the US look awash with money, though I know that's far from true everywhere there.

iPhones are bought well and truly on a case-by-case basis, according to your situation of means and desire (and knowledge - some people still believe you need special IT industry knowledge to operate a smartphone and make use of apps and features on a regular user level).
 
I sincerely hope you captured that on camera ... there so many few of those 'I gotcha' moments as parents we have after our children are toddlers.

in case you missed it ... download teen buzz sound and randomly play it at full volume around your kids (even in the next room). Just try not to be so obviously giddy like some of us have when we first got a lazer pointer to play with a cat ;)
[automerge]1586402223[/automerge]




You might be VERY surprised. I'd guess half of teens above 14 have purchased their first or second iphone (in Canada / USA). My reasoning ...

Contracts on carriers and incredible corporate plan deals. You'd be quite shocked how little it costs for a teen on a McDonald's corporate price plan and how much voice and data they'd get for say on Rogers/AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile. If this is attainable at say BestBuy, Target, Apple Store, etc and their parents co-sign ... boom easy as 1.2.3. Also helps teens learn their very first way to manage responsibility and credit simultaneously, even if it means parents cannot ground them by taking their phones away because in today's world that would be close to putting them into danger.

there’s been no contracts in the US for a very long time. 7-8 years.

and they’d be better off on family plans, unable to use a corporate discount, because of the sheer savings they’d have on their monthly service charge.
 
If teens had a reason to own Android it would be more popular. What would be that reason?

Apple has iMessage and FaceTime. Android has a potpourri of stuff that just complicates everything.

The majority will migrate to simplicity. Not just teens, but all ages.

From a cost point of view, at this time, apple rules, as long as your iPhone doesn’t get destroyed, reselling and upgrading to a newer generation but not the latest is very affordable.

Barriers to iPhone ownership are no longer a big deal in the US. iPhones 6s and higher are quite sufficient. I think iPhone 8 is the best cheapest iPhone today. Gotta have that 4K video and water resistance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MartyvH
although I like the iPhone and iOS, it worries me that the whole globe has 2 options: iOS or Android, and both controlled by 2 companies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MartyvH
"Get 'em while they're young!"

;)
Funny how cheap little quips like mine get a dozen or more likes... and the rather thoughtful posts myself and others tend to write (wherever they may be) seem to get nary a glance.

If that's not an augur of the direction soundbite culture has us headed in, then I'll make like a tree and get out.

:rolleyes:
 
  • Like
Reactions: MartyvH
there’s been no contracts in the US for a very long time. 7-8 years.

and they’d be better off on family plans, unable to use a corporate discount, because of the sheer savings they’d have on their monthly service charge.

So you're telling me in the USA, AT&T, T-Mobile/Sprint, Verizon, Boost Mobile, etc ALL have not covered ANY mobile plans with contracts of 2yrs for the last 7 to 8yrs? Honestly? Or are you stating McDonald's or corporate price plan discounts no longer exist?

Something doesn't sound right with either.
 
Apple has iMessage and FaceTime. Android has a potpourri of stuff that just complicates everything.
You mean like WhatsApp and Skype? These are both on IOS. So what you are actually saying is that there's more options on IOS, by your own definition, doesn't that confuse things even more?
 
Are teens buying these phones or is mom/dad?

Wondering what happens when the parents kick the little birdies out of the nest and they realize just how expensive Apple products are

You’re right, better go get the S20 Ultra for $1600. Can’t get caught with a cheapo iPhone 11.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Mr. Heckles
Apple has their name in the spotlight again for 5 minutes... let them ....

No doubt iphones's are popular with teens, but what isn't ?
 
I have no idea how old you are, yet I'll bet you where a teen before the 70's.
I was born in 1968.
But if you think a US/Canadian quarter was a rip off when that occured
I was joking about that. I was trying to mimic the stereotype of a cranky old person.
there’s been no contracts in the US for a very long time. 7-8 years.
So you're telling me in the USA, AT&T, T-Mobile/Sprint, Verizon, Boost Mobile, etc ALL have not covered ANY mobile plans with contracts of 2yrs for the last 7 to 8yrs?
I guess they're called agreements rather than contracts now, but there is a significant change: no more ETFs (early termination fees), as far as I know. Typically, the price of the phone is divided evenly over the number of months in the agreement. Each month, the customer pays for part of that month's portion of the price and the carrier gives a bill credit for the rest. (I know that with Sprint, the customer must pay the entire amount of the sales tax at the start of the agreement.) If the customer no longer wants the service plan they agreed to in order to get the phone at a discount, or if they want to move to a different carrier, they have to pay the entire remaining balance of the price of the phone and thus lose out on the future bill credits.

If a customer gets a phone on a prepaid plan, the carrier won't unlock the phone until a certain number of months (typically 12) of service are paid for and have passed (i.e., you can't pay for a year of service up front and ask to get the phone unlocked). The carrier may make an exception for a longtime customer (as T-Mobile did for me when I bought a prepaid flip phone last summer).
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U
So you're telling me in the USA, AT&T, T-Mobile/Sprint, Verizon, Boost Mobile, etc ALL have not covered ANY mobile plans with contracts of 2yrs for the last 7 to 8yrs? Honestly? Or are you stating McDonald's or corporate price plan discounts no longer exist?

Something doesn't sound right with either.

That would be correct. There’s no more contracts in the US. They’ve been replaced with 0% financing for new phones.

corporate plans exist still - but mostly just for accessory discounts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.