iPhone 8/Plus Why do people say iP8 is $50 more?

[Freida]

I don't get it. Here in UK it seems that iPhone 8 is way more than $50 more (or £50 for that matter).
Here is why:

When iPhone 7 was released the prices were:

£599 for 32GB
£699 for 128GB
£799 for 256GB

now its

£699 for 64GB
£849 for 256GB

And here lies the problem. With iPhone 7 I could get the 128GB option for £699 which would give me nice amount of storage and reasonable price. NOW for the same amount of money I get half the storage on iPhone 8. As there is no 128GB option I am forced to either get 64GB for the same amount of money as iPhone 7 but lose half the storage OR pay extra £150 to get 256GB. Either way, if I need 128GB as I think that is sufficient amount of storage for me I am forced to pay £150 more than with iPhone 7. Of course I can opt not to buy anything which might end up be the case but why is Apple messing with this?

So to me, those that need little more than 64GB are basically forking out £150 more (not £50).
Why it couldn't be the same as last year? Even that £50 extra would be ok, but not £150!!!

P.s.: I understand the thinking behind $50 more but it reality it really isn't the case unless you only consider 256GB.

 

[KrisLord]

People say it’s $50 more, because it’s $50 more in the US.

We got larger increases in the UK.

 

[Newjackboy]

You are correct! its a pure money grab by Apple.
128Gb or mid-range was a safe choice for money. 64Gb is tight- not only that - you don't get to enjoy your phone and take advantage of it - when you're always close to that limit.

Decent thing would have been to offer 128GB and 512 for the same price...

 

[lyceumHQ]

I have a 64gb 6s. This cost me £619

I was hoping for a 32gb iPhone 8 because I don't need 64gb.

So I thought if the pricing was as last year Id save £20 and get the 32gb. But no. I have to spend £80 more to get the same level of storage. Storage I don't need.

I was also hoping for a refresh of the SE. Didn't happen.

I love owning an iPhone I really do but Apple are very close to pricing me out of the market.

 

[mctrials23]

Apple aren't closing to pricing me out of the iPhone, they are very close to pissing me off enough to look elsewhere though. I was 99% sure I would end up with an iPhone X this year but once I saw their price in the UK along with their joke of putting 64gb storage in it I bought a 128gb secondhand 7+ instead for half the price of an iPhone X.

The only reason apple is offering 64 and 256 is because they know that 128gb is enough for 95% of customer and 64gb is just too little for most people. They are essentially trying to force you to buy the 256gb model if you want a phone that isn't useless when you start using the best features of the smartphone like music, photo and video.

Every year apple is chipping away at my appreciation for the brand. Its all these little piss takes that add up to make you feel generally **** about your purchases from apple and that you haven't got good value for money.

Want fast charging? That will cost you. Want a useful amount of storage, that will cost you etc

 

[bambooshots]

When adjusted for inflation, the top tier is actually cheaper.
Spit to 3:15.

iPhone X pricing is just lol.

 

[TorontoSS]

I don't know if it's Apple's fault, but rather our pound has been falling since last year. The iphone price last year was also an increase from the year before (I think was 619 or 629 for the equiv version of the 6S). But the 6S was before brexit. I remember buying the 7, because the pound tanked sometime in Oct (after the release) and I exchanged some US dollars.

That may not be the whole story but it is some of it at least.

 

[elfxmilhouse]

You are correct! its a pure money grab by Apple.
128Gb or mid-range was a safe choice for money. 64Gb is tight- not only that - you don't get to enjoy your phone and take advantage of it - when you're always close to that limit.

Decent thing would have been to offer 128GB and 512 for the same price...

its crazy how just a year or two ago we were complaining about 16GB phones. now 64GB is too little. At this point in time I need at least 128GB to not have to think about storage.

I always buy the highest storage available for iPhone. I currently have a 256GB iPhone 7, if they came out with a 512 I'd do that too.

 

[Jimmy James]

I don't know if it's Apple's fault, but rather our pound has been falling since last year. The iphone price last year was also an increase from the year before (I think was 619 or 629 for the equiv version of the 6S). But the 6S was before brexit. I remember buying the 7, because the pound tanked sometime in Oct (after the release) and I exchanged some US dollars.

That may not be the whole story but it is some of it at least.

I lost 30 pounds last month. I was mugged in London.

 

[mctrials23]

I don't know if it's Apple's fault, but rather our pound has been falling since last year. The iphone price last year was also an increase from the year before (I think was 619 or 629 for the equiv version of the 6S). But the 6S was before brexit. I remember buying the 7, because the pound tanked sometime in Oct (after the release) and I exchanged some US dollars.

That may not be the whole story but it is some of it at least.

What I want to see is what happens when the pound recovers even more than it has. We have never seen prices from apple that are actually respectful of the exchange rate between $ and £ and this is just a good excuse to raise their prices. They will never go down again.

When the 6 was released the exchange rate was at roughly $1.7 -> £1 and from what I can tell, the 6 cost $649 and £539.

£539 ex. VAT works out at ~$765 at the exchange rate at the time.

We have always been bent over by apple and thats not going to change.

 

[JPack]

High-tech regions like Japan, China, Taiwan tend to have cheaper prices. They pay taxes too but more importantly, those areas have their own domestic competition.

EU, UK, Russia, South Africa, don't produce anything, much less phones. It's up to Apple to decide based on market factors.

 

[TorontoSS]

What I want to see is what happens when the pound recovers even more than it has. We have never seen prices from apple that are actually respectful of the exchange rate between $ and £ and this is just a good excuse to raise their prices. They will never go down again.

When the 6 was released the exchange rate was at roughly $1.7 -> £1 and from what I can tell, the 6 cost $649 and £539.

£539 ex. VAT works out at ~$765 at the exchange rate at the time.

We have always been bent over by apple and thats not going to change.

Generally the UK is more expensive. The cost of doing business is more here than the US to, rents are higher. On top of that we have the lovely 20% vat (as you’ve mentioned).

Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too but thats how it is. I will say though, I Watch Canada’s prices too (originally from there). Now prices are higher in Canada because the Canadian dollar has fallen but when Canada’s dollar was strong, I remember apple cutting prices of MacBooks when theyd release in Canada (but not in the US). So it does happen.

But given how brexit is going...not soon here anyway.

 

[Freida]

so yeah, basically, rip off either way. Might sit this one out, not sure

 

[RedKite]

I don't get it. Here in UK it seems that iPhone 8 is way more than $50 more (or £50 for that matter).
Here is why:

When iPhone 7 was released the prices were:

£599 for 32GB
£699 for 128GB
£799 for 256GB

now its

£699 for 64GB
£849 for 256GB

And here lies the problem. With iPhone 7 I could get the 128GB option for £699 which would give me nice amount of storage and reasonable price. NOW for the same amount of money I get half the storage on iPhone 8. As there is no 128GB option I am forced to either get 64GB for the same amount of money as iPhone 7 but lose half the storage OR pay extra £150 to get 256GB. Either way, if I need 128GB as I think that is sufficient amount of storage for me I am forced to pay £150 more than with iPhone 7. Of course I can opt not to buy anything which might end up be the case but why is Apple messing with this?

So to me, those that need little more than 64GB are basically forking out £150 more (not £50).
Why it couldn't be the same as last year? Even that £50 extra would be ok, but not £150!!!

P.s.: I understand the thinking behind $50 more but it reality it really isn't the case unless you only consider 256GB.

Inflation.

 

[Vermifuge]

You are correct! its a pure money grab by Apple.
128Gb or mid-range was a safe choice for money. 64Gb is tight- not only that - you don't get to enjoy your phone and take advantage of it - when you're always close to that limit.

Decent thing would have been to offer 128GB and 512 for the same price...

Or you know... maybe the global financial situation has changed in a years time causing currencies to fluctuate. Maybe Apple is just righting a problem caused by international exchange rates.

 

[newellj]

Or you know... maybe the global financial situation has changed in a years time causing currencies to fluctuate. Maybe Apple is just righting a problem caused by international exchange rates.

That's completely possible. I don't have the energy to check historical FX prices but I had the impression that the British Pound had fallen against the US Dollar.