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> Jeff Bezos is very focused on this “absolute dollar free cash flow metric. I wish Apple operated that way, as lowering Apple device price will very likely in

> Jeff Bezos is very focused on this “absolute dollar free cash flow metric. I wish Apple operated that way, as lowering Apple device price will very likely increase the absolute amount of dollars coming into their back acct. I mean I get Amazon and Apple ear their income via different methods but still.

tossaccount123 8y ago
>I wish Apple operated that way, as lowering Apple device price will very likely increase the absolute amount of dollars coming into their back acct. I've always thought they should make a $10,000+ model. iPhones are essentially a status symbol unless you buy it for privacy purposes. There is a decent market who would pay a lot of money to have a iPhone that the plebes can't afford. Hell, even a lot of broke people would save up to buy one It's like cars, if you just want a tool to get from point A to B you can buy one cheap. On the other hand you can also spend hundreds of thousands on luxury cars. Make some limited edition iPhones every year and I'm sure there would be demand and an eventual collector market
- scarface74 8y ago
  How is anything a “status symbol” with over 30%-50% market share in industrialized nations? There are a lot more reasons to buy iPhones than status symbols and privacy. Chief of which is better performance and longevity. The iPhone 5s from 2013 is still getting OS updates. The iPhone 6s from 2015 will still outperform most new Android phones and should be getting updates for at least another two years.
  - tossaccount123 8y ago
    >How is anything a “status symbol” with over 30%-50% market share in industrialized nations? That's my point, when it came out the marketing around the iPhone was how using apple made you a trendsetter and you were ahead of the curve, now everybody has one. So raise the price and bring back the sense of exclusivity as for performance, it really doesn't matter for luxury items. People pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for old cars and it's not because they perform better than a modern economy class vehicle
    - scarface74 8y ago
      It actually didn’t. This was the first iPhone ad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nyYloJyq9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nyYloJyq9M Or you can watch every single iPhone ad. None of them scream exclusivity. https://www.theverge.com/2012/2/24/2820832/every-apple-iphone-ad-one-place https://www.theverge.com/2012/2/24/2820832/every-apple-iphon... There are other iPhones for sale besides the $1500 maxed out iPhone XS Max.
- btgeekboy 8y ago
  They tried this with the watch. There was a $17k version at launch, which later was downsized multiple times until it was eventually killed entirely in 2018. https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/9/12/17851918/apple-watch-edition-discontinued https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/9/12/17851918/a...
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
wahern 8y ago
But Apple is a luxury and lifestyle brand. And as good as their hardware is, it's not particularly hard to replicate, especially if they were operating on the same profit margins as everybody else. Apple has to zealously maintain their brand, which means limiting both supply and product lineup. Otherwise they may as well change their name to Sony. Amazon has an enormous lead in scale. More importantly, the only way to defend that lead is to consume as much market demand as they can, which puts downward pressure on their prices. Too much market share would be the death of Apple. Too little market share would be the death of Amazon.
- scarface74 8y ago
  There processor design technology is ahead of the rest of the industry. The iPhone 6s from 2015 was faster than all 2018 Android phones in single core performance. When you go down to processors like the ones in the Apple Watch or the AirPods, no one comes close to the size/power. There is a reason all Android watches are big ugly monstrosities. You realize as far as marketshare, iOS has close to 50% in the US and well over 30% in most other industrialized nations. There is no exclusivity to owning an iPhone in developed markets.
  - wahern 8y ago
    I had thought Apple's smartphone market share peaked in the 20% range. I stand corrected.
    - scarface74 8y ago
      I’m only referring to “industrialized”/“developed” countries like the US, Japan, Western Europe, etc. https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share
  - shaklee3 8y ago
    Benchmarks don't matter. They're both snappy and useable. Android has far more features and variety, though. Watches are dying. The reason Android isn't trying is because it's a passing fad.
tinus_hn 8y ago
A shame Apple is acting in a way that makes them earn less. If only they would listen to you instead of that Tim Cook guy! /s

tossaccount123 8y ago

>I wish Apple operated that way, as lowering Apple device price will very likely increase the absolute amount of dollars coming into their back acct. I've always thought they should make a $10,000+ model. iPhones are essentially a status symbol unless you buy it for privacy purposes. There is a decent market who would pay a lot of money to have a iPhone that the plebes can't afford. Hell, even a lot of broke people would save up to buy one It's like cars, if you just want a tool to get from point A to B you can buy one cheap. On the other hand you can also spend hundreds of thousands on luxury cars. Make some limited edition iPhones every year and I'm sure there would be demand and an eventual collector market

scarface74 8y ago
How is anything a “status symbol” with over 30%-50% market share in industrialized nations? There are a lot more reasons to buy iPhones than status symbols and privacy. Chief of which is better performance and longevity. The iPhone 5s from 2013 is still getting OS updates. The iPhone 6s from 2015 will still outperform most new Android phones and should be getting updates for at least another two years.
- tossaccount123 8y ago
  >How is anything a “status symbol” with over 30%-50% market share in industrialized nations? That's my point, when it came out the marketing around the iPhone was how using apple made you a trendsetter and you were ahead of the curve, now everybody has one. So raise the price and bring back the sense of exclusivity as for performance, it really doesn't matter for luxury items. People pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for old cars and it's not because they perform better than a modern economy class vehicle
  - scarface74 8y ago
    It actually didn’t. This was the first iPhone ad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nyYloJyq9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nyYloJyq9M Or you can watch every single iPhone ad. None of them scream exclusivity. https://www.theverge.com/2012/2/24/2820832/every-apple-iphone-ad-one-place https://www.theverge.com/2012/2/24/2820832/every-apple-iphon... There are other iPhones for sale besides the $1500 maxed out iPhone XS Max.
btgeekboy 8y ago
They tried this with the watch. There was a $17k version at launch, which later was downsized multiple times until it was eventually killed entirely in 2018. https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/9/12/17851918/apple-watch-edition-discontinued https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/9/12/17851918/a...
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

wahern 8y ago

But Apple is a luxury and lifestyle brand. And as good as their hardware is, it's not particularly hard to replicate, especially if they were operating on the same profit margins as everybody else. Apple has to zealously maintain their brand, which means limiting both supply and product lineup. Otherwise they may as well change their name to Sony. Amazon has an enormous lead in scale. More importantly, the only way to defend that lead is to consume as much market demand as they can, which puts downward pressure on their prices. Too much market share would be the death of Apple. Too little market share would be the death of Amazon.

scarface74 8y ago
There processor design technology is ahead of the rest of the industry. The iPhone 6s from 2015 was faster than all 2018 Android phones in single core performance. When you go down to processors like the ones in the Apple Watch or the AirPods, no one comes close to the size/power. There is a reason all Android watches are big ugly monstrosities. You realize as far as marketshare, iOS has close to 50% in the US and well over 30% in most other industrialized nations. There is no exclusivity to owning an iPhone in developed markets.
- wahern 8y ago
  I had thought Apple's smartphone market share peaked in the 20% range. I stand corrected.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    I’m only referring to “industrialized”/“developed” countries like the US, Japan, Western Europe, etc. https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share
- shaklee3 8y ago
  Benchmarks don't matter. They're both snappy and useable. Android has far more features and variety, though. Watches are dying. The reason Android isn't trying is because it's a passing fad.

tinus_hn 8y ago

A shame Apple is acting in a way that makes them earn less. If only they would listen to you instead of that Tim Cook guy! /s