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I plan to keep my iPhone 8 for a few years, but I sure hope Google sells a ton of these things so that others will start to target this price point aggressively

I plan to keep my iPhone 8 for a few years, but I sure hope Google sells a ton of these things so that others will start to target this price point aggressively. I don't see Apple doing it, but, hey, that's their cheese.

Youden 7y ago
I'm not sure what you're talking about, this price point already has tons of competition. OnePlus, Pocophone, Huawei, Xiaomi and of course Samsung all have decent-spec phones in this price region. I think the only complaint I have is that nobody else is putting nice cameras into these phones or giving them decent software support.
- izacus 7y ago
  Yep, also no security features like the Titan M chip (it's effectively a Yubikey on device).
- paulddraper 7y ago
  > nobody else is putting nice cameras into these phones That's the differentiator. > giving them decent software support And that: stock Android and fast updates.
- km3k 7y ago
  > Pocophone, Huawei, Xiaomi You can't find these in stores in the US, so there's little competition there. Even OnePlus only sells the OnePlus 6T in stores.
throwayEngineer 7y ago
Apple thrives on exclusively. Not specs and features. For them, charging more money is the next step, like it or not. The only way for them to compete, is to not. You buy Apple products for Fashion, to prove you can afford it. Or at least, that's what has worked for a decade. Features is not what Apple brings, they bring Fashion.
- bollockitis 7y ago
  I can't speak for anyone else but I certainly have never bought an Apple product to prove I can afford it. In emerging markets -- where the average buyer can't afford more than a cheap Android phone -- there might be some truth to this but in the US, iPhones aren't exactly "exclusive."
  - defertoreptar 7y ago
    I'd agree that throway's case was overstated. That said, Apple has built up its brand as being one of "quality" and "high end." It's a similar brand perception as Cadillac. If you have one, people assume you have the money to afford nicer things. That happens whether you bought because of that or not, and Apple knows this. If they start competing on price, they will sooner lose their luxury status.
    - darsnack 7y ago
      I don’t think if you see someone with an iPhone, you assume they have the money to buy nice things. I think the image Apple has built up works in the opposite way. If you see someone without an iPhone, you assume they only bought that product because they couldn’t afford an iPhone. That must be the only reasonable explanation, you think, because who would willing buy another brand (due to the perceived difference in quality).
  - sl1ck731 7y ago
    They don't have to be exclusive to appear exclusive. You can find the same conversation popping up all the time about people being snobby about the color of their chat bubbles. "Think different" may as well mean "think like everyone else" today, but the company is built on that messaging and people eat it up.
- theturtletalks 7y ago
  I can see why it seems that way, but most people stick to Apple due to lock-in. For me, it's Apple music. I've been using iTunes since the first iPod Nano and have an extensive library. I was planning to switch to Spotify (since the android Apple Music app is abysmal). But Spotify doesn't allow you to upload your own music (lots of mixtape songs in my library). So eventually, I gave in and went back. I even tried Google Music since they let you upload your own songs, but the sync app kept crashing and never uploaded songs right away, but your milage might vary. So that is Apple's play, locking in customers. I know friends who came back to Apple due to iMessage and even the Apple Watch, which is a blatant lock-in product.
Redoubts 7y ago
They continue to sell last years model to capture the lower end.
jaabe 7y ago
I have an iPhone XS, but I’d probably downgrade to a pixel 3a and give my wife the XS, if google sold them in Denmark that is. They don’t even sell the pixel 3 yet though, so there is a fat chance of that. Anyway, I like Apple and have been a long time user of their phones since my Samsung S2 died to planned obsolescence. I pay google to handle my email though. After years of trying everything, outlook, iCloud-mail, tutanota, protonmail, fastmail, Runbox and a bunch of others I ended up buying a GC account instead because google is just better at it. So my calendar is google, my mail is google, I have space on google drive, I use google docs and of course I use google maps. So I kind of feel silly on iOS. I upgraded to the XS from a 5S when the smaller screen size started to annoy me, but the truth is that I don’t need the power and the XS is too heavy for my weak hands. :p
- saagarjha 7y ago
  Google's apps on iOS are pretty decent, though, and you can always like those services to the built-in apps if you prefer those.
  - dethac 7y ago
    Can't set them as default though :(
z6 7y ago
The timing is a bit odd. Why would you buy the Pixel 3a over a mint Pixel 3, which is about the same price (maybe even cheaper when adding taxes).
- batiudrami 7y ago
  The only way these get close to the same price is if you aren't comparing apples to apples. A grey import 3 without taxes might get close to the official 3A from Google on launch day, but give it a month for stock to become more available and discounting to start and there'll be a significant price difference.

Youden 7y ago

I'm not sure what you're talking about, this price point already has tons of competition. OnePlus, Pocophone, Huawei, Xiaomi and of course Samsung all have decent-spec phones in this price region. I think the only complaint I have is that nobody else is putting nice cameras into these phones or giving them decent software support.

izacus 7y ago
Yep, also no security features like the Titan M chip (it's effectively a Yubikey on device).
paulddraper 7y ago
> nobody else is putting nice cameras into these phones That's the differentiator. > giving them decent software support And that: stock Android and fast updates.
km3k 7y ago
> Pocophone, Huawei, Xiaomi You can't find these in stores in the US, so there's little competition there. Even OnePlus only sells the OnePlus 6T in stores.

throwayEngineer 7y ago

Apple thrives on exclusively. Not specs and features. For them, charging more money is the next step, like it or not. The only way for them to compete, is to not. You buy Apple products for Fashion, to prove you can afford it. Or at least, that's what has worked for a decade. Features is not what Apple brings, they bring Fashion.

bollockitis 7y ago
I can't speak for anyone else but I certainly have never bought an Apple product to prove I can afford it. In emerging markets -- where the average buyer can't afford more than a cheap Android phone -- there might be some truth to this but in the US, iPhones aren't exactly "exclusive."
- defertoreptar 7y ago
  I'd agree that throway's case was overstated. That said, Apple has built up its brand as being one of "quality" and "high end." It's a similar brand perception as Cadillac. If you have one, people assume you have the money to afford nicer things. That happens whether you bought because of that or not, and Apple knows this. If they start competing on price, they will sooner lose their luxury status.
  - darsnack 7y ago
    I don’t think if you see someone with an iPhone, you assume they have the money to buy nice things. I think the image Apple has built up works in the opposite way. If you see someone without an iPhone, you assume they only bought that product because they couldn’t afford an iPhone. That must be the only reasonable explanation, you think, because who would willing buy another brand (due to the perceived difference in quality).
- sl1ck731 7y ago
  They don't have to be exclusive to appear exclusive. You can find the same conversation popping up all the time about people being snobby about the color of their chat bubbles. "Think different" may as well mean "think like everyone else" today, but the company is built on that messaging and people eat it up.
theturtletalks 7y ago
I can see why it seems that way, but most people stick to Apple due to lock-in. For me, it's Apple music. I've been using iTunes since the first iPod Nano and have an extensive library. I was planning to switch to Spotify (since the android Apple Music app is abysmal). But Spotify doesn't allow you to upload your own music (lots of mixtape songs in my library). So eventually, I gave in and went back. I even tried Google Music since they let you upload your own songs, but the sync app kept crashing and never uploaded songs right away, but your milage might vary. So that is Apple's play, locking in customers. I know friends who came back to Apple due to iMessage and even the Apple Watch, which is a blatant lock-in product.

Redoubts 7y ago

They continue to sell last years model to capture the lower end.

jaabe 7y ago

I have an iPhone XS, but I’d probably downgrade to a pixel 3a and give my wife the XS, if google sold them in Denmark that is. They don’t even sell the pixel 3 yet though, so there is a fat chance of that. Anyway, I like Apple and have been a long time user of their phones since my Samsung S2 died to planned obsolescence. I pay google to handle my email though. After years of trying everything, outlook, iCloud-mail, tutanota, protonmail, fastmail, Runbox and a bunch of others I ended up buying a GC account instead because google is just better at it. So my calendar is google, my mail is google, I have space on google drive, I use google docs and of course I use google maps. So I kind of feel silly on iOS. I upgraded to the XS from a 5S when the smaller screen size started to annoy me, but the truth is that I don’t need the power and the XS is too heavy for my weak hands. :p

saagarjha 7y ago
Google's apps on iOS are pretty decent, though, and you can always like those services to the built-in apps if you prefer those.
- dethac 7y ago
  Can't set them as default though :(

z6 7y ago

The timing is a bit odd. Why would you buy the Pixel 3a over a mint Pixel 3, which is about the same price (maybe even cheaper when adding taxes).

batiudrami 7y ago
The only way these get close to the same price is if you aren't comparing apples to apples. A grey import 3 without taxes might get close to the official 3A from Google on launch day, but give it a month for stock to become more available and discounting to start and there'll be a significant price difference.