3 ms·

People commonly misunderstand the value proposition of smartphones. They spend $500 a year for service, but view spending $1,000 for a top of line phone that ma

People commonly misunderstand the value proposition of smartphones. They spend $500 a year for service, but view spending $1,000 for a top of line phone that maximizes the value of that service as excessive, even when that phone only costs $250 a year in depreciation. So instead they buy a $500 phone, costing $150 a year in depreciation, with a worse screen, camera, cpu, etc that they use for hours every single day.

Etheryte 7y ago
At the end of the day, depending on what kind of a person you are, a phone is either just another tool, or that and a status symbol. You could easily make the same analogy for, say, cars for people who use one for commuting. There is no right or wrong in whether you spend $5000, $50,000 or $500,000 on one, but clearly there's a point of reasonable returns somewhere for most people. It's entirely fine if you find value in the higher price point options, doesn't mean it's a reasonable thing to expect everyone to do so.
lostmsu 7y ago
I have a $250 7 inch phone with 2k resolution and 3 day battery life. Considering I don't use camera much, what can iPhone offer to justify extra $750?
- valuearb 7y ago
  A better camera for sure.
beart 7y ago
I spent around 500 for a one plus phone a couple years ago and have zero complaints even after using more expensive phones. I would go buy it again today. It also received the latest updates not too long ago. My point is, you can not spend 1000 on a phone and still have a premium experience.
lonelappde 7y ago
What am I misunderstanding about paying $100/yr less for something that serves my needs? Does iPhone make my phone calls more phoney?
- californical 7y ago
  If all you do is make phone calls, then of course not. But for many people, their phone is their main general computing device. Everything from light photo editing to games to social media. I am an Android user but I like buying products once and using them until they die. I have a pixel 2 that I got new less than 2 years ago that will be reaching EOL soon, which is really surreal. Buying an iPhone that can last 5+ years sounds like a real benefit -- and would actually save me a lot of money over the long term even though it costs more than 1.5x as much as my pixel. That sounds like a real benefit for me personally, and I may be switching to iPhone next, if only for their excellent history of long term support (I prefer Android's software)
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    It doesn't last 5 years if you drop it on concrete (maybe newer phones do) or wash it on laundry. There are risk-resuction benefits to only expecting 2-3 years from your phone. Especially if you are a heavy user of your phone and subject to (cough) battery degradation and CPU throttling. Pixel 2 is also $150 refurb in excellent condition, so thank you whoever is buying it new.
gumby 7y ago
> with a worse screen, camera, cpu, etc that they use for hours every single day. I'm not sure I agree that people are necessarily making poor decisions. "Worse" is a contextual parameter. I have a 6S+ from 2015 that I am still using and it works fine for me. I'm debating whether to replace the battery or buy a whole new phone in the fall. Camera quality long ago exceeded what I care about so I no longer even consider the camera when considering a phone, though I have friends for whom it's very important. Both of us are correct. Same applies to screen (my main reason for considering an upgrade), cpu etc. They are adequate for my needs. OTOH I will be buying a close-to-top-of-the-line iPad Pro I can use for demos (just yank it out of my bag and go) that would actually run more slowly on my laptop! Yet the specs of such a machine are absurd for most people.
sytse 7y ago
I made the same mistake. I insisted that a phone with 50% of the price had 80% of the functionality. That is true but you shouldn't see it relative to other phones but relative to other purchases. Since a smartphone is amazing value for money (low $ per hour used) the rational thing is to buy a top of line model.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  What if your quality of life is higher for not spending maximal possible time on phone?
hinkley 7y ago
In my experience it’s often a competition between the second and third best option that has the best value proposition. Top is usually status only. But most people buy the second or third from the bottom, which in a crowded catalog can be quite awful and need to be replaced prematurely.

Etheryte 7y ago

At the end of the day, depending on what kind of a person you are, a phone is either just another tool, or that and a status symbol. You could easily make the same analogy for, say, cars for people who use one for commuting. There is no right or wrong in whether you spend $5000, $50,000 or $500,000 on one, but clearly there's a point of reasonable returns somewhere for most people. It's entirely fine if you find value in the higher price point options, doesn't mean it's a reasonable thing to expect everyone to do so.

lostmsu 7y ago

I have a $250 7 inch phone with 2k resolution and 3 day battery life. Considering I don't use camera much, what can iPhone offer to justify extra $750?

valuearb 7y ago
A better camera for sure.

beart 7y ago

I spent around 500 for a one plus phone a couple years ago and have zero complaints even after using more expensive phones. I would go buy it again today. It also received the latest updates not too long ago. My point is, you can not spend 1000 on a phone and still have a premium experience.

lonelappde 7y ago

What am I misunderstanding about paying $100/yr less for something that serves my needs? Does iPhone make my phone calls more phoney?

californical 7y ago
If all you do is make phone calls, then of course not. But for many people, their phone is their main general computing device. Everything from light photo editing to games to social media. I am an Android user but I like buying products once and using them until they die. I have a pixel 2 that I got new less than 2 years ago that will be reaching EOL soon, which is really surreal. Buying an iPhone that can last 5+ years sounds like a real benefit -- and would actually save me a lot of money over the long term even though it costs more than 1.5x as much as my pixel. That sounds like a real benefit for me personally, and I may be switching to iPhone next, if only for their excellent history of long term support (I prefer Android's software)
- lonelappde 7y ago
  It doesn't last 5 years if you drop it on concrete (maybe newer phones do) or wash it on laundry. There are risk-resuction benefits to only expecting 2-3 years from your phone. Especially if you are a heavy user of your phone and subject to (cough) battery degradation and CPU throttling. Pixel 2 is also $150 refurb in excellent condition, so thank you whoever is buying it new.

gumby 7y ago

> with a worse screen, camera, cpu, etc that they use for hours every single day. I'm not sure I agree that people are necessarily making poor decisions. "Worse" is a contextual parameter. I have a 6S+ from 2015 that I am still using and it works fine for me. I'm debating whether to replace the battery or buy a whole new phone in the fall. Camera quality long ago exceeded what I care about so I no longer even consider the camera when considering a phone, though I have friends for whom it's very important. Both of us are correct. Same applies to screen (my main reason for considering an upgrade), cpu etc. They are adequate for my needs. OTOH I will be buying a close-to-top-of-the-line iPad Pro I can use for demos (just yank it out of my bag and go) that would actually run more slowly on my laptop! Yet the specs of such a machine are absurd for most people.

sytse 7y ago

I made the same mistake. I insisted that a phone with 50% of the price had 80% of the functionality. That is true but you shouldn't see it relative to other phones but relative to other purchases. Since a smartphone is amazing value for money (low $ per hour used) the rational thing is to buy a top of line model.

lonelappde 7y ago
What if your quality of life is higher for not spending maximal possible time on phone?

hinkley 7y ago

In my experience it’s often a competition between the second and third best option that has the best value proposition. Top is usually status only. But most people buy the second or third from the bottom, which in a crowded catalog can be quite awful and need to be replaced prematurely.