5 ms·
I disagree that #2 is necessarily smart, Apple is doing it because they have no other choice. They don't have a low end competitor to bring into the market and
by shalmanese 15y ago
I disagree that #2 is necessarily smart, Apple is doing it because they have no other choice. They don't have a low end competitor to bring into the market and so their previous high end device has to fill that role.
The needs of a high end consumer 3 years ago is different from the needs of a low end consumer today and different technologies age at different rates. The iPhone 3GS is still using a 65nm processor which means it's using almost twice as much silicon for the same number of transistors as an iPad 2, driving up cost. At the same time, features introduced into later phones like better cameras or the gyroscope would probably be worthwhile even in a low end phone.
Additionally, high end finishings like steel and glass might be attractive to a high end consumer but low end consumers would rather take the cost savings from using plastics.
At the same price point, the iPhone 3GS is not at all competitive hardware wise with modern low end phones. The only reasons they sell so well are because a) They grant exclusive access to the iOS ecosystem which trumps performance issues and b) the modern American way of pricing phones confuses most consumers. If the phones were priced at $649, $549 & $449, a lot more consumers wouldn't find a 30% discount for 2 year old technology that good a deal.
- oemera 15y agoI strongly disagree. A phone which was mind blowing awesome this year will be pretty good next year and for a lot people attractive even after two years because you have decent hardware and the latest software. If you buy an low budget model Android phone, you get the Android version which was released 4 years ago. I think no one would buy an 3 GS at this point if Apple would sell it with iOS 3. A lot of my friends have a iPhone 3 GS and they are happy with it and see no need to change. It's not the same with Android low-end models. Please don't get me wrong I don't want to bash Android here but I want to make how smart this decision was / is. People are buying the old hardware ( which was awesome) and getting it with new the software for a good price. Maybe I should also point out that people have also seen the same product last year and friends using it. Think about it. Would you buy a new phone which just came out as low-end model or would you buy the product from last year for a better price? Apple shows that the second choice wins.
- watmough 15y agoInterestingly, the original iPhone 4 is a more attractive device than the iPhone 4S because it doesn't rattle when you put it down. I can't believe that slipped though. It's a blot on the impression of the iPhone 4S as a solid thing.
- oemera 15y agoFirst time I heard that the iPhone 4S rattles when you put it down. Had a couple of those in my hands and it felt like a iPhone 4. Disclaimer: I have a iPhone 4.
- AVTizzle 15y agoI have a 4S and have no idea what you're talking about.
- Retric 15y agoI have a iPhone 4s and I don't know what your talking about. Can you be more specific?
- stock_toaster 15y agoMine makes a little rattly sound, but it is from the 'bumper' case that it has on it. The contacts on the bumper make that sound for me. When I take the phone out, it is silent when I drop it from a half inch or so (other than the clunk sound the phone itself makes). Dropping the 'bumper' by itself also induces the rattle sound. Other than that, I have not heard of any iphone4S rattle sounds. Does yours have a 'bumper' case on it?
- steventruong 15y agoI have both and with or without cases, I can't replicate the rattle sound you're referring too
- CamperBob2 15y agoMy 4s rattled a bit when it was new. I wasn't sure at first if the buttons were responsible for the rattling, or if it was something internal. Then I dropped it a couple of times while spinning it around in my hand to locate the side with the button I wanted to press, and that made it stop rattling for some reason. The front and back glass slabs now slide around a bit, though. I'm more or less dumbfounded at the popular perception of the iPhone 4 as a "great" industrial design. While it's definitely a great phone, if they don't return to a curved back with the next model or otherwise provide some tactile cues that help the user sense how it's oriented as it's being withdrawn from a pocket, it'll almost be enough to send me over the fence into the Android camp. Failing to move to a bigger screen will certainly do that.
- Tloewald 15y agoI just looked at a random "free" android and compared it spec wise to a 3GS and, leaving aside the fact that the Android was on 2.2, the 3GS is ahead on storage and behind on MHz (probably a wash on performance) and camera MP. I'd say that overall the 3GS looks like a better deal. Sure, pricing is confusing but that cuts both ways.
- CamperBob 15y agoThe iPhone 3GS is still using a 65nm processor which means it's using almost twice as much silicon for the same number of transistors as an iPad 2, driving up cost That's not how it works.