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Carriers(at least in the US), for one. Carriers eat the extra cost of the iPhone making it the same $199 as other flagship Android phones. Whereas in the PC mar
by recoiledsnake 14y ago
Carriers(at least in the US), for one. Carriers eat the extra cost of the iPhone making it the same $199 as other flagship Android phones. Whereas in the PC market, the price difference between Dell/Compaq/etc. and Apple made all the difference.
Also, $199(or the $650 unlocked) is well within reach of a large number of customers nowadays, whereas $3000 in the later 80s was a huge amount(even more so than now because of inflation). In dollar terms, $3000 in 1989 would be $5,598.56 now.
- justinschuh 14y agoIt amazes me that so few people understand that the carrier subsidy is such a huge part of the iPhone's success. Apple has pulled in obscene profits by making the carriers pay huge subsidies to keep the iPhone's price competitive. And the carriers turn around and amortize that cost over the rest of their customer base. So, the customers that don't own iPhones are the ones really getting screwed because they're paying the same higher rates but not getting the same hardware subsidy.