5 ms·

No, man, I really do get it. I understand they pay full price. The point is, iPhones are a premium smartphone. They intrinsically cost more than many other s

No, man, I really do get it. I understand they pay full price. The point is, iPhones are a premium smartphone. They intrinsically cost more than many other smartphones. If you're looking at the (full) price of an iPhone versus the (full) price of a non-flagship Android phone, the (full) price of the non-flagship Android phone is typically hundreds of dollars less than the (full) price of the iPhone.

gambiting 13y ago
Hang on, you lost me here - why would we compare the price of the flagship Apple phone to the price of a non-flagship Android phone?
- semiel 13y ago
  Because there are no non-flagship Apple phones.
  - guiambros 13y ago
    What do you call the iPhone 4 or 4S then? Flagship-but-hundreds-of-dollars-less?
    - jarek 13y ago
      Last year's model.
      - guiambros 13y ago
        Exactly. And what's the difference between last year's model and non-flagship? Both have old-ish processor, old form factor. But recent software, and all the basic functionality -- just without the bells and whistles. The problem is that Apple doesn't have (yet) a portfolio strategy, so you still thinking in terms of when this product started to sell. Like cars. Or fashion. Despite if last year's model is better than yesterday's launch. Once they stop using sequential numbers and migrate to models - e.g., iPhone Pro, iPhone Air, iPhone Lite - you'll clearly understand what is flagship or non-flagship. But that's pure marketing/product positioning, nothing to do with the product itself. TL;DR: Apple already has a non-flagship product; it's just not clearly positioned as such. This is not a mistake; this is by design [1]. [1] http://www.asymco.com/2013/05/29/tim-cooks-answer-to-my-first-question/ http://www.asymco.com/2013/05/29/tim-cooks-answer-to-my-firs...
        Steko 13y ago
        The 3 year old phone 4 still costs $450 off contract while a Nexus 4 is $299.
        guiambros 13y ago
        But Nexus 4 is not an iPhone. No trolling. The "flagship" iPhone (5) costs between $650-850 + tax. The "non-flagship" is a couple of hundred bucks less, which is reasonable. Apple charges more, simply because they can. I'm not making a judgement call here. I personally wouldn't pay that much, but I'm not the target. In fact, I don't think any individual person is the target of non-flagship devices for Apple; their strategy has always been to sell locked devices to carriers in bulk, so they can offer "for free" to customers upgrading from a dumb phone -- in exchange of a 2 yr agreement, ETFs, and an outrageously expensive data plan. That's essentially my reading of Tim Cook's answer in the link above. If they can charge what they charge, why change? Of course this strategy won't work forever. Eventually they will have to migrate to a portfolio strategy, OR enter the race to the bottom with Samsung, HTC, et al (unlikely). The only question is when.
        scott_s 13y ago
        He's not trolling. He's just saying that the non-flagship iPhone is still expensive compared to new Android phones. Which explains Apple's poor performance in a market which forces consumers to pay the actual price.
        threeseed 13y ago
        Apple's poor performance ? You do realise that Apple siphons the majority of the profit from the market and on every metric (except market share) is doing extremely well. If you want to see examples of poor performance then take a look at the Android ecosystem. It consists of effectively one player: Samsung and a bunch of other companies whom are either exiting or perilously close to bankruptcy.
        13y ago
VladRussian2 13y ago
>They intrinsically cost more than many other smartphones. that in the eyes of many Russians (like in any status symbol obsessed country) is the main advantage of iPhone :)
- snogglethorpe 13y ago
  Now if only they'd release a diamond-encrusted model...

gambiting 13y ago

Hang on, you lost me here - why would we compare the price of the flagship Apple phone to the price of a non-flagship Android phone?

semiel 13y ago
Because there are no non-flagship Apple phones.
- guiambros 13y ago
  What do you call the iPhone 4 or 4S then? Flagship-but-hundreds-of-dollars-less?
  - jarek 13y ago
    Last year's model.
    - guiambros 13y ago
      Exactly. And what's the difference between last year's model and non-flagship? Both have old-ish processor, old form factor. But recent software, and all the basic functionality -- just without the bells and whistles. The problem is that Apple doesn't have (yet) a portfolio strategy, so you still thinking in terms of when this product started to sell. Like cars. Or fashion. Despite if last year's model is better than yesterday's launch. Once they stop using sequential numbers and migrate to models - e.g., iPhone Pro, iPhone Air, iPhone Lite - you'll clearly understand what is flagship or non-flagship. But that's pure marketing/product positioning, nothing to do with the product itself. TL;DR: Apple already has a non-flagship product; it's just not clearly positioned as such. This is not a mistake; this is by design [1]. [1] http://www.asymco.com/2013/05/29/tim-cooks-answer-to-my-first-question/ http://www.asymco.com/2013/05/29/tim-cooks-answer-to-my-firs...
      - Steko 13y ago
        The 3 year old phone 4 still costs $450 off contract while a Nexus 4 is $299.
        guiambros 13y ago
        But Nexus 4 is not an iPhone. No trolling. The "flagship" iPhone (5) costs between $650-850 + tax. The "non-flagship" is a couple of hundred bucks less, which is reasonable. Apple charges more, simply because they can. I'm not making a judgement call here. I personally wouldn't pay that much, but I'm not the target. In fact, I don't think any individual person is the target of non-flagship devices for Apple; their strategy has always been to sell locked devices to carriers in bulk, so they can offer "for free" to customers upgrading from a dumb phone -- in exchange of a 2 yr agreement, ETFs, and an outrageously expensive data plan. That's essentially my reading of Tim Cook's answer in the link above. If they can charge what they charge, why change? Of course this strategy won't work forever. Eventually they will have to migrate to a portfolio strategy, OR enter the race to the bottom with Samsung, HTC, et al (unlikely). The only question is when.
        scott_s 13y ago
        He's not trolling. He's just saying that the non-flagship iPhone is still expensive compared to new Android phones. Which explains Apple's poor performance in a market which forces consumers to pay the actual price.
        threeseed 13y ago
        Apple's poor performance ? You do realise that Apple siphons the majority of the profit from the market and on every metric (except market share) is doing extremely well. If you want to see examples of poor performance then take a look at the Android ecosystem. It consists of effectively one player: Samsung and a bunch of other companies whom are either exiting or perilously close to bankruptcy.
        13y ago

VladRussian2 13y ago

>They intrinsically cost more than many other smartphones. that in the eyes of many Russians (like in any status symbol obsessed country) is the main advantage of iPhone :)

snogglethorpe 13y ago
Now if only they'd release a diamond-encrusted model...