2 ms·
See my reply above about "subscription accounting" - the cost of the device really pays for updates.
by newscracker 12y ago
See my reply above about "subscription accounting" - the cost of the device really pays for updates.
- Karunamon 12y agoI think we're in violent agreement here. However, it's unclear (I'd say to the point of not worth discussing) what the cost of the OS is. As far as the end user is concerned, the OS is free as are the updates. They pay the same amount for the phone regardless if it gets 1 update or if it gets 10 (and you don't know how many in advance). Phones at full retail price have sat comfortably at the $600ish price point for quite a while.
- DominikD 12y agoLitmus test, IMO, is this: would iOS be free if we were able to run it on a device that's not manufactured by Apple? I'd say no, so it's not free. The argument you're making is in fact manufacturer's POV, not consumer's one. Microsoft have made a similar claim about Windows Media Player and several other pieces of software that it was requested to remove from Windows for different markets (EU, Korea, probably others). Being cynical I reject the idea of getting something for free in cases like these. It's not free, it's included in the asking price.