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Apple succumbs to the smartphone malaise
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Makes sense. I have an 8 right now and do not plan on upgrading it before it's fully paid off, a first for me in a long time. Have never had an iPhone for more than a year and a half before but this phone is so rock solid that there's no reason for me to upgrade. No bezels isn't doing anything for me in terms of dropping a grand on a new phone, next thing that would make me seriously consider upgrading is new battery technology. Even as my 8's battery degrades or I mess the screen up, I'm just going to pay Apple to replace the battery or fix the screen, I'll be good as long as the body of the phone doesn't break down.
Lol it was pretty funny how it legitimately hurts their business by making the software more stable and efficient. That's the risk you run when being a hardware manufacturer though.
Lol it was pretty funny how it legitimately hurts their business by making the software more stable and efficient. That's the risk you run when being a hardware manufacturer though.
Just a though. You can also get a used phone, save money, and do good something good for the environment.
Cameras are good enough, processors are powerful enough, screens are pretty enough, etc. How many people are putting a phone's full computing horsepower to use on games that require such power? Candy Crush and whatever else 99% of people play could've run on ebaums back in the day.
Aside from status symbol or replacing a broken phone, upgrading regularly doesn't make sense for most people. (not saying "status symbol" is rational, but that's a reason for some people).
Aside from status symbol or replacing a broken phone, upgrading regularly doesn't make sense for most people. (not saying "status symbol" is rational, but that's a reason for some people).
New phones add things I don't want (notches) or things I don't care about (why do I need multiple front-facing cameras?), remove things I want (headphone jack, SD card slot, end-user-removable/replaceable batteries (I 'member)), and charge me more for it. Why would I replace my phone before I have to?
I just replaced my Windows Phone with a OnePlus 6 in November (RIP Windows Phone) and as much as this thing cost me, you better believe I'm keeping it as long as I can. Things this expensive aren't disposable.
I just replaced my Windows Phone with a OnePlus 6 in November (RIP Windows Phone) and as much as this thing cost me, you better believe I'm keeping it as long as I can. Things this expensive aren't disposable.
I have a HTC u11 and I'm still very happy with it, it's a step back when it comes to glass quality though from my previous phone, Motorola 4G and HTC One X, never got a scratch on my previous phones even after dropping it while cycling and on the toilet stone floor but my u11 dropped from my desk one month in and there's a crack the slash from one corner to the other diagonally. And it's crazy expensive to repair a HTCu11 screen and impossible to find a shop to repair it since every shop only does samsumg or iPhone.
Android owner here, phone is dying, thinking of switching to ios, not sure which iPhone I should get, the newer models are so expensive.
I think we're really downplaying how much the death of carrier subsidies have impacted the smartphone market.
When it was a question of whether you wanted to pay $200 to $300 every 2-years for a new phone, most consumers were comfortable making the swap, even if the feature set didn't blow their old phone out of the water. It also made it easier to justify upgrading if your phone was a bit damaged or dying quickly.
Now, consumers are saving on cellphone bills, but that doesn't mean that they're willing to put that savings towards a $900-$1100 device. Many would rather pay for a repair/battery replacement, buy a lightly used device or wait until their phone is absolutely shot. That price point also eats into the "gifting" market that used to be so big around the holidays. Family members or significant others may have been willing to shell out a few hundred to cover an upgrade fee, but the full cost is too much.
Add that to what others have said about the general plateauing of phone tech, and you find yourself in a situation where only people who absolutely have to upgrade or who NEED the newest tech (also diminishing) are reliable customers. That's probably also why they've continued the price creep on the top end models, to juice the profit from a contracting base of consumers.
When it was a question of whether you wanted to pay $200 to $300 every 2-years for a new phone, most consumers were comfortable making the swap, even if the feature set didn't blow their old phone out of the water. It also made it easier to justify upgrading if your phone was a bit damaged or dying quickly.
Now, consumers are saving on cellphone bills, but that doesn't mean that they're willing to put that savings towards a $900-$1100 device. Many would rather pay for a repair/battery replacement, buy a lightly used device or wait until their phone is absolutely shot. That price point also eats into the "gifting" market that used to be so big around the holidays. Family members or significant others may have been willing to shell out a few hundred to cover an upgrade fee, but the full cost is too much.
Add that to what others have said about the general plateauing of phone tech, and you find yourself in a situation where only people who absolutely have to upgrade or who NEED the newest tech (also diminishing) are reliable customers. That's probably also why they've continued the price creep on the top end models, to juice the profit from a contracting base of consumers.
Other than the battery starting to shit itself my SE is doing fine. My 2013 Air is also doing fine besides heavy battery deterioration. Whenever I look at the price of new models for both phones and laptops I'm like "nah, I'm good."
I'm going to stick with my SE til it dies. It's still fast and small. Aside from the new phones being expensive in general, they're just too big. I didn't even know they phased the SE out, that's a shame. If they don't provide a smaller size model in the coming years, I may have to drop iPhone even though I love iOS.
My company has thousands of them. They don't allow the non touch variants though. I'm not sure how they will proceed in that case.
This. I'm even willing to deal with my 6's size but when the phones they offer the size of my 6 don't have much different and the ones offering a feature that intrigues me are bigger and super expensive if I want one only slightly bigger, yeah. I'll just stay with my 6 and hold out for one I really want.
Is there really no real world demand for smaller phones? You go online and tons of people come out from the woodworks about how they have an SE and love it or want a smaller phone. But small phones are just a tiny niche of the smartphone market.
Are small phone lovers over represented in online forums like this or do they not make them because they would be cheaper and less profitable for the companies?
Are small phone lovers over represented in online forums like this or do they not make them because they would be cheaper and less profitable for the companies?
Oh, didn't realize this.
I've been pre paid for some years now.
Apple finally doing cheaper phones and finally getting on pre paid carriers may have played a part for them too.
Maybe trying to compete directly with Android wasn't the best idea.
Just realized, if they didn't do cheaper phones and pre paid they might have felt the effects sooner.
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Good. I begrudgingly upgraded my 6+ to an 8+ last year, but that was only because my wife needed a new one and they were B1G1 at AT&T. I hate their new designs, hated losing the 3.5mm jack, and hate Face ID. The cost/value preposition (for me) is dropping sharply every year. I have no plans for an upgrade until they figure their shit out.
product red 7 here... love my bezel, and love my home button
i know it's all going that way, but the X's do nothing for me
i know it's all going that way, but the X's do nothing for me
I thought the 8's didn't have face Id? I thought that was X only?
Sorry, that part was on how I have no interest in their new models which are all Face ID.
I used to upgrade every two years but I've kinda gotten over that after buying my X last year. My 7+ still worked fine but I was basically honoring old habits but barring something insane I don't plan on upgrading anytime soon. My contract is up in a year and I just don't see anything coming that could make me go "let's drop $1000 (x2 because of my husband)" any time soon.
I got up to iOS10 with the endless bugs and the 10 year old interface and am happy now on Android with multitasking, customization and a god damn file system.
Guess everyone wants something different.
Whenever a new wave of phones comes out all the arguing that goes on about x phone being the most powerful or y phone being too weak always confuses me... I guess I just don't get what people use their phones for? I like my iPhone X plenty, but I browse the same internet, watch the same videos, listen to the same music, and play the same games pretty much exactly as I did on the 5S I upgraded from. The bigger/nicer screen is nice along with the better battery, but those aren't the kinds of things that are going to get me to buy a new $1k+ phone every year, or two, or three.
Same. This idea that people HAVE TO buy new phones annually is something I've never understood. All you'd be doing is spending unnecessary amounts of money.
Used to upgrade every year, stopped with the Iphone 7, still have that and don't plan to upgrade soon.