Why iPhone and Android Phone Prices Will Get Even Higher (cnet.com) 271
Critics scoffed Apple when the company priced the iPhone X at $1,000. But the way the market has responded to it, there is a good chance that the upcoming flagship smartphones from Apple and those of its rivals -- Samsung, Google, and HTC -- will be pricier. From a column: The critics were wrong. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in July that the iPhone X had outsold every other Apple device in each week since it went on sale Nov. 3, 2017. With strong iPhone X sales, Apple proved that mainstream buyers are willing to pay almost as much, if not more, for their cell phones as they would for a powerful laptop. And with rumors of an even pricier 2018 iPhone X Plus-style phone coming down the pike this September, Apple's moves to usher in the era of the $1,000 phone may just be getting underway. Apple isn't alone in boosting mobile phone prices ever higher. Creeping prices on high-end handsets from Samsung, Huawei and even "value" darling OnePlus signal that price hikes are here to stay. In just two years, the cost of Samsung's Galaxy phone for US buyers has spiked 15.1 percent from the Galaxy S7 in 2016 to this year's Galaxy S9, while the Huawei P series has climbed 33 percent since 2016 -- and that doesn't even account for the existence of a "Pro" model. [...] The trend of increasingly costly handsets in the top tier underscores the cell phone's importance as an everything-device for communication, work, photography and entertainment. And as processing power, camera technology, battery life and internet data speeds improve generation after generation, the value people attach to a phone is sure to swell.
Why SOME phone prices will go higher (Score:5, Interesting)
To me, the most interesting development in phones has been the incredibly value in the sub-$300 price, as evidenced by Motorola's various phones, Huawei, Honor, OnePlus, etc.
At the top end, perhaps prices will continue to climb but that certainly doesn't imply all prices will increase. The top tier phones will be luxury items for a certain segment of the market, but the overall trend in terms of phones being shipped has been the amount of value being delivered in the and mid and low price tiers, and that should be heart-warming for consumers. That $1000 phone might be better or the best, but it won't be $700 better than the Moto G6 or similar phone.
Re:Why SOME phone prices will go higher (Score:4, Insightful)
Meanwhile, you're right on that money that phones from the likes of OnePlus continue to pump out features and performance at a price tag fully half that of the major flagships.
Re:Why SOME phone prices will go higher (Score:5, Insightful)
A thousand dollar phone better last six or seven years (even if you have to drop it off at a service center every couple years to have the battery replaced).
Meanwhile, you're right on that money that phones from the likes of OnePlus continue to pump out features and performance at a price tag fully half that of the major flagships.
The kind of person willing to spend $1000 for a top-tier phone is not the kind of person who would be willing to keep the same phone for 7 years. Especially since, two years after it is released there will be $250 phones that are more powerful.
Re: (Score:2)
The kind of person willing to spend $1000 for a top-tier phone is not the kind of person who would be willing to keep the same phone for 7 years.
Yep, I treat my phones like I do my cars. I let some other idiot buy the "new shiny" phone and then I buy a top tier phone that's 1-2 years old for $200-$300 bucks. You're better off buying 3 used phones then keeping a $1000 phone for 7 years.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm one of the idiots who buy a high end phone, and then keep it until it stops working. I'm perfectly happy.
I had a smart phone before the term was coined - I bought a Samsung 'Mobile Intelligent Terminal'. It ran .NET when admitting you liked C# syntax was a faux pas in GNU circles.
I have had a grand total of two smart phones since. All three work. Yes, seriously. My next to last is being used by my daughter as a music player, and I just booted my Sumsung MIT to see whether it still works. It connec
Re:Why SOME phone prices will go higher (Score:4, Informative)
Re: Why SOME phone prices will go higher (Score:5, Interesting)
You can buy an iPhone and replace it every year, selling your current version for $150-200 less then itâ(TM)s purchase price.
I spend more time with my phone then with any other electronic device I own so $150-200 a year seems like money well spent.
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
my mom is on an iphone 6. I have a spare 6S i'm going to give her soon. she also has a 5S at home that works just fine but i just had an extra phone for her
old phones work just fine. people are buying new ones
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
A thousand dollar phone better last six or seven years
This argument isn't much different than saying "A $100 meal better keep me full for 3 days".
The phone isn't expensive because of extra durability or a longer shelf life, just like a fancy meal isn't expensive because it keeps you full longer. They are expensive because they are at least subjectively better than other phones (or meals) you could purchase for less.
Re:Why SOME phone prices will go higher (Score:4)
Its a great business model if consumers will go along.
Re:Why SOME phone prices will go higher (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly this.
I can't help but feel as if this news is missing the obvious explosion of growth in the value proposition being offered by the low-to-mid portion of the Android market. Whereas in years prior a phone that cost 1/4 that of a flagship phone might provide most people with an equivalent value (i.e. it's about 1/4 as capable as the flagship phone), these days you can get a phone that costs 1/4, yet provides most people with 90% of the value of the flagship. If you're an Android user, there's really no reason to go for the flagship phone unless you're set on getting that last 10%, but for most people, that's well past the point of diminishing returns.
I'm an iPhone user and am almost certainly going to upgrade from my 2013 iPhone to whatever new flagship they launch later this year, but even I wouldn't advocate my choice as a general practice. In years past, it used to be easy advice to tell people to get max(favorite_brand) (with favorite_brand being swapped around depending on if someone was in the Android or Apple ecosystem), since the lesser models all made significant compromises. These days, however, most people are best served by double-checking on what that last 10% actually gets them and whether it's worth the additional cost.
Re: (Score:2)
Hasn't it always been like that, for pretty much everything? Diminishing returns and all that.
Re: (Score:2)
That's a great question. I'd agree that eventually, yes, pretty much everything has diminishing returns, but I don't think that's necessarily true for brand new types of products.
When products are revolutionary (which modern smartphones most certainly were), the value provided can, in some cases, be outsized compared to their cost. In the case of smartphones, they were for many years well worth the additional cost we were paying over lesser (i.e. dumb) phones. The $400ish extra that an early iPhone cost ove
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
the person looking for a "bargain" can have a very decent and long lasting mobile device at sub 300 range. and if you are looking for a bargain, then you also don't care if its the same device that will last you 3-5 years without issue. without making a fashion/status symbol, the bargain phones are much better than a few years ago's top of the line. then again most bargain phones are subsidized by carriers as "free" anyway so ...
Re: (Score:2)
Prices will also increase on the low end. What is considered an acceptable price is being determined by the cost of cellular access and not the price of the phone. When cell access accounts for over twice the cost of the phone (over say, 2 years) then the cost of the phone is of no real importance. People will spend more if it implies having a better phone for 2 years.
I am speaking from the perspective of a Canadian - from a country with some of the most outrageous cellular bills in all the world. Th
Re: (Score:2)
Honor IS the cheapo brand of Huawei. Together with Xiaomi plus a lot of other small(er) players they DO deliver a lot of value and usable devices even under $200 (sometimes on special sales even into double digits).
However with Oneplus (as mentioned in TFA) the situation is totally different: they START at $500++ and that is if you orde
Elephant in the room: Trade war with Apple (Score:3)
Your comment might deserve the "Interesting" mod (though I think it's just a first-post effect), but you are touching the topic so lightly...
The elephant in the room is actually the trade war with China. If China wants to win, and I'm betting they do, then smartphones is where they are going to fight. The story only hinted at it the situation, but just imagine what happens if Xi slaps a YUGE tax on the iPhone. Apple's stock price and trillion dollar market cap would be collateral damage, perhaps only minor
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Bill of Materials. It's the list of components that make up a product, usually including details like cost, weight and procurement information for each line item.
Re: (Score:2)
Bill Of Materials.
It's industrial jargon for "parts list". It's also commonly used by twats.
Simple - supply and demand (Score:2)
If the same, or close enough to the same number of people will buy a phone for $1100, why "only" charge $1000? at some point the upper end of the market will be found but I think its higher than we expect. There is a range of phones just like there is a range of cars and yes, you can get into a BMW for $40k, the top end is like $180. There is still room for the top end phone market to climb but the middle of the pack (iPhone se/7/8, cheaper androids like Motorola and such) are good enough for a ton of peopl
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
hehe car analogy, it is true that avg age of cars on the road keeps going up... until we get used to the licensed deployment software model that certain vendors seem to be pushing.
Greed (Score:3)
Period
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Neah, that'd require the knowledge of history these people do not typically possess.
Re: (Score:2)
My favorite Che Guevara shirt, is a picture of Che wearing a che shirt, in which he's also wearing a che shirt, into infinity.
As an Apple shareholder (Score:2, Funny)
These people are dear to my heart...
There is a huge market here (Score:3)
If you asked the average person today, would they prefer to spend more to get a better laptop, or more to get a better phone - which do you think they would choose?
People are on phones ALL THE TIME now. Good or bad, that's the truth. So why wouldn't you be willing to spend more on something you use more than anything else - more than a laptop, more than TV, more than even driving a car?
If I had to choose today I would greatly prefer an expensive phone and have to get a beater car rather than be forced to get a cheap and under-performing phone.
The phones after all can last many years, so $1k for a phone is a tiny cost considering how much you use it, in relation to the cost over time of something like a car or other things. A phone could easily be $2k or more and if it had the right feature set people would buy it...
Now the real question is, what features will truly be worth more to own? Massive amounts of internal storage might be one, possibly a super battery life phone would be another. Apple has FaceID which allowed for them to reach the $1k premium but the trick will be finding other features that can provide enough value over $600-$800 to justify spending more.
The average person (Score:2)
The average person is a fucking moron.
Opposite take from actual user (Score:5, Informative)
Apple can go ape themselves with faceid. It's a step back from touchid
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to educate others.
I find what you say to absolutely to be not the case, having had the iPhoneX since launch. How long have you owned or used a FaceID device? My guess is never.
In fact I was planning on buying a newer iPad, but held off my purchase until iPads include FaceID also, I like it so much more.
I find it VASTLY better than touchID. I like how it authenticates without thought, for many uses the device works just like the old days when people did not have passcodes, and of course FaceID is also much more secure [intego.com] than TouchID (by 20x or more).
Re: (Score:2)
Apple can go ape themselves with faceid. It's a step back from touchid
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to educate others.
I find what you say to absolutely to be not the case, having had the iPhoneX since launch. How long have you owned or used a FaceID device? My guess is never.
In fact I was planning on buying a newer iPad, but held off my purchase until iPads include FaceID also, I like it so much more.
I find it VASTLY better than touchID. I like how it authenticates without thought, for many uses the device works just like the old days when people did not have passcodes, and of course FaceID is also much more secure [intego.com] than TouchID (by 20x or more).
This is entirely a personal preference. Face ID is not going to recognize me with a motorcycle helmet on. And yes, I have pulled over on my motorcycle to answer an urgent text before. I also find your comment that it authenticates without thought to be disingenuous. So does Touch Id. Only I can have my phone unlocked before it even comes out of my pocket or bag and you have to wait until you look at your phone to have it start to unlock.
Maybe not a fail (Score:2)
It also authenticates you with blood on your face, strapped to a chair with broken kneecaps
If your face is very damaged it would not. Also if you refuse to look at the device it will not...
But all of that is a pretty stupid argument considering a passcode will also still unlock the device and they could just use the XKCD method [xkcd.com] if we are talking about people willing to use extreme physical force to open a device.
With FaceID at least you'd still have as much a fighting chance to not unlock the device as you
Re: (Score:3)
there is a constant battle between security and convenience. the convinience of face-id and touch id make basic security available to masses. Apple did not remove other options and you can do without enabling face/touch id. However most people will do without security rather than implement what is easier to use.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Given a decent processor, everything else is hype.
This is simply not true. There is a big difference between a top of the line mobile processor and a budget one. The same goes for the amount of RAM, size of the screen, and camera quality. It may not be worth the extra $20-30 per month for you, but there are significant improvements you can get to your phone for that money.
Re: (Score:2)
Battery capacity only varies by a factor of 2 or so between the smallest and largest available. The reason that people buy phones with glued-in batteries has to do with ignorance, manufacturers pushing disposable crap, and OMG! NEW! SHIIINY!, not because they're inherently better.
Your drunkard example? More like marrying a Ph. D. with some mad carpentry and cooking skills, but whose looks are somewhat homely.
Only varies that way NOW (Score:2)
Battery capacity only varies by a factor of 2 or so between the smallest and largest available.
I am talking about features that would convince a buyer to spend a lot of extra money on a phone. A somewhat larger phone with a truly huge battery life (again, I'm talking a week or more) might be one of those features. It could easily be as simple as using some very advanced battery tech that costs quite a lot more than traditional batteries...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What if the phone had a removable battery and the choice of two back covers, one that fit a 3000mAh battery, another one for a 10,000mAh battery?
You can already essentiality do that today - choose to bring along an external battery pack or not (a big reason why people do not miss swappable batteries, since external battery packs come in many different form factors and capacities). I think that's also why no phone maker has done anything like that already, which seems otherwise like a good idea, just not on
People aren't seeing the actual price (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:People aren't seeing the actual price (Score:5, Insightful)
Very few people are shelling out $1000 straight up for the phone.
True, but I don't think that's the core reason people are willing to pay so much.
I think the core reason is that what people are willing to pay is driven by the value they perceive, and that in turn is closely related to how much they use a thing, and what for. To an increasing percentage of the population, their phone is their sole computing device, and society is increasingly organized around connectivity and computation. To put it another way, look at what people use their phones for, and how many times per day they use them.
I'm something of a luddite (as are many slashdotters, I think), in that I prefer to do most of my online interaction on a physical keyboard, either my laptop or my big, multi-screen desktop with its funky ergonomic keyboard. But most people don't. So nearly all of their non-local (and sometimes local) interpersonal communications for work and play, news, entertainment, banking, information retrieval, etc., etc., etc,. is done on that one device. When you spend so much time using one object, it makes sense to spend whatever you can afford to get the best one you can.
I used to sit on $40 office chairs in my home office. Then one day I thought about the sheer quantity of time I spend with my butt planted in that chair and realized that I would get more value out of money spent on a better chair than many other things I could spend my money on. So I "blew" $600 on an Aeron-style (not actually Herman Miller, but similar, and with a high build quality) ergonomic chair and it has been money very well spent because it eliminated a lot of minor annoyances. Little stuff, like how the mesh seat and back allows airflow so I don't get sweaty, and how it has enough flexibility of positioning that I can always get comfortable. I not only don't regret the choice, when this one wears out (which it shows no sign of doing), $600 will be my price floor for a replacement and I'll be looking for what is available at higher price points.
I get my phones for free so I don't really have to make this decision. But if I did, I suspect I'd have no trouble dropping $1K on a phone that I replace every other year. I'm sure I use it 100 times per day, 365 days per year. A tenth of a penny per use? Makes sense to me.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Visible status marker, that's why (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
It's kind of sad how bitter you are. No, I would not like fries with my order.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Capitalism (Score:3)
I think the opposite occurs (Score:2)
Many, many Apple users skip phone cycles, in part because the devices are well built and last a long time, in part because Apple is really good about providing product updates.
I would argue that more expensive phones are in part a response to this, because Apple is trying to make a device advanced enough to get people to switch away from older phones to a newer device rather than seeing a customer getting a really usable model from a year or two earlier at a lower price.
Re: (Score:2)
I did that, and in response they killed the product line.
I have a Nexus 5. I skipped the 5X because it didn't seem like a significant upgrade. Then they killed off the Nexus line for the twice-as-pricey Pixel, now on its second iteration. Now I actually need to upgrade, and I can't find any good 5", ~$300 phones with minimal OS changes and good long-term support. The Nokia 5.1 looks like just what I need, but it hasn't hit the US market yet.
Peculiar choices (Score:2)
I guess we now live in a world where quite a few people are willing to pay top dollar for second rate quality. Let's face it, even the best Bluetooth link doesn't provide the best sound. And it doesn't matter how you massage it, the sensor in a cell phone isn't going to match even a relatively cheap camera.
So the tunes on my old iPhone 4S physically plugged into a good-quality outdoor speaker, are a consistent "people's choice" over anything linked to that same speaker via Bluetooth. And my primitive Nik
Re:Peculiar choices (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess we now live in a world where quite a few people are willing to pay top dollar for second rate quality. Let's face it, even the best Bluetooth link doesn't provide the best sound. And it doesn't matter how you massage it, the sensor in a cell phone isn't going to match even a relatively cheap camera.
I can't think of a single thing a microwave oven cooks better than a real oven, skillet, or grill.
So why does nearly every home have a microwave oven? It is fast, and "good enough".
As a photographer, I was taught that the BEST camera is the one you have with you. I have a DSLR, but I don't carry it with me everywhere. My phone camera works far better for that.
When I'm listening to music on an airplane or a volleyball tournament, I'm not looking for reference audio. I'm looking for something that sounds better than the noise I'm hearing without headphones on. Not having to get my headphone cable snagged on something is a very nice plus, and my headphones have 40 hours of use on a charge.
You're missing the point completely. It isn't about a single measure of quality.
Monthly payment shoppers (Score:3)
Ah yes, the monthly payment shoppers are responsible for this...
How many people pay attention to the total cost of that shiny brand new phone with all the bells and whistles? They are sold on MONTHLY price for the most part, and usually sold though the cell phone carrier. These folks look at that $25/month and say WOW! That's cheap, never mind it's for 60 months and that shiny phone will be replaced with a newer model in 24 months and they haven't yet paid for half of it.
This is what happened to cars too. Go talk to a car salesman and I guarantee that you will get the "It's only XX per month!" pitch, no mention of interest rates or payment terms. Most folks don't care and don't find out what that interest rate is or the number of months they will be paying until they are in the finance office. Even then, it's all about the monthly cost, forget what I'm actually paying for this because I get to drive that shiny new car..
So, us strange folks, who actually look at the total costs of financing and are ready and willing to pay cash up front to save bucks when we can, get to look at the "buy it outright" costs and think "who's going to pay that?" Well, I assure you, a whole bunch of folks will if you break it down into small enough monthly payments and that's what carriers and device makers are doing. I don't blame them for doing it and making more money, why not? If people are willing to be sold this way, so be it, just don't expect me to be happy about the prices I have to pay because of it.
Phones are peaking in useful capabilities (Score:2)
Apple made the brilliant move ... (Score:4, Insightful)
... of transitioning from a pure technology brand to a lifestyle and fashion brand with the advent of the iMac. They've been going further down that road ever since.
Today they are so far ahead that they can even drag their heels with us opinion leaders delivering meh hardware with last year's specs and still cap at 1 billion due to iPhones sold everywhere all the time.
That brand power of Apple these days is something it's would kill for.
"opinion leaders"? (Score:2, Insightful)
Supply and Demand (Score:2)
Prices will go up, until people reach a point where they can consider their phone good enough. Where the demand for a new phone is becomes much smaller. Then we can allow the cost of components to go down to offer cheaper phones.
Right now there is no race to the bottom for phones. As I expect many of these companies have learned from the PC industry from the late 1990's and early 2000's
Where PC manufactures stopped focusing on quality and focused on price. Cheap-o keyboards and mice, Celeron processors (
At some point ROI has to come in to play (Score:2)
Granted my cell phone needs are very basic, calls and text. I write apps for iOS devices but don't have a need or desire to use any apps.
Apple will be the last to have problems, most in that world have to much money and just don't care about cost. It is more about status than needs. But I would have to think the device bubble will burst at some point. After all how long
Re: (Score:2)
S7 to S9 vs iPhone 7 to X (Score:2)
Between the S7 and S9 developments which may justify the price were to be seen. E.g. the S9 supports Dex which effectively turns your phone into the brains of a desktop ala laptop in docking station.
I would gladly pay well over $1000 for a phone that replaces my laptop.
Meanwhile the iPhone X unlocks automagically when you stare at the ugly notch and sends animated poo. Progress!
Re: (Score:2)
Why I Will Continue... (Score:2)
...to use the same phone I have now until the sun burns out...
The next revolution.... (Score:2)
...should be on pricing and making the phones less expensive, not more. They already have enough doodads and features. When an iPhone X costs roughyly 1/40 of the average American's gross income, that's way too much. Even the lesser models at 1/60 need to come down.
This doesn't surprise me... (Score:2)
This doesn't surprise me. For many people a call phone is used much more than a laptop, so arguably if you're going to spend $1,000 on tech there's more return on the cell phone than a laptop. Don't think of it as "just a phone" - think of it as the personal electronics that most consumers use more than any other, as a camera, camcorder, web browser, email, etc. Heck, if you ask 'kids' now, most of them care a lot more about their cell phone than laptop or car!
on top of that, with the move towards pricing p
Re: (Score:2)
Except that usability doesn't actually increase beyond a certain price point. $200 phones often have the same basic hardware as $1000 phones.
To use the car analogy, a Corolla is often a better car and more reliable than a Lamborghini.
You know how you get a cheap phone? (Score:5, Informative)
Walk into your phone center and tell them "I'm looking for the cheapest phone you've got".
I had to do this back in the Midwest in a town that my family was visiting for funeral preparation. Only Verizon worked there, and none of us had Verizon.
The lady at the counter pulls out an new in box Samsung they just got in, "on discount, I don't know why" . $30 out the door, pay as you go.
Functions perfectly acceptable.
At that price point, I don't care if I drop it in a toilet.
For a device you use 50 times a day (Score:2)
I'm not sure if we've really hit the upper limit for a device that most people use dozens to hundreds of times a day. Seems like a bargain if you compare it to a Macintosh 512K from 1984 that was $2,495.00 (equivalent to $6,169.90 today), and that you weren't likely to use a computer like that more than once or twice a day.
PS - before anyone says PCs were generally cheaper than Macs. An IBM XT that was well equipped was still quite expensive when it was released: "1983: March - IBM announces the IBM PC XT,
I'm not paying that! But someone else will (Score:2)
I'm still using my wife's old rose gold (pink) iPhone 6S. It works well, does everything I need it to do. I drop it all the time because that thing is so damn slippery. I don't see a need to upgrade because unlike most people it's not my only computing device.
Nothing new (Score:2)
Apple is charging what it does to give its iThings implied value and exclusivity
This is why Beats was so attractive to them as it operated on the same model.
The twist is that as most people who buy these things are doing so on credit.
Buying on credit buffers the cost of the device
It is just because the rich are getting richer (Score:2)
If there is a burgeoning market for $4-figure phones, it is because there are enough people willing to drop a $k for a mobile device. Whether they get that amount of value from it (compared to the amount of value they would get from a $500 phone, or a $200 one) doesn't really enter the equation.
For many people the value is in the having - and ensuring that everyone knows they have it. Pure status.
Strongly disagree (Score:2)
Apple customers are not mainstream customers by any stretch of the imagination. Apple's always been an elitist product for elitists. The reason smart phones have had wide adoption isn't because the devices are valuable, but because they've provided a way for the poor to get online, and effectively closed to digital divide. At least in america. The high end of phones is the high end of phones. But hiking the price of all phones, through trickle down effect will hurt adoption across the board. It's too early
Two Years later: Crap (Score:3)
Why buy a $1000 smartphone when you can get a half as good phone for $200? Which still beats every smartphone from two years ago?
This only makes sense if you are [b]NOT[/b] using a smartphone as a tool [b]BUT[/b] as a status symbol. But then, there are some people who are in desperate need of cheap status symbols. Though an apple smartphone is mostly a status symbol for being in the lower class.
Re: (Score:2)
Step 2. Buy duct tape
Re: (Score:2)
iPhone as a text terminal (Re:I suspect...) (Score:2)
I certainly do. With Termius app [termius.com], I can ssh into anything straight from the phone. A Bluetooth keyboard can, optionally, improve the typing speed (except with vi — pressing Esc is misinterpreted by the iPhone). No need for a laptop any more...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If I don't have Internet-access, I can't do my work anyway. Can't watch the server-logs without the Internet, for example, can I?
There is no laptop in existence, that can do the sort of computations I'm currently working on (hint: it takes seven 24-core servers 4 hours to do it.)
I'm sure, there are things fitting the niche — too demanding for a
Re: (Score:2)
In Apple's market, it's basically whether your brand can attract loyal, rich customers.
In the Android market, you have more price competition. Actual manufacture and operating cost comes into play more, with slimmer net operating profits. Prices will go up as people demand those high-end $200 SOCs instead of the basic $40 VIA SOC: they want an 8-core heterogenous processor with long battery life and a 256MB SSD on-board, not a 512MB Raspberry Pi with a 1GHz CPU and a slot for a 2GB SD card.
I would li
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Asus R11 Chromebook weighs under 3 pounds. You'd pack the board and components into the phone; the chromebook is a lightweight aluminum shell with a display and, possibly, a battery. Desktop docking station can connect you to multiple monitors, a surround sound speaker system, wired Ethernet, and so forth, and isn't meant to move around.
You can always carry the laptop case the way you normally would, and keep your phone in your pocket. When you'd normally pull out your laptop, you pull out both and mate
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Many Android phones had three little metal dots on the side. Those output HDMI. Likewise, many phones now have USB Type-C, which can carry audio, HDMI, and wired Ethernet (the specification allows particular pins to carry things not encapsulated by USB protocol--it even provides straight four-pin analogue stereo audio with microphone in both Nokia and Standard pin-outs [ti.com]).
You probably would need the extra battery, although I can't imagine this adding much weight: the Asus R11 Chromebook uses a 3490mAh l
Re: (Score:2)
If you understood how electrical engineering worked, you wouldn't believe it either.
watt-hours are the proper measure of battery energy storage capacity. (also known as Joules divided by 3600).
watt-hours = amp-hours * battery voltage
Most laptops including Chromebooks use a 12 to 15 volt battery. Phones are 3.7 volts. Therefore, for a given amount of amp-hours (mAh/1000), a laptop's energy storage capacity will be 3-4x the capacity of a phone's battery!
You'd still need a breakout board to convert the USB-
Re: (Score:2)
Ah, right. The battery uses three cells at 3.7V each in series to give 11.1V. The energy storage is indeed higher than the phone's. I'm so used to those devices running on 3.5V that I forgot you need a stronger driver to run a screen and didn't think about it.
That's an extra pound of batteries, unless you're going with lower capacity cells to add the 12V screen driver and not power the phone itself.
Re:However (Score:5, Informative)
Apple supports their phones and tablets for a lot more than 24 months.
As an example, iOS 12 will support the following:
iPhones
iPhone X
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 8
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone SE
iPhone 5S (First released on 2013-09-20)
iPads
12.9-inch iPad Pro
10.5-inch iPad Pro
9.7-inch iPad Pro
iPad (fifth-gen)
iPad Air 2
iPad Air
iPad Mini 4
iPad Mini 3
iPad Mini 2 (First released on 2013-11-12)
Re: (Score:2)
i think the comment was pointed towards samsung (2yr support)
Apple has a 5 yr commitment which seems appropriate for aging hardware.
Re: (Score:2)
Which is ironic considering they're still selling Macs with completely outdated specifications in 2018. Look at the Mac mini and the MacBook Air, for example.
Re: (Score:2)
I have a Galaxy Note 5, 3 years old now and still getting updates.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
almost all our sales force does 80% of their work via email, phones are their primary work device. its only when they have to create documents they touch a computer/ipad. you can take anything away except their phones.
Re: (Score:2)
i bought two new phones and gave my wife's old phone to one of our kids. BOGO deals on AT&T are great for this. i might do the same again this year for the next kid but give him an older phone. I work consulting and can write my phones off as a tax deduction
Re:Who is buying these things? (Score:4, Interesting)
Most people I know have decided that all the selling points of flagship devices aren't really that big of a deal and are buying cheap phones that can browse, take some crappy pictures, and do messaging.
My wife and I buy the nicest phone available every other year almost entirely for the camera. We like not having to carry a separate camera for photos of our kids, and it's worth an extra $50 per month for us both to have the best camera phone money can buy today, instead of what the top of the line was 2-3 years ago. There are plenty of other nice things about having the best phones available but the camera is the main selling point.
Re: (Score:3)
I don't believe you. Are you truly distributing the highest quality, highest resolution photos you can take with your phone to everyone? [...] Keep in mind the top of the line phones don't always have the best cameras.
The fact you bring up high resolution as one of the key aspects that makes a camera phone better shows you aren't very interested in photography (that is not meant as an insult). Aspects such as aperture, light sensitivity, auto-focusing quality, and software tools are all very important as well, if not more important. And top of the line phones (iPhone, Galaxy, Pixel) absolutely have the best camera phones available. You may find some $200 phones with better cameras than $500 phones, but none of them are a
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think so. Flagship phones are more fashion accessory than technology. If the prices of $3000 dresses go up, it doesn't affect WalMart's clothing prices.
The iPhone X exists for one reason: so its owner can say "I can afford an iPhone X". Their increased sales are a result of more of the world using technology for wealth signaling. No surprises here, flashy things with little intrinsic value have always existed and will never go away.