Alleged factory unlocked iPhone 5 prices appear on Apple's website

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 41
    Good luck with getting AT&T to unlock an iPhone - any iPhone- that is still under contract.
  • Reply 22 of 41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Did you adjust for projected changes in the value? Did you include any import taxes for US goods? Did you include any additional costs for country specific licenses and testing? Did you account for the reduced economics of scale between the AU and US markets for the box to it's accessories, to it printed material, to anything in the device's HW or SW that would be more costly for a much lower number of units per device than in the US market which is still the largest seller of Apple's products?


    Supreme bullshit.

  • Reply 23 of 41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Solowalker View Post


    In addition to the other comments about different materials and lack of LTE, see this:


     


    http://9to5google.com/2012/11/03/is-google-subsidizing-the-price-of-the-299-lg-nexus-4/


     


    Only in the US is the Nexus 4 this cheap. In other countries it's only slightly cheaper than iPhone 5, leading some to believe Google is subsidizing the price in the States (NOT the same as a carrier subsidy).



     


    Of course Google is subsidizing it. They are selling it as a loss leader with the aim of flooding the market and gaining returns on advertising.


     


    They've just updated Microsoft's give it away motto, get it entrenched and then nickel and dime you on upgrades control the OEMs for life.

  • Reply 24 of 41
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Povilas View Post


    Supreme bullshit.



    That's just how things are. You can probably buy cheaper Kangaroo meat than I can, not that I would ever eat Kangaroo, but that's besides the point.


     


    Consider yourself lucky that you don't live in Brazil. I believe that country has the highest prices of all countries when it comes to Apple things.

  • Reply 25 of 41
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,168member
    prokip wrote: »
    At $849 US excluding local taxes for 64GB unlocked, this compares to $941 US, after taking local taxes out and allowing for the exchange rate US $ to Australian $.

    Mr Apple... WHY the &%$# are we continuing to be ripped off by $92 or over 10% in Australia for the same product from the same factory with the same or shorter shipping distance.

    This is for you Tony King (Apple MD in Australia). It's time for the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) to step in and give you a wack. Maybe your overlords in Cupertino might then put you on your game to do the right thing by Australia's supportive and loyal Apple consumers.

    Err, just to clarify for other people
    64GB iPhone 5 in the Australian Apple store is AUD$999 incl 10% GST.

    Excluding GST that would be 999/11*10= roughly AUD$908.
    Convert from USD$849 @ today's exchange rate (about 1.03) gets you AUD$824
    So, divide 908/824 and find the AUD price is 9% higher than the USD price of $849

    So there is mostly a currency hedge plus additional costs that have to be amortised, like regulatory approvals etc. bear in mind that the AUD historically has been much lower than it is currently, and is only a commodity price crash away from once again cratering down to around the USD$0.70. So a nine percent hedge, while on the high end, is probably acceptable.

    Edit: by currency hedge, I am saying that Apple looks to have built in an assumption there is a risk that the AUD might fall to USD$0.91sometime in the next 12 months, the period the iPhone 5 is set at this price.

    Compared with back in the day when a PowerBook could cost $2000 more in Australia than the USA, that is nothing to complain about.
  • Reply 26 of 41
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,168member
    "Apple wrote:
    [" url="/t/154064/alleged-factory-unlocked-iphone-5-prices-appear-on-apples-website#post_2226897"]
    povilas wrote: »
    Supreme bullshit.
    That's just how things are. You can probably buy cheaper Kangaroo meat than I can, not that I would ever eat Kangaroo, but that's besides the point.

    Consider yourself lucky that you don't live in Brazil. I believe that country has the highest prices of all countries when it comes to Apple things.

    I highly recommend roo meat, or Skippy if you prefer. Lean and tasty. The best version I ever had was a meal called the "coat of arms". It was long strips of roo and emu woven into a mat then grilled before being served in a burgundy gravy on a bed of beans and mashed potato. Mmmmmm.

    Roos are in plague proportions after three good wet seasons, so the more people eat the better.
  • Reply 27 of 41
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Solowalker View Post


    Only in the US is the Nexus 4 this cheap. In other countries it's only slightly cheaper than iPhone 5, leading some to believe Google is subsidizing the price in the States (NOT the same as a carrier subsidy).



     


    The Nexus 4 16GB is £279 in the UK vs. £529 for the 16GB iPhone 5.


     


    It seems like Google is subsidising the price globally.

  • Reply 28 of 41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    That's just how things are. You can probably buy cheaper Kangaroo meat than I can, not that I would ever eat Kangaroo, but that's besides the point.


     


    Consider yourself lucky that you don't live in Brazil. I believe that country has the highest prices of all countries when it comes to Apple things.



     


    Right on the mark. When I see people complaining about either the US or Australian prices for Apple products I have to laugh. Here in Brazil Apple charges much higher prices.


     


    Take a pick:


     


    Macbook Pro 13 Inch Retina (base configuration): R$ 6.999,00 or US$ 3.448,00


    Macbook Pro 15 Inch Retina (base configuration): R$ 9.999,00 or US$ 4.925,00


    Unlocked iPhone 4S 16GB: R$ 1.999,00 or US$ 984,00


    Previous generation iMac 27 Inch 3.2 GHz: R$ 9.399,00 or US$ 4.603,00


     


    While part of the high prices are explained by higher import duties, the import duties alone don't explain these ridiculous prices. Apple margins are much higher here than in the US.


     


    Joster

  • Reply 29 of 41
    igmaigma Posts: 1member
    Newsflash, iPhone 5 has been selling unlocked since day 1 in the US. I'm not sure why people keep saying its locked, but I bought 2 unlocked iPhone 5 on the launch day in the US. Here is the deal, I went to AT&T and asked if they sell unlocked, they said they don't, but if you buy it at full price from an Apple store they come unlocked. I went to the Apple store, and these guys have no idea if they are locked or not so I bought it figuring I could always return it if its locked. When I got home plugged it into iTunes the first thing it said is "Your iPhone is now unlocked". Keep in mind I did this as a first setup so if your phone is purchased at full price and you didn't plug it into your computer right away then to get the unlock you will need to restore it in iTunes.
    In case you are wondering this purchase was made in Massachusetts. So I paid $649 for 16GB and $749 for 32GB, plus the tax of course. I didn't get it to resell.
  • Reply 30 of 41
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Did you adjust for projected changes in the value? Did you include any import taxes for US goods? Did you include any additional costs for country specific licenses and testing? Did you account for the reduced economics of scale between the AU and US markets for the box to it's accessories, to it printed material, to anything in the device's HW or SW that would be more costly for a much lower number of units per device than in the US market which is still the largest seller of Apple's products?

    All of that is true, but you've ignored local sales taxes, as well. Someone reported that the Australian price includes 10% sales tax while the US price does not (you have to add sales tax on top of that number).

    More importantly, price is determined by supply and demand. If Apple's price is too high, few people will buy. Clearly, Apple thinks that their price is right.
    povilas wrote: »
    Supreme bullshit.

    Your lack of an intelligent argument is noted.

    Everything you were told is true.
    Right on the mark. When I see people complaining about either the US or Australian prices for Apple products I have to laugh. Here in Brazil Apple charges much higher prices.

    Take a pick:

    Macbook Pro 13 Inch Retina (base configuration): R$ 6.999,00 or US$ 3.448,00
    Macbook Pro 15 Inch Retina (base configuration): R$ 9.999,00 or US$ 4.925,00
    Unlocked iPhone 4S 16GB: R$ 1.999,00 or US$ 984,00
    Previous generation iMac 27 Inch 3.2 GHz: R$ 9.399,00 or US$ 4.603,00

    While part of the high prices are explained by higher import duties, the import duties alone don't explain these ridiculous prices. Apple margins are much higher here than in the US.

    Joster

    The import duties in Brazil are immense. They can easily more than double the cost of a computer:
    http://www.ehow.com/list_6529981_import-duties-brazil.html

    A quick glance at your numbers indicates that import duties make up most of the difference. You should be complaining to your government, not Apple.

    Note the comparatively low iPhone price. IIRC, the iPhone is made in Brazil so the import duties presumably apply only to the components and not the finished product.
  • Reply 31 of 41
    Official or not, the prices are in keeping with the trends. And not to forget, it's a good time for Apple to release the iPhone 5 unlocked variants now. Looks like Apple's cash reserves are going to explode.
  • Reply 32 of 41
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    jragosta wrote: »
    All of that is true, but you've ignored local sales taxes, as well.


    A quick glance at your numbers indicates that import duties make up most of the difference. You should be complaining to your government, not.

    1st- The quote solip responded to said "excluding sales tax".

    2nd- The guy wasn't really complaining about apple so much. Just stating that people complaining about Australian prices don't have it as bad as brazil. When you take out the current numbers from 2012, he's right- apple has higher margins in Brazil than Australia and America. I found his post informative. Not to mention, your link was from early 2010...


    Your lack of an intelligent argument is noted.
  • Reply 33 of 41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post







    The import duties in Brazil are immense. They can easily more than double the cost of a computer:

    http://www.ehow.com/list_6529981_import-duties-brazil.html

    A quick glance at your numbers indicates that import duties make up most of the difference. You should be complaining to your government, not Apple.

     


     


    We complain a lot to the government, but the people of Brazil are not as political involved as the people in the US. I believe we are decades (if not centuries) behind more developed democracies.


     


    Import duties make up most of the reference, but the margins can and some times are different due to competition.


     


    One comparison:


     


    While both the Macbook Air 13 inch - 128 GB and the Macbook Pro 13 Inch 2.5 GHz have the same price in the US (USD 1.199,00) they have different prices in Brazil: The Macbook Air is R$ 4.999,99 (USD 2.462,00) and the Macbook Pro is R$ 3.999 (USD 1.969,00), roughly a USD 500 difference. What is interesting is that those prices were equal (on the lower end) before the last refresh of the Macbook Airs. Can these be explained by duties? Maybe, since duties are paid over transfer and not on retail prices, but I would bet the difference in pricing is related to demand.


     


    The iPhone 4S is not produced in Brazil (at the moment). Only the iPhone 4.


     


    Joster

  • Reply 34 of 41


    The Verizon iPhone 5 is a completely unlocked iPhone. It accepts any SIM you put in it and works on more LTE bands. That ought to be good enough for 98% of people. Unless you had some weird reason to not buy the AT&T version but need 4 and 17 for AT&T (which I don't believe is supported in the official unlocked version anyway...), don't see why an unlocked solution already exists. 

  • Reply 35 of 41
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RichL View Post


     


    The Nexus 4 16GB is £279 in the UK vs. £529 for the 16GB iPhone 5.


     


    It seems like Google is subsidising the price globally.



    No, more likely it's just a cheap (crap) phone and that's the retail price.

  • Reply 36 of 41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RichL View Post


     


    The Nexus 4 16GB is £279 in the UK vs. £529 for the 16GB iPhone 5.


     


    It seems like Google is subsidising the price globally.



    Sorry, I did miss the fact there are a few other countries where they are offering the same pricing. I think it's been determined that they're subsidizing it in the countries where Google Play store is directly available, so US, Canada, UK, some European countries, and maybe Australia (finding it hard to get an exact list of countries...).


     


    The point is Nexus 4 doesn't really cost much less than the iPhone 5 even with the LTE and materials difference--a testament to Apple's supply chain expertise and economies of scale. But with Google subsidizing it, it will look that way to the casual observer who doesn't ask any questions. But the question is will it make the iPhone look overpriced or the Nexus 4 look cheap? And if the Nexus 4 somehow does extremely well will Google wind up making money at all on this somehow outside of advertising or will they end up losing money overall? It's an interesting strategy, one that only time will tell if it will work for them.

  • Reply 37 of 41


    They still have locked iPhones? Did not know that but in Europe the operators simply sell the phones and let the people decide.

  • Reply 38 of 41


    Originally Posted by sapporobabyrtrns View Post

    They still have locked iPhones? Did not know that but in Europe the operators simply sell the phones and let the people decide.


     


    Well, for the most part.

  • Reply 39 of 41
    for those who are like the factory unlocked iphone 5 has been out in the usa that is a lie due to the following. 1. yes the verizon iphone 5 is unlocked, but it does not work on 4g or lte gsm networks due to it is a CDMA phone, plus its a verizon model 2. yes some of the at&t iphones like the no commitment ones are unlocked, but they are not apple factory unlocked as well to, and the at&t model. The factory unlocked model unlike those that have only an unlocked imel, the factory unlocked model has a factory unlocked model number and imel. The imel and model number need to say factory unlocked or you will loose your unlock if you have any problems with your at&t iPhone 5, due to they will see it is a at&t model iPhone 5. you due to it is an at&t etc unlocked iphone will loose that lock if it is swaped out under warranty due to, when an iphone is carrier unlocked only and not factory unlocked, when that iphone is replaced everything changes except your number etc, your imel and serial number change when your iphone 5 is replaced. A true factory unlocked iphone 5 = bought from apple with an unlocked imel and has an unlocked model number as well.
  • Reply 40 of 41


    I'm curious what affect the release of the unlocked GSM iPhone 5s will have on the second-hand market price of the AT&T iPhone 5s, which are going for around $795 according to Movaluate's report: http://blog.movaluate.com/2012/11/05/iphone-5-sales-behavior-on-the-second-hand-market/


     


    If new ones that are unlocked come out for $649, won't the price of the locked AT&T versions sink to sub $600 levels?

Sign In or Register to comment.