Obviously a new iPad will debut this year thinner and lighter. Bezels I predict will be shrunken but not down to mini sizes.
They may up the ante buy producing a newly resigned (outside as well as inside ) phone year after year but unlikely at this point.
The most needed upgrade is an iOS overhaul.
I've said it before but an iOS that can be swapped on the fly via a settings button, from the one we know and love to a more advanced iOS with a new aesthetic and optoions similar to androids offerings would be ideal.
This way they can still market to the casual mainstream and people familiar with current iOS and slowly introduce a newer more more robust iOS.
On a gentic level I can imagine they'd be the same core design but just a different look abd feel and more customizable OS.
Still apple controlled but just loosen the reigns a bit to add more features than wallpaper customizations as well as video multitasking and ect.
I don't know why Apple would go BACKWARDS and mimic the look and feel of Android.
That's frankly ridiculous.
The only place they need to look for inspiration for iOS is their own amazingly simply easy to use Mac OS X.
If they can figure out how to transfer some functionality from OS X to iOS (and no I'm not talking about a file system), iOS, particularly for iPad would be far more robust and complete.
I think the the cheaper iPhone for developing markets rumor is probably true. Apple wants on the biggest carrier in China, but according to published reports, the carrier isn't willing to pay such a high price for the phone. Apple can't charge different prices for different carriers. So, it makes sense to develop a cheaper version of the phone.
Companies like Samsung have different devices in different Countries. It is one of the reason Samsung is selling a lot of phones.
a5, 3.5inch (my guess) or 4 retina, similar iPod-touch design, 8 gb, 249 or 299. What's your problem? at 299 it has at least 50% margins. Development and research are done, machinery is ready, supply is strong, BOM should be less than 160, much less (the new iPhone is at most 260 BOM, right?).
I'm not against an "iPhone Mini" type concept, but realistically Apple could just continue selling the iPhone 4, after the 5S comes out, for $299.
Then theres not retooling or R&D at all beforehand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
A 5inch phone is the device between 20% market share and almost 30%.
Together this is the difference between 20% market share and go head on against Android. Apple cannot do it otherwise, no matter what. They must also sign new manufacturing contracts and "not keeping up with demand" cannot happen again, for so much time.
You guys should not talk about his subject, you have no idea about the reality of the world outside the US.
A 5 inch phone could happen but Apple has proven they can compete head to head with Android without one.
Most people still buy the iPhone 5 over the Galaxy S3 when price is not a factor.
I think Android phones popularity outside the US is because then price is a determining factor, as you said. It doesn't have as much to do with the screen size I would presume.
I don't know why Apple would go BACKWARDS and mimic the look and feel of Android.
That's silly. For all that I don't really like it, Android definitely does some things better than iOS. I would really like to be able to toggle bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center, for instance. Also, Samsung's split window mode would be pretty great on an iPad. I would also like it if app updates showed up in Notification Center--and if you could download them from there, without having to switch to the App Store.
I don't know why Apple would go BACKWARDS and mimic the look and feel of Android.
That's silly. For all that I don't really like it, Android definitely does some things better than iOS. I would really like to be able to toggle bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center, for instance. Also, Samsung's split window mode would be pretty great on an iPad. I would also like it if app updates showed up in Notification Center--and if you could download them from there, without having to switch to the App Store.
Analyst 1: Hey Ed, there's a new report from somewhere claiming that Apple's going to introduce an edible iPhone made entirely of lead.
Analyst 2: You have a source for that?
Analyst 1: No f***ing clue, Ed. Someone just pulled it out of their ass. I think it was an analyst who talked to a guy, who passed it on to another guy, who mentioned it to me in the kitchen.
Analyst 2: Perfect. Just run with it, then. Make sure it leaks. Then when the stock drops another 10-15, we can buy in.
Analyst 1: Alright, and to make money on it we can just shut up for the rest of the time?
Analyst 2: Yep. And watch the stock skyrocket. All you need to do is stfu and let Apple do what they do.
Analyst 1: Awesome. Let's pick out the yachts we're gonna buy over lunch.
I hope the 4.7" iPhone+ becomes a reality. If it doesn't make an appearance then the 5S or 6 along with iOS 7 needs to really have some major new draws to keep all the 4S owners in the fold as their upgrades mature. Apple has never faced so much tough competition as they will in 2013 from Android. Not to mention a resurgent RIM that looks to have a pretty nice OS and a nostalgic but loyal base ready to stick with Blackberry or return if given a compelling reason.
A cheaper but not "cheap" iPhone also makes sense. The cheapest current new iPhone is the 8GB iPhone 4 which is still $450 - $500 depending on the country without subsidies. It is a quality phone but is perceived rightly or wrongly as old. Over 70% of the world's smartphone customers do not get any subsidy at all for a phone so they have to pay the full price. Even the U.S. has changed to an extent and has hurt Apple sales quite dramatically. If the carriers all had the same upgrade policies they had 2 or 3 years ago in place, Apple would have breezed by 50 million iPhone sales. I used to get a full upgrade every 12 months but now it is 18 months, and for some carriers 20 or 22 months. Phone geeks still upgrade often and own 3 or 4 phones, but they are a tiny minority.
Apple is good at making something cheaper in price without making it cheap. Even if that means taking essentially the guts out of the 4 or 4S and putting it into a plastic case to be able to offer a phone for $350. Many parents buy their kids those low end and dirt cheap Android phones that really are complete crap. But since kids lose and break phones it is a good choice since they are easy and cheap to replace. But once those kids get used to Android or any OS they tend to stay with what is familiar and comfortable and then buy a Galaxy or other expensive Android phone later. So a cheaper iPhone could serve as a gateway drug to lock them into the ecosystem.
That's silly. For all that I don't really like it, Android definitely does some things better than iOS. I would really like to be able to toggle bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center, for instance. Also, Samsung's split window mode would be pretty great on an iPad. I would also like it if app updates showed up in Notification Center--and if you could download them from there, without having to switch to the App Store.
These are all geeky things that are of zero importance to most consumers, particularly stuff like toggling, "bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center." Guess what, most people don't toggle these things at all. They might turn on AP mode, maybe, but, for them, the current method of doing that is fine. These sort of geek oriented changes copied from Android are not the sort of iOS changes that would be worthwhile to do, at all.
I have no doubt Apple can make a lower priced iPhone without sacrificing quality. My first 3 iPhones were made of plastic on the back and we thought those were the best phones in the world, so let's not pretend Apple has always made products out of beautiful metals and such.
The iMac, eMac, MacBook, early iPods, iPod HiFi, AppleTV are all made of some sort of plastics and they were/are quality products.
I hope the 4.7" iPhone+ becomes a reality. If it doesn't make an appearance then the 5S or 6 along with iOS 7 needs to really have some major new draws to keep all the 4S owners in the fold as their upgrades mature. Apple has never faced so much tough competition as they will in 2013 from Android. ...
Even the U.S. has changed to an extent and has hurt Apple sales quite dramatically.
How is this statement anything even remotely resembling a fact?
Even if that means taking essentially the guts out of the 4 or 4S and putting it into a plastic case to be able to offer a phone for $350.
Why would engineering a brand fricking new plastic case for old componentry be 1) magically "better" or feel "less old" than you're already claiming or 2) cheaper than what they're selling now, unchanged, but at a lower price?!
So a cheaper iPhone could serve as a gateway drug to lock them into the ecosystem.
People on welfare already use iPhones. It's cheap enough.
Only thing that makes sense is the iPhone 5S which we all already knew was coming.
iPad 5? Some of what he said makes sense, but I don't think Apple is going to ditch the bezels, unless the iPad 5 is as light as the Mini (not likely).
Plastic iPhone? No.
iPhone +? "Plan B" against Android? Now he's just making stuff up.
Probably plastic back like the iPhone 3G/3GS. Less top-notch as an iPhone 5, but cheap to build. It's can be just about the OS.
Apple has no choice. They can't become marginalized like a repeat of the Mac/Windows thing. I lived through that and it wasn't pretty.
Doesn't matter if you have the nicest, most expensive hardware running the nicest OS. Especially when A LOT of people don't care about the OS, just the cost and features. And Android WILL be on parity with iOS, more or less, to most people, so there better be a cheaper phone.
Hopefully, the cheaper phone will be available in the US for a lot of kids whose parents can't afford to buy them an iPhone.
This rumor of no side bezels on the 9.7" iPad simply doesn't seem credible. There's little to no benefit, and the ergonomics would be bad, to say the least. It just doesn't pass the smell test.
I think he's been duped, which leaves the rest of his rumors less than credible, too, as a result.
Soft bezel is the solution. Would you really need a bezel if you do not hold the tablet (e.g. while watching video or play a board game) ?
I'm not against an "iPhone Mini" type concept, but realistically Apple could just continue selling the iPhone 4, after the 5S comes out, for $299.
I think Android phones popularity outside the US is because then price is a determining factor, as you said. It doesn't have as much to do with the screen size I would presume.
No they can't. There's not a single rational people on this world that's going to pay full price for a 3 year old phone. No one. It has to be "new" and look "new", even if it is worse! That's how almost everyone thinks.
about the second sentence... It has to do with both. The note is as expensive or more, the galaxy s3 has almost the same base-price. If you can buy a 599 phone, you can buy a 699 and you will, if you think it's better.
There's a potential market of 50 million (or more) NEW COSTUMERS per quarter for big screens. (s3+note+ONE+Optimus+xperia+Nexus)
These are all geeky things that are of zero importance to most consumers, particularly stuff like toggling, "bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center." Guess what, most people don't toggle these things at all. They might turn on AP mode, maybe, but, for them, the current method of doing that is fine. These sort of geek oriented changes copied from Android are not the sort of iOS changes that would be worthwhile to do, at all.
Since when is turning bluetooth, wifi, or airplane on/off geeky? Anyone that uses a bluetooth headset might do that several times a day when you are trying to save every drop of battery life you can. I think the easiest solution is to fill up all the blank space on the Spotlight screen. When you swipe right it appears. Make the keyboard invisible until you try and type in the search bar and you have an entire blank screen where you could have quick access to bluetooth, wifi, or anything else. Personally I wish we could customize that space with whatever settings or shortcuts we like, but I doubt Apple ever wants us to have that level of customization.
Swiping from bottom to top is also another way to add more options since it is currently the only swipe direction where nothing happens.
Soft bezel is the solution. Would you really need a bezel if you do not hold the tablet (e.g. while watching video or play a board game) ?
Too annoying. Do you really want to see your display shrinking/expanding as you hold/release your iPad, say, lying on the couch with your knees propped up? I don't think so. I certainly don't.
I hope the 4.7" iPhone+ becomes a reality. If it doesn't make an appearance then the 5S or 6 along with iOS 7 needs to really have some major new draws to keep all the 4S owners in the fold as their upgrades mature. Apple has never faced so much tough competition as they will in 2013 from Android. Not to mention a resurgent RIM that looks to have a pretty nice OS and a nostalgic but loyal base ready to stick with Blackberry or return if given a compelling reason.
A cheaper but not "cheap" iPhone also makes sense. The cheapest current new iPhone is the 8GB iPhone 4 which is still $450 - $500 depending on the country without subsidies. It is a quality phone but is perceived rightly or wrongly as old. Over 70% of the world's smartphone customers do not get any subsidy at all for a phone so they have to pay the full price. Even the U.S. has changed to an extent and has hurt Apple sales quite dramatically. If the carriers all had the same upgrade policies they had 2 or 3 years ago in place, Apple would have breezed by 50 million iPhone sales. I used to get a full upgrade every 12 months but now it is 18 months, and for some carriers 20 or 22 months. Phone geeks still upgrade often and own 3 or 4 phones, but they are a tiny minority.
Apple is good at making something cheaper in price without making it cheap. Even if that means taking essentially the guts out of the 4 or 4S and putting it into a plastic case to be able to offer a phone for $350. Many parents buy their kids those low end and dirt cheap Android phones that really are complete crap. But since kids lose and break phones it is a good choice since they are easy and cheap to replace. But once those kids get used to Android or any OS they tend to stay with what is familiar and comfortable and then buy a Galaxy or other expensive Android phone later. So a cheaper iPhone could serve as a gateway drug to lock them into the ecosystem.
Completely agree with you on everything. A cheaper phone. Can be done. Easily. And a larger phone. I need a larger phone. I rarely make calls on my iPhone, so a larger phone for computing would be perfect.
I won't buy an iPad because with LTE and 32 GB, it's WAY overpriced. Apple needs to stop gouging customers on upping the RAM and adding LTE. What a ripoff.
Disclaimer: I've been using Apple products for 30 years. And my kids and I have MacBook Pros and iPhones (4/4S).
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by StephanJobs
Obviously a new iPad will debut this year thinner and lighter. Bezels I predict will be shrunken but not down to mini sizes.
They may up the ante buy producing a newly resigned (outside as well as inside ) phone year after year but unlikely at this point.
The most needed upgrade is an iOS overhaul.
I've said it before but an iOS that can be swapped on the fly via a settings button, from the one we know and love to a more advanced iOS with a new aesthetic and optoions similar to androids offerings would be ideal.
This way they can still market to the casual mainstream and people familiar with current iOS and slowly introduce a newer more more robust iOS.
On a gentic level I can imagine they'd be the same core design but just a different look abd feel and more customizable OS.
Still apple controlled but just loosen the reigns a bit to add more features than wallpaper customizations as well as video multitasking and ect.
I don't know why Apple would go BACKWARDS and mimic the look and feel of Android.
That's frankly ridiculous.
The only place they need to look for inspiration for iOS is their own amazingly simply easy to use Mac OS X.
If they can figure out how to transfer some functionality from OS X to iOS (and no I'm not talking about a file system), iOS, particularly for iPad would be far more robust and complete.
Narrow bezels only make sense for the iPad mini, which is narrow enough you can actually grasp its back with one hand.
Companies like Samsung have different devices in different Countries. It is one of the reason Samsung is selling a lot of phones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
a5, 3.5inch (my guess) or 4 retina, similar iPod-touch design, 8 gb, 249 or 299. What's your problem? at 299 it has at least 50% margins. Development and research are done, machinery is ready, supply is strong, BOM should be less than 160, much less (the new iPhone is at most 260 BOM, right?).
I'm not against an "iPhone Mini" type concept, but realistically Apple could just continue selling the iPhone 4, after the 5S comes out, for $299.
Then theres not retooling or R&D at all beforehand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
A 5inch phone is the device between 20% market share and almost 30%.
Together this is the difference between 20% market share and go head on against Android. Apple cannot do it otherwise, no matter what. They must also sign new manufacturing contracts and "not keeping up with demand" cannot happen again, for so much time.
You guys should not talk about his subject, you have no idea about the reality of the world outside the US.
A 5 inch phone could happen but Apple has proven they can compete head to head with Android without one.
Most people still buy the iPhone 5 over the Galaxy S3 when price is not a factor.
I think Android phones popularity outside the US is because then price is a determining factor, as you said. It doesn't have as much to do with the screen size I would presume.
That's silly. For all that I don't really like it, Android definitely does some things better than iOS. I would really like to be able to toggle bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center, for instance. Also, Samsung's split window mode would be pretty great on an iPad. I would also like it if app updates showed up in Notification Center--and if you could download them from there, without having to switch to the App Store.
That's silly. For all that I don't really like it, Android definitely does some things better than iOS. I would really like to be able to toggle bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center, for instance. Also, Samsung's split window mode would be pretty great on an iPad. I would also like it if app updates showed up in Notification Center--and if you could download them from there, without having to switch to the App Store.
"A new report claims"
This is how all that shit we hate starts.
Analyst 1: Hey Ed, there's a new report from somewhere claiming that Apple's going to introduce an edible iPhone made entirely of lead.
Analyst 2: You have a source for that?
Analyst 1: No f***ing clue, Ed. Someone just pulled it out of their ass. I think it was an analyst who talked to a guy, who passed it on to another guy, who mentioned it to me in the kitchen.
Analyst 2: Perfect. Just run with it, then. Make sure it leaks. Then when the stock drops another 10-15, we can buy in.
Analyst 1: Alright, and to make money on it we can just shut up for the rest of the time?
Analyst 2: Yep. And watch the stock skyrocket. All you need to do is stfu and let Apple do what they do.
Analyst 1: Awesome. Let's pick out the yachts we're gonna buy over lunch.
Analyst 2: Win.
smh.
I hope the 4.7" iPhone+ becomes a reality. If it doesn't make an appearance then the 5S or 6 along with iOS 7 needs to really have some major new draws to keep all the 4S owners in the fold as their upgrades mature. Apple has never faced so much tough competition as they will in 2013 from Android. Not to mention a resurgent RIM that looks to have a pretty nice OS and a nostalgic but loyal base ready to stick with Blackberry or return if given a compelling reason.
A cheaper but not "cheap" iPhone also makes sense. The cheapest current new iPhone is the 8GB iPhone 4 which is still $450 - $500 depending on the country without subsidies. It is a quality phone but is perceived rightly or wrongly as old. Over 70% of the world's smartphone customers do not get any subsidy at all for a phone so they have to pay the full price. Even the U.S. has changed to an extent and has hurt Apple sales quite dramatically. If the carriers all had the same upgrade policies they had 2 or 3 years ago in place, Apple would have breezed by 50 million iPhone sales. I used to get a full upgrade every 12 months but now it is 18 months, and for some carriers 20 or 22 months. Phone geeks still upgrade often and own 3 or 4 phones, but they are a tiny minority.
Apple is good at making something cheaper in price without making it cheap. Even if that means taking essentially the guts out of the 4 or 4S and putting it into a plastic case to be able to offer a phone for $350. Many parents buy their kids those low end and dirt cheap Android phones that really are complete crap. But since kids lose and break phones it is a good choice since they are easy and cheap to replace. But once those kids get used to Android or any OS they tend to stay with what is familiar and comfortable and then buy a Galaxy or other expensive Android phone later. So a cheaper iPhone could serve as a gateway drug to lock them into the ecosystem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinder6
That's silly. For all that I don't really like it, Android definitely does some things better than iOS. I would really like to be able to toggle bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center, for instance. Also, Samsung's split window mode would be pretty great on an iPad. I would also like it if app updates showed up in Notification Center--and if you could download them from there, without having to switch to the App Store.
These are all geeky things that are of zero importance to most consumers, particularly stuff like toggling, "bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center." Guess what, most people don't toggle these things at all. They might turn on AP mode, maybe, but, for them, the current method of doing that is fine. These sort of geek oriented changes copied from Android are not the sort of iOS changes that would be worthwhile to do, at all.
I have no doubt Apple can make a lower priced iPhone without sacrificing quality. My first 3 iPhones were made of plastic on the back and we thought those were the best phones in the world, so let's not pretend Apple has always made products out of beautiful metals and such.
The iMac, eMac, MacBook, early iPods, iPod HiFi, AppleTV are all made of some sort of plastics and they were/are quality products.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwmac
I hope the 4.7" iPhone+ becomes a reality. If it doesn't make an appearance then the 5S or 6 along with iOS 7 needs to really have some major new draws to keep all the 4S owners in the fold as their upgrades mature. Apple has never faced so much tough competition as they will in 2013 from Android. ...
Credibility a little shaky...
Quote:
... Not to mention a resurgent RIM ...
... gone.
Originally Posted by gwmac
…a nostalgic but loyal base…
All 2% of them.
Even the U.S. has changed to an extent and has hurt Apple sales quite dramatically.
How is this statement anything even remotely resembling a fact?
Even if that means taking essentially the guts out of the 4 or 4S and putting it into a plastic case to be able to offer a phone for $350.
Why would engineering a brand fricking new plastic case for old componentry be 1) magically "better" or feel "less old" than you're already claiming or 2) cheaper than what they're selling now, unchanged, but at a lower price?!
So a cheaper iPhone could serve as a gateway drug to lock them into the ecosystem.
People on welfare already use iPhones. It's cheap enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackbook
Only thing that makes sense is the iPhone 5S which we all already knew was coming.
iPad 5? Some of what he said makes sense, but I don't think Apple is going to ditch the bezels, unless the iPad 5 is as light as the Mini (not likely).
Plastic iPhone? No.
iPhone +? "Plan B" against Android? Now he's just making stuff up.
Probably plastic back like the iPhone 3G/3GS. Less top-notch as an iPhone 5, but cheap to build. It's can be just about the OS.
Apple has no choice. They can't become marginalized like a repeat of the Mac/Windows thing. I lived through that and it wasn't pretty.
Doesn't matter if you have the nicest, most expensive hardware running the nicest OS. Especially when A LOT of people don't care about the OS, just the cost and features. And Android WILL be on parity with iOS, more or less, to most people, so there better be a cheaper phone.
Hopefully, the cheaper phone will be available in the US for a lot of kids whose parents can't afford to buy them an iPhone.
Nothing but an Apple TV update in the first two quarters?
How likely is that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymouse
This rumor of no side bezels on the 9.7" iPad simply doesn't seem credible. There's little to no benefit, and the ergonomics would be bad, to say the least. It just doesn't pass the smell test.
I think he's been duped, which leaves the rest of his rumors less than credible, too, as a result.
Soft bezel is the solution. Would you really need a bezel if you do not hold the tablet (e.g. while watching video or play a board game) ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackbook
I'm not against an "iPhone Mini" type concept, but realistically Apple could just continue selling the iPhone 4, after the 5S comes out, for $299.
I think Android phones popularity outside the US is because then price is a determining factor, as you said. It doesn't have as much to do with the screen size I would presume.
No they can't. There's not a single rational people on this world that's going to pay full price for a 3 year old phone. No one. It has to be "new" and look "new", even if it is worse! That's how almost everyone thinks.
about the second sentence... It has to do with both. The note is as expensive or more, the galaxy s3 has almost the same base-price. If you can buy a 599 phone, you can buy a 699 and you will, if you think it's better.
There's a potential market of 50 million (or more) NEW COSTUMERS per quarter for big screens. (s3+note+ONE+Optimus+xperia+Nexus)
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymouse
These are all geeky things that are of zero importance to most consumers, particularly stuff like toggling, "bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode from the Notification Center." Guess what, most people don't toggle these things at all. They might turn on AP mode, maybe, but, for them, the current method of doing that is fine. These sort of geek oriented changes copied from Android are not the sort of iOS changes that would be worthwhile to do, at all.
Since when is turning bluetooth, wifi, or airplane on/off geeky? Anyone that uses a bluetooth headset might do that several times a day when you are trying to save every drop of battery life you can. I think the easiest solution is to fill up all the blank space on the Spotlight screen. When you swipe right it appears. Make the keyboard invisible until you try and type in the search bar and you have an entire blank screen where you could have quick access to bluetooth, wifi, or anything else. Personally I wish we could customize that space with whatever settings or shortcuts we like, but I doubt Apple ever wants us to have that level of customization.
Swiping from bottom to top is also another way to add more options since it is currently the only swipe direction where nothing happens.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason98
Soft bezel is the solution. Would you really need a bezel if you do not hold the tablet (e.g. while watching video or play a board game) ?
Too annoying. Do you really want to see your display shrinking/expanding as you hold/release your iPad, say, lying on the couch with your knees propped up? I don't think so. I certainly don't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwmac
I hope the 4.7" iPhone+ becomes a reality. If it doesn't make an appearance then the 5S or 6 along with iOS 7 needs to really have some major new draws to keep all the 4S owners in the fold as their upgrades mature. Apple has never faced so much tough competition as they will in 2013 from Android. Not to mention a resurgent RIM that looks to have a pretty nice OS and a nostalgic but loyal base ready to stick with Blackberry or return if given a compelling reason.
A cheaper but not "cheap" iPhone also makes sense. The cheapest current new iPhone is the 8GB iPhone 4 which is still $450 - $500 depending on the country without subsidies. It is a quality phone but is perceived rightly or wrongly as old. Over 70% of the world's smartphone customers do not get any subsidy at all for a phone so they have to pay the full price. Even the U.S. has changed to an extent and has hurt Apple sales quite dramatically. If the carriers all had the same upgrade policies they had 2 or 3 years ago in place, Apple would have breezed by 50 million iPhone sales. I used to get a full upgrade every 12 months but now it is 18 months, and for some carriers 20 or 22 months. Phone geeks still upgrade often and own 3 or 4 phones, but they are a tiny minority.
Apple is good at making something cheaper in price without making it cheap. Even if that means taking essentially the guts out of the 4 or 4S and putting it into a plastic case to be able to offer a phone for $350. Many parents buy their kids those low end and dirt cheap Android phones that really are complete crap. But since kids lose and break phones it is a good choice since they are easy and cheap to replace. But once those kids get used to Android or any OS they tend to stay with what is familiar and comfortable and then buy a Galaxy or other expensive Android phone later. So a cheaper iPhone could serve as a gateway drug to lock them into the ecosystem.
Completely agree with you on everything. A cheaper phone. Can be done. Easily. And a larger phone. I need a larger phone. I rarely make calls on my iPhone, so a larger phone for computing would be perfect.
I won't buy an iPad because with LTE and 32 GB, it's WAY overpriced. Apple needs to stop gouging customers on upping the RAM and adding LTE. What a ripoff.
Disclaimer: I've been using Apple products for 30 years. And my kids and I have MacBook Pros and iPhones (4/4S).