While Apple's average iPhone price surges to $687, Android devices flounder at $254

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  • Reply 61 of 93
    arlorarlor Posts: 532member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Crosslad View Post



    "Low End" iPhones are around to be had.  From "free" to $0.99.



    http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/cellphones.html

    [/quote]



    In the UK you can get an old model iPhone for free on contract. However, you will always have to pay more for the monthly contract than for Android phones that are also free on contract.

     

    Apple's ASP -- average selling price -- is not based on the price that the consumer pays to the carrier, but on the price that the carrier pays to Apple. That the carrier then decides to give away the phone doesn't mean that Apple got paid nothing for it.

  • Reply 62 of 93
    joshajosha Posts: 901member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NeilM View Post

     

    Since there are no low end iPhones, but there certainly are low end Android handsets, comparing average selling prices alone doesn't give a very meaningful picture. Yes an approximately comparable iPhone sells for more than its Android counterpart, and yes Apple makes a higher margin on what it sells, but no, Apple doesn't dilute its product mix with basic models.




    Sure Apple sells two pre iPhone 6 lower end models.  The 5s and 5c.

    IMO the iPhone 5c has too little memory for many customers, only about 1GB for the user, but it's $0 on a contract.

    The iPhone 5c:

    With Contract 8GB FREE

    Unlocked 8GB  $450

     

    The very good 5s 16gb is only $99 on contract.

  • Reply 63 of 93
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    lilsmirk wrote: »
    No surprises there. Android operates in a situation of internal competition and consumers can take full advantage of lower prices for a given technology level.

    This gain is called Consumer Surplus and is equal to the red area in the picture below.

    2000px-Economic-surpluses.svg.png

    Apple, on the opposite, operates in a situation of internal monopoly, as it has no competitors on its ecosystems and can set the price it pleases. Therefore, Consumer Surplus shrinks from the Pc line to the Pm line, as the price set from Apple is higher than its market price (defined as the equilibrium point between demand and supply curves).
    What happens is Apple stealing a piece of the Consumer Surplus to make it its own:

    monopolies.png

    In the end, consumers are better off in a situation of perfect competition rather than in a situation of monopoly.

    So what happened to Palm, and BB? They had no competition to their OS, and ecosystem.
  • Reply 64 of 93
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Arlor View Post

     

     

    Apple's ASP -- average selling price -- is not based on the price that the consumer pays to the carrier, but on the price that the carrier pays to Apple. That the carrier then decides to give away the phone doesn't mean that Apple got paid nothing for it.


     

    Anyone who thinks they "give away".... so funny ... their phones are just laugh riots. The phones are subsidized by the contract. You in fact get a loan from the phone company, and not a cheap one, to buy the phones.

  • Reply 65 of 93
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    foggyhill wrote: »
    Anyone who thinks they "give away".... so funny ... their phones are just laugh riots. The phones are subsidized by the contract. You in fact get a loan from the phone company, and not a cheap one, to buy the phones.

    Small but distinct point… With T-Mobile US you get the phone on a loan that you have to pay back in full. With the other US carriers doing a subsidy, it's not so much a loan as a contract that simply requires you to stay as a customer for a certain duration or pay the ETF (early termination fee). The end result of each, if you do leave the carrier is about the same net result, although for years you could leave a carrier and be ahead on the HW sale of an iPhone by a good $200-250 before they jacked them up to $350 a couple years ago.

    Furthermore, this key differences between a carrier that lets you finance the device, like T-Mobile US, and the other carriers that subsidize their devices, is that T-Mobile keeps the charges for the device separate so when you do pay it off it's no longer added to your service fees. Since this is not the case with carrier subsidizes you will continue to pay the same amount for your plan even if after the device has been paid off according to their back-end accounting.

    I feel that previous is very important because in pretty much all scenarios,it then behooves those with a subsidized device to sell their current device and get a new one as soon as they can do so without an added upgrade penalty, in pretty much all scenarios to help maximize their value and minimize the profit given to the carrier.
  • Reply 66 of 93
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    So what happened to Palm, and BB? They had no competition to their OS, and ecosystem.
    There were no customers that were willing to pay any price for that product. We do not have to forget that there are other platforms available, and customers can switch (almost) at any moment.
    Platform owners can prevent this by locking them inside their ecosystem.
  • Reply 67 of 93
    croprcropr Posts: 1,122member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by IceIceAdy View Post



    I think that's why Google bought Motorola. They saw that Apple was making money on hardware and software and wanted a piece, but forgot that it might upset the other manufacturers.

    Google bought Motorola for its patent portfolio.

  • Reply 68 of 93
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    sog35 wrote: »
    The USA.  Tons of used iPhone 4S for that price used.  The secondary market for used iPhones is HUGE. I'd say its 75,000,000+ a year.

    Just like you can buy a 4 year old BMW for half the new price.  But the used market does not cheapen the brand.  The good thing about iPhones is they last a very long time and can go through multiple users.

    Who the heck would want an iPhone 4S right now. I can only imagine the experience is less than great, especially if it's running the latest software.
  • Reply 69 of 93
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    rogifan wrote: »
    Who the heck would want an iPhone 4S right now. I can only imagine the experience is less than great, especially if it's running the latest software.

    I haven't been able to reduce my hypothesis into a succinct statement, so this may come across as messy: In short, I think there are several connected but distinct reasons people still use and buy old iPhones (and other tech) when it behooves them from both a usability and financial position to get the latest tech.

    There are plenty of people that probably bought the 4S when it was new or when the iPhone 5 was new, and are still probably saying, "It's perfectly fine, why would I replace it," and "I don't have to have the latest [hard drive | processor | RAMory | memory drive | <insert_your_own_weird_noun>]." I assume this is the case because I know plenty of people that think like this. These people aren't aren't very adept at conceptualizing the value of their device to others after a year or two of use (thereby minimizing their cost, as many of us here do each year).

    At a basic level I think they see getting the latest or best* iPhone as the same as getting the latest or best TV, radio, car, or pretty much anything else that they're familiar with. They don't really understand what new features are being offered, and therefore don't see how they could make their lives a little more convenient. That's an ignorant** position, but it's certainly understandable I would imagine that few of us here would buy the best or latest TV each year because it had 7 instead of 4 HDMI inputs, or the more expensive car with the real spoiler and bigger engine that can go 0-60 in 0.1 seconds faster.

    Then there is the carrier cost. For some reason this seems like some sort of required penance for American cellphone users that they feel they can't minimize so they'll save money with their iPhone purchase by saving a little up front with an older iPhone purchase and then holding onto it for years. Many probably don't even know it's not slower or can no longer be updated or that some apps stop supporting their iOS version and model, because most are probably thinking like a WinPC user.

    From my experience, I can get people to understand why it would behoove them to get the latest iPhone and, if on a subscription model, get a new iPhone once their contract is up, but this concept seems to be fleeting. Wait a few hours or days and it either becomes some comically warped version or they have no idea whatsoever. My only connection to that sort of fleeting knowledge reminds me of when I was learning how to convert binary and hex (BASE-16) values during my early days of trying to become a network engineer. I recall it would make sense when I read it… and then it wouldn't minutes later. I just had to read and re-read, and drill and re-drill until it became natural.



    * "I don't have to have the best Apple phone" is something my mother would say.
    ** Using as a neutral term to literally mean without knowledge.
  • Reply 70 of 93
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    Who the heck would want an iPhone 4S right now. I can only imagine the experience is less than great, especially if it's running the latest software.

     

    I went back to a 4S after giving my wife my 5S (for wifi calling). Running latest iOS 8. Terrible experience. the 4S barely works. It must be the RAM memory. It sputters and pages don't scroll well. I was using Chrome for iOS for that example. But the phone temporarily freezes up.

     

    It's a long story, but went from a 6+ to 4S and it was intolerable. Not back to the 6+ and the 6+ now feels normal for a phone.

  • Reply 71 of 93
    This isn't really that shocking when you look at the current phones available. There are a ton of Androids sold that cover a much lower range of prices, which brings the average way down. It's a race to the bottom for Android manufacturers.
  • Reply 72 of 93
    bondm16bondm16 Posts: 141member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post





    It's not a notion ... what you said is all true if you just add the words 'just barely' in front of 'good' in that sentence. image

    Nah no need for that edit.

  • Reply 73 of 93
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DanielSW View Post



    Personally, I consider my Apple iPhone 6 with 128 GB storage to be well worth is $1K price. It's the best iPhone ever, the best camera, the best iOS, etc.



    I use it every day, and can't imagine life without it.

     

     

    Personally, I consider my wife to be well worth her $0 price. She's the best wife ever, the best helpmeet, the best friend, the best cook, etc.

     

    I love her every day, and can't imagine life without her.

     

    Glad you like your phone.

  • Reply 74 of 93
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pfisher View Post



    Reasoning for a cheaper iPhone in other countries where incomes are a lot lower makes a lot of logical sense. You want to capture a certain percentage of the market, not really all of it (like Android, LOL).



    Back to margins, Apple has it's margins, net and gross, and they stick to that. They would not be able to sell a 5C for $250. Not if they want to keep the margins, and they will.




    Apple doesn't rank market share high on its list of priorities.

     

     

    Which is why the iPod never got more than 60% marketshare...

  • Reply 75 of 93

    Personally, I consider my wife to be well worth her $0 price. She's the best wife ever, the best helpmeet, the best friend, the best cook, etc.

    I love her every day, and can't imagine life without her.

    Glad you like your phone.
    $0 price? I won't believe it even if I see it. No woman comes at $0, mate :-D
  • Reply 76 of 93
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    lilsmirk wrote: »
    $0 price? I won't believe it even if I see it. No woman comes at $0, mate :-D

    It's possible as some people don't invest anything of value to the people they say they care about.
  • Reply 77 of 93
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member

    Which is why the iPod never got more than 60% marketshare...

    That was the result of creating the best and most convenient devices and ecosystem on the market, not because the sought after marketshare by putting profits, quality, and the customer in the background.
  • Reply 78 of 93
    solipsismy wrote: »
    It's possible as some people don't invest anything of value to the people they say they care about.
    If you care, you invest. I believe this is pretty universal.
  • Reply 79 of 93
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by LilSmirk View Post



    $0 price? I won't believe it even if I see it. No woman comes at $0, mate :-D




    It's possible as some people don't invest anything of value to the people they say they care about.

     

     

    You bought your wife?

     

    Got it.

  • Reply 80 of 93
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    lilsmirk wrote: »
    If you care, you invest. I believe this is pretty universal.

    Some people beat their spouses, others cheat on them, and others do even worse things to them. If [@]Benjamin Frost[/@] says that his wife has a net value of $0 who are we to argue with his stated lack of investment in his marriage.
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