Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What if Apple is able to "differentiate" the new iPhone Pro/X (8 doesn't make any sense to me) from the regular 7s/7s plus AND people are willing to pay a premium for those differentiating factors? Why would they move to S8 which has its own usability issues (particularly with FPS) apart from having a high price of its own? Those who don't want to pay a premium will go for 7s/7s plus or even 7/7 plus (considering that majority of people who upgrade would be owning models older about 2 years+), isn't it?
There needs to be a reason for the price increase though and a reason that Apple can clearly articulate why it’s so much more expensive. Just raising the price because they can and some will pay for it doesn’t seem like a good enough reason, I’m hoping Gruber’s theory is right - that the higher price is Apple delivering next years iPhone this year. And I hope the 7S (or whatever Apple calls it) is not just a 7 with new SoC and better camera. I hope it’s a brand new design that makes it desirable for the masses.
When has an S-series ever been anything but updated internals? It’s never a whole new design. If it were, it wouldn’t be the same number-series. So if it’s a 7s, it’s going to look like the existing 7.
Except the 7 wasn’t much of a change from the 6S. It was basically not much more than tweaking the antenna lines and camera bump. There’s no way someone would put a 7 next to a 6S and call it a whole new design. If the 7S looks just like the 7 and the 8 has a starting price over $1000 this will not be another iPhone super cycle.
The design is what is inside! Other wise you have a glass slab.
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
Do you honestly beleieve Apple decision makers are reading these forums, and that your wants affect their pricing and profit strategy?
Dreamland aside, i think your premise that having a higher priced tier will drive customers to another brand rather than opting for a lower tier is pretty nuts. I didn’t want the Edition watch so i got the steel. I didn’t get a Samsung POS instead.
Can’t compare. When it comes to flagship phones I think it’s pretty even (at least from a hardware standpoint). And I mentioned the 5C. I think one reason it didn’t sell as well as the SE is because it was more that people wanted to pay for what they were getting. If the 8 is a marvel of engineering and manufacturing and leapfrogs everyone else in terms of flagship smartphone hardware that’s another story. If it’s just more expensive so Apple can raise ASPs (or just test how much some people are willing to pay) and if the tech press & other media scream overpriced then I think there’s a problem.
First, don’t rewrite history — the 5c was a big seller. In the US carrier stories the 5s and 5c were the top two selling handsets.
I hardly think tech press screaming over anything is relevant. It’s usually ignorant nonsense and not aligned with normals.
I doubt Apple will offer a higher priced device without having value-adding reasons why. See iPad. See Mac.
So again, having a high priced tier won’t push users to Samsung as you claimed.
One could argue the additions to the iPad didn’t require a price increase.
Yes, and one could argue the moon is made of green cheese.
The iPP has way better features. Features that not everyone, like my mother, needs. For her a slower ipad with poorer color management and refresh is fine. Two use cases, two prices. Ain’t rocket science, new, or controversial.
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What if Apple is able to "differentiate" the new iPhone Pro/X (8 doesn't make any sense to me) from the regular 7s/7s plus AND people are willing to pay a premium for those differentiating factors? Why would they move to S8 which has its own usability issues (particularly with FPS) apart from having a high price of its own? Those who don't want to pay a premium will go for 7s/7s plus or even 7/7 plus (considering that majority of people who upgrade would be owning models older about 2 years+), isn't it?
There needs to be a reason for the price increase though and a reason that Apple can clearly articulate why it’s so much more expensive. Just raising the price because they can and some will pay for it doesn’t seem like a good enough reason, I’m hoping Gruber’s theory is right - that the higher price is Apple delivering next years iPhone this year. And I hope the 7S (or whatever Apple calls it) is not just a 7 with new SoC and better camera. I hope it’s a brand new design that makes it desirable for the masses.
When has an S-series ever been anything but updated internals? It’s never a whole new design. If it were, it wouldn’t be the same number-series. So if it’s a 7s, it’s going to look like the existing 7.
Except the 7 wasn’t much of a change from the 6S. It was basically not much more than tweaking the antenna lines and camera bump. There’s no way someone would put a 7 next to a 6S and call it a whole new design. If the 7S looks just like the 7 and the 8 has a starting price over $1000 this will not be another iPhone super cycle.
What you’re describing (new series resembling previous series) has nothing to do with what I said. I asked you when an S-series ever had a new design, as you’re asking for. The answer of course is never. Because if it was an all new look, it wouldn’t be an [X]s series, it would be an all new series.
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What if Apple is able to "differentiate" the new iPhone Pro/X (8 doesn't make any sense to me) from the regular 7s/7s plus AND people are willing to pay a premium for those differentiating factors? Why would they move to S8 which has its own usability issues (particularly with FPS) apart from having a high price of its own? Those who don't want to pay a premium will go for 7s/7s plus or even 7/7 plus (considering that majority of people who upgrade would be owning models older about 2 years+), isn't it?
There needs to be a reason for the price increase though and a reason that Apple can clearly articulate why it’s so much more expensive. Just raising the price because they can and some will pay for it doesn’t seem like a good enough reason, I’m hoping Gruber’s theory is right - that the higher price is Apple delivering next years iPhone this year. And I hope the 7S (or whatever Apple calls it) is not just a 7 with new SoC and better camera. I hope it’s a brand new design that makes it desirable for the masses.
Please explain why a Toyota Camry cost 25% more than 7 years ago?
There is no explaining needed.
Cutting edge tech cost money. $1100 for an item you use everyday for hours a day is a steal.
I paid $950 for a 6+ 3 years ago. I'll easily pay $1100 for a far superior phone
1. Inflation. Average inflation in the US is about 2% per year, give or take. That means that for a 7 year period you will get 1.02^7 = 1.1486 or 14.86% increase. For 10 years it will be roughly 22% increase. 2. Feature creep. Auto-manufacturers try to "out-feature" each other, by adding new features that cost more. They have to if they want to stay competitive.
What many in this thread dont realize is that iPhone is already too expensive. While i dont see Apple competeing on price i do see them keeping the lineup very competitive. As such iPhone Pro could move into the vurrent top of the line price slots. Everything else would get dropped down a slot or two.
Why? Because ive seen nothing compelling when it comes to new features for the "pro". It would need features not yet rumored to get the sales over the long term. Long term is the key here, sales to the earliy adopter crowd doesnt make a successful product, you need to be able to sustain sales for over a year. To do that at $1100 they would need some truly advanced features.
By the way no OLED isnt an advanced feature. An AI chip that actually works might be though.
It's not gonna sell like hot potatoes anymore. If you are on a 7/7plus which finally's got 3GB Ram to catch up with the 2012 android, there's no need to upgrade. Maybe for those who come from a 4 or 5SE, but again those who hold on these crapy phones in 2017 are not willing to pay $1100 for a phone. Maybe for the 6/6s crowed? But at that price not easy since the phone market is mature, lots of nicely built phones out there that cost much less.
famous last words, even without specs announced (and memory specs for a iPhone compared to Android... come on... that's a specious argument). And then you qualified that with the fact that 60% of the upgrade market does have a need to upgrade. And who's to say an android user want's a 5.5" screen with the form factor or a 5SE, and 2X the performance of last years Android?
The holy grail of phones is to get the smallest possible phone with the biggest possible screen with the fastest network and processor, with the best user experience for a reasonable price.
BTW, the 5SE is not a crappy phone... it's a 6S with a 4" screen. Quite useful for the small pocket crowd.
I don't buy it. I think we'll see the same thing that happened with the original iPad. There were months of rumors about how incredibly expensive it would be - some saying $1000 or more (sound familiar?) and then when it was announced at $499, people thought it was an incredible bargain. I would not be one bit surprised if Apple themselves weren't fueling some of this wild price speculation around the iPhone 8 (or whatever it's called). I don't believe for one minute that the starting price will be $1000, or $1200 as some (Gruber) have said. That's absurd. My guess is it will start between $769-899.
Then as the second part of Apple's pricing strategy, I think it's possible they could actually lower the prices of the 7s and 7s Plus, perhaps to starting prices of $599 and $699 respectively. Either that, or the prices will stay the same - but this analyst is predicting a huge price increase for the 7s models, plus a MUCH more expensive iPhone 8. That seems very unlikely to me. If the iPhone 8 will be the high-priced premium phone everyone predicts, that means the 7s models will be the mass market phones that Apple needs to sell hundreds of millions of - but they won't be the the top-of-the-line iPhones, which could be a strong disincentive to buy them. If people can't afford the best iPhone, but don't want to settle for second best, they could just say screw Apple and switch to Android. Apple has to give people a reason to buy the mass market 7s models in huge numbers, and the best reason I can think of is a price reduction.
So anyway - that's my bold prediction that I literally have not heard anywhere else: an iPhone 8 starting price that is only moderately higher than today's top-of-the-line iPhone, combined with slight price reductions for the 7s models. That is a strategy for growth. What this analyst is predicting is a strategy for disaster.
Anyway, we'll all see soon enough!
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What was stupid about the gold Apple Watch Edition? It was brilliant. They got a ton of press over it, and it gave an aura of luxury and fashion to the whole Apple Watch line. The point wasn't to sell a lot of Editions, it was all about image and branding. It was masterful marketing.
I don't buy it. I think we'll see the same thing that happened with the original iPad. There were months of rumors about how incredibly expensive it would be - some saying $1000 or more (sound familiar?) and then when it was announced at $499, people thought it was an incredible bargain. I would not be one bit surprised if Apple themselves weren't fueling some of this wild price speculation around the iPhone 8 (or whatever it's called). I don't believe for one minute that the starting price will be $1000, or $1200 as some (Gruber) have said. That's absurd. My guess is it will start between $769-899.
Then as the second part of Apple's pricing strategy, I think it's possible they could actually lower the prices of the 7s and 7s Plus, perhaps to starting prices of $599 and $699 respectively. Either that, or the prices will stay the same - but this analyst is predicting a huge price increase for the 7s models, plus a MUCH more expensive iPhone 8. That seems very unlikely to me. If the iPhone 8 will be the high-priced premium phone everyone predicts, that means the 7s models will be the mass market phones that Apple needs to sell hundreds of millions of - but they won't be the the top-of-the-line iPhones, which could be a strong disincentive to buy them. If people can't afford the best iPhone, but don't want to settle for second best, they could just say screw Apple and switch to Android. Apple has to give people a reason to buy the mass market 7s models in huge numbers, and the best reason I can think of is a price reduction.
So anyway - that's my bold prediction that I literally have not heard anywhere else: an iPhone 8 starting price that is only moderately higher than today's top-of-the-line iPhone, combined with slight price reductions for the 7s models. That is a strategy for growth. What this analyst is predicting is a strategy for disaster.
Anyway, we'll all see soon enough!
Why would people pay more than 7s Plus for a screen smaller than 7s Plus? "More" security? Forget it. People don't buy smartphones for security. OLED? That cheap old tech should take the price down, not up. Reduced bezels? Then why previous models with huge bezels have sold in hundreds of millions requires explanation.
In order to price the new model significantly higher than current models Apple must add a breakthrough core technology in it, maybe an AI chip or some new different chip. Otherwise "starting price that is only moderately higher than today's top-of-the-line iPhone, combined with slight price reductions for the 7s models" appears as the only plausible solution.
What many in this thread dont realize is that iPhone is already too expensive. While i dont see Apple competeing on price i do see them keeping the lineup very competitive. As such iPhone Pro could move into the vurrent top of the line price slots. Everything else would get dropped down a slot or two.
Why? Because ive seen nothing compelling when it comes to new features for the "pro". It would need features not yet rumored to get the sales over the long term. Long term is the key here, sales to the earliy adopter crowd doesnt make a successful product, you need to be able to sustain sales for over a year. To do that at $1100 they would need some truly advanced features.
By the way no OLED isnt an advanced feature. An AI chip that actually works might be though.
Is it to expensive or just not well spread to create the right differentiation?
No point leaving money on the table if people are willing to pay more, but to do that there needs to be clearer advantage up the chain. To me, they could keep the 6s turn it in to a 6se with lower price and drop the 7 altogether in favour of 7s. That to then makes two nice spots for the pro/edition phone. One top end for the Rumoured Phone. Then early next year say on the 11th aniversary the smallest iPhone ever with ~4.5 screen and casing that is less volumn than the 5se (which was smaller than the 4 by volumn even with a larger screen).
It's not gonna sell like hot potatoes anymore. If you are on a 7/7plus which finally's got 3GB Ram to catch up with the 2012 android, there's no need to upgrade. Maybe for those who come from a 4 or 5SE, but again those who hold on these crapy phones in 2017 are not willing to pay $1100 for a phone. Maybe for the 6/6s crowed? But at that price not easy since the phone market is mature, lots of nicely built phones out there that cost much less.
No Android is going to run ARKit-based AR apps. iPhones, to my knowledge are the only smartphones that (a) are easily updated from one major OS version to the next, multiple years in-a-row, and (b) are the only smartphones that become significantly more capable a year and even two years after being released, due to (a).
iPhone 6+ and newer models will all support AR apps based on ARKit. None of the existing 'nicely built' Android competition will do so and it'll be a long time before any significant percentage of the Android installed based will have at its disposal a suite of AR apps the likes of which will be supported by hundreds of millions of existingi and newly released iPhones by the end of 2017. Where is the advantage in those 2012 Android phones with their 3GB of RAM? Hardware specs, oft quoted by the fandroid crowd, are falicious. How many four-year-old Android phones, supposedly highly capable because of the larger amount of RAM and other hardware specs, are running the latest major release of Andriod? The iPhone 5S was released in 2013, with its 64-bit processor, nicely supports the current version of iOS and the 64-bit apps compiled for it. How's that extra RAM working out for those walking around with even last year's Android handsets? How many have received even one update to the next major Android release, beyond the release installed on them, a large percentage of which shipped without even the major Android release that was then the most recent. Many Android handsets are sold today with Android 4.x or 5.x installed, with no practical possibility of ever being updated to a newer major version.
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What if Apple is able to "differentiate" the new iPhone Pro/X (8 doesn't make any sense to me) from the regular 7s/7s plus AND people are willing to pay a premium for those differentiating factors? Why would they move to S8 which has its own usability issues (particularly with FPS) apart from having a high price of its own? Those who don't want to pay a premium will go for 7s/7s plus or even 7/7 plus (considering that majority of people who upgrade would be owning models older about 2 years+), isn't it?
There needs to be a reason for the price increase though and a reason that Apple can clearly articulate why it’s so much more expensive. Just raising the price because they can and some will pay for it doesn’t seem like a good enough reason, I’m hoping Gruber’s theory is right - that the higher price is Apple delivering next years iPhone this year. And I hope the 7S (or whatever Apple calls it) is not just a 7 with new SoC and better camera. I hope it’s a brand new design that makes it desirable for the masses.
When has an S-series ever been anything but updated internals? It’s never a whole new design. If it were, it wouldn’t be the same number-series. So if it’s a 7s, it’s going to look like the existing 7.
Except the 7 wasn’t much of a change from the 6S. It was basically not much more than tweaking the antenna lines and camera bump. There’s no way someone would put a 7 next to a 6S and call it a whole new design. If the 7S looks just like the 7 and the 8 has a starting price over $1000 this will not be another iPhone super cycle.
Many automobile designs go five years without a major redesign. See the iconic Jeep, Ford, GM and Dodge trucks, BMWs, Audis, Corvettes, etc. Those are products where there is much latitude for styling for styling's sake. In other markets it's all about style. A handbag, even a cheap one from KMart, can have multiple compartments that fulfill the utility requirements needed by women. How do Coach and others sell handbags for hundreds and even into thousands of dollars? By selling style and materials/quality. In that market there are annual refreshes and broad product lines.
The Watch market is similar. Apple Watch transects the worlds of pure fashion and computing device utility. The computer side of an Apple Watch dictates to a large extend its form, and is the reason Apple chose a rectangular form. But Apple addresses the fashion side with case colors and Watch bands.
But where a Watch represents a wearable accessory and fashion, a phone is much more closely tied to the computing function side of the equation. When not in use it resides in your pocket or in a woman's handbag. It's not a primary fashion accessory. And so the form of the phone need not be modified significantly from year to year in order to refresh its fashion appeal. People express their individuality regarding their phone more with the case they put it in than any annual or seasonal changes to the phone itself, and Apple knows this.
Phone as fashion doesn't work, because the replacement cycle is too long and the changes too subtle. But phone cases are cheap and a person might have two or three to swap out. Apple's job is to create an ergonomic handset that includes cutting edge capabilities and a great UX, and put it all together with the highest quality fit and finish, then offer it in a few appealing colors. And that's what they do. The fact that sales are increasing over time is testament to Apple's correct thinking, when measured against the length of the replacement cycle, and adjusting for the one year when Apple introduced the larger display sizes. Even then, the huge bump in sales was a factor of a big change in utility and not due to the new handset design, which was, in fact, panned as being less attractive and harder to hold (slippery) compared with the 4 through 5 series iPhones.
It's not gonna sell like hot potatoes anymore. If you are on a 7/7plus which finally's got 3GB Ram to catch up with the 2012 android, there's no need to upgrade. Maybe for those who come from a 4 or 5SE, but again those who hold on these crapy phones in 2017 are not willing to pay $1100 for a phone. Maybe for the 6/6s crowed? But at that price not easy since the phone market is mature, lots of nicely built phones out there that cost much less.
No Android is going to run ARKit-based AR apps. iPhones, to my knowledge are the only smartphones that (a) are easily updated from one major OS version to the next, multiple years in-a-row, and (b) are the only smartphones that become significantly more capable a year and even two years after being released, due to (a).
iPhone 6+ and newer models will all support AR apps based on ARKit. None of the existing 'nicely built' Android competition will do so and it'll be a long time before any significant percentage of the Android installed based will have at its disposal a suite of AR apps the likes of which will be supported by hundreds of millions of existingi and newly released iPhones by the end of 2017. Where is the advantage in those 2012 Android phones with their 3GB of RAM? Hardware specs, oft quoted by the fandroid crowd, are falicious. How many four-year-old Android phones, supposedly highly capable because of the larger amount of RAM and other hardware specs, are running the latest major release of Andriod? The iPhone 5S was released in 2013, with its 64-bit processor, nicely supports the current version of iOS and the 64-bit apps compiled for it. How's that extra RAM working out for those walking around with even last year's Android handsets? How many have received even one update to the next major Android release, beyond the release installed on them, a large percentage of which shipped without even the major Android release that was then the most recent. Many Android handsets are sold today with Android 4.x or 5.x installed, with no practical possibility of ever being updated to a newer major version.
Seeing as this year is the tock in terms of the tick-tock cycle (current iPhone gets an S update), I doubt they'll jump the gun and name it the iPhone 8. They've only got a few years until they reach double digits. iPhone X is ridiculous. X is overused in recent years and I can't see Apple naming anything like that. Among all the currently popular ideas for the name, the iPhone Pro is the only one that makes sense
They're going to completely reinvent the iPhone game, and what better opportunity to call it "Pro"?
I have a feeling the are going to completely shock everyone with the new performance and features.
Having "Pro" in the name will also allow them to justify the extra premium over the other models.
The only issue with this name is how they'll end up naming the next version of the iPhone Pro.
iPhone Pro 2? Nah. Series 2? Nope. v2? meh. iPhone Pro (2018-model)? meh.
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What was stupid about the gold Apple Watch Edition? It was brilliant. They got a ton of press over it, and it gave an aura of luxury and fashion to the whole Apple Watch line. The point wasn't to sell a lot of Editions, it was all about image and branding. It was masterful marketing.
I was about to say the same thing. The point of the Apple Gold edition was to get Beyoncé wearing Apple kit.
It's not gonna sell like hot potatoes anymore. If you are on a 7/7plus which finally's got 3GB Ram to catch up with the 2012 android, there's no need to upgrade. Maybe for those who come from a 4 or 5SE, but again those who hold on these crapy phones in 2017 are not willing to pay $1100 for a phone. Maybe for the 6/6s crowed? But at that price not easy since the phone market is mature, lots of nicely built phones out there that cost much less.
famous last words, even without specs announced (and memory specs for a iPhone compared to Android... come on... that's a specious argument). And then you qualified that with the fact that 60% of the upgrade market does have a need to upgrade. And who's to say an android user want's a 5.5" screen with the form factor or a 5SE, and 2X the performance of last years Android?
The holy grail of phones is to get the smallest possible phone with the biggest possible screen with the fastest network and processor, with the best user experience for a reasonable price.
BTW, the 5SE is not a crappy phone... it's a 6S with a 4" screen. Quite useful for the small pocket crowd.
you are right, the 3gb android came in 2013 not 2012. In 2012 that was the high ppi android Oled display that might appear this fall in the iPhone or maybe next year;) Go to store and play with one of those high quality android phones if you haven't seen or touched one in while.
And what would you do with a new iphone that you can't do with the iPhone 7? Cook french fries, mow the lawn? need to take slightly insignificantly better crappy noisy pictures in relative low light? really?
5SE is a crapy little phone, how small pocket do you have? Why don't you get an iPod shuffle instead for those small pockets?
It's not gonna sell like hot potatoes anymore. If you are on a 7/7plus which finally's got 3GB Ram to catch up with the 2012 android, there's no need to upgrade. Maybe for those who come from a 4 or 5SE, but again those who hold on these crapy phones in 2017 are not willing to pay $1100 for a phone. Maybe for the 6/6s crowed? But at that price not easy since the phone market is mature, lots of nicely built phones out there that cost much less.
No Android is going to run ARKit-based AR apps. iPhones, to my knowledge are the only smartphones that (a) are easily updated from one major OS version to the next, multiple years in-a-row, and (b) are the only smartphones that become significantly more capable a year and even two years after being released, due to (a).
iPhone 6+ and newer models will all support AR apps based on ARKit. None of the existing 'nicely built' Android competition will do so and it'll be a long time before any significant percentage of the Android installed based will have at its disposal a suite of AR apps the likes of which will be supported by hundreds of millions of existingi and newly released iPhones by the end of 2017. Where is the advantage in those 2012 Android phones with their 3GB of RAM? Hardware specs, oft quoted by the fandroid crowd, are falicious. How many four-year-old Android phones, supposedly highly capable because of the larger amount of RAM and other hardware specs, are running the latest major release of Andriod? The iPhone 5S was released in 2013, with its 64-bit processor, nicely supports the current version of iOS and the 64-bit apps compiled for it. How's that extra RAM working out for those walking around with even last year's Android handsets? How many have received even one update to the next major Android release, beyond the release installed on them, a large percentage of which shipped without even the major Android release that was then the most recent. Many Android handsets are sold today with Android 4.x or 5.x installed, with no practical possibility of ever being updated to a newer major version.
Wish I could somehow double-like this.
that's right older iPhone will all support AR apps just like when they crippled iOS 6 to remove support for FaceTime http://cnnmon.ie/2tRrV9h
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What if Apple is able to "differentiate" the new iPhone Pro/X (8 doesn't make any sense to me) from the regular 7s/7s plus AND people are willing to pay a premium for those differentiating factors? Why would they move to S8 which has its own usability issues (particularly with FPS) apart from having a high price of its own? Those who don't want to pay a premium will go for 7s/7s plus or even 7/7 plus (considering that majority of people who upgrade would be owning models older about 2 years+), isn't it?
Apple has to decide whether they want to be a mass market producer (which is where they've been going ever since AT&T started subsidizing the iPhone) or a high-end niche producer. They can't be both with the same product. They've already driven up prices of any decently configured MBP. I think that salaries at Apple (and companies like it) have gotten so high, they no longer realize how ordinary people live. IMO, these are way too high a price to pay for a device that most people keep for only a few years, if only because the battery no longer keeps a charge. I'm not paying $1000 for a phone and certainly not one that is only practical for 2 years.
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What if Apple is able to "differentiate" the new iPhone Pro/X (8 doesn't make any sense to me) from the regular 7s/7s plus AND people are willing to pay a premium for those differentiating factors? Why would they move to S8 which has its own usability issues (particularly with FPS) apart from having a high price of its own? Those who don't want to pay a premium will go for 7s/7s plus or even 7/7 plus (considering that majority of people who upgrade would be owning models older about 2 years+), isn't it?
Apple has to decide whether they want to be a mass market producer (which is where they've been going ever since AT&T started subsidizing the iPhone) or a high-end niche producer. They can't be both with the same product. They've already driven up prices of any decently configured MBP. I think that salaries at Apple (and companies like it) have gotten so high, they no longer realize how ordinary people live. IMO, these are way too high a price to pay for a device that most people keep for only a few years, if only because the battery no longer keeps a charge. I'm not paying $1000 for a phone and certainly not one that is only practical for 2 years.
I am afraid you are again missing the point. iPhone Pro is NOT the only one that Apple is going to launch in this year. There are 2 other phones 7s/7s plus, that would cater to the people who want a new, less expensive (in relative terms) phone. If iPhone Pro is the ONLY phone that Apple launches this year, what you say would make sense. 7s and 7s plus are the mass market phones, with Pro being the limited availability phone (and ramp up production in subsequent months if demand is too high) with higher end specs. I don't see anything wrong with this approach.
Don’t get greedy Apple. No Apple Watch Edition stupidity. Remember how successful the iPhone SE was in comparison to the 5C. People will pay a “premium” but don’t want to feel like they’re being gouged. Don’t give consumers any reason to think of moving to S8.
What if Apple is able to "differentiate" the new iPhone Pro/X (8 doesn't make any sense to me) from the regular 7s/7s plus AND people are willing to pay a premium for those differentiating factors? Why would they move to S8 which has its own usability issues (particularly with FPS) apart from having a high price of its own? Those who don't want to pay a premium will go for 7s/7s plus or even 7/7 plus (considering that majority of people who upgrade would be owning models older about 2 years+), isn't it?
There needs to be a reason for the price increase though and a reason that Apple can clearly articulate why it’s so much more expensive. Just raising the price because they can and some will pay for it doesn’t seem like a good enough reason, I’m hoping Gruber’s theory is right - that the higher price is Apple delivering next years iPhone this year. And I hope the 7S (or whatever Apple calls it) is not just a 7 with new SoC and better camera. I hope it’s a brand new design that makes it desirable for the masses.
When has an S-series ever been anything but updated internals? It’s never a whole new design. If it were, it wouldn’t be the same number-series. So if it’s a 7s, it’s going to look like the existing 7.
Except the 7 wasn’t much of a change from the 6S. It was basically not much more than tweaking the antenna lines and camera bump. There’s no way someone would put a 7 next to a 6S and call it a whole new design. If the 7S looks just like the 7 and the 8 has a starting price over $1000 this will not be another iPhone super cycle.
The design is what is inside! Other wise you have a glass slab.
Oh please give me a break. What everyone obsesses over is what the phone looks. That’s what design means to most people. If the 7S looks just like the 7 which looked a lot like the 6S there won’t be a super cycle. Especially not if the iPhone 8 is super expensive and lacks Touch ID.
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The iPP has way better features. Features that not everyone, like my mother, needs. For her a slower ipad with poorer color management and refresh is fine. Two use cases, two prices. Ain’t rocket science, new, or controversial.
That means that for a 7 year period you will get 1.02^7 = 1.1486 or 14.86% increase. For 10 years it will be roughly 22% increase.
2. Feature creep. Auto-manufacturers try to "out-feature" each other, by adding new features that cost more. They have to if they want to stay competitive.
Why? Because ive seen nothing compelling when it comes to new features for the "pro". It would need features not yet rumored to get the sales over the long term. Long term is the key here, sales to the earliy adopter crowd doesnt make a successful product, you need to be able to sustain sales for over a year. To do that at $1100 they would need some truly advanced features.
By the way no OLED isnt an advanced feature. An AI chip that actually works might be though.
And then you qualified that with the fact that 60% of the upgrade market does have a need to upgrade.
And who's to say an android user want's a 5.5" screen with the form factor or a 5SE, and 2X the performance of last years Android?
The holy grail of phones is to get the smallest possible phone with the biggest possible screen with the fastest network and processor, with the best user experience for a reasonable price.
BTW, the 5SE is not a crappy phone... it's a 6S with a 4" screen. Quite useful for the small pocket crowd.
In order to price the new model significantly higher than current models Apple must add a breakthrough core technology in it, maybe an AI chip or some new different chip. Otherwise "starting price that is only moderately higher than today's top-of-the-line iPhone, combined with slight price reductions for the 7s models" appears as the only plausible solution.
No point leaving money on the table if people are willing to pay more, but to do that there needs to be clearer advantage up the chain.
To me, they could keep the 6s turn it in to a 6se with lower price and drop the 7 altogether in favour of 7s. That to then makes two nice spots for the pro/edition phone. One top end for the Rumoured Phone. Then early next year say on the 11th aniversary the smallest iPhone ever with ~4.5 screen and casing that is less volumn than the 5se (which was smaller than the 4 by volumn even with a larger screen).
iPhone 6+ and newer models will all support AR apps based on ARKit. None of the existing 'nicely built' Android competition will do so and it'll be a long time before any significant percentage of the Android installed based will have at its disposal a suite of AR apps the likes of which will be supported by hundreds of millions of existingi and newly released iPhones by the end of 2017. Where is the advantage in those 2012 Android phones with their 3GB of RAM? Hardware specs, oft quoted by the fandroid crowd, are falicious. How many four-year-old Android phones, supposedly highly capable because of the larger amount of RAM and other hardware specs, are running the latest major release of Andriod? The iPhone 5S was released in 2013, with its 64-bit processor, nicely supports the current version of iOS and the 64-bit apps compiled for it. How's that extra RAM working out for those walking around with even last year's Android handsets? How many have received even one update to the next major Android release, beyond the release installed on them, a large percentage of which shipped without even the major Android release that was then the most recent. Many Android handsets are sold today with Android 4.x or 5.x installed, with no practical possibility of ever being updated to a newer major version.
The Watch market is similar. Apple Watch transects the worlds of pure fashion and computing device utility. The computer side of an Apple Watch dictates to a large extend its form, and is the reason Apple chose a rectangular form. But Apple addresses the fashion side with case colors and Watch bands.
But where a Watch represents a wearable accessory and fashion, a phone is much more closely tied to the computing function side of the equation. When not in use it resides in your pocket or in a woman's handbag. It's not a primary fashion accessory. And so the form of the phone need not be modified significantly from year to year in order to refresh its fashion appeal. People express their individuality regarding their phone more with the case they put it in than any annual or seasonal changes to the phone itself, and Apple knows this.
Phone as fashion doesn't work, because the replacement cycle is too long and the changes too subtle. But phone cases are cheap and a person might have two or three to swap out. Apple's job is to create an ergonomic handset that includes cutting edge capabilities and a great UX, and put it all together with the highest quality fit and finish, then offer it in a few appealing colors. And that's what they do. The fact that sales are increasing over time is testament to Apple's correct thinking, when measured against the length of the replacement cycle, and adjusting for the one year when Apple introduced the larger display sizes. Even then, the huge bump in sales was a factor of a big change in utility and not due to the new handset design, which was, in fact, panned as being less attractive and harder to hold (slippery) compared with the 4 through 5 series iPhones.
They've only got a few years until they reach double digits. iPhone X is ridiculous. X is overused in recent years and I can't see Apple naming anything like that.
Among all the currently popular ideas for the name, the iPhone Pro is the only one that makes sense
They're going to completely reinvent the iPhone game, and what better opportunity to call it "Pro"?
I have a feeling the are going to completely shock everyone with the new performance and features.
Having "Pro" in the name will also allow them to justify the extra premium over the other models.
The only issue with this name is how they'll end up naming the next version of the iPhone Pro.
iPhone Pro 2? Nah.
Series 2? Nope.
v2? meh.
iPhone Pro (2018-model)? meh.
Go to store and play with one of those high quality android phones if you haven't seen or touched one in while.
And what would you do with a new iphone that you can't do with the iPhone 7? Cook french fries, mow the lawn? need to take slightly insignificantly better crappy noisy pictures in relative low light? really?
5SE is a crapy little phone, how small pocket do you have? Why don't you get an iPod shuffle instead for those small pockets?
I am afraid you are again missing the point. iPhone Pro is NOT the only one that Apple is going to launch in this year. There are 2 other phones 7s/7s plus, that would cater to the people who want a new, less expensive (in relative terms) phone. If iPhone Pro is the ONLY phone that Apple launches this year, what you say would make sense. 7s and 7s plus are the mass market phones, with Pro being the limited availability phone (and ramp up production in subsequent months if demand is too high) with higher end specs. I don't see anything wrong with this approach.