bigstick

I usually enjoy Appleinsider articles, but this is a piece of deluded fanboi-ism.

I have been an Apple user for maybe 10 years. I came from Windows like many people and really grew to appreciate the value of Apple's build quality, reliability and customer service. I really used to think that you got value for money. Sure there was an 'Apple tax' but in the bigger picture, just like a premium watch or a car, I felt that the extra cost was worth it. I still use a 2008 Mac pro every day. It was worth every penny.

The last Apple device I bought was my iPhone 7 around 2 years ago. It was the most expensive iPhone I have ever bought at just under GBP600. This was a bit of a mistake, because I had been looking at US prices, and was expecting to pay GBP500!

Nevertheless it was a good buy. I held off buying a new phone because prices had kept going up and I didn't need to spend all that money for the functionality. I bought the phone because I dropped my iPhone 5.

Since i bought the iphone 7, prices have skyrocketed. It's not just the iphone. The MacBook Pro has increased in price significantly, and then we had the ridiculous Homepod. 
An absurd device that didn't even do what an Echo did, except it was 3 times the price but had much, much better sound quality. Who cares about this stuff? Rich people.

Siri has been a joke since it was released. it has evolved and is much better than it was, but Alexa has been more reliable, works with more stuff, my Echo Dot costs a fraction of the Homepod - even with a decent bluetooth speaker.

Apple has lost the plot. It has forgotten what it is about and who it builds for. It's becoming even more of a niche manufacturer than it was. An iPhone that costs as much as a macBook? Are they serious? Who the hell wants or needs animated emoji based on facial recognition? When Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and OnePlus can deliver over 80% of the functionality for 50% of the price, potential customers have to have a damned good reason to buy Apple. When some of these phones have cameras that for the vast majority of people are just as good as those on an iPhone, you really have to wonder.

I am a middle-aged professional and a happy Apple customer. My income level is fairly high for where I live. I'm not rich, but I'm comfortable. I don't have to worry about money, however I simply will not pay for a new iPhone at anything like their current prices. My daughter works in the City of London and earns a lot more than me. She will not pay for a new iphone either. A month ago she bought a brand new iphone 7 on ebay for GBP300. 

In which universe do Apple think that ordinary consumers will pay GBP1000 for a phone?! It seems I'm not the only one questioning the price. Apple is now a rich person's brand.

The article is basically an attempt to defend the indefensible. Apple is driving prices up. 

For anyone that thinks price isn't an issue - consider that you now have to pay more than the cost of good laptop - for a phone. My next phone will be a new iPhone X, from eBay for no more than GBP450. I can afford to, but am not prepared to pay a ridiculous price every month for a new phone, and I'm not prepared to spend laptop money on one.

These devices have a fixed value for me, and a fixed price point. Looks like I'm not the one person who feels the same. Either prices drop, or Apple will lose a lot of sales.

Most worryingly, I'm looking at abandoning Apple altogether, because I don't want to view myself, or be viewed as - a person who wastes money on toys for rich people.

This is the same debacle we had with Siri.
For years Siri has been the 'developmentally challenged' virtual assistant, being outclassed by Google and Alexa.

Over the years improvements have been marginal and slow.

Apple Intelligence is anything but.