uktechie

I think there are multiple problems.

The eye watering price of MacBooks and iPhones is putting off a lot of previously loyal fans. I often hear that friends plan on getting a new Mac then change their mind when they work out the actual cost of getting a machine with the RAM and storage they need. The inability to upgrade after purchase makes it a difficult buying decision for many. I appreciate why this is, but it’s a challenge for potential purchasers. 

Secondly the technology is so good that there’s little reason to upgrade an older device. My 5 year old MacBook Pro is easily fast enough for my needs and the new ones offer no great benefit for me that could justify the high cost. 

A lot of enthusiasts and keen Apple users bought an iPhone X last year but given the high cost see little reason to upgrade to an iPhone XS which looks identical and feels the same in use. I love my iPhone XS but cannot recommend anyone upgrade from an iPhone X as it doesn’t offer any obvious benefit. Most users would be unable to tell the difference without running benchmarks. That’s not to say it isn’t enormously faster and have many other technological improvements - it’s that most users won’t notice. Without some significant new features it’s difficult to see where Apple (and other manufacturers) can go with smart phones - were approaching the limit of what consumers need in terms of hardware. 

Meanwhile the wider market of people who thought $1000 was too much for a phone last year still feel that way now. 

Exchange rates and challenging market conditions obviously play a big part too. The high dollar against the pound means Apple prices really are extremely high in the UK and it’s making Apple products far less affordable. 

Thanks for the superb review. That’s a really great comparison and clearly shows the differences. 

The iPhone X camera was already outstanding and I’ve been impressed with many of the photos I’ve taken. I’d judge it to be as good as a DSLR in the right conditions (daylight, 1x or 2x zoom) and it copes admirably in more difficult scenarios. The iPhone XS looks like a major improvement though and I’m glad I upgraded - the camera improvements were the big attraction for me. 

I’ve only had the iPhone XS for 24 hours and confess apart from the camera the iPhone XS doesn’t feel any different to my iPhone X. It may be a lot faster but when everything is near instant it’s difficult to judge the improvement...  

The full specs and dimensions are on the Apple web site but you had to choose View Pricing then choose the model you want:


For comparison:

I love my iPhone X but several family members prefer the iPhone SE and I’ve fond memories of having a small light-weight iPhone that easily fitted in my pocket. 

I’m hoping for a ‘one more thing’ iPhone SE-X launch in October just after they announce new Retine MacBook Airs and the edge-to-edge OLED iPad X...

Is that likely? If they were doing a new SE you”d expect it to be included in today’s but who knows? Maybe they want to get the premium orders out the way first and didn’t want to confuse everyone with four new iPhones in one event?

jcs2305 said:

inplainview said:

Can wear these because of my job so I’ll stick with my Rolex Explorer II

So you felt the need to name drop 8k watch...cool.

8k? Pah! Even my old Casio calculator had more memory than that and my Series 3 Watch has 16GB...