Wolfen

danox said:

charlesn said:

Just... wow. I'm kind of stunned. The phone, itself, is pretty much as expected. But that price point... YIKES. So the cheapest iPhone is now 40% more expensive than it was yesterday. Although, in an apples to apples comparison -- price of SE 3 128 vs 16E base model 128 -- it's a 25% hike. I'm not saying the 16E isn't worth it, fhe list of improvements over the SE is huge, but raising the price of entry into the iPhone ecosystem by 40% is a giant cojones pricing move. I'm certainly not going to question the decision, since I'm sure it was made with a ton of data supporting that this would work out okay, but I never saw this coming. 

No surprise and I will also not be a surprised with most people buying the even higher priced iPhone’s above it, over the years the marketshare enthusiasts have always said without fail, Apple should offer a cheaper device (for marketshare) but every time they do most people elect to buy the more expensive models this time will be no different.

zone said:

It's barely changed? Also, why would you not get a new phone each year with all these subsidies? It's a very low cost for something people use all the time and one of the most important devices that people own. I will always want each improvement, no matter how small. So many of our possessions are things that don't change features at all, like clothing, shoes, cars, and so on and so on. They might look different but that's all the justification my wife needs to buy more clothing. This is dumb, and almost no reason not to upgrade unless you have no money to begin with. The service is more expensive than the phone...

Xed said:

respencer said:

I am experiencing the same thing as the executive whose phone was stolen. In my case, a scammer called me stating that he was from Goldman Sachs Apple Card. He said a large charge against my card had occurred. Sure enough, I looked and $11K had been charged. I assumed he was legit because Apple has told us all how secure their card is and unhackable. After an hour of talking to him (thought he was legit since he already had my info - don't know how since we are very careful) and with my wife talking to Goldman (who refused to verify whether the guy was theirs or not) he hung up. In the process, he changed my second-level verification phone number and locked my iPhone. It is now approaching month 2 of Apple's "Elite Investigator Team" refusing to release my iCloud account or unlock my phone. As did the executive, I have over 30 years of data on the phone. It is all backed up on 2 different drives and in iCloud, but Apple's backup system won't let another phone restore from it. I cannot update my Home Pods or Apple TVs (3 in all) since they are linked to the phone. My $850 brand new Ultra 2 Watch is a brick for the same reason. I had to buy another phone just to use my phone number and very minimal data exchange. Even stuff I use on my MacBook Pro cannot be shared even though I can use some of it on the MacBook because that data is tied to the phone. I am about to talk to a lawyer. I have been working with Apple's team, but now I think they are ghosting me. I am at a loss and the mental strain has been extreme. I have been using Apple stuff exclusively since 1985. I was one of their best evangelists. Never again will I tie so many things to one platform. I advise others not to now.

1) I'm sorry for the issues you're having and scammers are truly horrible, but personal responsibility is also key to protecting yourself (and your family).

2) When did Apple say that their card was "unhackable"?  There is better security when using Apple Pay over a physical card due to the virtual number and tokenization, but that's everything in Apple Pay, and does not translate to the physical Apple Card. The same goes for Samsung Pay and Google Pay (or whatever Alphabet calls it now).

3) Does it really need to be said that you don't engage in-bound finanical/account calls? In the past, you could if you recognized the voice, like if your personal broker called you, but these days you need call them back at the number you have saved in your contacts or from a number you find on their legitimate website.

4) You can avoid nearly all of these issues with complex passcodes, unique passcodes, and 2FA. I'm guessing you don't use a robust password manager so I would implore you to consider one moving forward. People balk at a few dollars a month for 1Password, but when I hear stuff like this I know that it's well worth it. With a family plan it can be as low as 99¢ per user per month.