High end phones are way too expensive

Nebell

Nebell

2[H]4U
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Jul 20, 2015
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I've been thinking about buying soon to be released Note 8 but it got me thinking about the other stuff I own and comparing them to my current phone, S7 Edge.

So I put it to perspective:


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I must admit my mentality when it comes to electronics is not the best. I always want the high end that's out there.
Now my car is nothing special, but it's not a $1000 car either. But high end stuff is just overpriced. Way overpriced.
 
Some people just need to put the phone down and take a step back.
One of my friends is on his phone constantly. He is also one of those people that text and drive, so he is always weaving and driving way under the speed limit, drives me crazy when I am riding around with him.

I myself like technology but I hardly use my phone for things other than calls and texts, and those are short and succinct. I also don't like having text message conversations, just takes too long.
 
I look at the expense this way: for many people, their smartphone is the most important computing device in their life. It's their main communication tool, it's their main camera, it's how they keep tabs on world events and their friends. Why wouldn't you spend a lot on it (however much "a lot" is to you) if it matters so much?
 
DrLobotomy said:
Person holding $1000 phone wants me to build them a new PC for $500 and whines when it costs more.
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Because they can't finance that computer for $40/month like they can their $1000 phone. If carriers didn't offer these leasing/financing deals on these phones, they wouldn't sell nearly as much and most of us would probably only buy $400-$500 mid-range phones, or if they're smart; a (non-iPhone since they're never discounted anywhere) flagship a few months after it comes out and you can consistently get the newest Samsung/LG/Moto/whatever flagship on sale somewhere for a few hundred dollars off somewhere online. I've already seen new GS8s going for under $500 through some channels online and from Samsung directly with a phone trade-in promo they were running a month or so ago.

So if you're buying these phones for $800 as soon as they come out, you have more money/credit than sense, IMO. Most people only see these phones as a $30-$40 payment rather than a $800+ expense over its term. A lot of them are probably the same people that buy cars on 7-8 year loans because they think the payment is all that matters.
 
T4rd has got it exactly right. With carrier leasing and financing deals, it's not that expensive. Good luck finding a 0% interest loan or financing deal on a car.
 
Zepher said:
Some people just need to put the phone down and take a step back.
One of my friends is on his phone constantly. He is also one of those people that text and drive, so he is always weaving and driving way under the speed limit, drives me crazy when I am riding around with him.

I myself like technology but I hardly use my phone for things other than calls and texts, and those are short and succinct. I also don't like having text message conversations, just takes too long.
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Your needs may not equal others needs.

That said, I'm with you 100% reference using the device while driving.
 
The sad thing is the phones do not need to be 1000$ to still be good phones. Take the Moto G5 Plus, or even an older OPO 3/3T. Nokia under the new owner is bringing out no non-sense phones for decent prices.
 
My S4 died prematurely in April. I am interested in several phones about to hit shelves but I hate the glass phones and while I want the Note 8 I dont know about glass.. Part of the reason my S4 and works S5 are still around is they dont shatter when you breathe on them wrong. I know wireless charging is cool but its not worth the fragility of the device. My friend got an S7 through work, he pushed it across the desk and the corner hit the edge of his monitor and started a hairline crack. While I respect my hardware pushing it across the desk is nothing.

Aspects of expensive hardware can be justified in R&D, quality of materials, length of support and longevity of the device. These new Samsung's I think are so much to offset the loss of the Note 7 and accelerated repairs and development adjustments to the S8 and Note 8 line. I dont like subsidizing my phones so I may be waiting till the holiday's for a sale or something. Not wowed by anything right now, lots to like but that glass ...
 
Yeah but the thing is, compare Samsung Tab S3 to Galaxy S8 Plus. Tab S3 is $599, S8 Plus is what, $799? What's the difference? The size. And Tab S3 has a pen. So Tab S3 is basically oversized Note 7, but wait until you see Note 8 price and compare that to Tab S3...
This is Samsung, but Apple is equally if not more expensive.
Maybe I'll just turn to Chinese phone manufacturers, they have been innovating much faster and it's not that much of a hassle to get Goodle Apps working on them. They usually deliver the same or better performance (hello 6gb ram!) for 50-60% of the price of Samsung/Apple. Quality can be a hit or miss but if you do your research, you can score a really nice phone for cheap.
 
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My $120 China phone does everything I need but then again I hardly ever use smartphones when there's computers around. Guess I'm the so called "Dinosaur" who doesn't see smartphones as computer replacements.

It's not only highend phones but also GPU prices I'd wanna do the same kind of comparisons you did, I think GPU fares even worse considering it's just one part of the computer... I'm baffled PC gaming market fares as well as it does despite the outrageous GPU pricing.
 
Some of the Chinese offerings are enticing, not sure I'll bite just yet but who know's. I dont go nuts texting or gaming but I do use my phone for remote work, note taking and more.

GPU's are similar but the line up usually works out well with cheaper offerings that suit a large number of people just fine. I usually wait numerous years between upgrades and buy high end so that it lasts without much if any real degradation in quality. Sadly phones do not last near as long or have as many options to be passed down (to an HTPC or kid or something) as GPU's do. After about 2 to 4 years they start bogging down and running slowly with lacking updates and optimizations. Makes sense with the myriad of selection and hardware but it makes the 700+ dollar phone a harder pill to swallow at times.
 
Correction: High end phones are too expensive if you purchase them at launch. If you wait, you can get great deals on most of them (idevices excluded).
 
braamer said:
Correction: High end phones are too expensive if you purchase them at launch. If you wait, you can get great deals on most of them (idevices excluded).
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Pretty much what I said above.

As for Chinese phones; yeah they're much cheaper with decent hardware still, but you're pretty much giving up any sort of support for the phone. I'm talking about both hardware support should any thing go wrong and software support (updates) and subsequently any shred of security/privacy you'd get with a larger OEM in the market. Often times these phones also don't fully support US carriers and are missing some GSM/LTE bands so you get less coverage with them as well.
 
Flagship phones are a waste. They depreciate more than the car or the bike plus over 1000 a year in service fees
 
T4rd hit the nail on the head.

If the U.S carriers stopped financing new phones to customers, Apple and Samsung would be screwed. And sales would drop faster than Trump's approval ratings. If people had to pay the full retail pricing of $800+ for a new smartphone, holy cow sales would tank. And you'd see people keeping their phones for 3 to 4 years and really babying them. And in that case the iPhone would be best, as they actually get supported far longer than Samsung ever would a 4 year Galaxy.

But the LG G6 deal for $400 U.S. Unlocked version is a pretty sweet price for a new 2017 smartphone.
 
Zorachus said:
T4rd hit the nail on the head...

But the LG G6 deal for $400 U.S. Unlocked version is a pretty sweet price for a new 2017 smartphone.
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But the LG G6 is not really a deal when you consider that it's basically a 2016 flagship with a 2017 display. So in that case, you can find a lot of great 2016 flagships at under $400.
 
Now that I'm off one of the "Big 4" carriers and onto an MVNO, I do not have that luxury of paying per month to lease a phone.
And honestly.... I really don't mind.

With that said, it actually forces me to save my money for something I want, flagship or otherwise. I find that to be a lot better than a leasing program, or using credit, or what have you.
 
CHANG3D said:
But the LG G6 is not really a deal when you consider that it's basically a 2016 flagship with a 2017 display. So in that case, you can find a lot of great 2016 flagships at under $400.
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2016 vs 2017 specs matter not to 99% of the buying public. My wife has the G6 and she loves it, she uses her smartphone for Phone calls, texts, e-mail, Navigation, and Facebook. If I mention to her the G6 phone has the older Snapdragon 821 and not the new SD835, she'll look at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. She doesn't have a clue what Snapdragon even means or does. Would the G6 having the SD835 make her phone calls or texts faster? No. She can give two shits what processor it has, as long as it works well enough for her, which it does.

So the LG G6 being on sale for $400 off contract is super good price for a new 2017 IMO. I did have the Galaxy S8+ before the G6, and to be honest performance wise I could barely tell the difference myself, and to the average public, they don't care one bit.
 
Still debating if I'm going to trade in my 6S+ when the 7S or 8 releases.

I don't need more performance but I'd like to get better radios or BT performance. Not like either are particularly bad with the current models.
 
I'm still on my 6 plus and see no reason to change to another phone yet. I don't use my phone for anything besides pictures, calls/FaceTime and web browsing.
 
Bought a Moto Z Play for $300 Brand New...It Fricking Rocks! 10+ Hours Screen Time over 2 days, no problem. Not being flagship, no problem. Battery trade off for 5 FPS in games :p.
 
DGMurdockIII said:
Just get oneplus 5
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yes except no Verizon, no waterproofing, no qhd screen (might be ok with 1080p) lots more bugs and build quality issues with one plus 5 or id be willing to test it out. I have seen galaxy s8 for 500 or less not sure what lowest price for 1+5 would be. in the market for lots of phones ;( hard to decide
 
FatalError11 said:
yes except no Verizon, no waterproofing, no qhd screen (might be ok with 1080p) lots more bugs and build quality issues with one plus 5 or id be willing to test it out. I have seen galaxy s8 for 500 or less not sure what lowest price for 1+5 would be. in the market for lots of phones ;( hard to decide
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Seriously, OnePlus 5 at $479-539 is not a good deal at all considering that the Samsung GS8 and the HTC U11 are selling for just a bit more than $500. Just like the LG G6 with 2016 parts is not a deal at $400 when 2016 flagships such as those from Samsung and the OnePlus are less than that!
 
CHANG3D said:
Seriously, OnePlus 5 at $479-539 is not a good deal at all considering that the Samsung GS8 and the HTC U11 are selling for just a bit more than $500. Just like the LG G6 with 2016 parts is not a deal at $400 when 2016 flagships such as those from Samsung and the OnePlus are less than that!
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The Oneplus phone prices have been steadying creeping upward, so the value proposition has gone down a lot. My Oneplus One was a great deal, and I loved that phone. I was debating a Oneplus 3T when T-Mobile put the Galaxy S7 on sale for $340, so I went with the Samsung.
 
DirtyB said:
And yet only Apple is making massive profits.
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Well, I wouldn't say Apple's prices are completely justified, but I do find it funny how people gripe about Apple's prices and yet wonder why their favorite Android OEM (outside of Samsung) is losing money. Apple is a bit of an exception because it has a unique proposition (iOS) to bring to the table, but it's amazing how many Android vendors operate on razor-thin margins and promptly struggle to stay afloat. Samsung's strategy has mostly worked because it balances between charging Apple-like prices for high-end flagships and offering more aggressive prices at the low end.
 
Muntic0re said:
some ppl buy expensive phones to show their status
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Conman said:
In 2007 when you first saw the Iphone this was definitely a thing. In 2017 does anyone really give a shit anymore? Cant remember the last time I saw someone's phone and cared.
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Yeah, this isn't much of a thing anymore. Smart phones are pretty ubiquitous across the board thanks to the carrier financing I mentioned earlier. I see plenty of school-age kids with newer iPhones and successful adults with 3+ year old Android phones (one I know still uses an HTC M7).

I think most people carrying newer $800+ phones from their carriers probably couldn't even afford (or at least really want to spend the money on) a $200-$400 mid-range phone because they're either not available through their carrier to finance across 2 years and also they just want what everyone else has.
 
I still love my BB Passport!

3 days before I have to charge it! The OS kicks the shit out of apple and android.
 
I've noticed that Samsung keeps ramping up the price of recent Galaxy Note models while still not providing everything that my current Galaxy Note 4 can do (removable battery and IR blaster, most notably), and it's something of a point of irritation along with their current design direction.

Yet nobody else even offers a Wacom pen or something of that caliber in their flagship phones, so I'm stuck with one vendor that effectively stabbed customers like me in the back the past two years, with this year not likely to be much different.

I was tempted to run my Note 4 in tandem with a BlackBerry Priv because I like physical keyboards and all (and can't find cases that add them to the usual flagships any more), but that thing's probably about to lose out on updates and is too locked-down to be updated by the community. It's too bad you can't update an Android phone like a typical IBM-compatible PC descendant because of non-standard bootloaders and drivers and all that crap.
 
NamelessPFG said:
I was tempted to run my Note 4 in tandem with a BlackBerry Priv because I like physical keyboards and all (and can't find cases that add them to the usual flagships any more)
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They are out there, just not out as fast as the phones since less people go for them. The S8 has one, though I think it may use the screen behind it so not a full stand alone keyboard.
 
Vengance_01 said:
The sad thing is the phones do not need to be 1000$ to still be good phones. Take the Moto G5 Plus, or even an older OPO 3/3T. Nokia under the new owner is bringing out no non-sense phones for decent prices.
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Lenovo has destroyed the Moto phones. They suck now. Chinese pos.
 
Phones have a hit with software it seems. Before it was almost a requirement to upgrade due to performance but even my note 3 can do well with today's apps.
 
Just wait for promos. Today I bought two Galaxy S8+ phones when switching to T-Mobile for a BOGO deal. Essentially $400 for $800 phones.

Best Buy also has $300 off the Galaxy S8 right now as well ($575 for the unlocked version).
 
Ocellaris said:
Yes Lenovo destroyed the brand by offering good phones for less than $300. Horrible! The phones should cost more :rolleyes:
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I recently had an issue with a Lenovo laptop, so I perused the Lenovo forums. Lots of complaints there about the Moto G. Numerous problems. Lack of support. Etc.
 
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