Apple iPhone Thread

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

The idea that you are paying $1000 just for a cell phone is hilarious when in fact the phone part of it is possibly the least used feature for the average person. These are computers that let you handle nearly everything your laptop and cell phone can do, plus a camera. You aren’t paying $1000 for a flip phone.

[MC Fresh Breath 4074]

36 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

But Apple does provide an alternative.

 

You can still purchase an iPhone 7 or 8 at a lower cost than any of the X series phones.

 

 

 

 

Right.  But my discussion was more aimed at the new model announcement prices.   And this isn't just Apple, of course.  It seems all flagships are in the 1$K range, which just seems insane to this old man in terms of the seeming speed in which we jumped to where that is considered normal by most.  And then that makes the $749 model "budget."   It doesn't feel like the pricing was based off of giant leaps in the tech or caused by inflation.  

As mentioned, this could just be my version of "old man yells at clouds."   I'll quit belaboring the point. 

 

 

 

 

[52-80 19147]

The XR is the clear winner of that lineup.  And priced fairly - as fair as can be for a latest-gen flagship line phone.

 

There are 2 or 3 phones on the market (android side) for those who want utmost battery.  And they really do last 2-3 days of usage.  The Huawei P20 Pro isnt a 3-day phone but it will absolutely last from sunrise to sundown of heavy heavy usage without fright. 

 

Im also really surprised and how capable its camera is.  Always been biased against cell phone cameras but this thing packs a 3x optical zoom that is legitimately useful

[Francisco 2.0 32386]

1 hour ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

Right.  But my discussion was more aimed at the new model announcement prices.   And this isn't just Apple, of course.  It seems all flagships are in the 1$K range, which just seems insane to this old man in terms of the seeming speed in which we jumped to where that is considered normal by most.  And then that makes the $749 model "budget."   It doesn't feel like the pricing was based off of giant leaps in the tech or caused by inflation.  

As mentioned, this could just be my version of "old man yells at clouds."   I'll quit belaboring the point. 

 

 

 

 

One thing to consider here; while pricing has gone up, there's always the prospect of future tariffs on this stuff.  Thanks Trump.

 

 

[crash_davis 23100]

lulz.  the 5.5" 6, 7 , and 8 plus models had 1080 screens with 401 ppi.  

the XR is a bigger screen and has shittier resolution.   $750 for a 6.1", 1792 by 828 and 326 ppi phone.   the 326 ppi is equivalent to the 4.7 base models. thats a very mediocre screen for a 6.1" screen.

 

apple. still finding all kinds of ways to gimp consumers and squeeze extra profit.  

[52-80 19147]

display density is overrated.  300ppi+ is plenty enough

[Bernard 879]

1 hour ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

And then that makes the $749 model "budget."   It doesn't feel like the pricing was based off of giant leaps in the tech or caused by inflation.  

Supply. Demand. Oligopoly pricing power. How much will the market bear? It really comes down to value. The $1/day over two years argument is legit, especially since most folks pay for their phone over time.  What else can you buy for $749 that provides more value?

Bernard

[crash_davis 23100]

3 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

display density is overrated.  300ppi+ is plenty enough

says someone who's never used a 1440 display with 572 ppi.  it's a matter of personal preference but it is not overrated.  text, pictures, videos are all so much clearer and cleaner.

[crash_davis 23100]

the point is that LCD screens are inexpensive, way less expensive than OLED screens.  the cost difference between a 780ish lcd screen and a 1080ish lcd screen is nominal, maybe a few bucks.  and yet apple chooses to squeeze that extra few bucks for a 6.1" phone that starts at $750.  you will definitely notice the gimped resolution on a screen that big.

fucking put on 1080 screen and charge the extra $10-20.  no one is going to fret about it.

[52-80 19147]

5 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

says someone who's never used a 1440 display with 572 ppi.  it's a matter of personal preference but it is not overrated.  text, pictures, videos are all so much clearer and cleaner.

My last phones were 520, 500.

 

My current one is 410 ppi.  I had to look that up, because I couldn't tell the difference.

 

Human vision had resolving limits.  A 20/20 acuity equates to 1 arc minute.  That means at 11 inches away - about the distance when people pick up their phone and squint it up close - they can see 310ppi. 

 

That's why apple set that approximate threshold when they marketed "Retina".

 

More power to you if you demand more than 500.  But for 98% of humans in 98% of situations they literally couldn't tell the difference.  At this part of the ball field, color accuracy, brightness, viewing angles, etc are more important aspects to scrutinize.

 

Not to mention lower resolution = better battery performance

[52-80 19147]

13 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

  you will definitely notice the gimped resolution on a screen that big.

 

thats the opposite - the larger the display, the further people tend to look at it.  thats computer monitors are higher density than tv screens and people dont cry foul.  because they sit farther from televisions.

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

The Xr will likely be the biggest seller due to having most every feature, and the lower price. Gives the average person what they want, fast phone, good camera, good battery life. I don't think the average person cares about screen resolution, and apple makes very good displays, so I am sure it will still look good. I will be selling my kidney for the Xs Max unfortunately. 

[Anastasis 23461]

So whats the best approach to get your order in tonight.  App store via ipad, online, att, etc. Any tricks like loading the cart before it goes live? 

[UnivTex34 1763]

12 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

So whats the best approach to get your order in tonight.  App store via ipad, online, att, etc. Any tricks like loading the cart before it goes live? 

store is gonna be down till its live, so there will be no loading in the cart

The key is to try on multiple devices. You likely won't get it through immediately, but keep trying. It was nearly 45 minutes after things went live that I got my preorder in last year.

I'm on the IUP, so I have to use the iOS app, so I'll have both my iPad and iPhone to try. 

 

I'm hopeful that since they are going live in so many countries simultaneously that they have adequate supply.

Edited September 13, 2018 by UnivTex34

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

So whats the best approach to get your order in tonight.  App store via ipad, online, att, etc. Any tricks like loading the cart before it goes live? 

I have been part of the Apple upgrade program for 3 years now. So last night I went through all the steps (choosing phone and getting pre-approved for the loan). Tonight I will just open the Apple store app and click a couple of times to finish the order.

[UnivTex34 1763]

3 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I have been part of the Apple upgrade program for 3 years now. So last night I went through all the steps (choosing phone and getting pre-approved for the loan). Tonight I will just open the Apple store app and click a couple of times to finish the order.

ahahahahahahaha.....

 

I mean, I am too, but hahahahahahah....

 

Sorry, too many bad memories of years past to assume it will be that easy.

Edited September 13, 2018 by UnivTex34

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

ahahahahahahaha.....
 
I mean, I am too, but hahahahahahah....
 
Sorry, too many bad memories of years past to assume it will be that easy.

I never have had issues since doing the upgrade program. I only recall one year where it was a pain in the ass...I think 2013.

[UnivTex34 1763]

Just now, Patricio Swayze said:

 

I never have had issues since doing the upgrade program. I only recall one year where it was a pain in the ass...I think 2013.

 

First year of upgrades, it was a pain. Last year, it just took forever. 

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

27 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

So whats the best approach to get your order in tonight.  App store via ipad, online, att, etc. Any tricks like loading the cart before it goes live? 

The Apple Store App on your phone is typically the first to come up, you can favorite your order on the app now, so it will be preloaded and come up when the app comes on. You can also add "remember me" in settings in the apple store app, and it will save your carrier information so you don't have to manually enter that either. I am on the upgrade program, so I went through the preapproval process already. 

[BigDHornfan 6545]

20 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I have been part of the Apple upgrade program for 3 years now. So last night I went through all the steps (choosing phone and getting pre-approved for the loan). Tonight I will just open the Apple store app and click a couple of times to finish the order.

This.   Did the same.   Did it last year as well and it literally took maybe a minute to finish once it went live.

[VolenteHawk 495]

Do people on the upgrade program wait up to try to log in at midnight?  I did the pre-setup stuff last year a couple days before then logged in mid morning on preorder Friday and reserved a 256G X for the Domain Apple Store and had my choice of launch day pickup times.

Edit: Two years ago for an 8+ I waited several days to order and still got one on launch day but had to go to the Barton location to get my size/color/carrier preference.

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by VolenteHawk

[UnivTex34 1763]

57 minutes ago, VolenteHawk said:

Do people on the upgrade program wait up to try to log in at midnight?  I did the pre-setup stuff last year a couple days before then logged in mid morning on preorder Friday and reserved a 256G X for the Domain Apple Store and had my choice of launch day pickup times.

Edit: Two years ago for an 8+ I waited several days to order and still got one on launch day but had to go to the Barton location to get my size/color/carrier preference.

 

You have gotten lucky. Several folks I know tried ordering middle of the night, and still got their phone several days after launch.

[deft 6837]

I always ordered at 2 am (not midnight for us Texas folk) and got it on launch day.

I’m pretty sure I’m staying with my x for now. I still love this phone and the new models don’t really offer enough to sway me. I liked having my plus sizes in the past but with out handling the max, I’m gonna have to say too big.

The adjustable bokeh was the coolest thing to me.

[deft 6837]

So I already upgraded to iOS 12 GM on my phone and iPad. I tried for the watch but apparently it’s dev only. Really liking the small details over 11 but after beta testing for so long, I forget what some of the 11 to 12 changes were. It definitely runs smooth on both of my devices.

Is the multi person FaceTime available yet?

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Yeah, I have has iOS 12 beta for months now, so I don’t even remember what the differences are anymore. It does run well, though.

I have only had my X since about May or so, but I agree that the Xs is not nearly improved enough to want to upgrade. I like the Xs Max, but damn it’s expensive.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Only reason I am getting a new one is my monthly payment won’t change for the spec bump. So why not...

[UnivTex34 1763]

1 hour ago, deft said:

So I already upgraded to iOS 12 GM on my phone and iPad. I tried for the watch but apparently it’s dev only. Really liking the small details over 11 but after beta testing for so long, I forget what some of the 11 to 12 changes were. It definitely runs smooth on both of my devices.

Is the multi person FaceTime available yet?

They killed Multi-FT and moved it to an as yet to be determined future date.

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

I'm getting the Max for bigger screen and better battery life, important to me. 

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Good lord, the Max is a beast.

[TKthunder2 4985]

One of the biggest reasons the price went up with the X, Xs, and Max is the OLED screen.

The Xr is has a bigger screen (6.1) than the Xs (5.8), but has cheaper casing, screen, camera and is only IP67 (vs IP68 with the Xs and Max) but the only feature you lose is 3D Touch (because they sacrificed the haptic touch).

The Xr is basically the same price of their phones a few years ago because it is the same phone from a few years ago with the same type of screen although it’s 1.3 inches bigger, slightly better cameras (front and back), better processors (A9 to A12), plus you now get waterproofing and wireless charging.

Those additional features cost money so you get a cheaper casing (which is still on par with most of their competitors) and lose 3D Touch which isn’t that big of a deal to most users it seems.

My only complaint is that the $1000 phones only come with 64gb of memory and your only option is to upgrade to 256gb for $150.  It seems like if I’m paying $1000 for a phone it should at least come with 128gb, but I’m guessing a lot of Apple’s profits are tied to these fucking memory upgrades but it just seems shitty to me.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

The second SIM is cool and I will use it when I am out of the country, but a micro SD slot would have been cooler.

[BERT 4358]

When did they start putting SIM cards in them? 

[Anastasis 23461]

6 minutes ago, BERT said:

When did they start putting SIM cards in them? 

stahp. 

[Anastasis 23461]

8 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

The second SIM is cool and I will use it when I am out of the country, but a micro SD slot would have been cooler.

And leave money on the table selling internal RAM?

 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

And leave money on the table selling internal RAM?

 

Hahaha of course not. I am just saying...

[Francisco 2.0 32386]

Upon reflection.....think I'll get a Max for myself.  My X is a fine phone, and I had no intentions of getting a new device.  But dat screen size. And these (nearly) 51 year old eyes will thank me.

I'll either pawn off the X or hand it over to a family member.

[deft 6837]

I used to be an upgrade every year kind of guy. I just can’t justify the IUP payments that go on forever. I realize that if I end up upgrading to even next years model, then I probably haven’t hit the break over point on it. It was just nice to put it on my chase card and be done with payments while also getting points and insurance included.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

I used to be an upgrade every year kind of guy. I just can’t justify the IUP payments that go on forever. I realize that if I end up upgrading to even next years model, then I probably haven’t hit the break over point on it. It was just nice to put it on my chase card and be done with payments while also getting points and insurance included.

It is getting pretty hard to justify, but, if you are far enough in you can buy it out and sell it and still make a profit over the buyout amount.

I did that with my 7+. When I got it, Verizon had a good trade in deal at the time so I traded in my 6+ and got a credit of $20 a month toward a new iPhone. I got a 7+ and had it for 20 months and then bought it out early for like $212, and ended up paying about $466 total in the end (with the 20 monthly payments included). I then sold it for $450 (minus shipping cost) on Reddit. So I sold it for $238 more than the buyout amount, and having $450 toward the X was better than any of the trade in deals.

[VolenteHawk 495]

9 hours ago, UnivTex34 said:

You have gotten lucky. Several folks I know tried ordering middle of the night, and still got their phone several days after launch.

I don’t think either one was luck, I think Apple stocks the channel with IUP specific phones. When I didn’t upgrade to the 8+ right away two years ago, new inventory turned up through the upgrade portal, while being sold out on their site, every morning. It was actually that process which wore me down and had me reserve one.

Ever since I’ve had the IUP deal, it’s never occurred to me to battle the masses for a phone in the middle of the night.

 

[UnivTex34 1763]

Well, I know 3 people, two that stayed up late, and one that did what you did. All with IUP, and none of them got it until a week after release. These were all iPhone X last year.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Well, I know 3 people, two that stayed up late, and one that did what you did. All with IUP, and none of them got it until a week after release. These were all iPhone X last year.

Didn’t X availability kind of suck at launch though, because of the OLED supply?

[UnivTex34 1763]

1 minute ago, Anton Chigurh said:

 

Didn’t X availability kind of suck at launch though, because of the OLED supply?

 

Yes, but he stated he got a X that way.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Yes, but he stated he got a X that way.

Whoops. He did say that. Was only thinking the 8+.

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

36 minutes ago, VolenteHawk said:

I don’t think either one was luck, I think Apple stocks the channel with IUP specific phones. When I didn’t upgrade to the 8+ right away two years ago, new inventory turned up through the upgrade portal, while being sold out on their site, every morning. It was actually that process which wore me down and had me reserve one.

 Ever since I’ve had the IUP deal, it’s never occurred to me to battle the masses for a phone in the middle of the night.

  

The 8 + was last year, as was the X. Nice you got them both late but still on time. I know people who ordered the X within minutes that had a week delay, the 8+ last year took a while to sell out. 

Edited September 14, 2018 by Lobwedgephil

[deft 6837]

I remember seeing order day threads on shaggy over the last few years as well as people on macrumors and there was lots of complaining about ordering only hours after the window opened and not getting their phones on launch day.

 

You have to be ready to order (in the Apple store app and on browsers in a device or two) and hitting refresh at 1:55 am. Hasn’t failed me yet.

 

[Telegraph_it 3357]

Dammit I’m stuck with an 8 for another 1.5 years. Thanks work! At least my cell bill is $0. 

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

7 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:

Good lord, the Max is a beast.

This is misleading because the actual size of the Xs Max is smaller then the previous Plus models. Screen size is much bigger, but footprint is smaller. 

 

Edited September 14, 2018 by Lobwedgephil

[TKthunder2 4985]

And here we go...

[UnivTex34 1763]

That was surprisingly painless

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

Yep, easy and launch day delivery for me.