Apple events are dead?

[purbeast0]

Galaxy Note8 sells for $950ish.

$950 is okay because it's Android.

$1000 is too much because it's Apple.

 

[SamQuint]

Well if you are going to shell out $1000 for a phone you would be stupid to not go ahead and pay the $1150 for the 256GB version. So $1150 is what I think what most will pay. With the Note 8 you at least have expandable memory and a stylus.

PS, total Android fanboy and LOVING my Note 8.

But yes it was with great hesitation that I chose to spend the money. But HUGE upgrade from my Note 4. And I will plan on using this phone for a minimum of three years or more.

 

[Commodus]

Well if you are going to shell out $1000 for a phone you would be stupid to not go ahead and pay the $1150 for the 256GB version. So $1150 is what I think what most will pay. With the Note 8 you at least have expandable memory and a stylus.

PS, total Android fanboy and LOVING my Note 8.

But yes it was with great hesitation that I chose to spend the money. But HUGE upgrade from my Note 4. And I will plan on using this phone for a minimum of three years or more.

I'd agree on the pricing. If you're already spending big bucks, get the 256GB version and basically never worry about storage.

With that said: I don't think the Note 8 has the unambiguous advantage here. You don't get a pen or expandable storage on the iPhone X, but you do get a more compact design, much better face recognition (i.e. you'll actually want to use it) and, of course, more built-in storage. It's a question of what you prioritize. The Note 8 is great by most accounts, to be clear -- I just think both sides have a lot to be happy about.

 

[sweenish]

$950 is okay because it's Android.

$1000 is too much because it's Apple.

I have not seen a single credible person try to justify the price of the Note 8, quite the opposite in fact.

EDIT: The fanboy parade is strong in this thread, on both sides. People need to grow up.

 

[cronos]

$950 is okay because it's Android.

$1000 is too much because it's Apple.

You're the only one saying that

 

[SamQuint]

Well, don't need facial recognition, I have a nice finger print reader. (but Note 8 does have facial recognition and iris recognition as well) But yes both sides have a premium phone worthy of the price tag.

 

[Fingolfin269]

It's nuts in a way that we're talking about paying $1k+ for phones. Regardless of Android vs. Apple. We replace these things so much more frequently than devices like laptops yet will shell out this kind of dough on a cyclical basis, for a device that is so easily lost, damaged, etc.

On the flip side, I interact with my phone more than I interact with basically anything so definitely want that experience to be as pleasant as possible. If the new normal cost of that experience settles in at $1k+ then I guess that's the market price.

 

[Rifter]

Ha ha! Wrong on all counts.

You're talking like an enthusiast, not a typical user.

A "typical" user does not need a 1k phone anyways so i dont see your point.

 

[sze5003]

$950 is okay because it's Android.

$1000 is too much because it's Apple.

Not really, I've already accepted it as the norm price. A 128gb pixel 2 would have cost me $950 with tax included last year.

I decided to wait until this year and I'll be getting either a pixel 2 or iPhone X and it won't be the cheaper price that will drive me. If iPhone I'm going to be getting the 256gb version because of resale value later and they don't have a 128gb option which would be the best.

This year the note 8 is also around that range and people still bought it. Every year past the Nexus 4 and 5's we've seen prices of phone's going up as they get redesigned. I was not expecting because Nexus devices always used to be cheap(er) that they will remain like that. That's ridiculous to think that.

Personally I'm not a fan of either brand but I enjoy Android and am more used to it. I'll pay what it's worth as long as they show they are designing and putting out a nice build, enough storage, and nifty features, less bezels, front facing speakers, etc. I really like the look of the X this year so much that I'm considering trying apple again.

 

[Fire&Blood]

I

It's nuts in a way that we're talking about paying $1k+ for phones. Regardless of Android vs. Apple. We replace these things so much more frequently than devices like laptops yet will shell out this kind of dough on a cyclical basis, for a device that is so easily lost, damaged, etc.

On the flip side, I interact with my phone more than I interact with basically anything so definitely want that experience to be as pleasant as possible. If the new normal cost of that experience settles in at $1k+ then I guess that's the market price.

I'm giving up on common sense but still hoping competition prevents that from happening. I am convinced you can get a high end unit that fits your needs for half the price, the only issue is you have to look beyond the usual suspects. I bought a xiaomi phone that on paper (and on YouTube) delivers 95% of the typical 2017 flagship for 60% of the cost.

 

[purbeast0]

It's nuts in a way that we're talking about paying $1k+ for phones. Regardless of Android vs. Apple. We replace these things so much more frequently than devices like laptops yet will shell out this kind of dough on a cyclical basis, for a device that is so easily lost, damaged, etc.

On the flip side, I interact with my phone more than I interact with basically anything so definitely want that experience to be as pleasant as possible. If the new normal cost of that experience settles in at $1k+ then I guess that's the market price.

I've only ever owned 2 smart phones ever - iPhone 4 and iPhone 6. Whatever my next one is I plan to keep for 3-4 years just like the other 2 I've owned.

 

[WelshBloke]

What has happened?

Mainly because when you take away all the hyperbole it's just a new phone. Yeah, it's a nice phone but it's just another phone. It does some smartphone things a bit better than the phone that came before it and some things a little bit worse.

New smartphones aren't that exciting any more.

Even if someone released my perfect smartphone I'd probably be more "Oh! That's nice" rather than "OMG! Gimme!"

It's going to take a new product that does stuff that a smartphone can't do to get people really excited rather than another smartphone thats just a bit better than the one that came before.

 

[Oyeve]

Well, it's an exciting time for iphone fans as they will finally see and have an OLED screen.

 

[dawheat]

I have not seen a single credible person try to justify the price of the Note 8, quite the opposite in fact.

EDIT: The fanboy parade is strong in this thread, on both sides. People need to grow up.

But who ever pays full price for a new Samsung phone? I can't remember the last time in years that launch promos weren't available with either a substantial bundle or trade-in offer that as long as you're not completely bad at things, can chop at least $100-200 off the actual price. And if you're willing to wait a month or two, can easily find larger discounts.

Otherwise I definitely wouldn't have cycled through the last several SS flagship at launch.

 

[deathBOB]

It's not as bad as it seems. You aren't necessarily out of pocket the full price with all of the deals and trade in offers out there. And there is a much stronger market for used phones than computers.

Maybe you pay 1k for a Note or X today, but you can surely trade it in or sell it for a couple of hundred dollars in a few years.

 

[Zaap]

^ Exactly the above two posts. You can always subtract whatever you can sell the phone for in the end. And there's always some kind of promo and give aways.

In the end, I was actually PAID to use my Note 7's. I kept all the freebies (smartwatch, tablet, SD cards) that came with the first and the recall, got reimbursed, plus now just because I had the N7 it afforded me $420 off the cost of the Note 8 (which also came with freebies) in exchange for a useless (to me) older phone.

I can still sell my S7E for $300-ish (judging by Swappa currently).

It's great there's $200-$400 phones. I've tried a few of them and currently I just couldn't use any of the more budget phones. Samsung and Apple know they can get $1k + for what they have and that many will gladly pay that (and more with monthly payments).

All the discounts have to drive the prices up as well. I believe if they came out with these phones for say $799 but no discounts of any sort- people would balk at that. So they hike up the price while they can, knowing discounts and eventual price erosion will bring it back down.

 

[Red Storm]

$950 is okay because it's Android.

$1000 is too much because it's Apple.

You're the only one saying this, repeatedly even.

I personally passed on the Note 8, and price was a factor in that.

 

[JimKiler]

I criticize Apple and Android manufactures when I feel they drop the ball on stuff. Samsung dropped the ball with the S8/Note 8 fingerprint sensor, but in retrospect at least they have fingerprint sensors . The X costs over $1000, it better damn well be designed well, and I don't think it is. They have moved away from the symmetrical design, instead opting for an ugly notch that intrudes on the display, and for some reason keeping the same thick side bezels. Physically the phone just does not look as good or as well designed as something like the Note 8 or S8 (or the upcoming V30). Never mind omitting previous features like TouchID. Half the time I unlock my phone, I do it while I am bringing the device out of my pocket, so it's already set to go when I bring it in view. With the X, you'll have to bring the phone up to your face before you can even unlock it, and that unlocking process is not going to be as fast as current TouchID. So when the phone is in your pocket, or on your desk, basically any time the phone isn't already in front of your face (which is essentially 99% of cases), you have to waste extra time getting your face aligned to the screen. All they needed to do was put TouchID on the back.

Lazy and ugly design shouldn't cost consumers $1000+.

That is odd because the odd giant bezel on all non X versions of iPhone is ugly. The X is the first one that looks good, has a larger display than the plus but is a smaller form factor. You want a bigger phone?

 

[JimKiler]

^ Exactly the above two posts. You can always subtract whatever you can sell the phone for in the end. And there's always some kind of promo and give aways.

In the end, I was actually PAID to use my Note 7's. I kept all the freebies (smartwatch, tablet, SD cards) that came with the first and the recall, got reimbursed, plus now just because I had the N7 it afforded me $420 off the cost of the Note 8 (which also came with freebies) in exchange for a useless (to me) older phone.

I can still sell my S7E for $300-ish (judging by Swappa currently).

It's great there's $200-$400 phones. I've tried a few of them and currently I just couldn't use any of the more budget phones. Samsung and Apple know they can get $1k + for what they have and that many will gladly pay that (and more with monthly payments).

All the discounts have to drive the prices up as well. I believe if they came out with these phones for say $799 but no discounts of any sort- people would balk at that. So they hike up the price while they can, knowing discounts and eventual price erosion will bring it back down.

I don't do the promos since then i get stuck with locked phones. I will only go unlocked and those rarely go on sale, although Samsung did it with their S8 earlier this year.

 

[Red Storm]

That is odd because the odd giant bezel on all non X versions of iPhone is ugly. The X is the first one that looks good, has a larger display than the plus but is a smaller form factor. You want a bigger phone?

The old style was always ugly, but the X - while better looking than the 8 - is the ugliest of the "bezel free" phones. I think the reason why Apple went with the notch is because they felt they couldn't just create an S8 clone, so they tried something different. But that notch is ugly, there is no doubt about it. The same thick side bezels are also ugly, and it wraps around the whole phone. The S8, Note 8, LG V30, the Mi Mix 2, and the Essential Phone all look much better than the X. And that is odd, because it is strange to see Apple make such bad design decisions. I really think the X is a rushed product, one whose style will not be replicated going forward.

 

[sze5003]

They kept the same style pretty much until now. The front facing sensor bar does look strange. I think the pixel 2 may be a better looking phone but also a bit more thicker to hide everything. At least the screen portion renders looks like it shows all screen on the front and less bezel all around.

 

[Commodus]

The old style was always ugly, but the X - while better looking than the 8 - is the ugliest of the "bezel free" phones. I think the reason why Apple went with the notch is because they felt they couldn't just create an S8 clone, so they tried something different. But that notch is ugly, there is no doubt about it. The same thick side bezels are also ugly, and it wraps around the whole phone. The S8, Note 8, LG V30, the Mi Mix 2, and the Essential Phone all look much better than the X. And that is odd, because it is strange to see Apple make such bad design decisions. I really think the X is a rushed product, one whose style will not be replicated going forward.

I wouldn't call the conventional iPhone design ugly, just very familiar and unexciting.

And I like the design of the iPhone X! The notch isn't perfect, but it does also mean getting a full sensor suite on the front of the phone rather than having to do odd tricks (like shoving the earpiece speaker into a slit at the top, as on the Essential Phone) to make things work. Likewise, it's not dramatic as an S8 due to the bezels, but it also means fewer accidental inputs and a flat screen that actually works with screen protectors. My only beef is with the odd vertical camera hump, although it looks better in live footage of the production model than prototypes and renders.

 

[Ichinisan]

I've only ever owned 2 smart phones ever - iPhone 4 and iPhone 6. Whatever my next one is I plan to keep for 3-4 years just like the other 2 I've owned.

Man, it would have been soooo much more pleasant if you had a 4s and a 6s.

The 4 got incredibly slow when iOS 5 came out 1 year later. That's the only time I went a full 2 years without upgrading my phone.

Then the 6 was very slow from the start due to having only 1GB RAM. For most of the users that bought a 6 Plus 128GB, it was even more unbearable. Most of those had some kind of problems with TLC type NAND storage.

Both of those phones made me want to rip my hair out every time I used them.

The 4s had a very long life and it was fairly zippy until the last supported version of iOS (9?).
The 6s finally increased the RAM and it's still a great phone today, though I haven't tried it with iOS 11. I expect its useful life will be as long as the 4s was.

 

[Red Storm]

I wouldn't call the conventional iPhone design ugly, just very familiar and unexciting.

And I like the design of the iPhone X! The notch isn't perfect, but it does also mean getting a full sensor suite on the front of the phone rather than having to do odd tricks (like shoving the earpiece speaker into a slit at the top, as on the Essential Phone) to make things work. Likewise, it's not dramatic as an S8 due to the bezels, but it also means fewer accidental inputs and a flat screen that actually works with screen protectors. My only beef is with the odd vertical camera hump, although it looks better in live footage of the production model than prototypes and renders.

To me there's just too many concessions and strange design choices for the X that make me feel it was a rushed product. And there are too many people forgiving that notch, we should all expect a lot more from a $1000+ phone from one of the richest companies in the world. Slim top and bottom bezels with TouchID on the back would have made a world of a difference, both in form and function. Any other company tries releasing a phone with a notch like that, they'd be the laughingstock of the tech world, and rightfully so. As someone who finds smartphones incredibly useful and cool gadgets, I like seeing companies really push the boundaries of what can be done, while also presenting a modern, sleek device. The X feels like a lazy, one off by Apple, which will be rectified in the next iteration.

I'll have to see one in person, but right now I'm wondering what happens to battery percentage reading? None of the screenshots show it, and it looks like it wouldn't even fit next to the notch. People don't want a vague battery icon, they want to know exactly what percentage of battery life is left. What about bluetooth, alarms, location/gps usage, LTE/3G status? Why are notifications pulled down from the left (furthest from your thumb) and control center from the right? Shouldn't that be swapped? I've seen some people talk about the right/left swipe as though it's a feature of the notch!

 

[ChronoReverse]

I wonder if Sony has a patent on the power button fingerprint reader. It works quite well on the Compact X and you'd be able to keep both the edge to edge screen and the ability to unlock the phone while it's on your desk.