No longer buying flagship phones...

[amyklai]

I don't agree, for some phones like Samsung S6 octocore (more powerful than my desktop) spending more than 500 is worth it. Especially if you require info on demand while on the go.

What kind of "info on demand while on the go" demands an "octocore"?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Yeah, it's time for Apple to cut the price on their flagship phones. No other manufacturer is really charging $850 for a phone with a 5 inch screen and 64 GB of storage anymore.

Apple is getting away with it so far because they are considered to be a premium product, but something tells me that shit isn't going to fly for too much longer with compatible Android phones costing half as much.

They keep beating their previous sales records... it's only going to get worse bud.

Just don't be stupid and stick to Android.

 

[MetalMat]

Yeah, it's time for Apple to cut the price on their flagship phones. No other manufacturer is really charging $850 for a phone with a 5 inch screen and 64 GB of storage anymore.

Apple is getting away with it so far because they are considered to be a premium product, but something tells me that shit isn't going to fly for too much longer with compatible Android phones costing half as much.

Why would they do that? Their sales are continually growing. The consumers need to learn that they are getting ripped, it's not like there are no other alternatives.

 

[ultimatebob]

They keep beating their previous sales records... it's only going to get worse bud.

Just don't be stupid and stick to Android.

I think that most iPhone users had no idea much their phones were really costing them, since most of the hardware cost was bundled into the 2 year contract. When they get asked to pay $850 up front or $35 a month for two years now, I think that the average consumer is going to have second thoughts.

The Apple fanboys will always buy a new iPhone every year, though. I'm convinced that Apple could shit in a box and those folks would still line up in front of the store to buy it.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I think that most iPhone users had no idea much their phones were really costing them, since most of the hardware cost was bundled into the 2 year contract. When they get asked to pay $850 up front or $35 a month for two years now, I think that the average consumer is going to have second thoughts.

The Apple fanboys will always buy a new iPhone every year, though. I'm convinced that Apple could shit in a box and those folks would still line up in front of the store to buy it.

Keep dreaming bud. Put large amounts into monthly fees and people are too stupid to see the big picture. Addition is a tough concept for people to grasp.

Just like utility companies that advertise giving you $200 in gift cards for switching.... There's a reason for that, they will give you a shit plan with high $/kwh. But the average consumer doesn't see that. They see $200 in their pocket.

 

[BxgJ]

I don't see this option on AT&T's website. From articles I've read, AT&T doesn't subsidize the iPhone 6S.

I understand a lot of you don't use smartphones for their actual capacity. Some of us do and would like to have the nicest phone available. However, I don't want to spend $850+ to get it. That's fucking ridiculous. Phones shouldn't be more than $500, ever.

You do realize you have always been paying that much for it right? The difference in price between retail and what you pay with contract is factored into the monthly payment.

Doesn't at&t have payment plans where you pay something up front and the rest in ~24 monthly payments, and where the baseline plan price is cheaper?

It's really a good thing that people know what they are really paying for these phones.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

What kind of "info on demand while on the go" demands an "octocore"?

And what effect on battery life does this justify.
I find it strange that Microsoft seems to be the only ones with the right hardware ideas. Microsoft acts like apple did in desktops 15 years ago. MS phones have less memory & CPU power because its not needed for their mobile OS, similar to apples old designs that were less powerful but performed very well because of the software.

 

[disappoint]

Keep dreaming bud. Put large amounts into monthly fees and people are too stupid to see the big picture. Addition is a tough concept for people to grasp.

Just like utility companies that advertise giving you $200 in gift cards for switching.... There's a reason for that, they will give you a shit plan with high $/kwh. But the average consumer doesn't see that. They see $200 in their pocket.

So is multipli...multi...mulpli...how do you say that again? You know the timesing thing? Like 5 times 5 is some big number or something? It's like if you add up lots and you get this big number, but instead of adding you times it. Right? Shut up you guys are idiots anyway you don't know a fraction of what I know. I have high levels of smartness, it's like 9000 or something.

 

[tortillasoup]

Well, it seems the carriers in the USA have dropped phone subsidies. I'm not gonna buy a flagship phone anymore. I have twice. (iPhone 4, iPhone 5S) I wanted to buy a iPhone 6S+ but at $850 for the 64GB version... no fucking way. I'll stick with my scuffed up iPhone 5S until it breaks completely and then I'll buy some cheap Android phone.

Also, I think we'll be switching to T-Mobile soon enough. AT&T isn't competitive on price or features /at all/. Why bother being with AT&T if they're going to charge you full price for the phone now?

I don't really understand why this is a good move for AT&T. I feel the only reason we stuck with them was because of the phone subsidy. Without it, why stay?

You stay with the carrier because of their network qualities and benefits like how much data you get vs price. I haven't had a subsidized phone in years, to my detriment. Now, that subsidies are gone, I can breathe relief in being rewarded for not being a stupid consumer.

 

[SP33Demon]

Or just not stupid with their money and enslaved in debt their entire life.

Enjoy your shit life working till the day you roll over and die.



OP - we buy our own phones when we actually need them, and we stick with a plan that will be as cheap as possible. Currently with Verizon, they had a deal with their month to month program (I believe it is called Edge?) - $15/month per line, $58 for the plan (unlimited minutes/text, 6GB data), so it ends up being ~$90/month. Even that is a lot for us, but it's the best we can do so far.

I would have a limit on minutes, but we pay our mother in law as well - and she spends all day and night on the phone :|

TMobile just had a 2 for $100/month deal of unlimited 4g data + text + mins. Shouldve hopped on that, Verizon is just ripping people off with these caps on 4G data.

 

[SP33Demon]

What kind of "info on demand while on the go" demands an "octocore"?

Day trading, fantasy football + streaming movies on my Galaxy S6. I want the most robust option available because time is of the essence when you want a trade to go through. I don't care about battery because of the new turbo chargers.

 

[maddogchen]

I don't see this option on AT&T's website. From articles I've read, AT&T doesn't subsidize the iPhone 6S.

I understand a lot of you don't use smartphones for their actual capacity. Some of us do and would like to have the nicest phone available. However, I don't want to spend $850+ to get it. That's fucking ridiculous. Phones shouldn't be more than $500, ever.

Did you log into your AT&T online account, click on check eligibility/upgrade your phone, select the phone you want and look at the pricing options? It should be there. They just don't advertise it.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I bought one of the "new" Samsung S4 ones a few years ago. it was like $600 but subsidized by sprint (so $200ish out of pocket). Hopefully I will get another 6 or 7 years out of it, but It does not seem very durable like some of the phones I had in the past.

 

[waffleironhead]

What is this "we" stuff you are going on about?

 

[LucJoe]

Well, it seems the carriers in the USA have dropped phone subsidies.

What subsidy? The full price of that $800 phone you bought for $199 is more than built in to the 2 year contract service price. Everyone knows this.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I'm going to buy the phone I want regardless of price. The only problem is that phone tech seems to have plateaued a bit. You're not getting a significantly better experience over midrange phones by going with flagship phones anymore. I'm still on a 5s as well. If something compelling comes out I'll buy it, but I'm not super stoked about any of the new phones that came out this year.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Bought a refurbished HTC One M7 for $150 maybe 5-6 months ago. I'm happy with the display, the camera, it runs any application I need, plenty of space for me, etc. Using a $30/month no-contract carrier. Sure, a brand new phone would be nicer, but not so much nicer I'm willing to pay the prices they are these days.

 

[Merad]

Here's an idea. Switch to a carrier that doesn't butt rape you on all the prices, and buy your flagship devices with the money you save. Unless you are a super heavy user, you're much better off on a MVNO than one of the major carriers. My typical usage is < 500 minutes, < 1000 SMS, and < 500 megs of data, and I pay $35 a month with Ting (or less if I use less). The money I save will buy a new iPhone every 18 months or so.

Please do not post referrals.
Admin allisolm

 

[AznAnarchy99]

What subsidy? The full price of that $800 phone you bought for $199 is more than built in to the 2 year contract service price. Everyone knows this.

No they don't. People are idiots. I had to explain this to so many people when T-Mobile first got rid of their contracts. I for one am glad we're going to the European model of pricing.

 

[Sonikku]

(uses flip phone)

 

[KIAman]

We are at the point where top of the line flagship phones no longer offer an obvious "perceived" benefit. A little bigger screen, more PPI, a little more battery life, a slightly better benchmark score is all you can now expect.

Most smartphones now can do everything you'd want to do out of a computing device and there isn't a need to upgrade because of such small incremental benefit.

I'll be keeping my Galaxy S6 Edge for a few years because there won't be a need for anything better.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Well, it seems the carriers in the USA have dropped phone subsidies. I'm not gonna buy a flagship phone anymore. I have twice. (iPhone 4, iPhone 5S) I wanted to buy a iPhone 6S+ but at $850 for the 64GB version... no fucking way. I'll stick with my scuffed up iPhone 5S until it breaks completely and then I'll buy some cheap Android phone.

Also, I think we'll be switching to T-Mobile soon enough. AT&T isn't competitive on price or features /at all/. Why bother being with AT&T if they're going to charge you full price for the phone now?

I don't really understand why this is a good move for AT&T. I feel the only reason we stuck with them was because of the phone subsidy. Without it, why stay?

You realize that with the subsidies, you were paying more over the lifetime of the phone?

Whether you paid 850 now or later, you paid all 850 that the phone cost retail (and usually 20/mo more if you were on conttact). TANSTAAFL.

 

[HomerJS]

Or just not stupid with their money and enslaved in debt their entire life.

Enjoy your shit life working till the day you roll over and die.



OP - we buy our own phones when we actually need them, and we stick with a plan that will be as cheap as possible. Currently with Verizon, they had a deal with their month to month program (I believe it is called Edge?) - $15/month per line, $58 for the plan (unlimited minutes/text, 6GB data), so it ends up being ~$90/month. Even that is a lot for us, but it's the best we can do so far.

I would have a limit on minutes, but we pay our mother in law as well - and she spends all day and night on the phone :|

What brand of phone do you have? I think if you come to Verizon with your own Iphone data access is $40/month

 

[Merad]

No they don't. People are idiots. I had to explain this to so many people when T-Mobile first got rid of their contracts. I for one am glad we're going to the European model of pricing.

Is this actually true though? IIRC, for basic single-line smartphone coverage a few years ago on a major carrier, you would typically pay something like $30 for the basic phone plan, $15 for texts, $20 for "unlimited" (typically ~4 GB) data, and $10 for having an "advanced" device (smartphone). ~$75 per month for basic service with any smartphone.

You can hit roughly that same price point today, but only if you choose the most basic flagship phone (e.g. a 16 GB iPhone 6) and only with a 1 GB data plan. Getting the same level of service you had a few years ago (a 3 or 4 GB data plan) will see you paying $90-100 per month, depending on the exact model of phone.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

TMobile just had a 2 for $100/month deal of unlimited 4g data + text + mins. Shouldve hopped on that, Verizon is just ripping people off with these caps on 4G data.

I used to be on T-Mobile just prior to switching to Verizon.

The coverage was HORRIBLE in our area. Absolutely horrendous. My wife's phone spent so much time searching for signal that her phone is dead halfway through the day.

When I was with T-Mobile, I had that $100 deal for 2 lines. Now I'm paying even less, the only difference is a 6GB limit on data. My wife doesn't go anywhere near that.... like... not even past 2GB. That isn't a problem, and will never be a problem.

Basically, we pay $10 less for MUCH better coverage, less dropped calls, consistent speeds, and $200 in credits for porting over our numbers.