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Comment by smitherfield | Hacker News Reader

When the original iPhone launched there was no other product like it; nowadays they need to be able to compete with Android on price.

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Compete on price? They're getting more and more expensive...

Flagship Androids are also getting more and more expensive.

Both Apple and Samsung are going to get their lunch eaten by Xiaomi, Huawei and the rest I guess, then.

I'm eagerly awaiting the Pocophone F1 release here in Uruguay.

That rings true. Huawei owner here who, when purchasing, was doubting between a Lenovo, Xiaomi and this Huawei. Didn't have to think long when seeing what Samsung asks for a mid- or high-end phone (or when comparing specs of their low-end models).

That must be an odd definition of "lunch", given that Apple tends to capture roughly 80% of Smartphone profits, Huawei about 6%, and Xiaomi even less than that.

Now. But they're in serious danger of being disrupted from the bottom.

http://www.claytonchristensen.com/key-concepts/

Low-end disrupters (think steel minimills and discount retailers) come in at the bottom of the market and take hold within an existing value network before moving upmarket and attacking that stratum

For a value of "now" that includes the last 10 years. And for the entire time, low end disruption has been predicted, with the list of designated disruptors occasionally changing.

One pretty good barrier that Apple has built and defends well is the phone as a status symbol and object of desire.

But, as a phone, I think low end disruptors are here, and I can't understand why people would pay 3 or 4 times as much as needed for a phone - other than that they have the money, and they want the phones for reasons unrelated to performance (aesthetics, perceived quality, privacy, etc.).

Xiaomi in particular is trying to erode that particular Apple barrier, their flagships are already objects of desire in India, China and in my country (Uruguay).

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