Beats all around; not surprising
People can't afford food, but they'll still buy the latest IPhone. Inflation isn't going to touch their sales.
People can't afford food, but they'll still buy the latest IPhone. Inflation isn't going to touch their sales.
At $1.5 per day for the latest iPhone+AppleCare, the upgrade program made me realize I get at least $5-$10 of value out of my phone daily. Even in just time saved on daily tasks e.g. banking, shopping, taxis, work (I don't have to walk to the "location" or even to my desktop).
Context: For a long time I stayed on my iPhone 6, trying to extract every last bit of value from it (replaced the screen 1x and the battery 2x) before it was no longer getting updates (I had it 6 years).
1. The cognitive overhead of trying to extract every last dollar is greater than $1 a day. In the back of my mind I kept going back and forth, do I upgrade the battery again, or switch to a newer $1000 phone? If I include the time and money ($100 every 2 years - $0.14 per day for the battery; $150 every 3 yeas - $0.14 per day for the screen) actually spent getting the phone fixed, then the upgrade program is a no brainer winner.
2. The improvements were noticeable! Significantly. When I got my iPhone 11 Pro after giving away my iPhone 6, my laptop usage reduced by 75% (I had been thinking of buying a new laptop - the iPhone purchase saved me money overall).
3. I stayed on my iPhone 6 because "I just didn't believe X, Y, or Z was actually worth the upgrade". For $1.5 per day (vs $0.3) for a tool able to save me $5-10 per day, every day, why ever lag behind? What if the 14 is able to save me $15 per day because of X, Y, or Z but "I just don't believe it" and miss out on years worth of "savings".
4. Even without everything I've said prior, I can afford the $1.5 per day, even for frivolous reasons. When my iPhone, a tool, costs the same as one bubble tea / fancy latte a week, I'd rather reduce my cafe visits slightly and use the best version of the tools that are known to improve my life.
5. There is still a lot more iPhones can improve on, and I would like them to improve. I specifically also buy the Pro because I view "giving Apple that margin" as a "vote with my wallet" that there is a market for a more feature-rich iPhone can do next year and the more my vote counts.
I'm sure a lot of people are frustrated by food costs, and have adjusted their food purchasing decisions, while also buying new iPhones.
And it makes sense, because an iPhone is a fairly inexpensive luxury good. Certainly, it's cheaper than a comparably high end purse, car or house. And, in the US, it's heavily subsidized by carriers.
Yes you pay less upfront, but in exchange for paying more on your monthly phone bill. Less of a subsidy and more of a payment plan.
The free phones aren't going to be the latest generation, but they often have partial subsidization when you switch, like maybe half the cost.
You can buy an iPhone and pop in a Mint Mobile SIM. There's no "free phone tax" if you buy it the right way.
Carriers haven't subsidized phones for years now. I think the GP is mistaken. There is no "free phone tax" is you pay monthly for your phone.
For example, If I paid for £1000 phone up front the monthly contract would be £40. So if your argument was correct then that same contract should be £40 + (£500 / 24months) == £61. But it wouldn't be. It would be more like £75 a month. Sure that's only £10 a month more. But over 24 months that works out £240 extra. So that £500 ends up costing £740.
These are just made up figures but they're roughly in the same ballpark as what I've experienced.
On occasions when I've asked for a pen and paper so I can make a note of the differences over the contract term, the sales people have even literally said "So if you go on this contract, your phone will cost £x more". So I don't think it's even a fact they try and hide.
Even the contract you sign has to have terms explained by the sales person because that contract can be contested if the customer claims they were duped into signing something they didn't understand. We have a lot stricter consumer laws in Europe.
That $30.55 DOES NOT include the price of the contract, which costs an additional $85.00 for 5G Ultraband. I would have to pay $85 whether or not I bought a 0% interest phone, bought it at full retail or brought my own phone.
So no, I don't see where the "double" is coming from. It's just math.
I've also seen the handset cost separated at 0% APR with separate service charge from major UK telcos too.
> https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program
Plus the standard way to buy a phone since long before Apple entered the market was to buy from the network. So it's a habit that still persists today.
The other thing to note with that is you're continually trading in your old phone to access that scheme. Whereas mobile networks let you keep your phone (I mean, you literally own it). People often then sell it or hand it down to a family member. One of my friends went ~5 years without buying a new phone because he had my hand-me-downs.
I bet you those 38 stores are located strategically to cover a vast majority of the population.
You're simply nitpicking. The reality is, you can get an iPhone for 0% interest. It's not some kind of insurmountable quest. You don't even need to go into the store, you can simply order it from Apple.com.
I'm sure they are but if people have to travel when there's a competitor on their door step, they'll generally buy from the competitor. This is a fact that's as old as commerce itself.
> You're simply nitpicking. ... It's not some kind of insurmountable quest.
How am I nitpicking? I'm literally just stating how the UK consumers shop. You might not agree with their logic but telling them they're wrong on some random tech forum none of them would visit is about as productive as pissing in the wind. What I've described is literally how things work in the UK. Sorry if that seems egregious to you but it's a fact.
> You don't even need to go into the store, you can simply order it from Apple.com.
...and now we're back to my point that most iPhone users are unaware of that offer. Most wouldn't even visit Apple.com. I wasn't even aware of that and I'm a techie so none of my non-technical friends would have been aware. The way people buy phones in the UK isn't and hasn't ever typically been to buy direct from the manufacturer. So most people wouldn't know or even think to check apple.com for offers.
Please remember that the UK is a totally different country so some behaviourisms will differ from what you're used to. And telling me I'm nitpicking because an entire country of people shop differently to what you consider sensible (or perhaps "normal" in your country) is, frankly, ridiculous.
Honestly though, I'd be interested to know how many people in your own country are aware of that offer. I suspect it might be less than you'd like to believe. Are you going look down on them for being out of the loop too?
> The reality is, you can get an iPhone for 0% interest.
I'm not disputing that. I'm stating why most UK iPhone users don't take advantage of that. You can argue that fact to your blue in the face but it means jack shit if the actual consumers either aren't aware of it, or are too lazy to take advantage of it. THAT is the real issue, not whether the 0% interest offer exists or not.
Wasn't Apple trying to do some of their own financing here?