Apple was the first company to release a $1000 phone. The iPhone X retailed for more money than any phone before it in history. And it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that Apple was the first to do this – its entire brand is built on being “expensive” and “exclusive”.
The elitist nature of Apple might now have gone by the wayside, everybody has iPhones and MacBooks, but the company’s pricing has remained the same. It still charges WAY MORE than it should for its products, only now it has mass-market appeal.
This is why Apple’s business model is lusted after by every other brand on the planet. They want the prestige, the brand appeal, the profits, and the ability to charge whatever the hell they like for their products. But they can’t… because they’re not Apple.
Still, this hasn’t stopped phone makers in the Android space hiking up the price of their flagship phones in the wake of the iPhone X. Just look at the handsets launched at MWC 2018 from Samsung and Sony – they’re more expensive than ever before.
And, yes, a lot of this is down to Apple. But keep this in mind: Android phone makers did not have to follow Apple’s pricing strategy. Rather, they could have kept the price increases more respectful to consumers and enjoyed greater appeal to customers put off paying over £1000 for an iPhone.
Take Samsung: it’s bill of materials – what it costs to make a Galaxy S phone – has hardly budged between the Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy S7, and yet there is a massive flux in the RRP of the phone. I totally understand that these firms are in business for profit, but there comes a time when you have to start saying enough is enough.
I wouldn’t buy the iPhone X because I feel it to too expensive for what it represents. This is my opinion, so you don’t have to agree with me, but that’s how I feel. Sure, it has a new design and an OLED display… but to me it looks like a Samsung phone from 2016, so why pay so much for it?
Apple Can Get Away With It Though
This statement is kind of true. Apple CAN get away with charging way over the odds for its phones. And that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean everybody else in the space should follow suit. Hell, even Sony wants £800 for its new Xperia XZ2 phone!? No chance, mate!
The other thing Apple has going for it (and Google Pixel phones as well) is regular, consistent software updates. Apple provides around five year’s worth of software updates, so in this respect, if you’re buying a $1000 phone, at least you’re getting support for it.
In the Android space, well… this just doesn’t happen. You might get one major update through, possibly two, but that’s about it. And then you’re just left languishing on some outdated build of Android (like the vast majority of Android users right now).
This is why I ALWAYS used Nexus phones in the past and why I now use Pixel phones. I love Android, but I hate the way Google’s partners handle updates. This problem has not been fixed, and there is no solution in sight that seems like it will fix everything, and now these same phone makers are trying to charge MORE for their phones? Come on!
Android phones should not cost as much as iPhones. They just shouldn’t. Traditionally, that’s not what Android has been about and I am sick of seeing every Android brand try to emulate Apple’s pricing strategy. It doesn’t work. Punters don’t like it. And it’s bad for the vibrancy of the space.
Make ‘Em Last Longer
I’d happily pay £1000 for an Android phone if it was guaranteed to last me the same amount of time as a laptop of a desktop computer, both of which you can get for considerably less than £1000. But they don’t. Most have a lifecycle of two years at best and then they crap out because this is the nature of the phone space. Churn. Constant churn.
I can’t think of any other type of product that costs so much but has such a short lifespan. Hell, you can lease a car for the contract price of most top-flight Android/iPhones these days. A car!!!
And even if you can eek out years of use from your phone, the company that sold it to you – be they Apple or Samsung – will ensure that it eventually dies by crippling either the handset’s battery or CPU via nefarious software updates.
I think this is why the mid-range of the phone market is enjoying such a revival right now. Customers are searching for value for money. They know there isn’t much to separate the phones in terms of functionality and are savvy to the marketing used to sell these “elite” phones.
This is why OnePlus has been so successful, I believe. They offer great specs at a decent price and that for many users, is just what the doctor ordered. It is probably also why plenty of people are now buying their iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones reconditioned and saving around 40% in the process.
Either way, the only way to stop this trend is by voting with your wallet.
