Smartphones are getting more expensive but are they really overpriced?

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TheRealDuckofDeath
TheRealDuckofDeath
Arena Master
• 7mo ago
↵AltronLivez51 said:

I don't know if your blind or just wanna pick a fight. All I said was, orms selling phones at a very high cost vs what it costs to make is just business as usual.


But my question was simple. If a company thst makes something that costs them $400 to make? How much do YOU feel they need to sell it for in order to pay for ehats inside, buy the materials and pay someone or buy the machine to make.


A businessman. I don't charge absorbent prices for the service I offer. But when I have to buy material I charge 3 times my cost. Why? Because 1st I need to replace the money I spent to buy it. 2nd I need to be able to buy it again and 3rd I need to be able to make something off of it too.


But I'm not selling something in the millions. However the more I would need to sell, the more it costs me and thus the more I need to make.


What I said doesn't excuse any Corp for being greedy. I simply stated a fact that you said selling someone at 2 or 3 times what it costs to make is always a bad thing and it isn't.


And most oems especially Chinese ones, only sell a phone slightly above their cost. But their stuff is cheap. Most of it is gonna remain in China. They don't need to pay fees to send it to 200 plus other countries and sell it on someone else's store shelves.


When it comes to midrange devices, because those devices will sell in higher volume, it also means they will cost more to make. In fact the overhead to make so many is more expensive then making flagship.


I can guarantee, that cost for Samsung as an example to manufacture and distribute the A series phone is far mire then what it costs them to do thre Galaxy S now.


Much of the reason you are paying more now is 1 some parts do cost more. Carriers don't subsidize any of the cost and they allow you to put it on a bill and lay over time interest-free. All of that comes at a cost.


The reason you were wrong, is because with the only accepting being Apple, all Android oems including Samsung, actually make a much lower profit margi. This has been proven for years where numbers have already been ran that shows Apple makes a considerable margin above what it costs them to make a phone.


A phone that may cost them $250-400 to make and they sell for $500-800 sounds like a pretty fair margin because kne they pay the bills, the oem will be left with maybe $100. That doesnt sound very greedy. But when an oem like Apple has an ASP, that is consistently above 50% of theor cost, that surely is greedy and they give nothing for it.

Read my reply about as it covers it all. Stop projecting others are blind and keyboard warriors when you're the one doing that.

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AltronLivez51
AltronLivez51
Arena Master
• 7mo ago
↵TheRealDuckofDeath said:

Did I single anyone out? Why so defensive about these greedy corporations clearly caring more about revenue than innovation? There's a reason antitrust is illegal, which is why these companies are getting dragged through courts all over the world now. Stop defending things that only serves to move your wealth onto their bank accounts.

What am I defending. I stated facts. They aren't meant for defense. If you want to use as such, then that's your problem.


Corps are in business to make money. The price obviously isn't a problem, because people keep buying.


People have shown Samsung the Galaxy S is too expensive. That why it went from thr S4 having 70M sells and the S23U having probably less than 20M.


Apple fans don't have a choice. It is pointless at this point to complain about price. You don't have to pay it. Their are phones in every price range under Android.


The top of the line is gonna be priced high, do to less expected sales.if a company is going to spend the extra money to make the phone fancier, its gonna cost you. That like anything else in the premium segment of any product.


Greedy or not, they all are going to make more money than you. They know how much it costs to be in the business they are in.


Someone will pay the price. If everyone stop buying the expensive stuff then tbey simply won't make them. But as long as people keep buying ir, the price isn't too high and they aren't being greedy.


Thwir job is to sell a product at the price they feel will still land the amount of expected sales.


All corps are greedy. But some of th3m actually try to five you bang for your buck.


Do you think iys cheap to make a 200MP camera? Apple doesn't have one yet their phone costs even more.


I don't want to pay, that's why I still have my N20U.


Qhen Covid hit, prices went up on everything scare or not. Now even though things have normalized, since people still paid the price anyways, no one has lowered their prices and much is still going up.


If we just didn't buy the stuff, it would solve the problem of greed. Since that isn't going to happen, its not since even talking about it.


This is how capitalism works. You can sell a product foe as high as you think someone will pay for it. The gov puts no caps on anything.

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TheRealDuckofDeath
TheRealDuckofDeath
Arena Master
• 7mo agoedited
↵AltronLivez51 said:

What am I defending. I stated facts. They aren't meant for defense. If you want to use as such, then that's your problem.


Corps are in business to make money. The price obviously isn't a problem, because people keep buying.


People have shown Samsung the Galaxy S is too expensive. That why it went from thr S4 having 70M sells and the S23U having probably less than 20M.


Apple fans don't have a choice. It is pointless at this point to complain about price. You don't have to pay it. Their are phones in every price range under Android.


The top of the line is gonna be priced high, do to less expected sales.if a company is going to spend the extra money to make the phone fancier, its gonna cost you. That like anything else in the premium segment of any product.


Greedy or not, they all are going to make more money than you. They know how much it costs to be in the business they are in.


Someone will pay the price. If everyone stop buying the expensive stuff then tbey simply won't make them. But as long as people keep buying ir, the price isn't too high and they aren't being greedy.


Thwir job is to sell a product at the price they feel will still land the amount of expected sales.


All corps are greedy. But some of th3m actually try to five you bang for your buck.


Do you think iys cheap to make a 200MP camera? Apple doesn't have one yet their phone costs even more.


I don't want to pay, that's why I still have my N20U.


Qhen Covid hit, prices went up on everything scare or not. Now even though things have normalized, since people still paid the price anyways, no one has lowered their prices and much is still going up.


If we just didn't buy the stuff, it would solve the problem of greed. Since that isn't going to happen, its not since even talking about it.


This is how capitalism works. You can sell a product foe as high as you think someone will pay for it. The gov puts no caps on anything.

Take a flippin' chill pill! You're rambling and clearly not responding to anything!


I was stating facts. I don't know what you're up to.

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Jarretlijeeves
Jarretlijeeves
Arena Apprentice
• 7mo ago
↵ilia.t said:

Just like many other things, smartphones are getting more and more expensive. Flagship models sell in the $1000 range, and foldables can easily reach $2000. Even mid-range devices tend to get pricier, which makes buying a smartphone more difficult for many.


With the rising price, smartphones also seem to get more capabilities. More powerful hardware, coupled with improved software, turn even affordable smartphones into capable productivity machines. Because of this, owning a smartphone is not so much of a choice but a vital necessity.


This dynamic makes me wonder what is the fair price of a smartphone. Looking at some of the high-end models, I can’t help but think they are overpriced. After all, most people use their phones for things like social media, messaging, emails, banking and consuming different types of content. None of these activities require a $1000 device, making the premium smartphones an excessive purchase for most people. 


However, the same $1000 device holds a different value. You can use the most expensive Galaxies and iPhones for a striking variety of actual, cash-earning work. You could shoot and edit professional photos, start a YouTube channel, record a podcast, research and write texts, and do much more. 


You can use the device to learn how to use it in ways that could help you earn hard cash. I already know people who use their flagship smartphones to take photos for their online stores and videos for the YouTube channels of their businesses. For these people, using the $1000 phones they already own feels like a bargain compared to buying a $3,000 professional camera.


Because of this, I think the price of smartphones is not the problem. The problem is the mindset of many users. They feel like they need a $1000 smartphone, but in reality, all their needs can be covered by much cheaper devices. Of course, the latest Galaxy or iPhone feels nicer than almost any budget smartphone, but if you can’t extract the value of an expensive tool, that’s not a problem with the tool.

gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=12151&idPhone2=12771


This is a comparison of the A14 to the S24 ultra with only very Minor differences like camera and water proofing etc. The A14 comes in a 5g model and even if you buy the non 5G it still comes with a 126gb storage with ability to add another 128gbsd as internal storage, 6Gb ram, and to boot it only will cost 300$ in store. Oh and it just got the android 14 os update with UI 6. So yeah your argument is flawed even within a flagships own model ranks.

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AltronLivez51
AltronLivez51
Arena Master
• 7mo agoedited
↵TheRealDuckofDeath said:

Take a flippin' chill pill! You're rambling and clearly not responding to anything!


I was stating facts. I don't know what you're up to.

I'm up to nothing. I dont disagree with you. Yes the stuff is expensive. But its not too expensive. After all, all of them sell in the 10's of millions.


I choose to look at it as premium devices bow cost a piece i dont want to pay. I have never paid full price for a phone even after carriers stop subsizing them.


I take advantage of trade-in deals where I end up paying 1/2 or less. Samsung gave $800 for my 2 year old Note 9. Me and the qife both had one, so we both have the N20U. For a $1300 phone, the tradein deal was a no-brainer. With the lerks i have on my account already, i paid $400 each. That was for 2 brand new flagship devices on preorder, and i got the freebies from Samsung, too.


Even the iPhone Pro is feee if you will sign your life away on a plane that for 1 phone will be about $150 per month after taxes and fees.


If you need to pay cash for a phone, then yes, they are qay too expensive. But when you can make a payment of just maybe $60 added to your bill or you lay for it with a credit card, then the price becomes more affordable.


No product is ever going to stay the same price.

However, i dont see them getting out of this price range for maybe another 5 years.

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TheRealDuckofDeath
TheRealDuckofDeath
Arena Master
• 7mo ago
↵AltronLivez51 said:

I'm up to nothing. I dont disagree with you. Yes the stuff is expensive. But its not too expensive. After all, all of them sell in the 10's of millions.


I choose to look at it as premium devices bow cost a piece i dont want to pay. I have never paid full price for a phone even after carriers stop subsizing them.


I take advantage of trade-in deals where I end up paying 1/2 or less. Samsung gave $800 for my 2 year old Note 9. Me and the qife both had one, so we both have the N20U. For a $1300 phone, the tradein deal was a no-brainer. With the lerks i have on my account already, i paid $400 each. That was for 2 brand new flagship devices on preorder, and i got the freebies from Samsung, too.


Even the iPhone Pro is feee if you will sign your life away on a plane that for 1 phone will be about $150 per month after taxes and fees.


If you need to pay cash for a phone, then yes, they are qay too expensive. But when you can make a payment of just maybe $60 added to your bill or you lay for it with a credit card, then the price becomes more affordable.


No product is ever going to stay the same price.

However, i dont see them getting out of this price range for maybe another 5 years.

I am clearly wasting my time with a scripted bot. I get that you're busy making up logic to justify your "opinion".


Like I said, you're not replying to anything I have written and you're not responding to anything I've said.

.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Jacklee
Jacklee
Arena Apprentice
• 7mo ago

On my understanding are getting more expensive is because man try to push up the price . Like the China gentleman buying the house in Singapore. All by cash and willing to pay high price. So automatically the price went up. It is same as a phone. I am willing to pay 2000 for a phone . So of course the new phone will be very expensive . For my suggestion why don't the price tag is depends on the life span. So the manufacturer can do it because I been working in the warehouse so everything can do it. It will work until certain years certain things is spoil automatically. Actually to manufacture a phone the cost is very cheap. Because I spend 2 years to know every part of the phone cost . Like apple it need what parts and many different phone types the cost is different.

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Iamchaos13
Iamchaos13
Arena Apprentice
• 7mo ago

Absolutely overpriced,, but if people actually did their homework, and learned everything about the phones performance and based off their needs, it would be different imo.. People are so gullible. If they want to go drop $1-$2000 on a phone because it's a "FLAGSHIP" and it's the best, more power to them. I'll stay over here, and buy the best Midrange, that will do almost everything the high # ones so for a fraction. Of the price.. Doesn't make sense to.me..Exampe, I have the A54, I paid $240 brand new unlocked.. I hammer on the thing atl day.. I borrowed the shops S23 for a week, to compare.. The average person wouldn't even notice the difference. To me they were almost identical, different chipset but, why pay triple for the same thing in a different wrapper. 😂

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Iamchaos13
Iamchaos13
Arena Apprentice
• 7mo agoedited
↵Jarretlijeeves said:

gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=12151&idPhone2=12771


This is a comparison of the A14 to the S24 ultra with only very Minor differences like camera and water proofing etc. The A14 comes in a 5g model and even if you buy the non 5G it still comes with a 126gb storage with ability to add another 128gbsd as internal storage, 6Gb ram, and to boot it only will cost 300$ in store. Oh and it just got the android 14 os update with UI 6. So yeah your argument is flawed even within a flagships own model ranks.

Good lord, started reading and had to follow you girls bickering till the end. 😂. You're not wrong though. People will Kay more because they think it's superior, when I'm fact it's not much difference. Like you said the A14 vs S24. Just like I have the A54, which is hardly any noticeable difference to the S23..Except I paid $240 not $700. and I have 1tb of storage, But they will swear the Flagships can't be touched..

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Steveo
Steveo
Arena Apprentice
• 6mo ago

Question: Why would anyone buy a phone with only has

FHD for a display. Ever since the 5G rollout

the specs has been degrading tremendously.

Where's the innovation, 4K have been out for

awhile to the point that 8K is becoming the

standard. The price has been off the scale

for anyone to purchase. Also why all these

cellphone dealers trying to sell you a phone

with only 128Gb of storage, don't they know

The people aren't getting that size after OS

and all that Bloatware, and after updating

there's not enough room to even download

a flea. I think the standard should be 256Gb

or 512Gb.

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