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Would You Buy the iPhone 8 If It Cost $1,200? (9to5mac.com)

As we near the launch of the next iPhone, rumors are swirling about what it may feature. One of the most recent reports comes from developer and blogger John Gruber, who claims the iPhone 8 will have a starting price of around $1200. 9to5Mac reports: He last week said that he believed that what we've been referring to as the iPhone 8 would be called the iPhone Pro and that he actually hoped it would be really expensive: "I hope the iPhone Pro starts at $1500 or higher. I'd like to see what Apple can do in a phone with a higher price." As you might imagine, that generated quite a bit of discussion. Gruber has backed down somewhat from this position, and is now suggesting a starting point of around $1200: "$1,500 as a starting price is probably way too high. But I think $1,200 is quite likely as the starting price, with the high-end model at $1,300 or $1,400." His argument is effectively that Apple is constrained in what it can do in a phone because any technology included in the phone has to be available in huge volumes. If it were willing to sell fewer at a higher price, then it would have more options. There has been speculation that Gruber may have been tipped by Apple, and using his posts to prepare the ground for what would otherwise be a severe case of sticker shock. But Gruber denied this. If Apple does launch the iPhone 8 with a 4-figure price tag, would you buy it?

24 of 561 comments (clear)

  1. In my case I can confirm by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Betteridge's law of headlines is true!

    1. Re:In my case I can confirm by Memnos · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm waiting for the headline, "Is Betteridge's Law True?"

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
  2. Re:No way by CaptQuark · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Pay the same for a phone as I would for a full-featured gaming computer, including monitor? No way!!

    ---

  3. That reminds me. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 5, Funny

    What it's like to own an Apple product - The Oatmeal

    Seems wiser to stick to a cellular phone which the foolish call "dumb". ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:That reminds me. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Interesting

      My cellular phone has a charge that's measured in weeks, not hours. My cellular phone isn't a battery sucking brick that can't even have it's battery swapped. My cellular phone is for talking and on occasion texting. It was less than a hundred bucks and I spend very little on a monthly subscription. Your handheld computer (sold under the guise of being a telephone) may be "smart" but it makes fools of it's users.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  4. Easy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    I wouldn't buy it at $200, why would I buy it at $1,200?

  5. You lost me at iPhone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, I would not buy the iPhone.

  6. never by gravewax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not a hope in hell. being locked down in their ecosystem negates the value of any significant premium hardware increases. besides which unless they have worked out something amazing in battery, holographics or such I personally can't think of much that could even be all that interesting hardware wise, gimmicky 3D or VR maybe but that would be a death sentence just like it was for 3D TV's and looking that way for VR headsets too . I don't need smaller or lighter, CPU, memory, storage, graphics are all more than adequate in most top end phones, really getting like PC's a little now where you can work quite happily on older hardware as long as it is still supported with updates.

  7. Price is only one dimension by mseeger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I buy something does not solely depend on the price. It also depends on the value I get from the item.

    So when asking the question, you should ask "Are those features worth X".

    I haven't seen the final list for the next iPhone yet. So I cannot say yet if it will be worth Y dollars.

    In the past, the iPhones I bought were worth every penny I paid. But be aware: the value may depend on your needs. So what may be true for me, must not be true for everyone else.

  8. Re:No way by RotateLeftByte · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't buy new anyway.
    I hope that lots of Fanbois dive in and shell out $1200 or more for their next iToy.
    Then I can get an iPhone 6s from a pawn shop at a decent price.

    See, every cloud does have a silver lining...

    --
    I'd rather be riding my '63 Triumph T120.
  9. What Apple can do by bluegutang · · Score: 5, Funny

    "I'd like to see what Apple can do in a phone with a higher price."

    Remove even more ports?

  10. Wait, what? by Ecuador · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is the summary correct, is he claiming that you can do "more" if you don't mass produce something??? If Apple wanted to add some more exotic technology, they could simply lower their industry leading profit margin and instead of selling a $220 device for $650 they could sell a $400-$500 device for $800 or something like that.
    To answer the question, I only have an iPhone (6 Plus) because my work provides it for development and although I am free to use it as a personal phone, I prefer a $200 Xiaomi Mi5 as it can do so much more. And Android is by far not my ideal mobile OS either (I still miss my Maemo/Meego N9 - damn you Stephen Elop for burying it), but I still find an Android phone more useful than an iOS one, even if I get the latter for free. So, no, $1200 would make it even more unlikely for me to get an iPhone. Which is a shame, as the apps that exist for both iOS and Android are most of the time better on iOS (for rather obvious - to devs at least - reasons), but there are many things you simply cannot do.

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
    1. Re:Wait, what? by Black.Shuck · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Is the summary correct...???

      No, it's not.

      Gruber is suggesting a Pro version might be able to help Apple spread its operations and logistics issues when it comes to sourcing components for the latest iPhone.

      Apple's problem is not as simple as putting better stuff into the hardware. It's doing that 1 million times a day, every day, for every new version of iPhone that hits the shelves. He suggests a Pro version of the device at a high price-point would give them some breathing space when doing that.

      Just imagine the logistics of just boxing and shipping 1 million of *anything* every day, let alone sourcing, assembling and testing something as complex and impressively well built (for this scale of engineering) as an iPhone.

  11. Re:No way by wierd_w · · Score: 5, Informative

    No. I would not buy one for 5$.

    I am opposed to the basic principles of the Apple ecosystem--

    Ever tried to make your own ringtone for an apple device? Be prepared to deal with proprietary audio formats, having to use the itunes backup feature to push the 3rd party re-encoded tune to the phone, and having to wade through literally thousands of paid endorsements to buy ringtones when you try to look up how to do it. OR-- you could just get an android phone, push any supported media file (which are industry standard formats) into the RINGTONES folder, then pick it.

    Perhaps you want to do something else, like say-- play a gameboy game on your device? Oh-- sorry, no. Apple does not allow virtualized software to run on iDevices. :( It makes apple sad pandas, and they wont let those dangerous, nasty applications into the app store. It is for YOUR protection, citizen!

    Why the fuck would I want a device that bends over backwards to STOP me from using it, EXCEPT in the shamelessly commercialized way the creators envisioned?

    Fuck that noise.

  12. Tim, allow me to phrase it in a way you understand by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would not like it here or there.
    I would not like it anywhere.
    I do not like the iPhone look
    I do not like it, Timmy Cook.

    (and yes, that third line works better with Macbook, but sadly they didn't bring out a new model in the past decade and I grew tired waiting for it)

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  13. Re: No way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Go away, redditer! Over here we say, "You Insensitive Clod!".

  14. Breaking News.. by thesupraman · · Score: 5, Informative

    Pseudo-elitist dreams of being slightly more elitist without having to leave their conformist comfort zone.

    what he really means is 'every kid on the block has an iphone these days, I pine for when I felt more special, so make a more expensive model so I can separate myself from the unwashed masses again (but actually I am a closet conformist, so it needs to be from my regular supplier, work in the same way - so please just make it cost more so I can buy myself a bit more 'special'..).

    Believing that Apple is somehow constrained by price or volume is laughably laughable, they already delivery less for more and have demonstrated a willingness to have availability shortages (in fact historically have done it with a sense of pride during notable releases).

    [Stands back to watch the koolaid drinkers backlash against reality]

  15. Re: No way by GrandCow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You should probably reevaluate your outlook on life. If someones job determines if you would help them or not when they were in a life threatening situation, your brain is broken and you should probably seek some help.

    --
    "Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
  16. Re:No way by GrandCow · · Score: 5, Informative

    Special app? You mean iTunes? You make a ringtone in iTunes, the only "hard" part is you rename the file from a .m4a extension to a .m4r extension, then use iTunes to move it to your phone. You don't need any special app to "import" it to the phone, you just use iTunes.

    I have taught 80-year-old people how to do this.

    Sorry you hate Apple enough that you never looked up how to do it?

    --
    "Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
  17. Re: No way by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 5, Funny

    if 1200 bucks is gonna break you thats your own fault.

    Sure it is. Only the lazy and feckless don't have $1200 sitting around waiting for the right phone to come along. I bet if you check their physiognomy you'll find they have the low brow and cranial bumps of the genetically poor.

  18. Re:No way by Vermonter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sorry but I would rather not have to download a specific Apple program and create an Apple account and give Apple personal info, just for the sake of putting a ringtone on my personal device. And then pay Apple an extremely high profit margin just to do it. It amazes how much Apple fans will put off with, and then make the claim "well it's just so easy and it just works". OK, well Android is also easy, and just works, and can be learned with the same amount of minimal effort that. Truth be told, Apple and Android devices are both fully functional phones. One relies heavily on proprietary software and formats and has an extremely high profit margin, the other uses industry standards and costs a lot less. You can tell me that Apple is easy to use all day long, and I won't argue the point, because it's moot.

  19. Re: No way by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Good for you. I do all those things on my phone as well and it cost me £150. But then I also paid £5000 for my last car and it did me well for 12 years (before I needed more room than an executive saloon could offer). Whose fault is it if you're paying over the odds for your phone AND your car?

    I like people like you - because without you I couldn't buy top of the range goods for pennies on the pound.

  20. Re:Problem is not phone cost by plover · · Score: 5, Funny

    The problem is not that I'd pay $1200 for an iPhone 8. The problem is my wife will.

    --
    John
  21. Re: No way by whopis · · Score: 5, Funny

    Prada of course. I simply could not dream of using any other paperclip. Granted that at $185 a piece it is more expensive than other paperclips but, for some of us, quality matters.

    When you consider the lifetime cost of assuring that your papers stay together, it just makes sense. Of course there are those luddites and fashion-challenged people who just don't understand. Fortunately for them there are plenty of bargain basement opportunities when it comes to their clipping needs.

    For me, I just wouldn't feel comfortable trusting my documents with anything else.

    http://www.avclub.com/amp/2577...