iPhone Affordable smartphone and iPhone

[Blaze4G]

The flaw in this discussion is the word 'affordable' as it is liquid and unquantifiable.

What people seem to be doing is quantifying their own definition of affordable, however it then is merely personal & subjective and can not be generalised or assigned a fixed metric.

Making any assumption or declaration about what is and what's isn't 'affordable', and theoretical assumptions based on that, utterly moribund.

I don't agree full with this MRU. In every almost every industry there are similar products in different price ranges. Usually you have the most expensive, midrange and lastly the cheap / low priced.

Now when we refer to the general public (lets call them GP), majority of GP lies in the middle to lower class income levels. Now usually this majority tries to balance value, quality and cost. They don't want something really cheap because of the mindset "you get what you pay for". They also don't want to buy the most expensive when they think they can get a similar product for less.

So "affordability" when it comes to the majority of GP imo usually lies in the midrange for different products in a particular industry. Of course there will be exceptions but imo this remains true in most instances.

 

[macfacts]

Apple knows there are people living month to month on their paychecks, that's why they introduced the installment plans.

 

[MRU]

I don't agree full with this MRU. In every almost every industry there are similar products in different price ranges. Usually you have the most expensive, midrange and lastly the cheap / low priced.

Now when we refer to the general public (lets call them GP), majority of GP lies in the middle to lower class income levels. Now usually this majority tries to balance value, quality and cost. They don't want something really cheap because of the mindset "you get what you pay for". They also don't want to buy the most expensive when they think they can get a similar product for less.

So "affordability" when it comes to the majority of GP imo usually lies in the midrange for different products in a particular industry. Of course there will be exceptions but imo this remains true in most instances.

However there is still so many variables to this. Based solely on average income, whilst it's applicable in one region it may not be in another. Affordable in Saudi Arabia and affordable in India and affordable in USA or Japan is variable and can't be generalised.

However I'm only arguing semantics rather have an opinion on this, after all I spend toooooo much money on smartphones each year to judge affordability

 

[Blaze4G]

However there is still so many variables to this. Based solely on average income, whilst it's applicable in one region it may not be in another. Affordable in Saudi Arabia and affordable in India and affordable in USA or Japan is variable and can't be generalised.

However I'm only arguing semantics rather have an opinion on this, after all I spend toooooo much money on smartphones each year to judge affordability

lol! You probably do but who am I to judge?

I get what you mean about different regions but majority of the world population still remains in the middle to low income class.

Quick google search for world population income in 2011 gave me these stats:
Poor 15%
Low income 56%
Middle income 13%
Upper-middle income 9%
High income 7%

The low to poor income will tend to stick to mid range price products or cheap products. Middle income would be split, some going for midrange and others going for the high end. Which leads back to my point that the "poor and low income" definition of affordability across the board will remain similar because they are making similar income. Here lies most of the population even when you exclude Middle income.

 

[aneftp]

Apple knows there are people living month to month on their paychecks, that's why they introduced the installment plans.

That's the issue.

People's needs vs wants. Installments plans make things appear more affordable. But people living month to month shouldn't be adding a phone hardware payment on top of their monthly phone payment.

 

[I7guy]

That's the issue.

People's needs vs wants. Installments plans make things appear more affordable. But people living month to month shouldn't be adding a phone hardware payment on top of their monthly phone payment.

They also should let be adding a tv payment, car payment, upscale jewelry and clothing. Let's not make this stream of social consciousness strictly about Apple.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The topic of this thread is a common pinch point on Mac Rumors I've found. I think many Android devotees just can't understand why people buy iPhones when you can buy an Android device that in theory does all the same things (except Apple services) but at a fraction of the cost and with more options to customise etc etc.

Personally I don't see the iPhone as a status symbol simply because it is owned across pretty much every demographic. It is technically a luxury product IMHO based purely on the fact it has a premium cost compared to its rivals. Mobile phones in general are luxury items, but the iPhone is priced at a point where you have to pay out for the handset (more than any other) and then take on a contract tariff I've others. Having said that this doesn't put many people off. Where the likes of Samsung/LG/Sony etc fall short is the appeal factor. The iPhone has acquired a cult status and is desirable across many different age ranges. It's a well packaged product that is simple to set up and use and comes with customer support that is yet to be matched. It's a cool product, it looks cool, it comes with a wealth of available accessories, and so many people own them you'd be hard pressed to run into a problem that a friend or family member can't offer advice on.

This isn't to say you can't buy a decent mid range Android phone and enjoy the experience, while have a decent amount of change in your pocket. The high end flagship devices are very good and you can enjoy a premium feel much like the iPhone. People like nice things and it's their money at the end of the day. There seems to be a stigma here where you can't admit to buying a product simply for liking it more than any other. You have to justify it with proving what it can do when all that really matters is that you enjoy the phone you have chosen to buy. There is also a stereotype that the iPhone only appeals to none techs people. I laugh whenever I see that because it couldn't be further from the truth.