USB-C and Face ID come to Apple’s cheapest iPhone.
    • remer@lemmy.world
      25·
      2 days ago

      It’s a budget phone. Rare earth magnets and fast wireless charging cost money.

      • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
        10·
        2 days ago

        I doubt it has anything to do with costing money, and everything to do with just intentionally manufacturing an inferior device to prevent cannabalizing more-expensive products.

        It’s the same reason they neuter otherwise-powerful products with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage. It would cost a few bucks to add more RAM and storage but then why would anyone buy the more expensive products? Is it more expensive to R&D and manufacture a less-expensive processor or just kneecap it somehow to make that powerful processor near-useless?

    • Luffy@lemmy.ml
      2·
      2 days ago

      At Apple, you have to pay up to 1000$ for an iPhone. So theoretically, it is as budget for them to release a 600$ phone as it is for normal people to pay 200$ for the same kind of phone with the same features.

      • boonhet@lemm.ee
        1·
        2 days ago

        Nowadays they can easily get over 1000$ and it’s not exclusive to Apple. With all the foldies and shit, the days of posers buying iPhones to pretend they have money should be over because you can pay more for a Samsung than an iPhone at this point. I’m not kidding. BASE price of a Fold6 is 1869€ according to Samsung’s website. The S25 starts at a modest 909 for base, 1459 for base ultra. Base iPhone 16 is 899, base pro max is 1449. Apple overcharges more for storage upgrades though, so once you add extra storage, Samsung can get cheaper again.

        However, all these devices are pretty much bullshit. You can get a Galaxy A16 with a disgustingly big screen, octa core CPU and six major OS updates for under 200 EUR. What the fuck is an S Ultra or an iPhone Pro Max gonna do that this can not? At this point I’ll buy a cheap phone and a midrange mirrorless camera for the same money as a flagship phone.

        Used to be that with Apple you’d get 6 or 7 major OS updates and with most Android makers you’d get 2-3 for flagships and 0-1 for budget phones. It’s finally changing, so the value proposition for iPhones is going downnnn. I say this as an iPhone owner (formerly 13 mini, which I passed on to my mom and took my wife’s 14 pro when she upgraded). I don’t think I’ll ever buy myself a new iPhone again (though in fairness, I’ve only bought MYSELF one new iPhone ever, rest have been various non-Samsung Androids)