The maxxed out iPhone 13 Pro Max is $1600.

jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
14,510
5,159
136
That's just nuts that there's people willing to spend that kind of money for a phone. Wouldn't you be afraid to break it?
 

AMD64Blondie

Golden Member
Apr 20, 2013
1,659
139
106
Scary thing is...that's nearly 2 months of rent for me.

(My studio apartment's monthly rent is $817/month.)
 

AMD64Blondie

Golden Member
Apr 20, 2013
1,659
139
106
If I needed to replace my current Samsung Galaxy Note 9...

I'd probably go for a Samsung Note 20 .
 

Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,074
995
126
do they still not include the charger?

And charge the charger $50 for it?
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,578
1,741
126
The main issue here is the majority of the people who buy these phones shouldn't because they are broke. But, they will all be on some kind of $50 monthly plan. Phone plans are crazy. The average plan is $120 a month. That includes phone and service. I like to keep my phone about 3-5 years.
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
4,443
3,281
136
The main issue here is the majority of the people who buy these phones shouldn't because they are broke. But, they will all be on some kind of $50 monthly plan. Phone plans are crazy. The average plan is $120 a month. That includes phone and service. I like to keep my phone about 3-5 years.

Cell carrier advertising is pretty sneaky these days. New iPhone every two years ON US!!!*


*with super ultra $85/month unlimited plan

Meanwhile I have ATT prepaid for $40 and I suspect the vast majority of people would be happy with such a plan. I just buy a new damn phone outright when it feels like a worthwhile upgrade rather than get tricked into the fake “deals”. I don’t have a laptop and only rarely use my desktop for things I can’t do on a smartphone .. so it’s my main non-work computer really and I don’t mind paying for a good one. Actually preordered a 13 pro max this morning to replace my XR.

I have a buddy who also preordered one, but he has like $75k in credit card debt he’s trying to escape from so he can buy a house, so maybe not the smartest decision there. What’s another $1200 at that point 😵‍💫 He makes mid-$100k ATOT baller money but has been selling literally all his stuff to pay down CCs. Don’t have to be poor to be broke.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ch33zw1z

SKORPI0

Lifer
Jan 18, 2000
18,395
2,306
136
If I needed to replace my current Samsung Galaxy Note 9...

I'd probably go for a Samsung Note 20 .
I still have and use my Note 9 512GB and got a N20 Ultra 5G, early January ($899.99 via Google-Fi).
Took a 8K 24Hz 24 minute video (a feature the iPhone 13 Pro max lacks), used 13.6 GB on a 512GB microSD card . ;)

WP_20210115_08_12_02_Rich.jpg
 

Justinus

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2005
3,167
1,508
136
The main issue here is the majority of the people who buy these phones shouldn't because they are broke. But, they will all be on some kind of $50 monthly plan. Phone plans are crazy. The average plan is $120 a month. That includes phone and service. I like to keep my phone about 3-5 years.

I finally jumped off that boat about a year ago and have been using the same phone for about 30 months now. I think I've drawn my line in the sand to get a new phone at either

1) phone breaks and cannot reasonably be repaired
2) phones finally come out with under display cameras

Fortunately I don't think under display cameras are coming out next year. Maybe 2023 phone launches. And since I work from home my risk of damaging my phone is practically nil.

I expect to get 4-5 years out of this reasonably. Might need a battery replacement eventually.

Cell carrier advertising is pretty sneaky these days. New iPhone every two years ON US!!!*


*with super ultra $85/month unlimited plan

Meanwhile I have ATT prepaid for $40 and I suspect the vast majority of people would be happy with such a plan. I just buy a new damn phone outright when it feels like a worthwhile upgrade rather than get tricked into the fake “deals”. I don’t have a laptop and only rarely use my desktop for things I can’t do on a smartphone .. so it’s my main non-work computer really and I don’t mind paying for a good one. Actually preordered a 13 pro max this morning to replace my XR.

I have a buddy who also preordered one, but he has like $75k in credit card debt he’s trying to escape from so he can buy a house, so maybe not the smartest decision there. What’s another $1200 at that point 😵‍💫 He makes mid-$100k ATOT baller money but has been selling literally all his stuff to pay down CCs. Don’t have to be poor to be broke.

It's an insidious mindset one can be in. I was once in a similar situation (albeit significantly less debt) where I would buy something because "what's another $1000 on the pile of debt I feel like I'll never pay off?"

Strange how once I finally did eliminate all my debt suddenly I found myself wanting to save even more money. I shrunk my phone bill as much as possible, killed my phone lease/upgrade plan to keep this phone for years longer than I had previously, etc.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,679
11,019
136
The big draw to the new iPhone (for me) is that Verizon is offering some great trade-in deals for my Galaxy S9+ that I've had for over 3 years.
Still haven't decided if I'm going to go to the dark side or not...i've only ever had Samsung Galaxy android phones.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: highland145
Dec 10, 2005
23,986
6,787
136
Scary thing is...that's nearly 2 months of rent for me.

(My studio apartment's monthly rent is $817/month.)
Must be nice to live in such a cheap area. My rent hasn't been under $800 mo since I moved out of a run down 3 bedroom in Queens that I was sharing with 2 others in grad school.

Cell carrier advertising is pretty sneaky these days. New iPhone every two years ON US!!!*


*with super ultra $85/month unlimited plan

Meanwhile I have ATT prepaid for $40 and I suspect the vast majority of people would be happy with such a plan. I just buy a new damn phone outright when it feels like a worthwhile upgrade rather than get tricked into the fake “deals”. I don’t have a laptop and only rarely use my desktop for things I can’t do on a smartphone .. so it’s my main non-work computer really and I don’t mind paying for a good one. Actually preordered a 13 pro max this morning to replace my XR.

I have a buddy who also preordered one, but he has like $75k in credit card debt he’s trying to escape from so he can buy a house, so maybe not the smartest decision there. What’s another $1200 at that point 😵‍💫 He makes mid-$100k ATOT baller money but has been selling literally all his stuff to pay down CCs. Don’t have to be poor to be broke.
I agree - phone plans are insane and hide real costs. Plenty of people getting suckered into installment payments across the board.

I just use Fi - generally runs me $30/mo since I barely use non-WiFi data; and it has been super useful when I had some occasional international travel for work in the pre-covid times. And then when I feel like it, I just upgrade my phone by outright purchasing it.

Plus, the big benefit of full ownership is that you can take your phone elsewhere if the provider starts to suck.
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,578
1,741
126
I finally jumped off that boat about a year ago and have been using the same phone for about 30 months now. I think I've drawn my line in the sand to get a new phone at either

1) phone breaks and cannot reasonably be repaired
2) phones finally come out with under display cameras

Fortunately I don't think under display cameras are coming out next year. Maybe 2023 phone launches. And since I work from home my risk of damaging my phone is practically nil.

I expect to get 4-5 years out of this reasonably. Might need a battery replacement eventually.



It's an insidious mindset one can be in. I was once in a similar situation (albeit significantly less debt) where I would buy something because "what's another $1000 on the pile of debt I feel like I'll never pay off?"

Strange how once I finally did eliminate all my debt suddenly I found myself wanting to save even more money. I shrunk my phone bill as much as possible, killed my phone lease/upgrade plan to keep this phone for years longer than I had previously, etc.

Exactly.

I had my Noter5 for nearly 5 years. When I moved to the S10 last year I saw a HUGE improvement in speed, camera, etc. A 4-5 year time span with tech is a very long time. It was nice since the only thing I was paying for was the service which was about $80 a month, Tmobile. Having a monthly plan on a phone every year is just redicilous. 99.9% of users don't need to update every year, and you don't value the improvements because they are so small. I also have my phone setup a cdertain way. I'd hate to redo everything every year just because I have a new phone. IMO, the 3- 4 year mark is the sweet spot. Its long enough to see a noticable difference in regards to upgrades and you aren't having to constantly change everything to how you had it. That is for Android. And, if you can pay for the phone outright with cash, and it doesn't hurt your finances than that is probably the way to go. A $50 monthly phone plan for life is unappealing to me, and its why so many Americans are broke. Add in rent/mortage, a $300-500 car payment, etc. The less payments the better IMO.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,679
11,019
136
Must be nice to live in such a cheap area. My rent hasn't been under $800 mo since I moved out of a run down 3 bedroom in Queens that I was sharing with 2 others in grad school.


I agree - phone plans are insane and hide real costs. Plenty of people getting suckered into installment payments across the board.

I just use Fi - generally runs me $30/mo since I barely use non-WiFi data; and it has been super useful when I had some occasional international travel for work in the pre-covid times. And then when I feel like it, I just upgrade my phone by outright purchasing it.

Plus, the big benefit of full ownership is that you can take your phone elsewhere if the provider starts to suck.

There have been times when I have wished for non-Verizon options. Unfortunately, they're the only provider that works well here...and half the time, I'm lucky to get "2 bars" of signal. AT&T had mediocre (at best) service here, and as much as half the little peninsula where I live is dead for T-Mobile.
I know there are Verizon-based 3rd party providers, (VMNO?) out there, but Verizon's customer service has always been excellent for us.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,195
12,025
126
www.anyf.ca
That's insane. I just paid a bit over $700 for my Pixel 4a 5G and even that was hard to swallow, but I wanted to run Graphene OS and it seemed like the best contender that was in stock. The non 5G one was out of stock, and rumors are the 5G one will get more support anyway. The 5 was also out of stock. Even if I'm using a 3rd party OS apparently it still relies on the manufacturer support for updates. Not sure how that works... but phones are weird in that respect.

Even with this phone I'm worried about losing, damaging or dropping it etc, I can't imagine paying nearly 2 grand for one. :eek: What makes it even harder to swallow is the fact that phones have such a narrow support window, so you pay all that money and only a few years later you're technically expected to get a new one again. Apple support is 5 years I think but even that is kind of short for that kind of money. Pretty much all my computer systems, servers etc are older than 5 years at this point and I can still get OS updates or install a whole new OS if I want to. Too bad phones don't seem to work that way. My NAS is pushing 10 years at this point actually and still very upgradeable OS and hardware wise. I do need to look into a full network refresh though as lot of my servers (physical and virtual) are actually using CentOS 6.x which is no longer supported. But at least the option of putting something newer is there.
 

Stiff Clamp

Senior member
Feb 3, 2021
827
298
106
I take it there's a payment plan, how many months to pay it off? That's probably how they price it - not on what the phone is worth - but on what people can afford to pay monthly.
 

BudAshes

Lifer
Jul 20, 2003
13,911
3,195
146
They are used more than just about anything else in your life. Far less crazy than many of the things people spend money on.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
45,892
32,680
136
I mean I think the same thing about all the local AMG G wagons but clearly there is a market for them.

I've preordered the smaller 13 Pro with 256GB but my trade in will net out the cost to about $600. Typically I'll upgrade every 2-3 years mostly depending on how my battery endurance is doing.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,195
12,025
126
www.anyf.ca
I take it there's a payment plan, how many months to pay it off? That's probably how they price it - not on what the phone is worth - but on what people can afford to pay monthly.

Which makes it worse as it still means you're paying that amount, but people are dumb and think it's not as bad if they can just finance it. I wonder if this is actually what makes cars so expensive because the majority of people don't seem to care about the sticker price, and only how much it is per month.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stiff Clamp

Justinus

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2005
3,167
1,508
136
Which makes it worse as it still means you're paying that amount, but people are dumb and think it's not as bad if they can just finance it. I wonder if this is actually what makes cars so expensive because the majority of people don't seem to care about the sticker price, and only how much it is per month.

Gotta live that lease life where you have a payment forever, never actually end up owning anything, but get that new car smell every 3 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Red Squirrel

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,363
7,514
126
I'd pay $1.6k for the right phone, but apple isn't it. I don't think "it" exists, but it could.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,281
5,054
136
I'd pay $1.6k for the right phone, but apple isn't it. I don't think "it" exists, but it could.
So would I, but your right, that phone doesn't exist.
$1600 for an iphone isn't bad, fashion accessory's tend to be expensive.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
5,255
136
My buddy just got a Z Fold 3. It was $1,900.

1631927605653.png
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,195
12,025
126
www.anyf.ca
Tabarnak lol. And that's probably American, so more like $2,400. $2,712 after taxes. I can't imagine blowing that kind of money on a phone.

As a side note this is kind of fun to watch after all these years:


It's funny to look back at his reaction though considering the direction everything went and MS could not really keep up. I pretty much had the same reaction "$500 for a phone?!". And now $500 is a bargain lol.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
5,255
136
Tabarnak lol. And that's probably American, so more like $2,400. $2,712 after taxes. I can't imagine blowing that kind of money on a phone.

As a side note this is kind of fun to watch after all these years:


It's funny to look back at his reaction though considering the direction everything went and MS could not really keep up. I pretty much had the same reaction "$500 for a phone?!". And now $500 is a bargain lol.

Oh my gosh, he brought up the Motorola Q, I haven't thought about that phone in YEARS! Physically, probably my favorite phone ever! It made me feel soooooo hi-tech lol. It had that same hardware effect as Minidisc players did...super cool, techie pieces of hardware...

1631933362349.png
 

Geekbabe

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 16, 1999
32,166
2,399
126
www.theshoppinqueen.com
I think I will be sticking with my product red XR for another year. My MacBook Pro is seven yrs old. I can buy an iMac or another MacBook for close to the cost of the Pro Max. I use my phone a lot but my iPad Air 4 does a lot of heavy lifting for me. I would like the iphone pro max for it’s screen size and battery life but it’s basically priced like a full on computer,not sure it’s worth it to me
 
  • Like
Reactions: Meghan54