Re: can you insert a memory card into an iphone 6?
I am going to chalk this up to having to agree to disagree. It seems that every valid point that someone has brought here that can be deemed ever so slightly against Apple you have debated. You make statements in which you present yourself as having facts while others present opinions. What knowledge base are you drawing from when you state that the cost to manufacture the iPhone out of aluminum cost more than it would out of plastic? Additionally, I stated polycarbonate, not plastic. There is a difference. The point that I make is that unless you are intricately involved with the design and development of the iPhone you are speculating just like myself and everyone else here. It just seems that you are accepting of everything Apple, that Apple can do no wrong.
lol...what? I complain all the time about various things Apple does, I don't find use in half the stuff they make, and there are choices that Apple has made on certain products they sell that literally made me laugh out loud (IE: removing USB inputs on their entry personal computer choice, pricing on Apple Watch, the Apple TV as a WHOLE).
You disagree with me, so for some reason you're labeling me a mindless Apple drone. Unfair but not surprising...
As far as my understanding of manufacturing processes...I actually do have some knowledge on the subject, but putting that small amount of research I've done over time, what I said was just common sense, not speculation. Producing things out of plastic is cheaper than aluminum...it's why we have coke bottles instead of 24oz coke cans (that and design shortcomings as well)...plastic license plates vs. aluminum ones (even though the aluminum ones last FAR longer than the new options apparently.
And yes, polycarbonate is a bit different...but it's also a little cheaper than plastic in bulk, but retains the same manufacturing simplicity.
It's fine if you want to assume I was just talking out of my a$$ though, I don't really care...you can go look online and read all of this stuff too. Google is a hell of a thing.
I also would argue as to why the 5C was made from plastic. While a more inexpensive version released that year it was mostly based on a previous generations hardware, thus driving the cost down.
That is an assumption...and you can hold that idea if you want. I, personally, was going by specific information from and IHS teardown and comparison between the iPhone 5 and the 5c (the 5c was cheaper, with the same parts...go figure, the plastic made it cost less)...but what would they know? They've only made a career of figuring out how much things cost at a base line.
I am an owner of numerous iProducts. Long time fan. I received my first iPod in the early 2000s. After well over a decade of supporting Apple in one fashion or another I feel as though I have earned the right to critic. The facts are that Apple could charge far less for their memory and still turn a profit and have no impact on R&D. They could make their phones out of more premium and durable materials and not have to vary the price of the phone at all. Carl Ikahn values Apple somewhere between $700B and $1T. Some of that is due to what we, as consumers, are paying for their products. I believe a better analogy than the one you used is the jewelry maker Tiffany. Some of their most successful products are sterling silver, necklaces and bracelets. Is the quality of their products really better than that of their rivals? No. Did the R&D involved in developing those products exceed that of their rivals? No. They charge what they do because people are willing to pay for it. If they lowered the outrageous prices they charged for those items it is with a doubt more people would purchase them. Does that diminish the brand? I don't believe so. They still have their high end products, ie $26k engagement rings, etc. Apple is no different, they would still have their high end offerings as well.
Most of that was just opinionated mumbo jumbo...you can have that. I have to focus attention on your use of the term "outrageous" though, because I don't think you quite understand what the word means, or you're just meaningfully using it improperly (why, I have no idea). Nobody would buy the iPhone if it was actually priced "outrageously".
To high in your opinion? Fine. Lots of people have opinions...I won't argue that. Priced "outrageously"? Not even remotely.
And your point about diminishing the brand (or better put, NOT diminishing the brand) shows me you don't really understand how such a concept works. If you take a luxury brand, and you add lower tier products to said brand so that people on the bottom end can afford to have it...you've diminished the brand. Lowering the cost of Apple products so more people can afford them diminishes the brand in this same light.
Apple is also not relatable to Tiffany in terms of pricing of the spectrum of products because Apple has such a tiny fraction of varying things to price. You have a phone, a tablet, a computer line and a few accessories (watch, TV, etc)...Tiffany on the other hand has probably a thousand different things under the spectrum of Jewelry...meaning they have the ability to offer certain products at the low end because that is where the product exists.
Also, entry level becomes a whole different world when you talk about custom and elite level jewelry...a $5,000 entry level ring is still a $5,000 ring. A $100 phone is a far more obtainable "entry level" product, so the brand can be HEAVILY diminished with much smaller cost adjustments.