On 2023-01-03, nospam <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>> If you're going to compare TCO then wouldn't usage factors
>> also come into play? Does you spouse/lover have the same phone?
>
> that helps, since all purchased apps will work under a family plan,
> thereby avoiding each person needing to buy their own copy.
If the concept is total cost of ownership, you can't assume that the only
way that you can get a good value is to be forced into signing up for a
family plan, nor that you have to use Google Fi or change your carrier and
then drop the contract the moment you can or that you let the "best deal"
you can find determine the phone you are buying if you're in the high end.
>
>> Extra points for matching up, especially since Apple likes to
>> try to break compatibility.
>
> they do not.
If the TCO is going to work out, the math has to work out on a single phone
bought at the manufacturer's price at the manufacturer's store (if that
exists) or on the Internet without all these special terms and conditions.
>
>> What apps do you use? Is there a difference
>> on the two systems?
>
> most apps are available for both, except that they would need to be
> purchased separately if one person had an iphone and the other had
> android.
It's likely that for high end users who care more about their time than
finding a cheaper app that the total cost of iPhone apps are greater than
the total cost of Android apps at the high end customer's perspective.
>
> some apps are only available on one platform, mostly iphones, because
> that's where developers focus their efforts, for a variety of reasons.
There is no doubt in anyone's mind the whales are mostly iPhone owners.
>
>> Are you non-teechy and depend on Apple's
>> service to keep a copy of your system online?
>
> the system cannot be kept online for reasons that should be obvious.
>
> user data is entirely on the phone. it can *also* be backed up to the
> cloud, however, that is not required. it is entirely up to the user
> which data, if any, is in the cloud.
>
> there are valid reasons to do that, as there are not to do that. again,
> users have a choice.
What does backing up user data have to do with total cost of ownership?
>
>> Do you use a cellphone
>> constantly? Then battery life would matter, no?
>
> no. batteries last 1-2 days in typical use.
More expensive phones tend to be larger and larger more expensive phones
tend to have larger batteries but iPhones tend to have smaller batteries
than equivalently sized and priced Android phones (almost always actually).
>
> of course, there are extreme edge cases where it might not last a day,
> in which case, a battery case works well, or recharge midday. for those
> who are often in a vehicle (e.g., uber/lyft driver), get a car charger.
This total cost of ownership calculation should include the cost of the
appropriate charger and cables and all common accessories purchased at the
manufacturer's store in order to have any merit as a general statement.
>
>> iPhones are also a fashion statement. They
>> tell people, "I'm a prime mating candidate who can afford to blow
>> thousands of dollars on a cellphone."
>
> except that iphones start at a fraction of that, as little as free with
> various promotions.
Is this discussion limited to high end phones or does it cover all phones?
If this TCO discussion covers all phones then the iPhone loses instantly.
At the lower end, people tend to let the "as little as free with various
promotions" dictate their choice of personal phone for the next few years.
But at the higher end, people tend to make the merits of the phone dictate
what phone they will own for the next few years - not an awkward discount.
>
>> I know people who like to
>> pull out their iPhone to gloat over its encyclopedia functionality,
>> asking Siri about the calories in potatoes vs pasta in the middle
>> of dinner.
>
> apparently you know some interesting people.
It's funny to watch the Galaxy advertisements making fun of the teens
standing outside the Apple store who only care about the iPhone style.
>
>> I don't generally use apps and mostly just keep a cellphone on-hand,
>> not powered up, for when I need to make a phone call away from home.
>
> then you're not in a position to comment on smartphone usage patterns.
If the discussion is about TCO and if the apps play a role then it has to
be first established how much the Android apps cost versus iPhone apps.
Nobody established that so any TCO discussion without that data is bogus.
>
>> It's a portable phone booth. I got a TCL Android Tracfone for $40.
>> Buying service costs $20 every 3 months. It's a nice phone and very
>> functional if I want to go online with Firefox, which I needed to do
>> recently. But for a hotshot executive who's constantly texting, I
>> would imagine $1,500 for an iPhone, and maybe $120/month for
>> service (?), might seem a bargain.
>
> that's quite the imagination.
>
> tracfone sells an iphone se for $189, which could be used with the same
> service plan you currently have.
>
> <
https://www.tracfone.com/phone/apple-iphone-se-64gb-prepaid>
>
> that's a *far* cry from the prices you seem to think apply.
If you are comparing TCO for a $190 phone to a $1500 phone, then the whole
concept of the TCO of iPhone versus Android is bogus for too many reasons.
Everything is wrong about the concept the original poster is laying out.
The original poster has to limit the entire discussion to only the highest
price phones to even give the iPhone any chance at all as Apple doesn't
even try to sell phones in the competitive ranges that most people buy.
Even limited to the highest price phones, the original poster hasn't
established that TCO is even one of the slightest concerns of the buyer.
The argument of the original poster is that he can find a great deal on
some unspecified phone if he complies with all sorts of temporary one-time
terms and conditions, and if he compares that phone to some other phone
where he doesn't even attempt to get a great deal, then the resale value of
the first phone (if he sold it to the highest bidder) is greater than the
resale value of the second phone (if he just dumped it on the market).
The entire concept is bogus as everyone knows the iPhone is the much more
expensive phone if you average the costs for all phones out there using
realistic numbers that are openly on the manufacturers' own web sites.
If the original poster could have made a case, he would have made it.
And he did not.