Why are phones so expensive?

mattyfez · 27 Jun 2019 at 19:57

£800+ phones don't do anything for me that a £300 phone can't.

Used to buy high end phones but these days they don't offer enough over the midrange to make the price hike even close to value for money.

Deleted member 77746 · 28 Jun 2019 at 12:07

If you think thats expensive try selling a house. lol

adam cool dude · 1 Jul 2019 at 19:19

mattyfez said:
£800+ phones don't do anything for me that a £300 phone can't.

Used to buy high end phones but these days they don't offer enough over the midrange to make the price hike even close to value for money.

The time of buying a high end phone for the performance is just not needed now. Realistically no one needs more than a £300 phone as it has everything you need.

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Jul 2019 at 19:22

Phones are a fashion accessory that you can use finance to pay for via a 24 month contract.
Perfect for reeling in your average Millennial who cannot afford the phone outright yet needs the latest phone to show off to their friends. Phone development has stagnated - They are all fast with a good camera etc. The annual model refresh adds little in terms of new features that are actually an improvement to the user experience.

I took out a contract that was 'cheap' on a Samsung Galaxy S8. The two year deal ended so I am now on a sim only deal that is £10 per month with no contract.

adam cool dude · 2 Jul 2019 at 08:44

OpenToSuggestions said:
Phones are a fashion accessory that you can use finance to pay for via a 24 month contract.
Perfect for reeling in your average Millennial who cannot afford the phone outright yet needs the latest phone to show off to their friends. Phone development has stagnated - They are all fast with a good camera etc. The annual model refresh adds little in terms of new features that are actually an improvement to the user experience.

I took out a contract that was 'cheap' on a Samsung Galaxy S8. The two year deal ended so I am now on a sim only deal that is £10 per month with no contract.

My daughter starts secondary school next September and we have decided to get her a phone. She will be having something Chinese with a £10 contract. Phones now are basically like PC's where getting the best specs you can for your money is far more important than badge. An equivalent Xoami to say a Galaxy S9 is £200 while the S9 is still a £500 phone.

Ixon · 3 Jul 2019 at 07:24

One of my Work Pal's is paying around £90 per month for an iPhone XS Max from EE on a 2 year deal, now the novelty worn off he seriously regretting getting this contract as he can hardly afford it.
I would never pay this amount for a contract, mine only cost me £16 per month on a 12 month sim only deal with EE with 20GB of data with discount thanks to the Wife & my phone is a Pixel 3a.

robj20 · 3 Jul 2019 at 07:36

There not so expensive they're the same as any technology, want the latest and greatest you pay for it. Happy with last years tech that does 95% of the latest you get it for a fraction of the cost. Same with cars and computers.

MartinPrince · 3 Jul 2019 at 08:20

mattyfez said:
£800+ phones don't do anything for me that a £300 phone can't.

Used to buy high end phones but these days they don't offer enough over the midrange to make the price hike even close to value for money.

Precisely. My last phone cost me £200 and does everything I need snappily. The 5500mAh battery lasts me 3 days and the 6.9" screen is great for watching shows on.

AndyCr15 · 3 Jul 2019 at 09:54

I generally agree that a £300 phone is the way to go for most people, but I think we need to remember a phone that can do everything you want it to, doesn't equate to it can do everything a top end phone can do.

koeiwong · 3 Jul 2019 at 10:31

Ixon said:
One of my Work Pal's is paying around £90 per month for an iPhone XS Max from EE on a 2 year deal, now the novelty worn off he seriously regretting getting this contract as he can hardly afford it.
I would never pay this amount for a contract, mine only cost me £16 per month on a 12 month sim only deal with EE with 20GB of data with discount thanks to the Wife & my phone is a Pixel 3a.

I got the same 20GB EE deal for £16 but just changed to a cashback deal which is £8 after cashback with same package.

New phones are too expansive, I want to upgrade my phone but look like will hold on to it a bit longer now.

413x · 3 Jul 2019 at 23:21

koeiwong said:
I got the same 20GB EE deal for £16 but just changed to a cashback deal which is £8 after cashback with same package.

New phones are too expansive, I want to upgrade my phone but look like will hold on to it a bit longer now.

I've wanted to upgrade twice now in the last 12 months but just can't justify 600 more when there is barely any difference in camera

S7e only thing that peaked my interest was the p30 pro But it's camera isn't good enough and the s10's is just better, not revolutionary .

koeiwong · 4 Jul 2019 at 09:35

413x said:
I've wanted to upgrade twice now in the last 12 months but just can't justify 600 more when there is barely any difference in camera

S7e only thing that peaked my interest was the p30 pro But it's camera isn't good enough and the s10's is just better, not revolutionary .

Go for last year flagship phones which usually cheaper 6 months after they launched.

I am thinking the 8gb version of Zenfone 6 but no stock in UK, I can order one from Asus store in HK but don't want to trouble my friend to ship it over.

david25 · 4 Jul 2019 at 13:17

If you can avoid upgrade temptation and that's a big if!

Then I found a brand new Nokia 6.1 on ebay for £100, originally released in Spring 2018.

Sure I could have purchased the current models for less (1/2/3.1/5.1) or spend much more on the 7/8/9

In 12 months time, I can recycle for £50 and get a 6.2 or 7.1 etc

Psycho Sonny · 4 Jul 2019 at 14:36

AndyCr15 said:
I generally agree that a £300 phone is the way to go for most people, but I think we need to remember a phone that can do everything you want it to, doesn't equate to it can do everything a top end phone can do.

pocophone f1 was around £240 when launched and could do everything a top end phone could bar say slight differences in screen and camera quality and NFC.

5punk3monk3y · 4 Jul 2019 at 19:16

Psycho Sonny said:
pocophone f1 was around £240 when launched and could do everything a top end phone could bar say slight differences in screen and camera quality and NFC.

I wouldn't even bother you have to drop £800+ on a phone or you don't get the best features Oled screen fast octa processor etc and branding don't go off book has to be samsung or Apple as all other makes are sub par. Kinda like buying a TV for £400 you have to spend at least £1000 on it....

AndyCr15 · 4 Jul 2019 at 21:22

Psycho Sonny said:
pocophone f1 was around £240 when launched and could do everything a top end phone could bar say slight differences in screen and camera quality and NFC.

Yeah, I had one. Yes, aside the screen, camera, NFC, waterproofing, poor software and wireless charging it was basically the same as a top end phone. Think I preferred the Moto G7 Pro tbh.

That's what I'm saying though. Most people would be fine with a Pocophone F1 (or a Moto G7 Pro), but to say it does the same as a top end phone simply isn't the case.

Top_gun · 4 Jul 2019 at 23:10

Marketing is the exploitation of people who don't know any better. Cue in daft adverts, catchy slogans and high price phones. To these people, the higher the price tag the better the phone without actually understanding the phone specs. Then play the game of self affirmation by asking other non-techie opinions.

Psycho Sonny · 5 Jul 2019 at 08:56

AndyCr15 said:
Yeah, I had one. Yes, aside the screen, camera, NFC, waterproofing, poor software and wireless charging it was basically the same as a top end phone. Think I preferred the Moto G7 Pro tbh.

That's what I'm saying though. Most people would be fine with a Pocophone F1 (or a Moto G7 Pro), but to say it does the same as a top end phone simply isn't the case.

99% of people wouldnt be able to tell the difference. So it effectively would do the same job.

The only person at work I know that uses wires charging is the only one who is a nerd. The others all use a cable.

I've started noticing now apple has multiple options people are just buying any iPhone that is new regardless of spec. So the cheaper models are more popular.

Pocophone f1 is a bit like a TVR and the iPhone/galaxy is Aston Martin.

The tvr does just a good job just without the polish and reliability.

adam cool dude · 5 Jul 2019 at 16:48

AndyCr15 said:
Yeah, I had one. Yes, aside the screen, camera, NFC, waterproofing, poor software and wireless charging it was basically the same as a top end phone. Think I preferred the Moto G7 Pro tbh.

That's what I'm saying though. Most people would be fine with a Pocophone F1 (or a Moto G7 Pro), but to say it does the same as a top end phone simply isn't the case.

I just bought my daughter a Xaomi Mi9 SE. £225 and it has NFC, 48MP sony camera, Samsung Screen,, 6GB memory, 128GB rom. Doesn't have wireless charging but easily on a par with say a Galaxy S9 which is still a £500 phone today.

Akagi · 5 Jul 2019 at 16:50

I don't understand why people would shell out so much for a phone. I always buy phones from my mates after they have upgraded. Currently have a Nokia 8, it has 64GB storage, a 1440P screen, 8 cores, 4GB of RAM, and the last Android update was just last week. My mate gave it to me for free.