jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It's a thorny problem. China's government is horrible, no doubt about that, yet the politicians are so pleased with the way things are going that they gave their leader another five years. We can't change China; can we change American companies that do business there?

Apple put thousands of Americans out of work so they could employ Chinese works at a fraction of the cost. Look at the price of Apple products. Their high prices are encouraging other companies to raise their prices. When you cut your costs substantially, the public has the right to expect lower prices. The fact that their profits are so high proves that maximum profit is all that concerns them. Some people think that accumulating maximum profit at any cost is fine, and they apparently don't mind paying higher prices. I believe Apple could cut its prices by 50% and still make a good profit.

The iPhone I bought in 2015 cost $247. Today's 14 Pro costs $999, $1099 for the Max. Made with cheap, Chinese labor.

tcthome Loc: NJ

I feel your pain. I dropped Optimum after a huge hike in for just internet service. Have Verizon wirelesss unlimited now for about a third of the price & it work really good in my area.
I don't think the cost hike is that bad aftwr dealing with optimum. One thing to consider is the cost of labor has gone up. Apple is almost broke, No??

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Price gouging? How much profit do you believe Apple makes on each iPhone they sell? I'll give you a little hint. The cost to manufacture them isn't even triple digit.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I believe it is fallout from Covid.

Bret P Loc: California

Once your Apple Music subscription is canceled you will lose access to the playlists you created and any music you've downloaded.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251148547

That is assuming that you downloaded the songs from Apple Music.
If you copied them from a CD or purchased elsewhere they should be ok, I think.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I used Windows for 30 years and had an Android phone. I got a new wife who was an Apple fan and used an iPhone. Text messages sometimes took 24 hours to get from one platform to the other. One day I went on a business trip and forgot my phone, which I needed. Since the Android was long paid off I decided to get an iPhone 8+. That fixed the domestic problem and the iPhone worked just fine.

Apple comes out with a new version of phone every year. I am still using my 8+ and it works just fine. I am not tempted to update it, even though it's long paid off. If it works, don't fix it. After several versions, it might be nice to have a better camera in my phone but the phone is not my primary camera so that doesn't entice me. Not to mention spending $1K or thereabouts every year. (I spent a lot of time as a New England Farmer, a genre that is known to be cheap frugal).

Couple that with rumors that the iPhone updates have become really incremental, not essential. It's style, not pragmatism that dictates the purchase of a new phone, and I am about as far as you can run away from stylish things. News reports indicate that the iPhone 14 sales are slow. This is probably because inflation is a worldwide problem, but also because China (~18% of the iPhone market) is not happy with Apple (and vice versa) and Apple is moving production to other countries, plus (1) inflation is a REAL problem in China; (2) the number '4' is a bad number to Chinese. There are rumors from suppliers that orders for parts are (1) slow; (2) reduced by Apple because of soft demand.

IMHO, the iPhone has been a cash cow for Apple for many years. I suspect this is beginning to change. That means Apple will look for other sources of income to offset the iPhone reductions.

The chart shows the AAPL stock price over about 10 years. For many years the stock increased around 16%/year. When Covid hit, there was an increase, possibly because computers were more important during quarantines. Starting in August 2021 the stock price flattened out (along with the Dow) showing that AAPL is not keeping up with the past trend. The dotted line extending the past trend shows that the price has started to retire toward the old trend, but has not resumed the increasing trend.

(Download)

GEngel-usmc Loc: Spencerport NY - I miss Lakeland, FL

Re: Time to drop Apple…
Have you checked the Samsung S22 Ultra price of $1200; or the Galaxy Z Fold at $1800; (you didn’t mention Samsung) or maybe the EV3A Graphic Card at $2000 - $3000? High end ‘Glass’ prices? Processor Costs? Escalating prices there also, year after year. Have any problems with that? Our labor market has priced themselves out of the electronics mfg industry unfortunately, as in other U.S. industry’s. If you hate Apple, just don’t buy it.
PS - did I miss you complaining about the 20% increase in food. Time to drop eating; if you ask me! 😀

John Matthews Loc: Wasilla, Alaska

If you bought the song then no.

John Matthews Loc: Wasilla, Alaska

Jerry

The iPhone You bought in 2015 cost $247 was made with cheap Chinese labor. The cheapest iPhone now is $429 without a plan.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Whenever a company like Apple has such incredible loyalty, there's usually a bunch of good reasons besides marketing gibberish and pretty designs.

Some of us simply don't care about the price. We can afford it. We like it. We buy it because it works for us. We're happily ensconced in the ecosystem with our Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Watches. Apple has had the same pricing for quite a while. I don't think many folks will drop their plans or quit buying iPhones. The Apple haters will just get more smug.

I keep the same phone for 5 years or more. My current iPhone 7 Plus is from early Winter, 2017. The battery is ailing, and it no longer gets OS upgrades, so it's time to get a 13 Pro. Otherwise, it is still a decent phone.

Greg from Romeoville illinois Loc: Romeoville illinois

Samsung galaxy Tab s8 cellular. It is rated at 9.6 compared to apple 9.8 and is the closest in comparison.

FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County

Why don't you get upgrades? I have a 7Plus that's in the process of downloading/installing iOS15.7 as we speak.

KillroyII Loc: Middle Georgia

Thanks… I will look at that

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

If it works, don't fix it.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Funny, I did not mention any gizmo in my original post other than mentioning prices... And the way they go higher that are unrelated to the cost of making them.

Some mentioned slave labor...

Anything produced in china uses slave labor, even camera or lenses.