alt Hacker NewsYou are missing the point.
These types of "budget" phones that Apple does are for people who can't/won't buy the flagship (because too expensive) but wouldn't buy something second-hand either.
There are a LOT of people like that. It is not rational at all; they would rather buy something shittier for their money than get more value. My grandparents are like that.
To buy in the second-hand market you need to have some knowledge about how phones compare in the first place, even if you use a platform that minimizes the risks.
So, it's not the same market at all, and Apple is pushing their luck even more with a pricing way too high for what is essentially a 3 years old phones at best (the chip makes little difference to the typical user of these phones).
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I'm not talking about second hand. I'm talking about new from the carrier old model phones. Here is the verizon page for iphone 14s they have, you can get them for 0 down 0 a month through some deal from the cell phone plan. Apple can't compete with free.
Based on what is this a 3-year-old phone (excluding cpu)?
>It is not rational at all; they would rather buy something shittier for their money than get more value. My grandparents are like that.
It's entirely rational. I bought plenty of used phones, and even repaired them myself because I couldn't afford new ones. Would not do that again.
The risk of getting scammed, or getting a phone with issues is too high. Both have happened to me in the past. It can even be dangerous if someone swapped out the battery with a cheapo fire hazard. A lot of resale prices are also simply too high to be worth it.
Now imagine your grandparents. As you said, the exact model/chip doesn't matter, any phone is good enough. What they're buying is an appliance that will last at least the warranty period (2 years, EU), but likely much longer. Basically piece of mind at a fixed price. They won't get scammed (online) or ripped off (used in a physical store) if they buy directly from Apple.