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I used to travel to Shenzhen, in case you have no idea about it, it's near Hong Kong. It's where Foxconn is located. If you own an iPhone, you should know it cos it's highly likely your handset is made by Foxconn.
These days iPhone 5 arrives in Shenzhen, and you can get a 32GB version from the local carrier China Unicom at 6899 RMB with a two year contract. That price equals 1112 in US dollars (with some $12 returned each month as your balance which amounts to about $290 in total). Yes, $1112, I cant be mistaken. If you deduct 290 from 1112 you get 822. That is, you pay 822 for iPhone 5 32GB version.
How about the price without a contract? Well the price is still $1112.
Do you believe it? Foxconn workers generally get some $300 each month. If you want a higher pay, working overtime!! So generally it takes those who make iPhone 5 about four months' pay to buy an iPhone 5.
Do Foxconn workers get free room and board? Do they pay for things like clothing and medical care? I can't see them saving $1,112 in such a short amount of time if they only make $300 per month.
Do Foxconn workers get free room and board? Do they pay for things like clothing and medical care? I can't see them saving $1,112 in such a short amount of time if they only make $300 per month.
You do know that Foxconn is basically a city in China and nearly everything is subsidized or free as part of their employee package. But it will take more than a few months to buy a phone.
Do Foxconn workers get free room and board? Do they pay for things like clothing and medical care? I can't see them saving $1,112 in such a short amount of time if they only make $300 per month.
They do get free rooms, up to ten people per room with no one knowing the others. Basically you do not leave anything valuable in the room in case of theft which happens from time to time. Many people rent a apartment costing some $50 monthly (on the increase) because of that. Foxconn does have cafeteria inside but you need to pay for what you order.
They also have uniforms for free, but you do not wear that after work, right? As to medical care, China has basic social insurance coverage, you can claim your expenses up to some $130 every year, that's barely enough though.
If they do not work overtime, I do not see how can they save a penny each month (and that's why people leaves everyday). After all, China is having a terrible inflation and almost everything costs more with each month passing.
You do know that Foxconn is basically a city in China and nearly everything is subsidized or free as part of their employee package. But it will take more than a few months to buy a phone.
To see is to believe, I do not know how that's even possible. Foxconn gets less than $1 from every iPhone it makes, while Apple makes $150.
Foxconn does a better job than other Chinese factories in terms of pay and working conditions though.
The irony is that people could not afford what they make, so they turn to copy iPhone or replica. One college student even committed suicide under pressure from Apple and Foxconn because 10 iPhone models of which he was take care were lost. Do you believe that?
Foxconn is hell indeed, I come to this conclusion after talking with some workers from Foxconn who have no choice.
I think it's crazy to pay that kind of money for a phone, but I don't care what you do with your money. It's your money. Why anyone CARES that people spend this kind of money on a phone is beyond me.
I don't know many, if any, people with a phone more then 2 years old 3 at the very most. 5 years? Come on Best.
Although if you pay $500+ for a phone, that is a huge incentive to keep it longer I suppose.
Apple can certainly afford to sell phones much cheaper as it makes most of it's money on iTunes.
Although I totally have no clue why we are picking on just Apple.
A no-contract unlocked Samsung Galaxy 3 is $550.
Allow me to bump this old ass thread and EAT MY WORDS.
I just paid $650 for an iPhone5. $650!!!!
I never thought I would.
Hear me out.
Wife had iPhone4 with unlimited data contract. Time to get new phone.
16GB iPhone is $199 on contract. $650 off. For a difference of: $450.
Previous cell phone bill was: around $80 with a corporate discount.
If we got the subsidized $199 iPhone she would have to switch contracts and get a metered data plan. Not a big deal. She was using just about 2GB. Perfect.
O... wait... that makes our bill $100/month (pre discount). I do understand shared data only really drops the price when dealing with 3+ devices. I did not expect this:
So I click PURCHASE PHONE and the monthly price DROPS to $70/month. Huh?
$30/month x 24 months of a contract = $720.
OR I could pay an extra $450 upfront and have unlimited data.
So I saved: $270 by paying full price AND she has unlimited LTE data....
And every month after that 24 months that she keeps this phone that's an extra $30 profit in my pocket.
Right? And we sat there for about 15 minutes on the purchase screen like
"Are we really going to pay $650 DOLLARS for a cellphone!?!?!?! Really??"
Clicked buy: added an extra $50 in sales tax. O well, keep it two years and 2 months and we get that back. CLICK!
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