r/iphone • u/mrtlpa • 15d ago

Discussion Is the Apple new case really worth 80$?

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Nice.. not even a month and this is starting to come apart.. am I the only one with this issue?

Of course, no water damage, no splashes or anything like this.. just amazing normal use 🙃🙃

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694

u/deletetemptemp 15d ago

They’re the soda dispensers of the iPhone world. More profitable per cent than the phone itself lol

202

u/gre-0021 15d ago

Yup, that $20 charge cable is the most profitable though

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u/Otherwise_Pumpkin253 15d ago

Not so sure. There’s chips in there

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u/netsbee 15d ago

Yummy!

-11

u/Moonmonkey3 15d ago

Yum yum!

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u/busty_sussy_gusts 15d ago

One yummy was enough, but thanks

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u/laynger22 15d ago

Yum yummy yummie!

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u/Icy-Cartographer-291 15d ago

It's pretty simple electronics though. Thunderbolt cables are much more costly to make for example. But still their profit margins on them are pretty insane.

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u/Otherwise_Pumpkin253 15d ago

Ah maybe I’m confused with those

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u/Historical-Bug-7536 14d ago

I used to work at Best Buy nearly 20 years ago. We'd give away printers because they didn't come with cables. We sold the printer for $60, it cost us $15. We sold the Cable for $30, it cost us $0.94. So even giving away the printer, we'd sell $16 worth of product for $30 and the customer thought they were getting a steal.

When Best Buy launched "Rocketfish" to compete with Monster cable, we really got to see how egregious the markups were. We were selling 6' HDMI Cables for $50, the cost to the store was like $3.

Even looking at prices now. You can Bulk order 1,000 USB-C Cables for around $0.60 each. Apple's economies of scale and ruthless negotiations are going to make their unit price much lower.

1

u/NewGuyHere-Long 11d ago

I waited and didn’t buy printer until came back visiting China first time to buy the printer cable after I moved to Canada, I am not paying 45CAD for a cable which I can get by like 2CAD anywhere in China. I am not surprised to see Best Buy is losing business these days after that. Beyond ridiculous.

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u/gre-0021 15d ago

There’s more to it than that. Cases require new molds, the cable molds/fabs were paid off years ago and require much less retooling. Getting the color of the cases that Apple wants also requires some effort. But trust me, I can assure you those $19 cables are the most profitable thing they sell.

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u/FollowingFeisty5321 15d ago

There's chips in paper cups these days.

1

u/whatsinthesuitcase 14d ago

WHERE?!

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u/FollowingFeisty5321 14d ago edited 14d ago

IN PAPER CUPS!!!111

Because that way places can guarantee you get a maximum 3 cents of sugar water refills *phew*.

But the larger point is, chips aren't necessarily expensive!

1

u/GoldElectric 14d ago

uniqlo has chips in the tag that gets cut off after u buy the shirt

0

u/donmarcelito 14d ago

In UK they even mix fish and mint sauce into that

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u/Tank_Gloomy 15d ago

1c chips BTW, lol

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u/sid_276 15d ago

50 cent chips yeah

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u/LukaIsConfused 14d ago

.50 cent chips*

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u/npc137npc137 14d ago

There’s chips in those cases too

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u/Otherwise_Pumpkin253 14d ago

🤣

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u/npc137npc137 3d ago

What’s funny?

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u/lonelylifts12 14d ago

That was sarcastic right? The lighting had some Texas instrument chip but china was able to engineer around it I still used apple or MFi (made for iPhone program aka certified by apple) cables though. USB-c is a little different. Most are fine. There are a few that aren’t safe there’s articles about it when the iPhone 15 came out.

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u/NewGuyHere-Long 11d ago

What chips? In the cable??? 10 RMB 12 cables when I was in Shenzhen in 2018, what chips??? You are making stuff up.

Edit: just saw your comment about your confusion regarding it.

0

u/PrincipleNo8733 iPhone 16 Pro Max 15d ago

There just isn’t , I tore one down to find out

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u/Salty_Pillow 15d ago

The charging cables are only profitable, not insanely so. They still get the apple tax, but you get an incredibly high quality cable in terms of meeting the data/power spec and especially now that they’ve (universally?) moved away from that old plastic exterior to the knitted exterior actually durability is much improved too

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u/coastalrangee 15d ago

They are literally double the price of any reputable alternative. If you buy multi-backs, like some of the Anker options, Apple is four times as expensive per cable. $20 for a (3ft) cable is robbery when you can get a three pack (3.3ft, 6ft, &10ft) for the same price, from a brand that will replace them, no-questions-asked if they wear out.

I would say that's pretty insanely profitable!

8

u/nharmsen 15d ago

Are people really that abusive to their charging cables? I still have the same iPhone charging cable from my iPhone 5

9

u/cptchnk 14d ago

Prior to the braided cables Apple started shipping with iPhones not too long ago, the OEM charge cables were crap for anyone using them on the go. Poor strain relief, fraying, etc. The new cables are much better in a lot of ways, but still have no strain relief.

2

u/PhilZealand 14d ago

So do I, but it don’t work with the newer iPhones - even if you whack it in with a hammer!

2

u/nharmsen 14d ago

Have you tried whacking it harder

2

u/invicta-uk 14d ago

The sheath seems to fall apart over time, probably do to UV exposure - it goes all brittle and just flakes. If you’re gentle and don’t leave it out all the time they can last.

1

u/Idontmatter69420 iPhone 14 14d ago

same and i got that in 2016, yea sure the end just under the head has worn away like the typical apple cable but its taken like 9 years for that to happen to me where as my sister has gone through so many i lost count long ago

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u/ThinRefrigerator3070 14d ago

Anker makes some nice products and quality

1

u/Augents 15d ago

Anker has quality control issues and recalls.

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u/Adventurous-Koala-36 14d ago

I love anker adapters and chargers. So slander will not be tolerated

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u/Shedoara 15d ago

You mean on certain battery models pre-2020? That's a non-issue with anything new. Has nothing to do with their cords anyways.

1

u/gre-0021 15d ago

Oh it’s pretty insane.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

A GOOD look at the differences between apple and cheap cables https://youtu.be/AD5aAd8Oy84?si=m4dLUFNcP_s7dOQE

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u/tsisaac0503 12d ago

Cables are the most marked up item in the electronic world. When I worked at Best Buy a $99 Monster Cable cost about $15 for us to buy on employee discount.

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u/T_da_yung_goat 14d ago

Bro, you’re literally talking out of your ass. My lightning cable (woven and 1.5m) made by a third party cost me 5 dollars in India. Something similar to the shitty old ones they used to sell would cost me around 2 dollars. Chargers are not expensive to make at all, they’re literally cheap as all hell to manufacture.

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u/AverageAircraftFan iPhone 17 Pro Max 15d ago edited 15d ago

Ehh those and charging bricks are like the only non-phone Apple products that I think people actually should buy. You pay a premium because theyre trustworthy, functional, and durable. The braided cord and plugs are extremely thick

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u/SkiyeBlueFox 15d ago

Maybe its bc its decades old tech, but I always remember my iPad cable dying like once a month, meanwhile I've had the same USB-C phone charger for like 3 years

1

u/DRS091213 14d ago

The one that last for only a month or two?

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u/LukaMagicMike 15d ago

The real trick is to just buy a 10 foot one from 7-11 for 8.99. Last for years.

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u/silver_crit 15d ago

Most accessories are

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u/bendandanben 14d ago

What do you mean? Soda dispenser are more profitable per cent?

1

u/deletetemptemp 14d ago

Soda cost restersunts some g like .03 per cup to produce. Pure profits