Nothing was lost in translation. I'm American too. Everyone knows that the cost of manufacturing means parts + labor.

Didn't I say what to do if you want to discuss semantics? Keep in mind, my statement was about building cost.

You build dams, you dont manufacture it.

You manufacture car parts, you build the car from these parts. 

You build a house, you dont manufacture it.

you manufacture cement, and use it for building a house.

you manufacture iphone 7 parts, and use it to build an iphone 7.

Do you get it?

And how many people suffered those burns from the Note 7? Not sure why you continue to act like its not being recalled and the issue is not being fixed... And exactly how many people cried about the floppy drives? Cause I don't recall a mass outcry... The reason those were gone is because there was a better alternative that people already used instead of the Floppy Drives, not because companies removed it and forced people to adapt. Also according to many sites, there are more disadvatages to using the lightning port than there are advantages. And yes, the 3.5 also breaks but guess what? You could still charge your phone if it broke. Now if the charging port breaks, oh look, you can't. And what do you mean we? Just because you do doesn't mean everyone else does.

And its not like Motorolla are being praised for removing the headphone jack either on their flagship phones and having only the USB-C connector. Infact, most people did not like it at all.

And I hope other Android phones don't go this route because the public clearly doesn't want to get rid of the headphone jack without a better alternative. And using the Lightning/USB-C port is not. There is no reason to get rid of a technology if there is no better alternative. And shoving it down our throats is not the answer.

its hardly impossible to  live without a celluar phone, the vast majority of jobs, whether schoolteacher, computer analyst, whatever, don't need their phone to call into work constantly when they're at home. 

Its convenient to have a phone today, yes, but again its hardly a requirement unless you work in some profession in which you're some sort of door to door technichian. People do in fact often still have landlines.

People are just obsessed with tacky little things on their phones- games, social media, etc. Its an obsessive convenience which propels people to spend this much on a device that does exactly the same thing as others, and also an attempt to appear socially or technologically superior in some fashion to others. Its the "omg I've got the newest version" mentality.

depressing really

I just had to, I could not resist.

Iphone 7 is fantastic and totally understand the appeal. Personally couldn't justify paying those prices for a phone. I just use a doogee y100 pro which was about £45.

Good android performance and great quality 720p screen with corning glass, 64bit quad core cpu with mid level graphics and good battery life. Very happy with it. Dual sim too.

http://www.doogeemobile.com/doogee-y100-pro.html

Mobile phones are dirt cheap to make and most so called business analysis of parts cost is way off but then its not in Apple's interest to admit their phones cost tens of dollars to make rather than 100s.

It's a premium product though and people have the right to spend what they perceive is a fair price for the functionality it offers them.

A pet annoyance of mine is people who go into debt to buy products they can't afford though. If the iphone isn't a comfortable purchase for you based on your income and outgoings you shouldn't be buying it.

So, what? People don't go out? You do realize that work places call people to come in to work in case if someone is sick of if its an emergancy. Not everyone stays at home all the time. Or what if you are out and you get into an accident or if something bad happens? Or what if your family member needs help and you aren't at home? What if you have to pick up your children from school but they aren't out for quite a while but you don't know why? It really is impossible these days.

It is true that most people don't need all the features that phones can deliver these days but what smartphones allow people to do is to get ahead of others. If you have an email, you can quickly reply. If you are in the stock market, you can trade with your phone. If you are trying to find a new place, you can use your phone to do that. And the list goes on. Yes you don't need the latest and greatest but you certainly need a phone and why not have the best there is if you can afford it?

Lolll saved

I don't see how turning a console from a luxury item into a must need for every day work is going to make the current form of a PC "better" in price and value. Consoles are and always will be seen and regarded as a luxury item that isn't required for work, this is why the vast majority of workplaces contain desktops and laptops for their jobs.

PC market isn't broken btw.

Consoles are only luxury items from the perspective that no one *needs* one; they're almost exclusively for entertainment.

And no, I'm not going to bother with the whole entertainment devices can be repurposed into a productivity/work device argument because at that point one can counter with then they can also be repurposed into weapons of mass destruction by turning them into computing clusters to power the guidance systems of missiles, etc. 

If anything, I'd counter that video game consoles are intended as cheap entertainment. The market has proven that prices have to be reasonable, and in fact, hardware prices have actually gone down over the decades when adjusting for inflation, meaning consumers expect more for less as the market continues to develop. Attempts to buck that trend are met with $599 PS3 and $499 XBO consumer responses. 

But I will say that consoles aren't necessary to access the vast majority of game content, so in that respect, they can be considered superfluous, but still not luxury items. A relatively new desktop PC can be turned into a decent gaming PC with the appropriate video card upgrade, negating the need for another gaming device, and even that is superfluous for the average gamer, who surprise; is playing mobile games on their mobile device, not sitting in front of a desktop PC or a TV video game console.

There's no denying where the vast majority of industry growth has been since the increase in market relevance of the smartphone. Dedicated PC or console gamers may not like it; they can even go through great lengths to deny it, but the numbers don't lie. 

The console market may well have peaked as fewer consumers justify the need to buy the latest, but again, this doesn't make them luxury items.