Apple not including the rumoured sturdier braided power cable is very disappointing but on brand for a company that has never placed any value on cable durability.
Looks like the price of the power adapter has been reduced by 33% around the world. The Apple 18W USB-C adapter was $45 here, the new 20W is $29. In the US, was $29 now $19. Same on other countries’ Apple websites that I’ve checked.
When I bought my iPhone Xr (6.06" screen) two years ago it cost me $1129 (with a power adaptor and ear pods), when I bought my SO’s iPhone earlier this year 11 (6.1" screen) it cost $1179 (with a power adaptor and ear pods) but to buy an iPhone 12 128Gb (6.1" screen) is $1429 (without power adaptor or ear pods so really it’s plus $29 plus $29 for a total of $1489) comparing err… Apples with Apples 
And it’s only $1629 for a 128Gb iPhone 12 Pro (6.1" screen) which makes the non pro range less attractive from a pricing perspective (which might well be Apples end game, the Xr and the 11 were big sales successes but maybe Apple want to push sales towards the pro range and more profit).
Never the less that’s a big jump in price to absorb from a consumer point of view, I had to stretch to reach the price point for the Xr and the 11, I’m just going to have to accept that the new 12 is out of my price range. Guess I’m keeping my Xr for a while…
I wish companies like Apple would make it a priority to keep prices down. The way things are tracking, in a few short years a top of the range phone will cost $2500-$3000 
Some observations:
I agree, I guess since I’m retired I’m no longer part of Apple’s sales demographic.
I’ll have a look at the 2022 SE2 if and when it arrives (depends upon the size of the screen though, I don’t want a small 4.7" screen). I am ok with the lower resolution of the Xr (doesn’t bother me) but I want something around 6" in screen size. And updated Xr with the same screen and a 2022 processor would work for an SE2 for me.
But if Apple don’t have a suitable phone in my price range in 12 months then I guess I’ll be switching to Android; Google sell their Pixel 5 at $999 AU which is good value, I don’t really want to swap away from iOS but I’ve got a budget shrug (any more than I wanted to stop using Apple laptops).
Still got my iPad I guess… unless Apple drop the entry level iPad at some point.
I’m weak. Looking at iPhone 12 again, the standard and the pro. Seems like the main specs differences between them are size/price and camera. Do I need to have telephoto in the phone camera. Probably not unless I am going to sell off some existing cameras. Maybe I will… which would help pay for the new phone, eventually. One thing I wont be doing this year is pre-ordering.
My wife is in the “I would like a smaller phone” crowd. The XR was only slightly larger than her 6S and the 12 mini looks like it nicely fills that gap between the increased sizes that the 6 introduced and the iPhone 5. At $1,279 for the 128GB version it’s not exactly “cheap” but it’s also the cheapest option from the new phones and to me really highlights just how much of a bargain the current SE is (as long as you don’t want FaceID).
For a size comparison the Mini looks like it’s going to hit a really nice sweet spot.
iPhone 5 - 123.8 mm x H 58.6 mm x W 7.6 mm D - 112g - 4" Screen
iPhone 12 Mini - 131.5 mm x H 64.2 mm x W 7.4 mm D - 133g - 5.4" screen
iPhone 6S - 138.3 mm x H 67.1 mm x W 7.1 mm D - 143g - 4.7" Screen
iPhone XS - 143.6 mm x H 70.9 mm x W 7.7 mm D - 177g - 5.8" Screen
My lease contract expires in 3 weeks, my original plan was to return the phone to Telstra and get an iPhone 12. My current thinking though is that I will stick with my XS which means I need to find out how much I need to pay to buy out the phone, and then see what cheaper plan I can get. There is little in the 12 that is compelling enough for me to upgrade. The cameras do not interest me, neither does 5G or MagSafe. I want Touch ID and ideally for the notch to go or be reduced. USB-C would be nice but maybe Apple will go from lightning to no port at all.
I’ll be very interested to hear what they want for the phone? Was the XS the first time they offered leasing? I’ve opted to pay the extra ~$10 / month to ensure I own the phone at the end. While this is mostly because we play the hand-me-down game in our house now, I also figure that you should pretty easily be able to sell a two-year-old iPhone for >$240
So theoretically a buy out of $240 is break-even for the carrier (compared to a user who bought the phone), less and it’s a great deal for you, more and you’d have to weigh up what it’s really worth. Gumtree and eBay (in the 30 seconds I just looked) have some listed down to around $450 (for a 64GB) although most seem to be in the $600+ range.
I wish it was easy to navigate through Telstra’s stupid series of bots. I’d rather just get a straight answer to a simple question from an actual human.
I had an iPhone X on lease, then gave it back after 12 months and upgraded to the XS. Not sure when Telstra first offered leasing (maybe 2016/2017?), and it wasn’t just for iPhones. They stopped offering lease plans in June 2019.
I really hate the hassle of having to sell stuff, it’s just not my thing so leasing suited me well. My Mum has my old 6S and that will probably suffice her for the foreseeable future. I could hand down the XS now or in 12 or 24 months time, or I could just sell it.
I never liked that they didn’t state upfront what the cost was going to be to buy out a lease. But I get that it’s much easier to hand one back than it is to worry about selling.
Back when phones used to be cheaper and I was buying them outright I would sell my old ones through here for what I felt was a reasonable cost (which was usually just less than most people were asking) so it was nice and simple. I ended up selling to the same person a few years running too including one year I was contacted prior to even listing the old one! So very easy for me!
Arrgghh… I fail when it comes to shiny things.
I kept telling myself that the iPhone 12 was outside my budget and that I should either wait another 12 months or buy an iPhone 11 as an upgrade from my Xr.
So… I was browsing across the carrier websites and I err accidently filled in the pre-registrations for pre-ordering for the iPhone 12 on the Vodafone web site
Their $45 plan with 60Gb then endless data at 10MBps plan (plus phone payments) seems like good value and now that I’m in town not out in the bush Vodafone will work for me.
I’ll probably downgrade my NBN to a cheaper slower plan to balance out extra phone payment (he says… rationalizing the future new phone purchase) 
Mobile Monster say they’ll give me $520 for my Xr which isn’t bad (although that might drop by the time the 12 is here) which will offset a bit of the cost.
Mobile Muster used to allow up to xx days to return the phone which would allow you to lock in a price now. I can’t see how long that is, but if you’re getting the phone very soon it might all work out.
I wasn’t aware of that, I will check it out thanks 
Not happy. Just got off the phone with Telstra, only 15 mins on hold which wasn’t bad. I should be greatful that I managed to speak to a human rather than converse online or via the app to a useless bot. News to me is that I have a lease and a contract and they do not expire at the same time.
lease ends 5/11/2020, cost to buy my XS would be $663!
contract ends 5/5/2021, cost to buy my XS “about $400-$500”! (for some reason he could not give me a precise figure)
I must admit that I was not able to fully understand all of my options. I’d rather go into a Telstra store and sort this out but I live in Melbourne and everything is shut. I guess I’ll just wait a few more weeks and hopefully retail stores will re-open and I can consider my options, including Telstra’s iPhone 12 plans.
I have never bought an iPhone outright upon its release, I have always gone on a contract or lease, but maybe I need to reconsider. That would give me more control and flexibility over what data plan to get. If leasing was still an option, I’d happily give my XS back, get an iPhone 12 and start a new lease/contract. It’s just less headaches for me than any alternative. I guess Telstra decided that leases were not in their best interests.
Leasing was always a very odd value proposition.
Save about $10 / month (so only $240 over the average contract) and either hand the phone back or buy it out for an unknown ‘market value’ or however they phrased it.
If you didn’t want the hassle of selling privately and wanted a small discount month to month it was OK. But the fact it was presented as the default option I think sucked a lot of people in.
Most other carriers have moved to a ‘no contract’ deal where you can leave without penalty at anytime, although you do have to pay out the remaining handset payments. A very reasonable deal (led by Vodafone I might add) Optus followed along and I though so did Telstra.
Your current deal sounds a little screwy, but probably due to a mid cycle upgrade? I though that simply allowed you to start a new contract so any new plan/lease/deal would be from that date?? (and that’s the narrative I would stick to if push came to shove). If in doubt of your rights the TIO is actually pretty good and I’ve had good outcomes (lots of years ago to be fair) when they made a call on my behalf and my carrier of the day suddenly decided that maybe my position was quite reasonable after all… in fact in that particular case they actually offered me more than I had actually asked for so … YAY me!
I leased an iPhone X in 2017, 12 months later I took the option to cancel the contract by paying $99, returning the iPhone X and starting on a new lease with an iPhone XS. Eight months later Telstra stopped offering new leases. I might be able to salary package a phone through work, not sure, I will have to look into it.
Does that mean you ended up on a three year contract somehow that second time around?
I had just about persuaded myself to get a new phone and then I remembered that I have my cat’s annual jabs and physical (thats this morning) and car CTP and rego plus the annual hideously expensive service at NRMA Kotara. I dont mind going there because theres a decent sitting/waiting area, etc. So no new shinies for me this year. Maybe next.
Mobile Monster offer 14 days, locked in $1000 on my iPhone 11 two weeks ago, happy with that. Have always had a great service from them.