Which software?
To be clear… iOS and its updates are free. 
And iPhones are in a comparable price range as a ton of similar Android devices, so the normal Apple vs Others cost argument is a bit moot there.
Only Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge gets to the price of an iPhone or even above it… The most expensive Android has always been at least €100 cheaper than the cheapest iPhone. I think that’s a heck of a difference even that I will accept that before Galaxy S6 Edge, you could say that prices could be compared.
On contracts, at least here, that’s definitely not true.
And a quick search on Amazon gives me an iPhone 5s for around $500 without contract, and a galaxy S5 for around $600. And that’s not the cheapest iPhone at all.
They may run a little different, but certainly not
The most expensive Android has always been at least €100 cheaper than the cheapest iPhone.
That would be, presumably, the iPhone 5c (cheapest currently sold by vendors) vs the Galaxy S6 Edge ($300 vs $800) - so I’m presuming you meant something else by that
(The Galaxy S5, to compare, is around $400).
Edit: Prices in USD, but the numbers comparison internally device-to-device is really what we’re going for)
And the point of my reply to @noppy stands - the OS is free, thus the seeming argument that one shouldn’t pay for iOS struck me as odd.
You are comparing different generations there. You’d need to compare the iphone6 to the galaxy 6.
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You’re not comparing the right products. iPhone 6 starts at € 699 Euro with a screen of 4.7" whereas Samsung Galaxy 6 is € 699 and has a screen of 5.1"
iPhone 6 Plus (5,5" screen) starts at € 800 and Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge starts at € 850 (5.1" screen, curved)
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My point was that to have the ‘free’ OSX you have to buy the rather expensive hard bit (laptop, computer, phone etc) because without it it is as useful as a chocolate teapot. So to me the argument stands.
Sure you can run OSX on a PC but (from what i googled) its just as complicated (if not more) than you are likely to get with Linux distros. A load of motherboards won’t run it and others need updates and bios adjustments. I just put the Ubuntu disc in and installed it. Cost me 10p for DVDr and £200 for the desktop PC. £200 won’t get you far in an apple store.
The assertion that Apple software/hardware doesn’t ever go wrong is incorrect. They are perhaps less likely to go wrong as they only tend to run their own software on their own hardware, but they will still go wrong at times and you will be again limited to certain programs. Providing you are within warranty you will be fine (assuming for some products you are happy to post it off and have the contents wiped or a different piece of hardware returned). Outside of that you will have a much higher repair bill than a PC running windows or Linux
Sorry i’ve mixed phones into this which i don’t think the OP was refering to. Although i guess tablets/mobiles are now a much used ‘computer’ by a lot of people.
I was simply comparing products exactly from your quote - the most expensive android to the cheapest iPhone; I’m well aware that we’re on different generations.
Same response here as the other - I was responding to your assertion that iOS costed more, not that OS X costs more. Those are two separate discussions, I think.
I definitely think OP is discussing desktop OS and not mobile phones.
I think that for most people, on average, with generally similar workloads, running OS X ends up being more expensive than running Windows, which is more expensive than running Linux (combining hardware and software costs, if any). I think that my time investment though, is a reverse of that, and my time is worth more to me than the up front cost of a machine.
Then you have to weigh in software that you use and availability… time, money, knowledge… which is why I’m a firm believer that there is no “winner” between OS/hardware/etc - it’s user and situation dependent, in my mind.
I should have explained myself better. When I said at leat €100 than the same iPhone, I was referring to the same generation.
When iPhone 5 came out, it started at € 700-750 but Samsung Galaxy S 5 was € 599 (Except for Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung doesn’t do extras so it is just a fixed price)
Same with version 4.
Now, if you want to compare iPhone 5c today, in my country will still cost something like €400-450 but Samsung Galaxy S5 is € 370, still cheaper.
Samsung Galaxy S6 is the exception, since the Edge version is more expensive than most iPhones
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I’d argue the winner varies by person and that person’s needs 
As a whole though, I don’t think anyone can say in a general manner that OS/hardware/etc X is the winner.
For example, at work, Windows is the winner. We are very much a .NET company, we can’t do what we need to do on a daily basis on Linux or Apple.
At home, Linux is my winner. It gives me the ability to tweak what I want, how I want and stay productive. Do I put in time every once in a while via an upgrade or when I need to install new hardware? Yep. Do I mind? Not really. This past weekend, it only took me 30 minutes to solve my hardware issue during the upgrade from Debian Squeeze to Debian Jessie, and another 30 minutes to solve a software issue, or rather re-configure a piece of software (none of that counts the 1-2 hours it took to download and install the upgrade).
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I’d argue the winner varies by person and that person’s needs
Yeah, exactly what I’m saying, just worded differently/better? 
And I upgraded my desktop yesterday from Ubuntu Gnome 14.10 to 15.04 with no problems at all, I’m pleased to say. Hopefully, it will go just as smoothly when I get a chance to upgrade the laptop.
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OK, and I’ll definitely concede that - the same “generations” when compared, the highest priced iPhones are generally more expensive than the highest priced Androids.
To be frank though, if you’re buying a device at list price and not on a contract - a new, just released device that costs $600-800 - I would hope that a $100 or less price gap isn’t a person’s actual decision factor. If so, I think in some cases one falls into the category of a user who shouldn’t be spending that much money on a phone!
And I think it’s natural for a device with an exclusive OS to price higher than one that has a ton of internal competition, or at least a good amount. Do I like that? No. My most recent phone is an iPhone, so naturally I’m against them being more expensive in any case but I do understand market-wise, why that is so. And it doesn’t really bother me.
Phone-wise, though, I’m considering Android or a W10 phone next (winter upgrade) or an iPhone 6 pretty equally. That’ll probably depend on the ecosystem I invest in this summer when doing a combination of merging devices with my significant other’s household + buying some new ones.
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It’s always nice when things go according to plan?
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This is now a triple post, sorry to back to back with replies to specific people…
If, when I do that mish-mashing devices this summer, I was to revisit Linux, what should I do about devices? Do you guys who use Linux hunt for the same specs as you would a Windows computer, or do you consider anything differently?
I’m struggling to find a way to make my at-home setup work, and really no OS/device(s) combo is working out in my head so far…
Sames as Windows, but I try not get to get the latest and greatest to avoid any driver complications.
Pretty much this but I’ll add: Go for nVidia instead of AMD for your GPU:
It’s really depends on your needs. If you want an all out gaming computer then the specs will be entirely different to a browse the internet type computer.
For around £200 (3yrs ago) i built a computer 8gb Ram (max 16gb) 3.3ghz AMD triple core (which i think can be core unlocked) ASUS motherboard with USB3 and HD output, 500gb HD, DVD rewrite, multi card reader, 400watt psu.
It still boots from off in 35 secs and wakes in 5/6 secs.
have hardly had to do any complicated fixes, just updates every now and then.
Used it for some 3D animation using blender and although it was running the cpu at 100% for hours on end it did the job.
Day to day though parents use it for internet, emails, letters and photos.
Only pain in the bum i have is getting the printer to print in full quality but i’m sure if i looked i could fix it.
Oh to add my laptop is win8 which is ok-ish now. Would have switched but i need photoshop and a few other things. But still 35secs to boot even though faster processor than desktop and much newer.
Yeah, I hear you. I think I’m gravitating towards really wanting a laptop for both personal/freelance/development/etc use, with some sort of docking into multiple monitors at a desk. My living arrangements are changing and I’ll need the ability to work functionally in other rooms when required, most likely.
I have a computer built… 4-5 years ago for gaming, that I’ve been using as my main machine, and it’s still working mostly ok, some problems here and there. I just cut out the last game I really played with any regularity, so if I’m going to change things up it’s a good time I also have a couple of linux boxes and a Macbook Air… so I have some assets to shuffle/sell/repurpose.
Anyway. Thanks for the advice re: specs, cards, etc guys… will keep browsing about for good solutions. I’m hoping that I can sell (stuff) and buy (stuff) and keep some (stuff) and come out as close to even money-wise as possible