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Big difference between a 5 year old $50 Android smartphone and the latest $800 iPhone. I know a lot of people who own the latter yet claim to struggle financial

Big difference between a 5 year old $50 Android smartphone and the latest $800 iPhone. I know a lot of people who own the latter yet claim to struggle financially.

HarryHirsch 5y ago
It's not the one-off expenses that hurt, it's the recurring expenses every month. 100 dollars for your regular family plan, that's 1200 dollars every year that you can't cut, even if the kids get the cheapest Android 8 phone you can find. Also, when your cellphone is how you access the Internet because you can't afford a decent laptop, at some point it makes sense to go for a more powerful phone.
- raarts 5y ago
  A $150 Android would work just as well in that case.
  - HarryHirsch 5y ago
    The difference between the $800 phone and the $150 phone amortized over 3 years is 18 dollars/month. That's not what breaks the bank.
    - tekknik 5y ago
      It’s a bit higher than $18/mo, and your average american changes their phone every 2 years, and further phones are not $800 anymore. But let’s assume they are, over 2 years that’s $34/mo and let’s say 4 people in the plan. Over the same period you’ve doubled your phone bill. If $100/mo is expensive then so should the $134/mo or so to upgrade phones every 2 years.
      - HarryHirsch 5y ago
        The penniless American will keep their phone for longer than the average 2 years. You'd actually predict that the parents hand down the old phone to the child when they get a new one, and now we know why Apple recently extended the time they keep their phones in support.
        tekknik 5y ago
        > The penniless American will keep their phone for longer than the average 2 years. Sure but they’re not the majority. This article from forbes (a bit old now) was enlightening. But note that those running their phones into the ground aren’t too far behind those upgrading as soon as they can. https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/07/09/how-often-do-americans-upgrade-their-smartphones-infographic/?sh=7519eadf20ac https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/07/09/how-of...
apercu 5y ago
If you are struggling financially who cares if you are paying an extra $10 a month to rent-to-own an $800 phone? That sort of shit is just more judgemental dog whistling.
- ceilingcorner 5y ago
  Everything that you don’t agree with isn’t “judgmental dog whistling.”
  - apercu 5y ago
    I have been watching the laziest members of society sit at the top and complain about the hardest working people with the shittiest jobs for 40 years.

Big difference between a 5 year old $50 Android smartphone and the latest $800 iPhone. I know a lot of people who own the latter yet claim to struggle financially.

HarryHirsch 5y ago

It's not the one-off expenses that hurt, it's the recurring expenses every month. 100 dollars for your regular family plan, that's 1200 dollars every year that you can't cut, even if the kids get the cheapest Android 8 phone you can find. Also, when your cellphone is how you access the Internet because you can't afford a decent laptop, at some point it makes sense to go for a more powerful phone.

raarts 5y ago
A $150 Android would work just as well in that case.
- HarryHirsch 5y ago
  The difference between the $800 phone and the $150 phone amortized over 3 years is 18 dollars/month. That's not what breaks the bank.
  - tekknik 5y ago
    It’s a bit higher than $18/mo, and your average american changes their phone every 2 years, and further phones are not $800 anymore. But let’s assume they are, over 2 years that’s $34/mo and let’s say 4 people in the plan. Over the same period you’ve doubled your phone bill. If $100/mo is expensive then so should the $134/mo or so to upgrade phones every 2 years.
    - HarryHirsch 5y ago
      The penniless American will keep their phone for longer than the average 2 years. You'd actually predict that the parents hand down the old phone to the child when they get a new one, and now we know why Apple recently extended the time they keep their phones in support.
      - tekknik 5y ago
        > The penniless American will keep their phone for longer than the average 2 years. Sure but they’re not the majority. This article from forbes (a bit old now) was enlightening. But note that those running their phones into the ground aren’t too far behind those upgrading as soon as they can. https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/07/09/how-often-do-americans-upgrade-their-smartphones-infographic/?sh=7519eadf20ac https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/07/09/how-of...

apercu 5y ago

If you are struggling financially who cares if you are paying an extra $10 a month to rent-to-own an $800 phone? That sort of shit is just more judgemental dog whistling.

ceilingcorner 5y ago
Everything that you don’t agree with isn’t “judgmental dog whistling.”
- apercu 5y ago
  I have been watching the laziest members of society sit at the top and complain about the hardest working people with the shittiest jobs for 40 years.