3 ms·

Not $25 cheap

by Nbox9 5y ago

Not $25 cheap

KMnO4 5y ago
That $25 Android is probably 3+ major Android versions behind and not getting updates. It was probably 2 major version behind when it launched. A $200 used iPhone SE is running the latest iOS 15 and will continue to get updates until at least 2027.
- whimsicalism 5y ago
  None of which is relevant to the point
  - KMnO4 5y ago
    How is that not relevant? If you’re looking to spend a minimal amount of money for a phone that will last a while, Android is arguably poor value since you’ll be replacing it sooner. See the Boots Theory of Socioeconomics: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-the-reason-that-the-rich-were-so-rich-vimes-reasoned https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-the-reason-that-the-r...
    - Nbox9 5y ago
      I don’t believe the Boots Theory of Socioeconomics applies here. It rarely applies to luxury goods. 1. A phone can easily be lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair. A $25 phone isn’t 8x more likely to break than a $200 phone, so the damage/lost/theft risk is much higher with the $200 phone. 2. People that buy $25 phones are presumably okay not having access to the latest versions of apps and the latest security updates. 3. $25 is 8x cheaper than $200. Even if we assume a rapid rate of replacing the $25 every 6 months it would take 4 years before the $200 phone pays off. That’s a poor ROI for $175, and the $25 phones will probably last longer than 6 months.
    - analog31 5y ago
      So far my phones tend to last until the screens break or the batteries give out. On one occasion I upgraded because a particular OS version level supports a la carte app permissions. I'd be really surprised if an Apple phone would have been cheaper than a small handful of cheap phones over the span of 20 years. To be fair I could have bought used / refurb iPhones. And it looks like my plan offers a new iPhone SE for around $300 when all is said and done. Now had I been really smart, I should have invested the savings in Apple stock ;-) The Boots theory sounds clever, but of course would need to be supported by evidence.
    - cbozeman 5y ago
      This would only apply if the quality of boots increased by about 4x every 5-7 years, which I'm pretty sure they do not.

Not $25 cheap

by Nbox9 5y ago

Not $25 cheap

That $25 Android is probably 3+ major Android versions behind and not getting updates. It was probably 2 major version behind when it launched. A $200 used iPhone SE is running the latest iOS 15 and will continue to get updates until at least 2027.

whimsicalism 5y ago
None of which is relevant to the point
- KMnO4 5y ago
  How is that not relevant? If you’re looking to spend a minimal amount of money for a phone that will last a while, Android is arguably poor value since you’ll be replacing it sooner. See the Boots Theory of Socioeconomics: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-the-reason-that-the-rich-were-so-rich-vimes-reasoned https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-the-reason-that-the-r...
  - Nbox9 5y ago
    I don’t believe the Boots Theory of Socioeconomics applies here. It rarely applies to luxury goods. 1. A phone can easily be lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair. A $25 phone isn’t 8x more likely to break than a $200 phone, so the damage/lost/theft risk is much higher with the $200 phone. 2. People that buy $25 phones are presumably okay not having access to the latest versions of apps and the latest security updates. 3. $25 is 8x cheaper than $200. Even if we assume a rapid rate of replacing the $25 every 6 months it would take 4 years before the $200 phone pays off. That’s a poor ROI for $175, and the $25 phones will probably last longer than 6 months.
  - analog31 5y ago
    So far my phones tend to last until the screens break or the batteries give out. On one occasion I upgraded because a particular OS version level supports a la carte app permissions. I'd be really surprised if an Apple phone would have been cheaper than a small handful of cheap phones over the span of 20 years. To be fair I could have bought used / refurb iPhones. And it looks like my plan offers a new iPhone SE for around $300 when all is said and done. Now had I been really smart, I should have invested the savings in Apple stock ;-) The Boots theory sounds clever, but of course would need to be supported by evidence.
  - cbozeman 5y ago
    This would only apply if the quality of boots increased by about 4x every 5-7 years, which I'm pretty sure they do not.