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This should be expected in times of increased inflation: prices for goods are increasing faster than wages, so most people have less disposable income. They'll
by a-priori 2y ago
This should be expected in times of increased inflation: prices for goods are increasing faster than wages, so most people have less disposable income.
They'll respond by cutting back on or deferring unnecessary expenses (like upgrading an existing working phone), or choosing cheaper goods (like replacing a broken phone with a cheaper one), especially if as the article says there's not much in the way of compelling new features to drive an upgrade cycle.
- rchaud 2y agoIt isn't just that. The average person these days cannot distinguish a quality difference between the iPhone 13 and 15. The iPhone camera has been the jewel in Apple's crown but it's reached a stage of "more than good enough" some time ago, so what real reason is there to upgrade?
- a-priori 2y agoAs I said: > especially if as the article says there's not much in the way of compelling new features to drive an upgrade cycle
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> prices for goods are increasing faster than wages, so most people have less disposable income Real wages are flat with Q4 2019, but higher than almost any other time in the iPhone’s existence [1]. Disposable income is also near all-time highs [2]. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q [2] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DSPI https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DSPI
- autoexec 2y agoYou know what else is at all time highs? Homelessness and household debt
- kasey_junk 2y agoHousehold debt is down over the 2008 high [0] Even in real terms homelessness is flat. As a percentage it’s down. [1] [0] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HDTGPDUSQ163N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HDTGPDUSQ163N [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/555795/estimated-number-of-homeless-people-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/555795/estimated-number-...
- autoexec 2y agoAlthough homelessness has been rising since 2017 the cut off date there is not giving you a very accurate picture. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2023-AHAR-Part-1.pdf https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2023-... Also in 2018 household debt wasn't at $17 trillion https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-household-debt-just-surged-110000567.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-household-debt-just-surged...
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> in 2018 household debt wasn't at $17 trillion Inflation means you're always going to have record statistics of everything in everything but a plummeting (think: Ukraine) economy. Stock market. Household wealth. Household debt.