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The idea of an iPhone still as a status symbol in 2025 seems strange to me. I understood it in 2008. They are so commonplace and also not really that expensive
by jdprgm 1y ago
The idea of an iPhone still as a status symbol in 2025 seems strange to me. I understood it in 2008. They are so commonplace and also not really that expensive where it is a financial flex like some watch that cost 10k+ or something.
- shaboinkin 1y ago“Sixty-three percent of adults said they would cover a hypothetical $400 emergency expense exclusively using cash or its equivalent, unchanged from 2022 and 2023 but down from a high of 68 percent in 2021.” https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2025-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2024-executive-summary.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2025-economic-we... $999 is a lot of money.
- helqn 1y agoNot when you will buy the phone on credit which many people interpret as getting it for free.
- hbn 1y agoOr those god-forsaken monthly payment plans that exclusively exist to get people who don't know how to budget racking up more debt
- Workaccount2 1y agoYou can explain it to them and they don't care. I happen to know more than a few.
- ashdksnndck 1y agoThey are offering 0% when treasuries are yielding 4%, of course I’m going to take it.
- yoz-y 1y agoLike many other things, these services work well _if you already have the money and don’t actually need it_
- humpty-d 1y ago0% financing on Apple card, 3-8% annual inflation the last 4 years, you'd be dumb not to take it
- hbn 1y agoThe people monthly payment plans target are not able to afford the thing because they bought 30 other things on monthly payment plans in the past year and can't keep track of all the monthly payments they're owing until it's too late. That's the intent and why they're so popular now. It's why DoorDash is getting in on the action, so people will buy a Taco Bell delivery with a tempting price tag of only $4 at the time of purchase, multiple times a week for months until you owe hundreds of dollars.
- matwood 1y agoRegardless of who they target, I'm taking free financing any day of the week. It's like credit cards which I've received huge value from, and I've never carried a balance in over 30 years of use.
- astrange 1y agoA payment plan for a phone makes perfect sense if the phone is capital equipment that makes you money.
- zuminator 1y agoInstallments?
- JustExAWS 1y agoHardly anyone in the US pays full price for the iPhone up front. They either use 0% carrier financing - usually with offsetting credits - or through Apple.
- ashdksnndck 1y agoI don’t understand what that survey question is supposed to be indicating. I have lots of disposable income, and by default I spend using a credit card. US net worth at the 25th percentile is >$20k, it’s not the case that 32% of people literally don’t have the wealth to afford a $400 expense.
- sosodev 1y agoNet worth is a bad comparison. It’s easy for people to have $20k in assets but very little cash on hand.
- fragmede 1y agonet worth isn't cash flow. the point of that question is that many Americans actually can't just pay off an unexpected $400 charge.
- _2d30 1y agoMedian American has $8k in a checking acct.
- astrange 1y agoMedian American household not person, but yes.
- ashdksnndck 1y agoDo you have the question wording? I suspect it’s not measuring what this discussion assumes.
- eclarkso 1y agoFrom https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2024-supplement-economic-well-being-us-households-202505.pdf https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2024-suppl... : Suppose that you have an emergency expense that costs $400. Based on your current financial situation, how would you pay for this expense? If you would use more than one method to cover this expense, please select all that apply. a. Put it on my credit card and pay it off in full at the next statement b. Put it on my credit card and pay it off over time c. With the money currently in my checking/savings account or with cash d. Using money from a bank loan or line of credit e. By borrowing from a friend or family member f. Using a payday loan, deposit advance, or overdraft g. By selling something h. I wouldn’t be able to pay for the expense right now A and c count as "cash or cash equivalents".
- jb1991 1y agoThere sure are a lot of comments in this thread pulling out all sorts of random and arbitrary statistics that have no connection with what is actually being discussed here. I’m finding that very strange, frankly.
- matwood 1y ago> $999 is a lot of money. Which almost no one pays up front or at all in the US with the carrier deals and trade ins.
- dmix 1y agoIt's just a proxy for people to complain about the price. People will complain about a few hundred dollars in a phone price differences, even though it will be the one product they use more than anything else they own. And then not blink spending a couple extra grand on some car features/performance they use rarely or spend a thousand dollars a year on lattes.
- eptcyka 1y agoI smile every time I get to drive my car. Hate the phone every other time I pick it up.
- theshackleford 1y agoI like my car and my phone. I guess I am particular about what I buy, and I don't buy what I don't need or wont like.
- mr_toad 1y agoI used to find driving quite pleasant, except when everyone else was doing it.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- HeavenFox 1y agoFurther, in the US, non-iPhone have terrible resale value, so the monthly cost of iPhone can be cheaper
- mr_toad 1y agoPart of the resale value is the better long-term support Apple provides.
- Yizahi 1y agoThey are between 1000 to 1500 USD over here in EU. Pretty much only very well off people are buying current gen iPhones. Many people have older models. We also don't have any Apple lock-in culture, so there is much less incentive to go out of your way to get iPhone specifically.
- brailsafe 1y ago> They are so commonplace and also not really that expensive where it is a financial flex like some watch that cost 10k+ or something. I definitely agree about them being just about the most banal stupid toy you could spend the money on, but it's still a lot of money to a lot of people despite the cost of basic necessities making it not the huge amount that it used to be. I cringe at paying over $450, considering that every new model of phone since like 2015 hasn't really done anything worth significantly more money.
- fortran77 1y agoYou're in the US.
- silisili 1y agoI think it's -mostly- an age thing, and you simply matured out of it. For the most part. I say that because I feel similarly, but my out of college coworkers rib me for not having an iPhone. One even commented he'd probably never text me in real life, to which I of course replied that I'd never want him to text me in real life.