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Be honest: Do you tend to buy Apple Products through FOMO, or do you genuinely "need" them?
- Thread starter The Cockney Rebel
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I don't get the FOMO angle here. Fear Of Missing Out is the fear that if you don't do it there's an experience you'll no longer be able to have. My friends are having a party, I want to stay home, but I'm afraid that something exciting will happen there that I won't be able to share in.
It's also what drives the success of "for a limited time only" campaigns.
It's not like that with Apple products. If I don't buy it today, I can always buy it tomorrow. There is nothing to fear. If I discover that I'm missing something, I can go to the store or the web that day and rectify the issue.
It's also what drives the success of "for a limited time only" campaigns.
It's not like that with Apple products. If I don't buy it today, I can always buy it tomorrow. There is nothing to fear. If I discover that I'm missing something, I can go to the store or the web that day and rectify the issue.
We, my family, buy apple products because of the way they work which is to say in a cohesive manner.
We buy the products we need and like - which include non apple gear also.
We buy the products we need and like - which include non apple gear also.
I just purchase what works for me. If Google or Samsung products worked for me, I'd be off like a shot. I have no affinity or FOMO with any product or particular brand.
The M1 Mac Mini which was my very first Mac was FOMO. Everything else was because of a need
- My 14 inch M1 Pro MBP was bought during the launch window because my previous laptop was 8 years old and since I already made the full switch to macOS as my daily driver from the Mini I decided to get the MBP as my new laptop, heavily influenced by that gorgeous screen. I'm so glad I did as this is the best computer I've ever used
- My iPhone 13 Pro I bought day one because my previous phone was a iPhone 7 Plus that was also really old, had it for almost six years at that point
- I bought AirTags because I was prone to occasionally forget my work badge after holidays
I don't buy many Apple products, but the ones I do are usually because I need them. I own two iPads and a laptop.
Here are their assigned roles:
Laptop: Sort of a last resort for when I need to do something on an actual "computer", such as a program that only works on Windows. It's a Pentium Silver with 4GB ram, so it can't do much, but works well enough for when I need it.
iPad mini 5: Used to be my main device, now repurposed as a small hard drive for things I need to store privately and safely. I transfer stuff like photos and videos that I don't want to keep on my main device to it, and it works well. Occasionally I also use it as a smaller portable tablet, and it's very comfy to hold.
iPad Pro (m2): This is my main device. I could never go a day without using it... everything I do digitally, I would pick this up and just do it, and it does so effectively and quickly.
As you can see, my daily flow would be shattered if one of these would be removed. In this case, it would be the iPads.
Here are their assigned roles:
Laptop: Sort of a last resort for when I need to do something on an actual "computer", such as a program that only works on Windows. It's a Pentium Silver with 4GB ram, so it can't do much, but works well enough for when I need it.
iPad mini 5: Used to be my main device, now repurposed as a small hard drive for things I need to store privately and safely. I transfer stuff like photos and videos that I don't want to keep on my main device to it, and it works well. Occasionally I also use it as a smaller portable tablet, and it's very comfy to hold.
iPad Pro (m2): This is my main device. I could never go a day without using it... everything I do digitally, I would pick this up and just do it, and it does so effectively and quickly.
As you can see, my daily flow would be shattered if one of these would be removed. In this case, it would be the iPads.
I have always thought that I don’t care if my device isn’t the latest as long as it does what I need it to do and it works perfectly fine. I have an iPhone Xʀ which runs flawlessly. The reason for which I wanted to upgrade my 9.7-inch iPad Pro is because Apple forced it out of iOS 9 into iOS 12, so it wasn’t perfect anymore. Also I liked my Air 5’s full screen, but I certainly didn’t need it. In fact, I’m writing this from the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
Few years ago, I upgrade my iPhone & iPad when a good jailbreak was released. At that time, jailbroken iDevice gave you lot of freedom from UI, system tools, apps etc etc. It’s funny to remember that now. Now, I upgraded only when I need it (due to the old one has been very slow, lost or bad battery) or when there is good price drop.
Fortunately, I have a big family which I can make justification easily for “needs”, lol.
Fortunately, I have a big family which I can make justification easily for “needs”, lol.
Macs -- well, I'm a developer, and it's my hobby too, but I also try to stick to a rule of thumb that says don't replace a machine until you've had it for more days than the dollars you bought it for.
iPhones -- I replace them when I need to.
iPads -- well, here's where I apparently went wild over the last ten years.
iPhones -- I replace them when I need to.
iPads -- well, here's where I apparently went wild over the last ten years.
I don't think FOMO means what you think it means. Regardless, if I have to choose between FOMO or Need, I say, Neither.
After my needs are met, I buy because I can (have the disposable income) and I like to. I enjoy upgrading. Do I have to have another reason? I spent more last year on cruising than tech, but enjoy my tech more.
Yeah, I think “feed the ostrich” is my new phrase to explain impulse buying. “Why do you have all this crap?” “Gotta feed the ostrich!”
My answer too. I just like tech but don't care if anyone ever sees what I have.
Fear of missing out on what? They’ll just make a new version in 12mo
I only get a new device where there is a feature or performance improvement that I want/need
When they first had a barometer in the iPhone
LiDAR (kinda disappointed in that one)
iPad mini with more screen
Etc
I ain’t the dude you’ll see lining up for the newest iPhone
I only get a new device where there is a feature or performance improvement that I want/need
When they first had a barometer in the iPhone
LiDAR (kinda disappointed in that one)
iPad mini with more screen
Etc
I ain’t the dude you’ll see lining up for the newest iPhone
Considering prices of tech and inflation in my country, I (almost) always make rational decision in buying a product. No FOMO here. I bought an iPhone 7+ in early 2020 because I want a cheap phone with IP rating. I upgraded to the 11 Pro recently because the 7+ has poor battery life and overheats easily.
It all depends. I generally upgrade to the latest iPad mini. But that's only because the release cycle with that one is so infrequent and usually by the time a new one comes out, the existing one is absolutely showing its age. For iPhones, I try to upgrade before the phone starts naturally falling apart; though I'll do it sooner if my current one is having issues that annoy me. For Macs, I do it as needed. My Mac needs were greater during the Intel era when gaming and virtualization was something I could do well. In the Apple Silicon era, I likely won't ever need more than either a loaded 13-inch MacBook Pro, or a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the binned version of the Mx Pro chip on offer. My gaming and virtualization needs, at least for non-macOS OSes is better served on PC hardware going forward. So, really, I won't be upgrading my Mac all that often either.
A bit of both. I actually need a Mac to work and do a lot of other things, but I've been guilty of the occasional upgrade when I could make do with an older model.
Depends on the product but it used to be FOMO with iPhones before they started costing thousands and got divided into regular and Pro. Nowadays even the newest model is hampered compared to the Pro so the FOMO is gone because I don't want to pay that much for the Pro as the regular one is already at the limit of what I'm willing to. I've essentially realized what I'm getting is already hampered on purpose and the FOMO would always return next September. So I get the cheapest option and use it for as long as it works for me.
Well, here's my use case.
I have a main job, it's mainly a bureaucratic job and I use company-issued computers at the office (Windows laptops, older i3 CPU, mechanical hard drives and 4GB of RAM, yes, it's as painful as it sounds).
I also have a side hustle, I've been doing this since December, I work in public relations, so I manage social media accounts, create promotional material and write press statements, for very small organizations, with very tight budgets so, for them, my non professional work is fine, also because I don't charge a lot (I want to change careers and you'll have to start somewhere, however my work is receiving praises from bigger names, I'm working hard to turn those praises into cash).
So, in all honesty, I don't really need Apple products.
What I need is a phone with a camera system capable enough to produce photos and videos that look (very) good on Facebook and Instagram and don't need editing, except for some minor tweaks in iOS' Photos app (I don't know jack about professional photo and video editing), I've tried using high end Android devices (Samsung S10 something and their last flip phone) and still don't like Android, can't find my way around it, way too many confusing settings, so my iPhone 14 Pro is great for what I do.
As for what I do on a computer (currently 2020 i5 MacBook Air with 8GB Ram and 256 SSD), I could get my stuff done even on any Linux distro using Libre Office if Iwanted or needed to, I could even try ChromeOS because I can use web-based services like Canva, Adobe Express and Office Web Apps, even though I don't particularly rely on those services, I look at Canva and Adobe Express only for inspiration (Microsoft Designer looks very promising too) so, for me, macOS, Windows or Linux wouldn't make much of a difference.
My 9th gen iPad is mostly an entertainment device (music, video, reading, web browsing).
However, I can say that using Apple products and relying on iCloud is somewhat making my life easier, especially AirDrop (I've tried Microsoft Edge's Drop feature, but it's not as smooth as AirDrop and it has stopped loading for some reason). I create material mostly in Keynote and Pages (they're surprisingly capable, even though I still don't find them as intuitive as I'd wish), the files are on my Mac and in iCloud, and it's very easy to do (small) changes to the files on my iPhone or iPad, if needed.
There's also the quality of the devices, my Mac has a great keyboard, great trackpad and great screen, this combination makes working long hours on the computer less tiring. One could argue that I could find the same quality in other premium laptops, yes, probably, but my main point is that I've created my own "work flow" using Apple hardware and software, this "work flow" is working very well for me and I don't see, at present time, any reason to change it.
I have a main job, it's mainly a bureaucratic job and I use company-issued computers at the office (Windows laptops, older i3 CPU, mechanical hard drives and 4GB of RAM, yes, it's as painful as it sounds).
I also have a side hustle, I've been doing this since December, I work in public relations, so I manage social media accounts, create promotional material and write press statements, for very small organizations, with very tight budgets so, for them, my non professional work is fine, also because I don't charge a lot (I want to change careers and you'll have to start somewhere, however my work is receiving praises from bigger names, I'm working hard to turn those praises into cash).
So, in all honesty, I don't really need Apple products.
What I need is a phone with a camera system capable enough to produce photos and videos that look (very) good on Facebook and Instagram and don't need editing, except for some minor tweaks in iOS' Photos app (I don't know jack about professional photo and video editing), I've tried using high end Android devices (Samsung S10 something and their last flip phone) and still don't like Android, can't find my way around it, way too many confusing settings, so my iPhone 14 Pro is great for what I do.
As for what I do on a computer (currently 2020 i5 MacBook Air with 8GB Ram and 256 SSD), I could get my stuff done even on any Linux distro using Libre Office if Iwanted or needed to, I could even try ChromeOS because I can use web-based services like Canva, Adobe Express and Office Web Apps, even though I don't particularly rely on those services, I look at Canva and Adobe Express only for inspiration (Microsoft Designer looks very promising too) so, for me, macOS, Windows or Linux wouldn't make much of a difference.
My 9th gen iPad is mostly an entertainment device (music, video, reading, web browsing).
However, I can say that using Apple products and relying on iCloud is somewhat making my life easier, especially AirDrop (I've tried Microsoft Edge's Drop feature, but it's not as smooth as AirDrop and it has stopped loading for some reason). I create material mostly in Keynote and Pages (they're surprisingly capable, even though I still don't find them as intuitive as I'd wish), the files are on my Mac and in iCloud, and it's very easy to do (small) changes to the files on my iPhone or iPad, if needed.
There's also the quality of the devices, my Mac has a great keyboard, great trackpad and great screen, this combination makes working long hours on the computer less tiring. One could argue that I could find the same quality in other premium laptops, yes, probably, but my main point is that I've created my own "work flow" using Apple hardware and software, this "work flow" is working very well for me and I don't see, at present time, any reason to change it.