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heyyitssusan

macrumors 68040
Feb 9, 2014
3,881
9,618
I paid full price for my 6S.(I live in the States and Apple devices lose value a ton--my 6S only cost $149) And so long as it does everything I ask of it why should I upgrade? I refuse to contribute to environmental waste or care about a phone as some shiny piece of fashion. I might be young but I've always subscribed to the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" I don't replace anything until it breaks or no longer reliably serves my needs. I bet it makes you cringe I still browse sites on my "ancient" PowerBook G4 as well.

I don't like making payments either. I paid full price for my car, truck, even house. I can't understand why anyone would want to jeopardize their credit rating by making payments and have to worry about missing one. Plus interest. No thanks.

Truth is, NO ONE needs a brand new phone every year or even every five years. There's not enough changes even happening to warrant it. The only reason we have gotten this habit in the first place is because we've started looking at phones like pairs of socks. We seem to replace them at the same rate. I don't see them as disposable commodities nor do I care about impressing folks on the street. It's just a tool. No different than a radio or screwdriver. It just happens my iPhone 6S can do a lot more than a single-purpose device, and so long as it continues to do that reliably, I don't see any need to upgrade it.

I SO agree with the payments paragraph. That was how I was taught growing up. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. If you can afford it, buy it upfront so you don’t have to worry about it. You own it now.
 
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Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,308
1,840
I SO agree with the payments paragraph. That was how I was taught growing up. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. If you can afford it, buy it upfront so you don’t have to worry about it. You own it now.

But why lose $1,000 up front when you keep 90% or so in your pocket? You know how responsible you are. If you’re not or low income then sure pay upfront. That $1,000 you didn’t spend up front can be used to save or invest.
 

bobsamm

Suspended
Oct 6, 2019
1,017
636
Dumb idea giving Apple $2KAUD here up front for my 11 pro, when I can just pay $20 extra a week to add the phone on my monthly plan over 2 years.
 

Zesto

macrumors newbie
May 26, 2014
13
3
It's still the "best" iPhone (I think) currently in the line up
Home Button
No notch
No face ID
No flickering display
Superior ultra low light viewing even with all the light bleed cuz NO PWM at any brightness level.

Some people think the 2020 iPhones are the best. I definitely don't

THANK YOU!! This 100%!!! I'm so glad to see some Apple people forming their own opinions and being objective with products rather than blindly following what they are told. Also I would add I actually prefer the smaller form factor these days.
 

JohnnyKeatth

macrumors newbie
Sep 4, 2018
8
2
Yes. I’ll never buy an iPhone with a notch or the always there home bar. Wtf was Apple thinking I’ll never know.
 

nickdalzell1

macrumors 68030
Dec 8, 2019
2,787
1,669
Dumb idea giving Apple $2KAUD here up front for my 11 pro, when I can just pay $20 extra a week to add the phone on my monthly plan over 2 years.

Good luck being locked into that contract for 2 years. Also hope you got real job security and don't miss a payment. What if you want a new phone in a year? You're stuck with that one for two. Change carriers? forget it.

Also those 'small' payments add up over time. Most folks today can't see past the present. Sure you pay $20 NOW. but add up the amounts + interest (if any) for the entire two years and you would've likely been better off paying for it all now.

A good example of this phenomenon is at my job. I work at a golf car shop. The newer modern golf cars have garbage disposable non-repairable battery chargers. We can get American Made ones that are fixable, carry a 2-year warranty, and can maintain batteries in the off season (the cheap throwaways don't trickle charge, they shut off and if you forget it the next season you can't charge the dead pack since the charger wants a minimum voltage). The disposable charger is $150 to replace. the American one is $450. People cringe at the $450 and demand another throwaway for $150. They will have to replace that one in a year or two. After a while that adds up well past the $450 they could've paid for once.

Also, is your previous phone broken? why do you need to upgrade? Phones are tools. Please stop treating them like disposable commodities.
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
Also, is your previous phone broken? why do you need to upgrade? Phones are tools. Please stop treating them like disposable commodities.
A lot of people (the vast majority of people on this forum) are phone enthusiasts. You seem to be content keeping a phone for as long as possible, which is very admirable. But most people on here want to have the newest and best they can get, and that's why they spend time here talking about what's new and what's coming next.

But why lose $1,000 up front when you keep 90% or so in your pocket? You know how responsible you are. If you’re not or low income then sure pay upfront. That $1,000 you didn’t spend up front can be used to save or invest.
I see this argument a lot
 

ElioLugaru

macrumors member
Dec 10, 2019
83
94
North Carolina
I mean...I upgraded from a 16gb iPhone 6S to a 64gb iPhone 8 Plus back in March this year.
Mainly went with the 8/8 Plus because it has the Touch ID.

I still use my 6S for other things like using it as a clock & checking the Momentum Camera.
 

bobsamm

Suspended
Oct 6, 2019
1,017
636
Good luck being locked into that contract for 2 years. Also hope you got real job security and don't miss a payment. What if you want a new phone in a year? You're stuck with that one for two. Change carriers? forget it.

Also those 'small' payments add up over time. Most folks today can't see past the present. Sure you pay $20 NOW. but add up the amounts + interest (if any) for the entire two years and you would've likely been better off paying for it all now.

A good example of this phenomenon is at my job. I work at a golf car shop. The newer modern golf cars have garbage disposable non-repairable battery chargers. We can get American Made ones that are fixable, carry a 2-year warranty, and can maintain batteries in the off season (the cheap throwaways don't trickle charge, they shut off and if you forget it the next season you can't charge the dead pack since the charger wants a minimum voltage). The disposable charger is $150 to replace. the American one is $450. People cringe at the $450 and demand another throwaway for $150. They will have to replace that one in a year or two. After a while that adds up well past the $450 they could've paid for once.

Also, is your previous phone broken? why do you need to upgrade? Phones are tools. Please stop treating them like disposable commodities.

No lockins here, can change carrier anytime just payout what's owing on the phone only.
In a year i can just sell it pay out the balance and start again.
No interest just equal 24 or 36 payments of the retail phone cost.
Stop telling people how to spend their money.
I havn't had a job for 27 years, run my own business and my phone is how i earn my money, and a tax deductible business cost.

This will spin you out you better sit down, in the last year i have had a Xs max, 8, Xr, SE, 11 pro :)
 
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nickdalzell1

macrumors 68030
Dec 8, 2019
2,787
1,669
No one needs a new phone if their old one works fine anyway. The way that devices have become such fashion statements and disposable commodities sickens me.
 
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Wide opeN

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2010
1,763
1,035
Georgia
I see this argument a lot

It's how most of us have been conditioned. It is nice to own upfront and not have monthly cost to shell out. Too it gives you more options owning upfront.

I can see the benefits in both. You just have to decide what you want to do.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,492
No one needs a new phone if their old one works fine anyway. The way that devices have become such fashion statements and disposable commodities sickens me.

Then you might be on the wrong forum. But that’s the world we live in, it’s not just about being a ‘fashion statement’, it’s about the branding coupled with Apples marketing.

But if you want to get technical, I’d say a fashion statement Applies more to the Apple Watch with a customization of the bands than it does just the iPhone.
 
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Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,308
1,840
Good luck being locked into that contract for 2 years. Also hope you got real job security and don't miss a payment. What if you want a new phone in a year? You're stuck with that one for two. Change carriers? forget it.

Also those 'small' payments add up over time. Most folks today can't see past the present. Sure you pay $20 NOW. but add up the amounts + interest (if any) for the entire two years and you would've likely been better off paying for it all now.

A good example of this phenomenon is at my job. I work at a golf car shop. The newer modern golf cars have garbage disposable non-repairable battery chargers. We can get American Made ones that are fixable, carry a 2-year warranty, and can maintain batteries in the off season (the cheap throwaways don't trickle charge, they shut off and if you forget it the next season you can't charge the dead pack since the charger wants a minimum voltage). The disposable charger is $150 to replace. the American one is $450. People cringe at the $450 and demand another throwaway for $150. They will have to replace that one in a year or two. After a while that adds up well past the $450 they could've paid for once.

Also, is your previous phone broken? why do you need to upgrade? Phones are tools. Please stop treating them like disposable commodities.

There is NO interest on it FFS read the fine print before you go on about interest. With middling credit you just put a down payment toward the phone. You pay $999 now or in 24 to 30 months ( AT&T next is 30) . The iPhone 11 Pro for sprint at bestbuy was $35 a month for upgrade with installments to own which equals to $849 to own it. Cheaper then paying $999 at the Apple store and cheaper then $969 bestbuy was selling it to buy it outright. My iPhone X after lease credits and buyout would of costed me $700 or some odd not $999 to buy it out right. You can of course lay it off whenever you want.

It's how most of us have been conditioned. It is nice to own upfront and not have monthly cost to shell out. Too it gives you more options owning upfront.

I can see the benefits in both. You just have to decide what you want to do.

But to say it’s wrong to not finance a phone is totally wrong. It’s not bad thing to do if you are smart and know you won’t miss a payment. There is a benefit for both options but to call it wrong for either is dumb.

No one needs a new phone if their old one works fine anyway. The way that devices have become such fashion statements and disposable commodities sickens me.

If X person wants to buy phones yearly let them. It’s their money which they earned. You have no right to tell them otherwise.
 

s54

Suspended
Sep 25, 2012
505
586
But why lose $1,000 up front when you keep 90% or so in your pocket? You know how responsible you are. If you’re not or low income then sure pay upfront. That $1,000 you didn’t spend up front can be used to save or invest.

It's money management 101.

Buying upfront simply means that you don't accumulate debt. Some people don't want debt. Most people don't mind debt or want debt. This is also the reason why most Americans generally have no savings and live paycheck to paycheck.

While you may be the one who's responsible with debt, most Americans aren't. That's a fact. Look at statistics, which are alarming.

I get what you're trying to say about people "knowing how responsible they are", but that's easier said than done. Hundreds of thousands of people file for bankruptcy every year. Most of them also believed that they were "responsible". About 1 in 55 households files for bankruptcy. That's a lot. Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that the vast majority of bankruptcies are now filed by consumers and not by businesses.

The typical American mentality is to buy something even if you can't afford it. "After all, that's what credit is for and I absolutely need the new iPhone along with the 90" OLED TV".
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If X person wants to buy phones yearly let them. It’s their money which they earned. You have no right to tell them otherwise.

Actually, he does have the right to tell them otherwise. Just as you have the right to tell him that he shouldn't.

His point was simply that our society is too dependent of phones and that having the latest tech has become about bragging rights and status because heaven forbid you use an old smartphone in public these days... you'll likely get shamed or laughed at.

Indeed, if people put their money into more tangible investments, this country wouldn't be in as much debt, which BTW affects everyone directly or indirectly.
 
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Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,308
1,840
It's money management 101.

Buying upfront simply means that you don't accumulate debt. Some people don't want debt. Most people don't mind debt or want debt. This is also the reason why most Americans generally have no savings and live paycheck to paycheck.

While you may be the one who's responsible with debt, most Americans aren't. That's a fact. Look at statistics, which are alarming.

I get what you're trying to say about people "knowing how responsible they are", but that's easier said than done. Hundreds of thousands of people file for bankruptcy every year. Most of them also believed that they were "responsible". About 1 in 55 households files for bankruptcy. That's a lot. Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that the vast majority of bankruptcies are now filed by consumers and not by businesses.

The typical American mentality is to buy something even if you can't afford it. "After all, that's what credit is for and I absolutely need the new iPhone along with the 90" OLED TV".
[automerge]1577434411[/automerge]


Actually, he does have the right to tell them otherwise. Just as you have the right to tell him that he shouldn't.

His point was simply that our society is too dependent of phones and that having the latest tech has become about bragging rights and status because heaven forbid you use an old smartphone in public these days... you'll likely get shamed or laughed at.

Indeed, if people put their money into more tangible investments, this country wouldn't be in as much debt, which BTW affects everyone directly or indirectly.

As I said it’s their money. You have no right to dictate how they spend it right or wrong. Would you like it if I said you can’t buy that banana because I said so ?

It's money management 101.

Buying upfront simply means that you don't accumulate debt. Some people don't want debt. Most people don't mind debt or want debt. This is also the reason why most Americans generally have no savings and live paycheck to paycheck.

While you may be the one who's responsible with debt, most Americans aren't. That's a fact. Look at statistics, which are alarming.

I get what you're trying to say about people "knowing how responsible they are", but that's easier said than done. Hundreds of thousands of people file for bankruptcy every year. Most of them also believed that they were "responsible". About 1 in 55 households files for bankruptcy. That's a lot. Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that the vast majority of bankruptcies are now filed by consumers and not by businesses.

The typical American mentality is to buy something even if you can't afford it. "After all, that's what credit is for and I absolutely need the new iPhone along with the 90" OLED TV".
[automerge]1577434411[/automerge]


Actually, he does have the right to tell them otherwise. Just as you have the right to tell him that he shouldn't.

His point was simply that our society is too dependent of phones and that having the latest tech has become about bragging rights and status because heaven forbid you use an old smartphone in public these days... you'll likely get shamed or laughed at.

Indeed, if people put their money into more tangible investments, this country wouldn't be in as much debt, which BTW affects everyone directly or indirectly.

Also it’s simple economics.... I’m not going to pay $999 up front when I can pay $849 for the lifetime of the installment plan. Or in the case of my X $700 or so. That’s below MSRP. He has no clue what he is taking about once he stated interest. You don’t pay interest on this finance plans. You pay sales tax up front and then pay the price divided by 24 or more months. $0 interest.
 
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