A Biased and Unfair Review of the iPhone X
The new iPhone X looks amazing. So, am I excited about it? You bet I am. To see an Apple fanboy (or girl) drool over the new device is a sight to behold. It gives me so much pleasure to marvel at their devotion. I get yet another opportunity to mock them (I probably have too much time on my hands).
Sure some of those features are pretty cool. That face recognition thing is so needed. I mean what if you forget who you are and can't access your phone? But now, you can just lovingly look at your phone and it will love you back (warm fuzzies). That new camera, wow! It takes photos that look really nice. Much better than the last iPhone which took photos that look really nice. The real-time talking emoji thing, unreal! There must be so many situations where you're going to need that.
I can imagine the number of iPhone 7s getting damaged on purpose to justify a new purchase. I'm not even joking. What was once a treasured part of the family is going to be looked at in disgust as people now see it as a hammer to vent their lust. They will wonder why their phone is not recognising and loving them like that one with the X-factor. They'll lament, "Why does this camera only take really nice photos?" "My emojis aren't an exact clone of me. How am I going to know when I am happy?"
It's no wonder why some people struggle with money if they spend it on toys like this. A toy? Yep, pretty much. People used to unnecessarily spend big money on luxuries like jet skis, Segways, Armani suits and caviar. Times have changed. Now people want their caviar and eat it too.
My Samsung Galaxy 4 (yes, it's old) has a cracked screen (like really cracked). It's not because I wanted the upgrade to the new one and did the hammer thing. It probably is time for an upgrade. You might feel sorry for me. Please spare your pity. I'm doing okay and have the money to spend on things like this. How come I don't buy into this latest gadget thingy? Because I'm not a sucker. There is a reason rich people are rich. They are not sucked into the marketing machine.
What Apple is very very good at is marketing. They might be considered to be the best at what they do. The products are so-so, but the marketing is brilliant. If you look at the specs of an iPhone compared to a rival, the rival beats it at a better price. Apple was not the first to produce a smartphone or one that looked good. They were not the first to have all the features that they have bundled. You can get it all elsewhere. What are people basing their choice on, then? How can people buy an inferior product? Is it fair to compare Apples to Oranges (or Sonys)? Apple produces a product that is good enough. It is not the best, but it doesn't have to be.
Marketing doesn't give you the cold hard facts. It's fake news, it's spin to win, it's liar, liar pants on fire. They try to hit emotional triggers to get you to buy. They don't want you to make a rational decision. It's all based on emotion. They don't focus on the features, but on the benefits. Benefits like, "If you buy this new toy then everyone is going to think you are rich, cool, smart and sexy". They want you to think that. It doesn't matter if it is a lie.
They move your thoughts away from just the material phones where comparisons can be objective to experiences where it is subjective. You have seen them produce good products in the past so you can trust them. You like the features because you understand what they are trying to achieve or might have seen them elsewhere. In buying you feel like you are part of a community or part of something big.
If you have to have the latest iPhone, that's cool, it's your life. I won't even call you a sucker if you want. If you have oodles of money, I'm not talking about you, please enjoy your toy. But if money is an issue, then maybe if you consider waiting a little, you might find you can live without it for now. It's called delayed gratification. You might find yourself in a year from now looking at the new iPhone and wondering if you need it. I find that happens. You have waited so long for something you want that you've kicked the habit. You no longer desire it. And look, you saved over 1K, nice! Someone might even give you their old X because they have a lust for another newer toy.