if seems like all collection of social structures eventually coalesce into a duopoly.
I'm afraid too much critical thinking has been off loaded to corporations through advertisement. Sure, it is just a phone, but for many of these people the $1k price tag is a major part of their disposable income and I don't think enough thought is being given to the far cheaper alternatives.
Not only has it been reduced to two options, the two options have become two of the most expensive options. I don't think this was by chance.
I keep hearing this adage of "iPhone as a status symbol" and I have legitimately never in my life seen it. Only ever saw people on the internet talking about it.
An anecdotal data point for you, if it's useful.
It might not be a status symbol in the US and Europe but in the rest of the world it definitely is. I’ve lived in the uk for a while and no one cared that was wearing an iPhone. But as soon as I moved back to my home country everyone thinks I’m rich. And they’re right to think this way as the price of iPhones in my country is completely absurd.
Everyone thinks an 800 pounds phone is expensive?
Imagine if you had to pay almost double of that. In a country that receives less than 200 hundred pounds of monthly minimum wage.
I would never buy an iPhone while living here. It makes no sense unless you really want it as a status symbol.
I buy an iPhone for a number of reasons. I recognize it's expensive but it's usually at least a 3-year investment and to be fair, the cost per annum is basically the same for most Android flagships, only that Apple users switch devices less often.
This can likely be endlessly contested by the frugal folk but I am not here for that.
My reasons actually are highly irrelevant. I shared an anecdote about very regular non-tech people. They keep telling me the same stories after they switch from Android to iPhone and that's not accidental.
But again, cost of living in the country of residence doesn't mean much if you work remotely.
> It makes no sense unless you really want it as a status symbol.
You could have just said: "I am an Apple hater" and it would have saved us both time and keystrokes. :)
But if you’re convinced that your choice is superior then you do you. I’m not here to argue, only to provide info of what I did and what many others I know did as well.
Fashionistas see you the same way when it comes to clothes. Car people see you this way about cars. Furniture people about furniture. Photography nuts about photo gear, knife people about kitchen knives, restaurant critics about restaurants, and the list goes on. Let’s not even get into what audiophiles think of most of our speaker and headphone choices ...
Life is too short to be an expert at everything. Too short to even care about most purchases when good enough is plenty.
Look up satisficing vs maximizing.
- two-party government,
- two major desktop OSs (macOS and Windows),
- two main mobile OSs (android and iOS),
- two major phone manufacturers (Apple and Samsung),
- two main internet browsers (Chrome and Firefox),
- two mainstream cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum),
- two major home internet providers (Verizon and Comcast)
- two ...
There are exceptions of course, esp. in the retail market and fast food industry, but I'm afraid the good-ol' times choices in many areas are mostly gone.