I remember considering to buy an iPhone the last time I had to replace my phone, then realizing that not only a more or less equivalent android phone would be significantly cheaper, but that the Apple phone was outrageously expensive. It was so expensive in comparison that I thought they were being greedy and didn't want to give them money !
I know this because of many years of experience, and I am using an iPhone XS from 2018 right now.
My wife used an iPhone 6 from 2014 to 2018, and we still use it as a baby monitor, I used an iPhone 6S Plus from 2015 to 2020, and my daughter uses a 2020 iPhone SE.
My mom uses an iPhone XR from 2018. The point is, I have lots of data on iPhone (and MacBook Air) longevity, so I trust them.
On the other hand, I still have no idea if any Android phone vendor offers software updates for more than a couple years, much less if the phone actually continues to work well. I had a string of bad experiences between Nexus and Xperia devices from 2011 to 2015, so I learned my lesson then.
The amortized cost for me is much less than any alternative Android.
I think that with the trade-in program, I've spent a similar amount between 2016 and now upgrading to flagship OnePlus phones every year-ish. The software updates have been good. For example, OnePlus 8 series were the first non-Google smartphones to receive Android 13. They were about 2 years old at the time.
The bathtub curve of reliability applies to smartphones as it does to most electronics. The "infant mortality" failures can be covered by manufacturer warranty pretty well. But the "wear out" failures go up a lot in electronics after the first few years in my experience (with both Apple and other brands). In case of Apple, battery degradation and a bunch of build quality "-gates" come to mind.
So there is value in upgrading one's smartphone every year or two, ecology aside. I could do that with OnePlus phones but it might have been much too expensive for me to do it with iPhones.
I am also not aware of any battery-gate degradation issues. Around a thousand charge cycles, every 3 years maybe, I pay to get the battery replaced at Apple or Best Buy.
It’s important to remember that those were largely media creations, not something which affected a large number people or were problems specific to iPhones. There were so many angry tirades about throttling on degraded batteries which never mentioned that everyone does it because the alternative is the device suddenly shutting off.
If you bought a mid-end Android each ear for the past year, you'd spend half the cash and you would always have up-to-date software.
The hard truth about iPhones is that they are way overpriced, and are a Veblen good.
Think about it for a second: Apple sells it's phones for a higher price than their fully featured and also overpriced laptops.
I loved the freedom and flexibility of Androids but in the end the software lifecycles and the hardware have just fallen too far behind.
Also, I have zero interest in upgrading phones or researching them. I want something that has a reputation of being a workhorse for years and stays out of my way.
iPhones all have top of the line chips. A bunch of junk iPhone 8s I have lying around have better Geekbench scores than my android daily driver. I mean sure it's great, but they're overkill no matter what way you swing it.
Yet I still use the large screen OLED 90hz $250 android and it works just fine.
Why? I charge it once a week.
One year later, I repeat this process, and sell the old one for about $850 CAD (~650 USD).
Under this system, I can "subscribe" for the second newest iPhone perpetually for $8.33 USD per month. Compared to the price of lunch, a parking pass, or even the service itself, this is negligible. I still have the warranty, so if something goes wrong I can still go to the Apple Store to have it replaced, and even though the hardware is not the newest, all of the firmware bugs have been totally worked out.
On the other hand, I think as a country, an astonishing amount of people would be in a very bad spots if we head into an economic downturn.
except if those fast food employees ceases to be employees in a downturn.
The problem is that taking on debt for consumable products is not a good financial decision. You don't need an iphone - you can live with a low-end android that could be had for less than $200.
> except if those fast food employees ceases to be employees in a downturn
Which just doesn’t happen in practice. I didn’t make any other claims in my comment.
I was worried about the lack of sim card on the new iPhone due to travel but looking around I found many online eSIM providers. Easier than finding a local provider and you can get regional/global ones too.
May I ask what your use case is? Is it local phone numbers where country regulations prevent eSIM voice? That's the only downside I found but not relevant to my needs.