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Comment by toastercat | Hacker News Reader

I always have a hard time swallowing the price of modern smart phones. Having something so ridiculously expensive and fragile as an everyday carry seems absurd to me. For reference, you can buy two Steam Deck LCDs for the price of one iPhone 17.

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If you're like me, you buy a brand new one then keep it for 4-5 years.

I could buy two Steam Deck LCD's, but an iPhone has a much higher resolution display and I also use it every day and take it everywhere I go.

Buying one every year, not worth it in my opinion. Buying one and using it for many years is. I still have my 12 and will likely upgrade to the 17.

I agree. I've started thinking about phones like cars. I'd never consider buying a brand new car, and I generally wouldn't buy a brand new phone either (although they're not quite as expensive as cars). I've found that year-old models are typically around half the price of new ones.

Not iPhones anyway, that's for sure. Not even used. Maybe if it's dodgy.

1 year old sure unlikely 50% cheap but 2 years old for sure can get for 50%. I don't see much difference between iphone 15 pro and iphone 17 pro. Honestly I'm still having iphone 13 mini and don't see much reason to upgrade but if decide to upgrade I will most likely buy 2nd hand iphone 15 pro.

the iphone 17 is like the peak of consumer technology. They have the SOC manufactured on the newest TSMC node, they have cutting edge radio, decent camera system, etc. And all have to fit into a body that small enough for your pocket.

It’s pretty instructive to compare an iPhone to a consumer product that’s priced for affordability first, like a Nintendo Switch. The differences in build quality are very evident.

I see your point, on the other hand I have never lost or broken a phone by dropping it. I also use mine around 3h per day. From that perspective, it is definitely something I get a lot of value out of.

you're gonna carry those two Steam Decks in your pockets?

I think modern smart phones are pretty remarkably un-fragile compared to 20 years ago before the iPhone ($300-700 for a Symbian with a tiny plastic screens that got scratched super fast) or even 10-ish years ago with much more fragile screen glass and cases. Last phone I did major damage to was my HTC Evo in 2012.

(That Nokia N95 was in 2007 dollars, too!)

> you're gonna carry those two Steam Decks in your pockets?

Watch me! My point was more about how expensive phones are.

I'm not so sure about modern smart phones being less fragile. My first phone was a Nokia 3310-descendent, and my second a Samsung Beat flip phone. Neither were over $100 at the time of purchase, and both were rugged devices I could throw in my pocket or in a bag without thinking it would need a protective case or that their screens were going to break.

The screens could definitely break, they were just very small so the likelihood that they would suffer an impact that would break them was comparatively small. In fact, the reason for the flip form factor was to protect the increasingly fancy displays when it’s in your pocket. They also didn’t weigh very much so they didn’t fall as hard.

Modern phones are extremely sturdy, people are just more precious about them because they’re much fancier and more expensive and more of a requirement for everyday life.

I always think the same when I see people complain about the price of weird new niche computers (think new Amiga-like computers and stuff) and then you realise it's cheaper than an iPhone. Something created by a cottage industry for a tiny market with blood sweat and tears, it's still cheaper than mass-produced smartphone.

As a constrasting comparison data point, a Nokia 8800 cost around USD 900 in 2005 when it launched, which is approximately USD 1450 in the 2025 USD.

The buyer would get a chromium-plated metal case within which a slightly fancier version of a dumb phone was enclosed, and bragging rights as a bonus, and that would be it.

So, today’s USD 1k (or less, for the non-Pro versions) buys the user – depending on one’s point of view – either a commodity appliance or a personal computing contraption whose performance exceeds that of many high-end RISC workstations that once commanded five-digit price tags, and all for a ⅓ less than the launch price of the Nokia 8800.

The first iPhone (2007) was priced at $800 in 2025 dollars, and iPhone 17 has a heck of a lot more in it.

For a phone similar to the feature set of the original iPhone, you can get a Jelly Pro today for $100.

You can get good, new motorolas for ~$400usd every so often on sale. They feel less premium, but they work well.

I’ve always bought the cheapest model in the range however I’m inclined to spend more next time because I get so much utility from it.

It will be another three or four years yet though as my SE is only three years old.

Just buy the mid/high range from a few gens ago, I never spent more than $400 on a phone. When my pixel 3a died I bought an 8a instead of a 10

Apple is the pioneer of 'expensive is the new cool' phenomenon. Like the pied piper, with every release, Apple keep leading the fan boys to jump off progressively taller cliffs. Meanwhile, other manufacturers realized that they, too, can play this game. Rather, they gets looked down upon if they don't amp up their prices. It's amazing to witness this happening.

Economists knew this phenomenon well before, though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good.

but this one can make text messages and calls using the legacy phone system, so it's a totally different product category

Same with cars. You can't get a decent one without dropping at least a million.

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