iPhones & other £50 per month mobiles

NineDeuce

As far as I can see, they arent worth it in a million years....

People nowadays largely buy mobiles for 3 main functions - calling, texting, social media - all which can be done with a £10 per month Android phone, for example.

So what do you get for the extra £40 per month? To me, it seems like gimmicks, or 'better software', although I cannot see how the process of texting or calling somebody on an iPhone is a vast improvement on a cheaper counterpart,

The misconception is that iPhones are affordable. £50 per month over a 2 year contract, however, is a total £1,200, whereas your basic £10/month phone comes to £240.

Who would honestly pay an extra £960 for an item which for 95% of it use provides the same service as its cheaper alternative?

I heard on TV that 1 in 3 people have iPhones. Is this true? The world has gone mad, and perhaps there is something in the UK consumer debt argument that people are just spending money they dont have on things they dont need to impress people they dont like.

mickeymouse303

You have some valid points here! I switched to iPhone after using Android for years and was reluctant to buy into the Apple hype. However, I do prefer iPhones despite the extra cost because of how much faster things are on there - apps like Netflix, iPlayer and Spotify would always crash and slow my Android phones down, but I've never had any issues on iPhone. Apart from speed, I think all the other day-to-day stuff is the same!

System

NineDeuce wrote: »

As far as I can see, they arent worth it in a million years....

People nowadays largely buy mobiles for 3 main functions - calling, texting, social media - all which can be done with a £10 per month Android phone, for example.

So what do you get for the extra £40 per month? To me, it seems like gimmicks, or 'better software', although I cannot see how the process of texting or calling somebody on an iPhone is a vast improvement on a cheaper counterpart,

The misconception is that iPhones are affordable. £50 per month over a 2 year contract, however, is a total £1,200, whereas your basic £10/month phone comes to £240.

Who would honestly pay an extra £960 for an item which for 95% of it use provides the same service as its cheaper alternative?

I heard on TV that 1 in 3 people have iPhones. Is this true? The world has gone mad, and perhaps there is something in the UK consumer debt argument that people are just spending money they dont have on things they dont need to impress people they dont like.

Welcome to the world of people spending money on what brings them value to their life. You may find spending money on a expensive phone a waste of time just like I find spending money on a new sofa every few years a waste of time. The car gets you from A to B and varies in price greatly etc etc.

If people earn the money and have the right to put it on a credit card then more power to them who I'm I to judge others how they should spend money.

I wonder why you single out iPhones. You do know you can buy a brand new iPhone for £380. Also Samsung flagship phone starts at £680 which is in and around the price range of the flagship iPhone.

[Deleted User]

NineDeuce wrote: »

People nowadays largely buy mobiles for 3 main functions - calling, texting, social media - all which can be done with a £10 per month Android phone, for example.

Also:

Games, Apps, Sat Nav, Photography, Videography, mobile Internet

All of these can be done on a £10 a per month Android phone - badly

I've used my parents Moto phones. They are terrible in comparison to my 'last years' Samsung Galaxy S7, that I pay £28 a month for.

The cost of usability is high.

System

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Also:

Games, Apps, Sat Nav, Photography, Videography, mobile Internet

All of these can be done on a £10 a per month Android phone - badly

I've used my parents Moto phones. They are terrible in comparison to my 'last years' Samsung Galaxy S7, that I pay £28 a month for.

The cost of usability is high.

Well said!!!

I'm into photography and need raw images so I'm excited that these flagship phones are now starting to support raw images. Even though I don't shoot video what some people are doing with video on these phones is amazing.

What people seem to forget is these devices may well be packaged as phone devices but what they are is mobile computers and the phone and texting part is just apps amongst many powerful computing apps.

darkduck

I want to buy an iPhone. I'm tired of the old phone that hangs all the time.
I think that I will save money by getting a reliable device.

SeduLOUs

Well for a start I bought my iPhone outright for ~£600 and have had it for 3 years now with a £10/month PAYG sim so that makes it vastly cheaper than getting it on contract.

I have an iPad with Apple Pencil that I use to handwrite my university notes and assignments which has been a lifesaver as I can now carry my dozens of textbooks and reams of notes on a single device anywhere I go (and can access all of the same on my phone if I'm not carrying my iPad).

I use Apple Watch which does a mutltitude of things, but Apple Pay has saved my bacon more than once when I can pay for things contactless with just my wrist when I have forgotten my purse.

It's each to their own I guess. I use my phone/devices for much more than just social media, so they are worth every penny to me. I guess everybody's priorities are different - I don't go on many nights out or expensive holidays.

GwylimT

I have an Iphone, I had a £20 downpayment, I then pay £22.50 per month for 24 months, is it a 64gb Iphone 6.

NineDeuce

john22 wrote: »

Welcome to the world of people spending money on what brings them value to their life. You may find spending money on a expensive phone a waste of time just like I find spending money on a new sofa every few years a waste of time. The car gets you from A to B and varies in price greatly etc etc.

If people earn the money and have the right to put it on a credit card then more power to them who I'm I to judge others how they should spend money.

I wonder why you single out iPhones. You do know you can buy a brand new iPhone for £380. Also Samsung flagship phone starts at £680 which is in and around the price range of the flagship iPhone.

I didnt single out iPhones, as per the topic header.

Who are you to judge? Well.... this is a discussion about whether iPhones are worth the hassle given the level of consumer debt. People are convinced that they are affordable based on gimmicks. The actual part of the phone they need is worth about £10 a year, whereas they are paying 4 times as much for the additional extras. It just shouldnt make sense....

[Deleted User]

Most people are paying 'big' for the data bundles. It used to be you paid for minutes/texts - but now a good portion of your bill is just for several gig of data.

This obviously means nothing to people who don't use it - but is of vital importance to those who do.

System

NineDeuce wrote: »

I didnt single out iPhones, as per the topic header.

Who are you to judge? Well.... this is a discussion about whether iPhones are worth the hassle given the level of consumer debt. People are convinced that they are affordable based on gimmicks. The actual part of the phone they need is worth about £10 a year, whereas they are paying 4 times as much for the additional extras. It just shouldnt make sense....

Well a few members have just given you a reason what they get out of their phones which makes total sense to me. But these reasons don't resonate with you which is all good because you have clearly stated you don't think these phones are worth it in a million years. Discussions are good when someone seeks help on something and a discussion can be had to find the right outcome for them.

You have stated a very strong one sided opinion on the matter which to me means no meaningful discussion can be had.

However what I will do is always push back against people who sit and judge others on their spending habits and own personal choices.