31–40 of 339 posts
I bought refurbished iPhone SE 2nd gen from eBay for ~$130 in July 2023. Looks brand new. I use Chargie to extend battery life and a magnetic charging port adapter to eliminate charging port wear. When battery will wear out I’ll replace it with the one from iFixit. Let’s see for how long I can make this device last. https://chargie.org/
This is why I continue to be bullish on Apple. Apple is the only company that has been able to turn a smartphone into 'Nike Jordans'. They had people waiting outside at midnight, they have people buying the phone for the logo, they have people buying the phone for the location of the cameras. In the short term, I only see Apple as the company that does well during this next bumpy economy. Everyone else is selling pho…
You have it backwards IMO, the only reason Apple is able to achieve this effect is because their phones are heads and shoulders above the rest in hardware quality and integration. Build it (well) and they will come
(The funniest thing is when folks on some Thinkpad or Dell think their machine has a comparable quality… It really doesn’t. You might not care in much the same way someone might care or not care about Tesla’s historically poor fitment, but there’s a real difference regardless).
Imagine how pissed the car industry must be now since most people drive cars for 10-15 years instead of replacing them once per few years like iPhones.
This is why I continue to be bullish on Apple. Apple is the only company that has been able to turn a smartphone into 'Nike Jordans'. They had people waiting outside at midnight, they have people buying the phone for the logo, they have people buying the phone for the location of the cameras. In the short term, I only see Apple as the company that does well during this next bumpy economy. Everyone else is selling pho…
You have it backwards IMO, the only reason Apple is able to achieve this effect is because their phones are heads and shoulders above the rest in hardware quality and integration. Build it (well) and they will come
Well this doesn't explain why a person is upgrading from last year's model, which effectively does every single thing just as well.
The status symbol feature is what makes people upgrade _when they don't need to_. Apple has that, other manufacturers don't.
I know a number of people, myself included, who have been waiting for the return of decent mid-range phones before getting a new one. Right now, there are very few options for people who want a reasonably sized phone, offering reasonably good performance, at a reasonably low cost, with reasonably good durability, with reasonably long software support, from a reasonably trustworthy manufacturer.
I’m still using a phone bought in 2018. Apple was handing out free battery replacements due to “battery gate” so that extended its use considerably.
This is why I continue to be bullish on Apple. Apple is the only company that has been able to turn a smartphone into 'Nike Jordans'. They had people waiting outside at midnight, they have people buying the phone for the logo, they have people buying the phone for the location of the cameras. In the short term, I only see Apple as the company that does well during this next bumpy economy. Everyone else is selling pho…
Adidas trainers can be described as a fashion item purchased by people who just want the logo. I buy Adidas trainers because I've learned they fit my foot shape better than most and last longer than cheaper brands I've tried. Similarly I've tried a couple android phones and ended up on iPhones.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You have it backwards IMO, the only reason Apple is able to achieve this effect is because their phones are heads and shoulders above the rest in hardware quality and integration. Build it (well) and they will come
100%, if there were another option with the same build quality (particularly for laptops) I’d love to try something new. Everything else is kinda mediocre in comparison. (The funniest thing is when folks on some Thinkpad or Dell think their machine has a comparable quality… It really doesn’t. You might not care in much the same way someone might care or not care about Tesla’s historically poor fitment, but there’s a…
I'm also one of those individuals. While my iPhone 8 Plus is in need of replacement there is no way I will pay for the 15 Pro just to get proper high-speed USB-C... I'll wait for a 4th generation iPhone SE, the iPhone 16, or maybe just switch to Graphene OS (which would mean rejecting a lot of smartphone features and apps).
This is why I continue to be bullish on Apple. Apple is the only company that has been able to turn a smartphone into 'Nike Jordans'. They had people waiting outside at midnight, they have people buying the phone for the logo, they have people buying the phone for the location of the cameras. In the short term, I only see Apple as the company that does well during this next bumpy economy. Everyone else is selling pho…
The reason I don't see myself owning anything but a Macbook for my personal computing is because, having owned many Windows PCs and spent decades now trying on-and-off to make Linux work for the desktop, Apple makes the best laptops I've ever owned. They're not perfect; I've run into multiple keyboard failures over the years, but that's pretty much the only serious flaw I've encountered. The macOS UI has remained incredibly consistent in contrast to pretty much every other OS, and I've seen a tremendous improvement with Apple Silicon being added to Macbooks. Repairs and replacements are less expensive for me now because the last few generations of Macbook Air satisfy all my needs, whereas I used to need a Macbook Pro.
I'd be bullish on Apple not because of social status, but because they're a well run company that provides clear value to its customers. Many of us may disagree with the choices they make, but Apple makes most of those choices very rationally. Social status is worthless the minute people no longer care see Apple as providing them that status. Hardware and software ecosystems, on the other hand, don't become worthless overnight unless you're in the pager business.