The much anticipated iPhone X (pronounced iPhone 10) costs as much as a luxurious seven days cruise through the Caribbean. With $1,000 you could sponsor a child’s education in Nepal or Cambodia for over 10 years. You could even back a Kickstarter that allows creators to offer equity to its backers. Either way, a cool grand is sure to help make the world be a better place.
For all I know, everyone around me has been using words like ‘revolutionary’ and ‘game changer,’ as if the iPhone X is the “best thing since the original iPhone” (Tim Cook’s words, not mine). Many believe the $1,000 iPhone X will be worth every penny. Now, I may sound like a hypocrite here, but I must admit I am a total Apple fanboy. I’ve owned every one of Apple’s flagship phones since the original iPhone. I am sure smartphones like Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 are drool worthy but the thing is I have never thought about moving over to Android. (Full disclosure: the first phone I owned was a Sony Ericsson Walkman w550i. Those were the days when not much of my life was centered on technology.)
So why do I think it is not worth buying the $1,000 iPhone X?
The iPhone X is a high-end smartphone with a 5.8-inch Super Retina display, True Tone OLED edge-to-edge display, and HDR. It is made of stainless steel and has an all-glass front and back. There is no home button instead you just swipe up to access the Home screen. The display resolution is 2436 x 1125 pixels, and this is another revolutionary aspect of the phone. In addition, it has some new features such as Face ID and wireless charging. The iPhone X has a capacity of 64GB to 256 GB, and the cheapest version starts at $999.
At this point, the iPhone X is more of a status symbol. You need a smartphone to meet daily life demands. You need a phone connected to the internet so you can receive your mother’s vacation photos, email colleague about a funny subreddit, or swipe life on Tinder until you’re exhausted. Now, as much as we appreciate what the iPhone X can do, let’s not get carried away.
The things you could do with $1,000
A lot of people will be selling their old iPhone devices to upgrade to the iPhone X. If you really want to buy an Apple phone, I suggest you pick up a second hand iPhone SE or iPhone 7 at a good discount.
If you have $1,000 lying around, then go right ahead and buy the iPhone X. Do remember, it will be outdated in exactly a year when the iPhone 11 comes out. It’s shiny and awesome, but ludicrously expensive.
If you’re still unsure whether or not to spend $1,000 on an iPhone, I suggest you spend the money on a new hobby. Or, maybe, use that money to upgrade your gaming computer. For the price of $1,000 you could build a powerful gaming PC.
It’s easy to spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of technology. It takes more than just willpower to know when to just stop. Enough said.
