Upgrade Tech Every Year Trend Needs to Stop: Part I

At the core, above everything else, I’m a nerd, but for the first time ever I’m confused with the technology I’m obsessed with, and — how I should go about upgrading. What product I am confused about exactly first? The newest iPhones.

Technology has now hit the trend of upgrade cycles… I used to roll my eyes and pass on unnecessary things, but with all these new products stacking on top of each other, I don’t know what to do.

I want it? I need it? Can I wait? Should I wait? How much of an upgrade is it exactly?

I’ve had my iPhone 6 since launch day which makes it over 4 years old. The incremental upgrades didn’t impress me, so I kept it the same. The last few months my phone has been a little buggy so I was excited to see what Apple had in store this year. My phone is 64 GB, which used to be huge size wise is almost 2/3 full of music alone, I need more space.

Getting buggy, draining battery, out of space, old tech — time to upgrade!?

What do they do? They give me the option of the 8 and the X, at the same time. Why would I buy the 8, when I can get a better product, the X? If I’m buying a product brand new, why would I go on the lower end?

If I’m out to buy a brand new TV, I wouldn’t spend $750 on a solid television when theres one that’s way better at $1000. If it’s October, why not wait till Black Friday and get a big discount? If you’re putting in an investment, you can’t lowball and you have to be smart about it. That’s my perspective at least, I’m not saying it’s the only way, but it’s my way.

If I need a few more months to save up, then I’ll do it and save up.. If I have to wait a couple more weeks, I will. You have to get the bang for your buck, always and at all times.

Back in the good old days… as little as a few years ago, you could go and get a top of the line phone for what, $299 or $399 while signing up with a new two year contract? You could also turn in your old iPhone, like you can today, and get credit for it.

With that type of thinking you can go in and get the newest product anywhere between $200 and $300 up front and you were done, before taxes of course…. That doesn’t happen anymore.

Since people have been so keen on getting every single phone right when they drop, they thought “how can we suck money out of people?” Let’s charge them a monthly price.

The cheapest iPhone X I can get right now through Verizon is at $41.63 a month for 24 months. So after I shell out $999, the phone is mine. We are now paying at least 2 or 3 times the price for phones because they know we will, so we can have the option to upgrade faster. MORE. MORE. MORE. NOW. NOW. NOW.

Don’t get me wrong, that monthly price isn’t backbreaking, but we, the community, have created this and we have the power to change it back if we want to.

People used to get a new phone every couple years, which is why phones used to priced how they were with new contracts. Since the trend is everyone has to upgrade every single year, they are raking in the money and taking advantage of us.

Until we prove not to be cattle, it will only get worse.

It’s incremental when it comes to the upgrades every year, nothing groundbreaking, but my launch iPhone 6 and the X is night and day.

So, just yesterday, I pre-ordered the X because I am at the point where I NEED a new phone. Even though I’m more than ready for the upgrade with new tech and all the extra space, these monthly installments are staring me in the face. I know it’s the norm, but it’s killing me. I’d rather the old way, who wouldn’t.

I’m 27 years old and I feel like I’m 67 with the way I am going about this. I can’t suck it up and pay because I know what it used to be….

I’m not supposed to have the phone in hand until the end of November, so I can cancel at anytime up until that point. I probably won’t cancel, but the fact that I’m not 100% about it still bothers me.

I guess we will have to see how bad-ass this phone actually is when, if, I get it. I will report back and probably complain more, so you’ll have that to look forward to. Hopefully I’m wrong.

My next feature for the upgrade tech headache is the new Xbox One X on the market.

Cheers,

Matt.