Is the New iPhone 7 Worth the Price?
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Source: mirror.co.uk
If you haven’t been living under a rock the past week, you’ve heard that on September 7th Apple held their annual special event and announced the iPhone 7. Shortly afterwards, the internet and social media was flooded with news and blog posts breaking down every aspect of the event, including recaps, reactions, praises, and criticisms.
While most of what I saw was more centered around all the new features of the new phone, some posts zeroed in on the price. They light heartedly poked fun at it by compiling a list of what else you could buy for the price of the iPhone 7. Most of the examples ended up being humorous, but it got me thinking, is the iPhone 7 worth the price?
Smartphones are big purchases, and with any purchase you make there’s an opportunity cost. By spending it on that particular item, that money can no longer be used for other purposes. While I’m not saying you need to scrutinize every single expense, this is an especially important thought process to have when it comes to bigger purchases.
The iPhone 7 carries a hefty price tag, but it actually costs the same as the 6S did upon its initial release and comes with more memory for each price tier.
iPhone 7
32GB $649
128GB $749
256GB $849
iPhone 7 Plus
32GB $769
128GB $869
256GB $969
So is it worth it? The short answer is that it all depends. It’s not a clear cut yes or no answer. Like many areas of personal finance, it’s not a black or white decision, there are a lot of factors to consider. It’d be easy to say, “wow that’s expensive, there’s no way it’s worth it.” It’s also very easy to say “I want it and I’m going to spend my money however I want.” In my opinion, both of these responses are wrong. Honestly, it may be worth it to some people, while it isn’t worth it for others.
I mention in a lot of my posts about how important it is to have a budget and track your expenses. This isn’t to constrict your options or stress about every individual expense, it’s meant to bring awareness to where your money is going. This way you can identify areas of high spending that aren’t important to you, and instead allocate those dollars towards the areas of your life you value most.
It Comes Down to What You Value
For a big purchase like this there are a lot of factors that come into play. It depends heavily on what you value and enjoy in your life, what your current phone plan looks like, and what your current financial state is.
I’ll use my own situation as an example. I’m currently a T-Mobile customer with an iPhone 6S. With how my phone plan is, to upgrade I need to turn in my iPhone 6S and will owe $0 upfront. My monthly payment will raise about $12-13 per month for 18 months. T-Mobile and Sprint both have special promotions where you can get the new phone with very little money upfront, because they want you as a customer.
Getting a new phone is CLEARLY a “want” and not a “need.” I’m not big on material possessions at all, I rarely buy myself anything because that spending doesn’t align with what I value in life. When it comes to possessions though, my laptop and my phone are the two I value most. I use them daily, so the overall cost per use ends up being very low. (To find this number, take the total cost of the item divided by how many uses you get out of it).
For me, having my bill go up $12-13 per month is well worth the additional luxury, convenience, and efficiency that the iPhone 7 will add to my life on a daily basis. Other people may think that’s crazy or unnecessary, but I make other choices that other people might not make, such as eating out at most 1-2 times per month. All in all, while it’s not a need, it adds more value to my life than other expenses do. I’d rather cut back on those other expenses to free up funds for an upgraded phone.
Whatever you decide, the key takeaway for this post is to align your spending with what you value most, and consider the cost per use of the items you buy.
What do you think, are you going to get the new iPhone 7? How much value does a smartphone add to your life?
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