Did I just spend $1,200 on a phone?!
That was the my first thought as I clicked the last of many buttons to finalize my preorder for the iPhone X. I was not quick enough to be allocated a unit on launch day, rather relegated to a two to three week post-launch window. It would be wonderful if the phone would arrive before I am to take my trip to Taipei on the 18th.
Indeed the modern smartphone has become an indispensable device, the one piece of technology we interact with most by a significant margin. The devices themselves have become increasingly powerful and versatile, able to perform tasks done on a Mac or PC most people would otherwise use. With these criteria I can certainly make a solid case for spending over a grand on the iPhone X: the return on "investment" is absolutely assured.
But it still feels kind of dirty.
Justify it as I can and may, the iPhone X remains a glamour and status device, one that I ultimately I can do without - because I've already got an iPhone 7 Plus. The Apple phone of last year still performs flawlessly, and with 128GB of space I'm not likely to run out anytime soon (the 256GB model I bought of the iPhone X is complete overkill). The smart decision would be to pocket the $1,200 and continue to make the remaining payments on the 7P. Alas, if I were run on purely smart decisions I'd be a much more financially endowed man today.
As with most trends started by Apple, the thousand dollar smartphone will be the new-normal by next year. Just you wait, my Samsung toting compatriots: your time for agony and shame in spending such absurd money on a phone will arrive soon enough.