Apple released the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus last month amid massive fanfare, and a misdirected and deceptive attention. The company has again showcased its product in such a way that people are ready to lose anything just for the sake of buying them. Last year, two Chinese men were reportedly set to sell their kidney, just for the sake of buying iPhone 6s. It probably won’t be long until we will get to read news related to iPhone 7s and kidneys.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus went on sale over 3 weeks ago, and as always, we got to see people line up to buy the device. And all this because of what? Hard sell! Apple always makes their customers believe they are missing out on huge stuffs if they don’t buy their products.
I’m not saying Apple sells sub-standard products. All apple devices are well-built, and look sleek. The app environment and ecosystem is good too. All this is coupled with a good service. So, if you buy any apple devices you won’t have to suffer any problems related to quality and service.
But is quality and service enough for the pricing of the devices Apple makes? Is the pricing of the iDevices completely justifiable?
Take a look at the price iPhones are currently being sold in Nepal. The newly released iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are available for pre-order right now. The cheapest 32GB variant of the devices will cost you Rs. 92, 550 and Rs. 113,550 respectively. Likewise, the iPhone 6s is priced at Rs. 87,000 for the 16 GB variant while the older iPhone 6 Plus is priced at Rs. 88,000 for the same storage option. The three-year-old iPhone 5s is being sold for a whopping Rs. 55,000 for the 16GB version which shows how high iPhones that are well into their life cycles are valued.
The total manufacturing cost of the iPhone 7 is only $224.80 (Rs. 23,938.925). Considering this, the selling price of the device is way too high. Yes, Apple has to pay for marketing price, but isn’t the $649 selling price too high?
If some hardware-based specifications are taken into consideration, the midrange devices in the price range of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 have similar specifications to the iPhones of these days. Yes, I know these devices aren’t realistically similar by any means, but does it make sense to pay six times more for a device that can’t be justified by its own hardware?
Some people might say that iPhones aren’t just about the hardware, arguing that the software experience is a greater factor for the complete experience. Yes, the software experience is great. But some android devices nick iPhones today. The interface is a mess, there is very little customization available, and the file transfers is complex, all thanks to iTunes. The iPhone users might find this to be wrong, but that was my verdict after I used iOS.
Another major problem: A friend of mine had to pay Rs. 94,000 just for changing the display of his MacBook. Another friend had to pay Rs. 60,000 just to change the logic board of her MacBook Air. Not only this, simple stuffs such as power adapters of MacBook will empty your pockets.
Apple isn’t trying to convince people to buy its products; it wants everyone to be included in its own program. And the lines of people standing outside Apple stores to buy their absurdly expensive devices tell the tale.
I am happy to let Google show ads here and there in exchange for the excellent software and customization experience I get to choose, that too from a wide variety of smartphones. I’m happy to stay away from iPhones and all other apple devices. But hey, if it’s not an iPhone it’s not an iPhone.
