As the month of September approaches each year, the excitement for fall begins. It brings pumpkin- spice-flavored everything, the crunch of leaves under shoes and the season of cozy sweaters. For the booming tech community, September means one thing: new iPhones.
It is hard to believe the first generation iPhone was released in June 2007, and, since then, much of the United States and other western countries have found themselves on the edge of their seat when a new version is released each year.
The buzz from rumors of new designs, camera features, calling abilities, built-in-apps and functions enthralls us all whether we admit it or not. But as the price of the phone goes over $1,000 and gets more expensive, will the excitement that comes with it this time of year die down?
Apple announced the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max on Sept. 12. An upgrade from last year’s iPhone X, Apple’s first iPhone without a home button, the XS boasts a larger bionic chip in the device as well as a Max version of the device that has a 6.5 inch display compared to 5.8 inches on the XS.
The iPhone XR is 6.1 inches and is almost identical in features to the XS, with the exception of its dot-shaped camera and its waterproof ability, which is 1 meter compared to the XR’s 2 meters.
The XS and XS Max come in gold, silver and space gray finishing, while the XR boasts a more colorful variety with white, black, blue, yellow, coral and red finishing available.
The iPhone XS starts at a price of $999, the XS Max at $1,099, and the XR starts at $749. The most a consumer could end up spending is $,1499 on the XS Max 512GB version.
iPhones have quickly become status symbols of the time. There is something modern, futuristic and sleek about the style of the iPhone even as it has evolved for the last 10 years.
The design is simple; something that has been the basis of design over the last ten years. Consumers don’t want complicated devices and machines to use. If it’s simple, it will make money.
Dejanique George, a junior broadcast journalism major, sees Apple as the reason for the iPhone’s appeal.
“Apple had the ‘best’ computers,” George said. “Their computers were virus-free and didn’t require additional software to them. So they followed it up with the ‘best’ phones.”
George said she plans to update her iPhone to the latest model.
“It’s been a trend that I get a new iPhone every other year,” she said. “I got the 4S, the 6, 6S, and now I have the 7S.”
George says she’s most likely going to wait until August to buy the XS because the price will have gone down.
Deki Namgyal, a junior business administration and global supply chain management major and international student, sees the American population’s relationship with iPhones clearly.
“In America, more people use iPhones then they do Androids,” Namgyal said. “Even if I see people with the oldest iPhone models like the 4 and 5, I barely see people with Androids.”
Namgyal says her home country of Bhutan and the continent of Asia is more Android focused.
“They are more user friendly and easier to get fixed,” she said.
When she came to the U.S., she made the switch from Android to iPhone and says it was because of better camera quality on the latter.
I have personally upgraded my iPhone every other model and on the basis of how well my phone is working. I went from the 4S to the 6 to the 8 currently.
Smartphones are inching either towards the $1,000 price point or past it. iPhone’s main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy, is currently around the $800 price point.
Gone are the days of the simple Motorola Razor that simply had a dial pad and could maybe take photos or the days of when the hottest phone a person could have was a Sidekick that was cool for its sliding screen.
Now a phone needs to have easy access to the internet so that you can surf the web, take photos only a professional grade DSLR camera could be jealous of, post to the hottest social media apps like Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram and just look cool when you take it out of your pocket.
That phone is only going to get more expensive as more is expected from it.
Email Nyela Graham at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
