I know many people who complain about migrants “faking their conditions” or “getting bribed by biden” because they have a smartphone which they can only imagine is an iPhone. Like if you don’t have have a polka dot sack tied to a stick and wearing plastic bottle sandals and using Nokia flip phones, you’re not struggling. But funny enough, if you live inside your car that’s fully licensed and registered, then they’re unable to make the connection that the person is not so far from our own financial situation.
I had to sit there and explain to them the concept of prepaid phones and how there are a billion android phones available with 3 cameras, face unlock, capable of shitty mobile games, and so on starting from $5 to $300. Not everything is a $1000 iPhone 20 XL. And despite this, their final thoughts are “ok, but still the democrats are bribing them.” 
Even as late as the 00s and 10s, I saw conservatives saying that poor people weren’t really poor because they owned color TVs.
You still hear the odd “Flat Screen TV” comments these days and it’s like buddy the only CRTs on the market are antiques for hobbyists and they cost more than a basic TV.
If you’re really poor you’d be on the phonograph.
As someone who had one of those early color tube tvs that had to “warm up”, I find that aggravating as hell. Heck, my grandpa’s black and white would at least show an image faster.
iPhones are unironically like diamonds. The materials are mined out by capitalist cartels in overexploited African nations, the manufacturing process is all kept secret and people buy them as status symbols even though they cost like half the average rent. Then not even a year later, they’re worth less than half of their original value and settler society repeats the process all over again.
A lot of carriers will let you trade in your old phone for the latest one though. So it’s not always expensive to get a new phone. The depreciation is also one reason why people rush to trade so they don’t have to waste $1500 in 7 years because their phone is worth $40
Reactionaries are so keen to cry about cummnists taking your toothbrush or how “you will not own anything and being happy”, yet car dealerships and phone companies release a “new” model each year and encourage people to turn in their property to start/continue renting the new shiny toy for 12 months.
So, I see this comment a lot, but am always a little confused. Are other phone manufacturers not doing those same things? Is there solid evidence that Google, Samsung, or the 1,000s of random Chinese offerings are better in that regard? Why call out iPhones when all smartphones use essentially the same materials and will inevitably be e-waste in less than a decade?
many other manufacturers are cheaper and have much less pretense/cloak and dagger bullshit around the manufacturing and parts sourcing than apple, but they’re certainly still ewaste in a few years yeah, if anything some are worse on the ewaste front than apple (though the gap is shrinking IMO)
It also depends on the culture though. Japan still values analog technology, and even their fashion trends are slow to change, because they prefer immersion into something
Also, I’m a tech nerd so when I do replace my phone every 2-4 years, I usually get the top model because I know I’ll use the hardware to its fullest.
That said, I also justify this because my $1,500 phone has replaced my $200-400 phone, my $300 iPod, my $500 digital camera, my $200 palm pilot, my $200 GPS, my $100 pc scanner, and for some instances, my $1000 laptop and $400 tablet.
So yes , top end devices are very expensive, my for me, it’s actually saved me from buying so many devices like I had to in the early 2000’s
ain’t no way any phone is replacing a digital camera.
Depends on the kinds of pictures you need it to take. For non-photographers smartphones definitely killed off demand for low-end Standalone cameras.
A modern flagship phone can definitely replace a digital camera
Almost every digital camera has a decent optical zoom. I think phones have at most 3x (ok supposedly some phones have “10x” but I’m not sure I buy that). My digital camera from like 10 years ago still takes better pictures than any phone camera I’ve used.
iPhones hold their value better than any other brand. You can sell them for nearly full price the next year, and a few hundred dollars years later. Samsungs on the other hand…
To be fair, Samsung has realized this and has been offering ridiculous trade-in offers every time the new model goes up for preorder.
Even for a model a few years old you get way more than the used market value, often meaning you only pay $200-$300 for the new equivalent along with “free” wireless earbuds and glass screen protector.
That being said, I only replace my tech when it becomes too slow to function (all my Androids) or when I break it because I’ve been using it for 7 years and shit happens eventually in rough work environments (so, my IPhones).
Apple deserves all the shit talking they get, but there is no denying the fact that all my 5 US flagship androids were effectively obsolete after 2 years due to no OS updates and being too slow to even play a YouTube video.
Meanwhile the iPhones stay perfectly responsive and get full-fat updates for 7 years with relatively cheap first-party battery replacements.
Often I think about that Fox news segment about how poor people weren’t poor because they had REFRIGERATORS
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Yeah, my OnePlus 6 cost my $80 dollars. There are tons of phones less than $200, and a good number of them are supported by ROM’s, so updates aren’t an issue.
OnePlus 6
7?
there are more people with access to phones than access to adequate housing or plumbing. in my life i’ve seen people that have phones and their “house” is a shack made out of cinder blocks, mud and galvanized iron sheets with no plumbing and stolen electricity. i’ve seen illegal immigrants with 10 kids living in construction sites being paid below minimum wage with phones.
these people just don’t know what poverty is like so they take their own life, and just remove all the parts that feel “luxurious” to them. ask them “well how can a poor person better their situation?” and you realize quickly they’ve got no fucking clue what they’re talking about.
don’t have have a polka dot sack tied to a stick
Fun fact, it’s called a ‘bindle’.
You probably already know, but I think it’s a neat word. That’s all.
I’m guessing that 1 month of rent is about the price of a 3 years of cell phone, and that’s a good phone and good service, not even seeking out the most barebones plan and device possible.
But the conservatives will still shame you for owning a phone.
