We don’t always need new devices

What set me off to write this post is a review of the iPhone XS I watched recently. The reviewer immediately talked about “Upgrading from an iPhone X”. That’s when I thought about turning off the video, but I continued watching out of curiosity what his arguments were. Here is a short summary of them: It’s a little bit faster, the camera is a little bit better, the screen is a little bit better, bla bla bla. As if that would justify spending so much money for the newer phone.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love technology (well, duh) but what I always noticed since I started watching YouTube reviews regularly since 2011 is, that reviewers mostly talk about “Why you should upgrade” rather than “Why it’s not totally necessary to upgrade”. Also, back in the iPhone 4S days for example, the leaps in the innovation from iPhone to iPhone were still way bigger. The 4 only had a single core CPU, while the 4S had a dual core. And you would get Siri and 3D Maps, etc. But nowadays every phone is already so advanced and fast, that it really does not matter that much anymore. Same goes for computers. When some fellow student talked about how he “needs” a new Macbook Pro with Touchbar (or how we call it: BitchBar because it’s so annoying to use) I got innerly aggressive because no student in the world NEEDS such a fast computer. When my Core 2 Duo can do all the same things fine (and fast!!), his argument is just invalid. For example, the most “hardcore” our computers need to do right now is run a virtual machine and compile some programs in Clion. That’s everything even an entry level Pentium that you find in 300$ laptops can do with ease.

After I asked my classmate why he needs it, he said that he also plays games (well, congrats, you just got ripped of big time when you buy a Mac for that), and how the display is so nice. But does that really justify spending 2700€ on a computer as somebody who has not even got a steady paycheck? I went on tormenting him by asking how and why because all I wanted to hear out of his mouth was: I found it cool, and I wanted it. That’s why I have it. I know, it’s way too fast, but I like it!”. But he didn’t say it though. Maybe he was just too triggered to admit that my ’07 Mac (for which I paid 200$ including a new battery and a new power adapter) can do the same chores fine, just a bit slower. The only people who really need such powerful laptops are professionals. And even those will shake their heads because they can’t even plug in a USB flash drive or a SD card without an adapter 😉

That’s what brings me to my point: Save your money, and rethink. Do you really need this new device? Or do you only WANT it? Doesn’t matter if it’s a phone, a laptop, a PC, etc. Just, think. Buying always the latest just for the sake of it is exactly what the big tech companies want. And you are not “cooler” if you do it. At least not in my eyes, and I am sure I speak for a lot of people. For my part, I would hate to spend a lot of money on a device if I can’t use all it’s potential. Then I rather spend a little less and get myself a couple of vintage macs for the money I saved. Or I buy new speakers for my Hackintosh (because they really need replacing haha).

Also: try to keep your device alive and don’t replace it if only one component breaks! Best two examples are the iPhone 6 with the shattered screen or my 2006 iMac with the dead hard drive it had. These two devices would have been not worth it to repair if you asked Apple (watch the video where we really asked in an Apple certified store 😉). But then, guess what, they were easily repaired for a couple of bucks. That’s not only better for your wallet but also a trend against our throwaway society (ahem some tech reviewers ahem ahem)!

#2018 #Tech #iPhone #iPhoneX #iPhoneXS #Upgrade #iOS