It could be P84,900 for an iPhone Pro Max. Or it could be P57,000 for the regular iPhone 15. For a country where the average daily wage is roughly USD $10 (a little bit less than half the cost of a good iPhone case!), it does raise some questions in a country dominated by more than decent Android devices in the P15,000 – P25,000 range.
But yes folks, there are some things you can tell your detractors when they ask this, and some of these reasons make a lot of sense!
- Because I finally have my own money and I can control where I spend it. At the end of the day, it’s my hard-earned money.
- Because P85,000 is the operating cost for me to get P1,000,000 worth of sales in my job. Many people look at phones as items of vanity. But really, smartphones today are productivity tools. Some may be the price of a high-end laptop, but if it helps you get the job done (especially if you’re so used to working in an iOS environment), then so be it. Some may even consider it a necessity in their work to use a high-end smartphone like the Samsung foldables because of the need to project a certain level of success, like if you work in sales, the legal profession, or are a CEO. It’s a mind game, sad to say, and at times we need to play it.
- Because I only replace my phone every 5 years (or more!) so the cost is spread out across many years. If you’re buying the iPhone 15 for P57,000 and keep it for five years, that is roughly P950 a month.
- Because I’m trying to earn free miles for my credit card and this really helps. If you’re up for earning points for miles, well, the iPhone isn’t the best way to go about it, but every big ticket swipe helps, right?
- Because I’m stuck in the gated Apple ecosystem and it’s too much work to move. Yes, there are some people who were Apple curious and bought a Mac. Slowly, they got reeled into using GarageBand, Keynote, and Pages. Then they bought an iPhone. Then an iPad. Then they upgraded their iCloud storage. It’s too much work to migrate out of the Apple ecosystem once you find yourself at your productivity best.
- Because this brings me happiness. Nuff said.
