The key reasons for me to buy the new iPhone were – the previous one conked out, faith in the brand, and having the means to acquire a new one. The 7 is a beauty, the photos and video quality once again are great and I love the slo-mo. The Voice Memo sound quality works well for my thoughts and interviews and the Notes app is fantastic for scribbling a few quick ones. Of course, one needs to invest in a good power bank (the less said of battery life the better), but if you have that, it can almost replace a laptop. Oh yes, I said it – read my type! I have filed a number of stories from it. And I see myself as an Apple loyalist in the near future. I saw the new Apple phone launch event on the Livestream. I have held the new iPhone XS Max in my hands, and have read the reviews, and chatted with my friends about it. The new fast A12 Bionic processor is great, the bigger screen looks wonderful and the photo quality seems to have improved as well. The new emoji features are silly but cute. The phone itself feels too big for my tiny hands, but they say it’s easy to get used to. Right? Well, I’m not interested in buying one. My simple reason for it is that I just don’t need it. And I don’t think I am ever going to spend this kind of money to own a phone. Owning a phone is in many ways, similar to owning a car or a bike. The machine, over time, becomes intuitive to its owner’s habits. With some, the intuition comes easy, and with others it doesn’t. I have used a number of brands of phone – starting with a basic Nokia 1100 to a fancier smartphone version of the same brand, a mid-end HTC and a Blackberry before finally making the switch to the iPhone. I loved Nokia and Blackberry, both sturdy, reliable products. But the iPhone and I had an instant compatibility. Once I started using it, I knew this was probably the only brand I would go for.
No, I will not say I am surprised at the price of the new iPhones (starting from Rs 99,900, although the XR will come with a Rs 76,900 tag when it is released). The pricing of all iPhones is generally steep. Apple as a brand in general has the uncanny ability to set the tone for what a premium phone is going to look like. I spent about Rs 60,000 to get the iPhone 7, and have been satisfied with the product (I file stories on it. Going by my own personal satisfaction, and considering my livelihood heavily depends on a phone, I would be willing to spend this kind of money again for a phone. However, a lakh (Rs 1,00,000) is a bit much though. And while I am sure Apple would have some rationale for their pricing, I will happily engage in jokes about XS being called the “Excess”. I don’t see myself wanting to buy this one, unless my current one conks out and the prices drop considerably. No, this does not mean I am moving over to the Droid side. I follow a brand, and will always be loyal to those who have served me well. But my desire for a quality product does not make me salivate at every new product the brand I admire launches. Especially when its older avatars are doing just fine (did I tell you that I file stories on the iPhone 7?) The XS, as of now, does seem excessive, price wise. Now, show me the XR, please.
