iPhone is a poster boy of a class of products that I always say NoThanks. Similarly

• latest laptops? I buy the reliable low-end models. The one luxury feature for me is touch-screen! A less luxury feature is low-weight.
• branded pianos
• fancy big homes with low rental yield
• luxury college degree? Instead of NoThanks, I did pay for one at UChicago and learnt my lesson.
  • I will limit the topic of college, as it has the tendency to dominate this blogpost 喧宾夺主.
• luxury cars .. a different category. Safety and quality !

I think the FIRE community of the U.S. would endorse my NoThanks.

— value/price ratio:
A common feature among these cases is the existence of an alternative offer at a fraction of the price.

I define my notion of quality and value (usually including durability and reliability) and I always find these “iPhones” extremely un-competitive in terms of value/price ratio.

By far the biggest case is luxury college. I have many blogposts about the quality question.

— show-off
another common feature — the manufacturers of iPhones spend huge amount of the marketing dollars creating an impression of superior quality, innovative features and sometimes exclub status. Many buyers really fall for it and buy these things to show off.

With the college choice, show-off is a key motivation, but things are more nuanced. I have blogged about the nuances.

As I age, I see more and more similarities between branded college and branded clothing, branded phone etc. The “consumer” here is the parent. East Asian parents spend very large amount of disposable income on these status items.

— FOMO: With iPhone, I feel my wife and other people are often driven by FOMO.

Many parents fear that an unbranded college means their kids are handed a second-best “ticket”. They fear their kids will pay a price in adulthood.