Ok let's be honest here. I don't want to sound like a snubby snotty apple fan boy, but my experience with 'beautiful' products, in most cases, are that they require more maintenance, care, and consideration than the more practical and inexpensive counterparts. That being said, if you have a 950 dollar minicomputer that markets itself as elegant, beautiful, personal etc, (not indestructible, unnameable, or rugged) and you can't adapt in order to see to it it doesn't become harmed beyond what you feel is acceptable, you shouldnt buy such products; further, you don't appreciate them to begin with.
There is a reason that people who own luxury vehicles such as ferraris do not daily drive them. There are reasons that art collectors do not put their fine arts on their kitchen tables. There are reasons why people who own expensive jewelry don't wear it jogging- and that is not to say that Apple products are delicate, because they aren't really delicate- they do quite well for people who understand what they are- so you're going to say 'you can't compare a luxury car to a piece of technology you use everyday' and I'm going to say I sure as hell can. This is the problem with consumerism today. People believe that just because they can afford it they deserve it. The majority of people that buy beyond their means end up losing whatever it is they bought whether it be a car, house, or some other more than average investment because they did not take into consideration the responsibility and trade off that comes with having nice things. I don't know how many broken down bmw's I've seen in driveways of people that couldn't afford the maintenance. BMW markets itself as the ultimate driving machine, not the best bang for your buck, not the cheapest car to maintain etc. Theyre incredibly expensive to repair, minor cosmetic blemishes cost much more to restore, and they typically don't drive as long as cars that are economy based at half the price. But how many people who have the money to repair them, and or appreciate them, let them get to a crippling point of run down? Few.
There are cheaper phones that do more. There are more rugged thicker phones that won't bend. But none of those brands focus their rhetoric on 'design and elegance' the way apple does. Apple is like the Mont Blanc of hand held electronics. They don't claim to be more durable than it's competitors, they claim feats of engineering in an incredibly stylish package with class. You aren't listening. And it isn't your fault you didn't know your phone might bend- but to me it was common sense right away to take a little extra care of a thousand dollar gadget I use constantly throughout the day. If I didn't want to care about it, If I wanted something I could throw around, I wouldn't have bought apple.
Nice watches aren't any different, but somehow people believe that because it's electronics that it is different from the rest of class driven products such as jewelry. It's not. The problem is cell companies have deflated the understanding of how much a device costs by introducing their upgrade policies. If everyone had to pay full retail to buy this device they would think three times as hard as to what it is, why they want it, If they can afford it, or need it, or if a more economical less elegant and more practical device might meet their needs.
If mine bends, it's ok. I have the money to 'maintain' my investment. But I'm not to worried. I live on planet earth and I take into consideration what I'm actually buying before spending my money. That's why I am able to afford the maintenance of my car, house, and now my silly cell phone. I live within my means. So do I need a 950 dollar cell phone? Absolutely not. Do I appreciate what it is trying to achieve? You bet. A Rolex keeps the time just like a Casio. Casios can sometimes do what rolex's can't, Gshock is a good example of that. But a Casio is not a Rolex, and everyone knows exactly why. One is made of cheap parts and plastic, the other is a classy timeless feat of engineering that looks better on your wrist.
It's not about what 'you' think the device is, or who you think its for. IF you have been listening to apple over the past 13 years they've told you who it's for. People who appreciate design. Not people who believe they are entitled to it.
