Is it becoming less of a status symbol to own an iPhone?

[termu5h]

iPhones were never meant to be status symbols. Their purpose is to offer a cool gadget which has multiple functions.

Some people buy them for no other reason than to look like they are part of the upper social class, while no cents drop from their pockets if turned upside down.

 

[hamiltonDSi]

iPhones are very common where I live.

They ceased being special a long time ago.

Same here in Romania.
I live in a medium town and most of them use iPhone.
I have seen taxi drivers, bartenders, sellers.. all kind of people.
Also LTE is available in Romania since November 2012 so this is another factor why iPhone 5 is a little more popular then the 4S.

 

[scaredpoet]

Just to put some ideas out; could it be that some of the success of the iPhone today is to be credited to the "status" associated with the original iPhone(s)?

I will say this much: the iPhone was as close to solely a status symbol back when the original, 2G iPhone came out. People bought it for looks, for the uniqueness of it, and for the novelty of it.

With the iPhone 3G and beyond, status was secondary at best.

I see that a lot of you believe it to be unthinkable that someone would buy a smartphone just to show that they got money to spend.

No, it's not unthinkable. I'm sure lots of people have money to throw away on poorly thought-out decisions based entirely on appearances. I just think that this is not what Apple should be going for. If the iPhone is TOO exclusive, its functionality risks being reduced: too few people using iMessage; too few people buying apps to make it worthwhile for developers; too few content providers see a point in offering iOS-friendly content.

Ubiquity is what makes the cloud and app ecosystems work. A trendy thing can't be a trendy thing forever, but the reality is that smartphones in general are becoming a commodity now, rather than a luxury.

 

[robanga]

Status symbols...geesh

Its an appliance. Is your refrigerator a status symbol?

If you need to look elite with your car, your house, your phone, your wife/husband, your dog, your clothes, your associations etc, you may want to check your motivations and values in general.

Because that path is fraught with dissatisfaction, its very temporary and its never enough.

Go out and help people, you can get some true happiness from that.

 

[hafr]

If they aren't status symbols, why are iPhones still $1K and a Nokia low end dumb phone $40?

What self respecting member of one of the aspirational demographics would be seen with a $40 Nokia?

Key word: aspirational.

Meaning those who strive for something by imitating what they believe to be markers of the group they want to belong to.

Sad.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

This thread is a few years too late. It's ceased to be a status symbol ever since they're available with contracts on the cheap.

 

[sdilley14]

I think it was a "status symbol" (at least in my area) when it was exclusively on ATT. Having that carrier restriction alone made it difficult for a lot of people to own (both around my area and throughout the country), thus by default creating an environment where owning one was unique. We have several Verizon stores in my area but ZERO ATT stores...so for someone around here to have an iPhone was really unique. People also thought you were kind of an idiot for buying a phone that got nearly zero reception.

Making it available on Verizon (and other carriers), coupled with newer generation iPhones coming out and older generations becoming cheaper and easier to obtain...it sort of saturated the market in a way. It went from being unique and different to somewhat commonplace.

However, I would NEVER say that people who own an Android device are thought of as being the hip, cool people that are on the cutting edge. There are a small percentage of people who buy the latest and greatest Android device to be on the cutting edge of that technology...but in my experience, most people buy an Android device because they are cheaper to buy, they have some trepidation about getting an Apple device (i.e. Windows people who think buying an iPhone is the same as switching from Microsoft to Apple...dumb), or their carrier doesn't offer the iPhone. US Cellular is a major carrier around here (5th largest in the country) and they don't offer the iPhone (and probably never will), but they have great reception in this area, most people around here have been with them for ages (since they got their first Nokia candybar style phone back in the day), and their customer service is excellent.

I think anymore it's less of a status symbol to just own an iPhone and more of a status symbol to own the latest iPhone. Like others have said though, if you want a status symbol, buy a Lambo...a cell phone doesn't cut it.

 

[er15]

Never was a status symbol. Don't think consumer items like technological gadgets ever were or will be status symbol.

 

[chakraj]

Yes OP you are correct.

I find that the iphone is for people under 16 and over 65.

I saw this a year ago, when every tween and grandparent has an iphone, its time to switch phones lol.

 

[iPhysicist]

Had I gotten so used to my user friendly iPhone, that I'd lost the ability to quickly understand new technology, as I did before?

Today at the university, it seams like the "cool" boys use android phones. The ones who loves new tech, and knows what they want. While the iPhone is reserved for the technological impaired.

Some of my Professors use iPhones and Apple stuff... Physicists - so I think you are right. They always seem to be technologically impaired and maybe stupid. ;-)

 

[gnasher729]

Buy a Rolex from Tiffany and Co. if you want a status symbol.

I always thought Rolex was for pimps. And I have looked closely at £3,000 Rolex watches and the workmanship was pathetic compared to my watch that cost a fifth.

Buy Patek Philippe if you want a status symbol.

 

[John T]

Status symbols...geesh

Its an appliance. Is your refrigerator a status symbol?

If you need to look elite with your car, your house, your phone, your wife/husband, your dog, your clothes, your associations etc, you may want to check your motivations and values in general.

Because that path is fraught with dissatisfaction, its very temporary and its never enough.

Go out and help people, you can get some true happiness from that.

Absolutely! However, the majority of those who think the iPhone is a status symbol are not old enough to own/possess the items you mentioned!

 

[erratikmind]

Here in the SF Bay Area, the iPhone was never a status symbol. By the end of 2007, many people had an iPhone. Odd that some people would consider any mobile phone a status symbol at this time. Now, if you had a mobile phone, which you carried or had a car mounted unit back in the mid to late 1980s, that was some what of a status symbol.

 

[Leonard1818]

Here in the SF Bay Area, the iPhone was never a status symbol. By the end of 2007, many people had an iPhone. Odd that some people would consider any mobile phone a status symbol at this time. Now, if you had a mobile phone, which you carried or had a car mounted unit back in the mid to late 1980s, that was some what of a status symbol.

It's my experience that, in your area, every single thing that one posesses they broadcast as a "status symbol".

<insert SF Bay "shallow" joke here>

 

[R.Stoychev]

Why someone should buy something because It is a " status symbol " you buy stuff because you like It. You like the design and the features and so on...

 

[Leonard1818]

Why someone should buy something because It is a " status symbol " you buy stuff because you like It. You like the design and the features and so on...

Tell that to Mercedes Benz owners... specifically the lowest (is it C?) class...

You can't tell me every single one of them bought that car cause they "like how it looks"...

 

[takeshi74]

I was not the author of the original post.

Which is full of too much fail to even begin... No product will fix a person's insecurities.

 

[MattMJB0188]

Why do threads like this even exist??? Seriously, anyone who thought for a second of getting an iphone because it makes them look "cool" is an IDIOT!!!

End of discussion.

 

[robanga]

Tell that to Mercedes Benz owners... specifically the lowest (is it C?) class...

You can't tell me every single one of them bought that car cause they "like how it looks"...

A few no doubt, but i believe the majority that luxury items buy because of quality, features, dependability, drivability, and design.

Kind of like Apple.

 

[dvoros]

iphone status symbol?

Yes, it is less of a status to own an iPhone, esp. the five with its minuscule screen size

 

[beosound3200]

of course its a (status) symbol, but the one saying 'i like superb build quality and have eyes through which i see'

i am of opinion that things people buy say much about them. think of it what you want.

some say, you are what you eat, i say, you are what you buy

 

[itjw]

I think it was a "status symbol" (at least in my area) when it was exclusively on ATT. Having that carrier restriction alone made it difficult for a lot of people to own (both around my area and throughout the country), thus by default creating an environment where owning one was unique. We have several Verizon stores in my area but ZERO ATT stores...so for someone around here to have an iPhone was really unique. People also thought you were kind of an idiot for buying a phone that got nearly zero reception.

Making it available on Verizon (and other carriers), coupled with newer generation iPhones coming out and older generations becoming cheaper and easier to obtain...it sort of saturated the market in a way. It went from being unique and different to somewhat commonplace.

However, I would NEVER say that people who own an Android device are thought of as being the hip, cool people that are on the cutting edge. There are a small percentage of people who buy the latest and greatest Android device to be on the cutting edge of that technology...but in my experience, most people buy an Android device because they are cheaper to buy, they have some trepidation about getting an Apple device (i.e. Windows people who think buying an iPhone is the same as switching from Microsoft to Apple...dumb), or their carrier doesn't offer the iPhone. US Cellular is a major carrier around here (5th largest in the country) and they don't offer the iPhone (and probably never will), but they have great reception in this area, most people around here have been with them for ages (since they got their first Nokia candybar style phone back in the day), and their customer service is excellent.

I think anymore it's less of a status symbol to just own an iPhone and more of a status symbol to own the latest iPhone. Like others have said though, if you want a status symbol, buy a Lambo...a cell phone doesn't cut it.

It's rare for me to see a post I couldn't have said better myself (lol), but this was it.

Well done.

I too agree the loss of carrier exclusivity impacted it a TON, as did the price drops. Whether or not people care to admit it, there were a few years there where simply having an iPhone DID have a status effect, and it certainly did attract a lot of attention (sadly I was married in 07, but even I noticed women approaching me because they noticed the phone... not to say they wouldn't have anyway, but it was definitely a conversation piece/starter =)).

No longer though. The fact that now ANYONE can get/use one (especially a cheap 4/4S if they don't want a contract 5), means now almost every other person you see has one. No more uniqueness.

Still the best phone on the market, but I for one do miss the days when it was "cool" (or at least "cool-er") to own one. Now even my wife has one (powerfully UN-cool hehe...).

Remember when people used to ask to see it? Or ask how long it took to get used to the touch screen? Or ask how long the battery lasted (back when being non-replaceable was a big deal)?

Those were the days. It's amazing how much it's changed in just a few years. Now you see more iPhones than any other single phone. It's incredible.

 

[tonyy]

My buddies and I like to show off our "stuff" in the locker room every once in awhile.

Most of them whip out their 5"+ Note 2's while I fling out my 4" iPhone.



Joking aside, if someone thinks their cell phone is a sign of "status" in society.. I feel sorry for them.

 

[itjw]

My buddies and I like to show off our "stuff" in the locker room every once in awhile.

Most of them whip out their 5"+ Note 2's while I fling out my 4" iPhone.



Joking aside, if someone thinks their cell phone is a sign of "status" in society.. I feel sorry for them.

And you would be ignoring reality.

Were cell phones in the 80's status symbols? Of course they were.

Just like for a while even the RAZR was.

When something popular, new, and unique comes up it IS a status symbol. At least for a while.

Next you'll say size doesn't matter... Screen size of course ;-)

 

[nburwell]

I couldn't care less if the iPhone is becoming less of a status symbol. I purchased the original iPhone because I love Apple products, not because I thought I would be "cool." Presently, iOS works best for me since I have purchased 99% of my music through iTunes. So syncing up my iPhone and iPod Touch to my MBP is is simple. I have no intention of switching to Android. The iPhone suits me the best and unless something drasticly different happens to iOS, it will continue to be the phone I upgrade to every year or two.