> Most people just want the apple logo to show status. I want the non-Apple logo.
Everyone up and down the socioeconomic ladder in the US uses Apple devices, and you can buy them at Walmart and Costco for less than $1,000. If someone is assuming “status” from seeing an Apple product, that seems to be a mistake by the observer.
I think you're making the assumption that socio-economic status is the only variable.
There is also the "I have Apple, I'm creative". "I have Apple, I'm cooler than Android".
I don't know if the blue/green bubble thing is about socioeconomic differences, or if it's just about "you're not as good as I am".
If you're so sure Apple doesn't have a status feature, then what's the whole green/blue bubble about?
There is also alot of insecurity on the other side that is oddly enough projected on Apple users: “They must be using that as a status symbol or they are trying to look creative!” It’s always been like that really, Apple tends to fire up its own opposition. In reality Apple stuff are just workhorses now, and many of us just have an aversion to PCs that fall apart after a few months, or phones that kind of work but not really well, or tablets that double as space heaters…Apple is just the safe choice these days, the choice of cowards like me.
They say it’s to distinguish SMS from iMessage as if anyone would possibly care.
I care, as iMessage offers better quality photos/videos than MMS.
Also, international MMS costs money, while iMessage is free regardless of location.
Less than $1000?! Non-Apple devices can be got for less than $200...
You can get an android phone for $30. It won't be an amazing high end phone obviously, but it'll work.
$1000 is more than the monthly wage of many people around the world, including many in USA (where the minimum daily wage has stagnated for decades).
e.g., in most Asian and African countries, Apple is considered as a luxury brand.
Of course, the Apple fanboys will be quick to compare it to Samsung and other companies who also sell $1000+ premium phones.
But all those companies also sell budget phones that are very affordable. It's only Apple that refuses to sell budget phones. In fact, even Apple's cheapest phones (SE models) are unaffordable for daily wage earners in many nations of the world.
So yeah, when most people look at Apple products, they do assume their buyer to be "prestige status" (one who prefers luxury good/product).
It is also why Apple refuses to bundle chargers and cables (or at least, it tried to do so, until EU forced it to bundle them; but Apple does such cheapskate shenanigans in the other continents, where pro-consumer watchdogs/laws are lax), because it knows its fans will buy whatever it sells at whatever price points it sells even if basic accessories are not bundled. Unfortunately, Samsung and other companies are also following suit on such evil (anti-consumer) tactics.
Apple is also notorious for making it very hard for customers/third-parties to repair its products. This is why EU had to enforce its Right to Repair law on Apple stringently, and EU also forced Apple to give USB Type-C charging port (instead of Lighting port) on its devices which other manufacturers were doing so since years.
TLDR: Companies can act evil only if we let them get away with their evil ways.
> It is also why Apple refuses to bundle chargers and cables (or at least, it tried to do so, until EU forced it to bundle them; but Apple does such cheapskate shenanigans in the other continents, where pro-consumer watchdogs/laws are lax)
You got this backwards, the EU is who has been pushing for the un-bundling of chargers. That was the whole reason for their push towards universal USB/USB-C adoption - so you could buy a new phone and keep using your old cable and charger, for environmental reasons.
This is also quite explicit in the EU law - it literally requires sellers to offer buying a device without the charger if you don't need one
> Directive (EU) 2022/2380, Article 3a
> Where an economic operator offers to consumers and other end-users the possibility to acquire the radio equipment referred to in Article 3(4) together with a charging device, the economic operator shall also offer the consumers and other end-users the possibility of acquiring that radio equipment without any charging device.
The only country that requires Apple to bundle a charger is Brazil.
>But all those companies also sell budget phones that are very affordable. It's only Apple that refuses to sell budget phones. In fact, even Apple's cheapest phones (SE models) are unaffordable for daily wage earners in many nations of the world.
90% of everything most Americans buy is unaffordable for daily wage earners in many nations of the world.
If I live in America (or a similarly developed country), then that definition of "prestige" is useless.