Is that phone worth it?

Disclaimer
These are personal views of the writer. They do not consist of any scientific studies or research.
To know more about the write, please check out his profile here.


Hi,

Nowadays there are several smartphone options, and the option is particularly aplenty if you happen to choose Android over Apple.

So let me walk through a personal thought about if the phone is worth it or not.

Brand Recognition
A smartphone is no longer just a device to make call and send messages. It help us through awkward moments, it allows us to entertain ourselves while commuting and most important of all, it help us stay connected(although disconnected in the real world)

So some people would buy a device because it is a luxury brand and is a fashion statement. So after they spent like over 1k on their phones, they would spend a lot more to wrap them up, and protect them from any injuries.
End up, the phone design doesnt really matter since those casings would have already removed the swag factor of the phone design.


Ease of accessories
Remember the good time when Nokia is king and you can practically borrow a Nokia charger anywhere? Thanks to uniform standards, apart from Apple, all Android devices are using the same charging and data port.

But that can not be said the same for screen protectors and phone cases.
A Samsung and Apple flagship would definitely have no issue in finding accessories.

But looking at Asus Zenfone 5, Samsung lower end models, XiaoMi models, pretty, cheap and nice casings are actually rarer to find.

Hence if you are someone who likes to change accessories, flagship phones are still better for you.

Technology
After all, a phone is only useful when you can make a call, send a message, be connected to the internet and take photos right?

Though almost all smartphone have these functionalities, we tend to look even deeper into the specs.
But what does those specs mean? Or rather, does it mean anything to you??

Let's start with some basic profiling:
- what is your general phone usage be?
- how long are you not near a charging station typically?
- are you really keen in photography?


I think after carrying a smartphone for almost 5years, the functions i use most on my phone is still to call, sms, social media and take some photos.

You wont require high end phones to do these, but these high end phones just does it better, like having epicly powerful cameras, offering of4gb rams when no software could utilise it for now, or even a better battery life.

Spending the extra budget on that phone with epic camera could have easily let you buy a decent compact camera.

Battery life is also a comparison. The bigger the phone, the better the battery life!

Buying a lot of extra storage space for future proofing is also a wrong move!
It is actually good to backup your phone datas frequently.
This will unclog your phone and makes performance better
So when you buy a phone, do ask yourself if you would use these functions that you are going to pay extra for.



Resale Price
The reason why Apple seemed to be better is because there is a higher resale value in an Iphone compared to other flagship models from many different brand.
Hence, in a typical case, the amount of depreciation would definitely be higher in an Android Flagship compared to Iphone.

This might also be because they are also generally cheaper than iphones.

So then, ask yourself if a depreciation of 1dollar is work using a high end phone.


In conclusion, buy what you need, instead of buy what you want and avoid future proofing can save a lot of money.

Regards
Benjamin Chai