Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why is Apple a status symbol?
- Thread starter cnguyen0320
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not getting defensive, english not my native incase you didnt notice
so maybe that have to do with it.Anyway thanks for the reply.
Not getting defensive, english not my native incase you didnt notice
Anyway thanks for the reply.
Oh, in that case I apologize. I didn't mean to come off rude.
I live on a third-world country and here (unfortunately) owning an Apple product is a status symbol.
Why do you think that is? Is any smartphone a status symbol of is it just the iPhone?
People think Apple products are superior in every single way, and when you ask them why they spend so much money they say it's for the OS.
...
I then ask them, that if they could purchase the OS separately and use the full Mac OS X on any computer, would they still purchase a Mac? The answer is always yes.
In conclusion, the Apple product makes the user feel superior to all else, and they enjoy showing wealth via a glowing Apple. Why buy an iPad? It's just a giant iTouch... By buying an iPad you are showing that you are rich enough to buy and iPad.
...
I then ask them, that if they could purchase the OS separately and use the full Mac OS X on any computer, would they still purchase a Mac? The answer is always yes.
In conclusion, the Apple product makes the user feel superior to all else, and they enjoy showing wealth via a glowing Apple. Why buy an iPad? It's just a giant iTouch... By buying an iPad you are showing that you are rich enough to buy and iPad.
Indeed you are...this comment proves it:
That's funny cause the Nexus 7 beats the iPad mini in every way. More RAM, better CPU, better screen, and more storage. All for less money. And that's a fact, not just some dribble saying how cool it looks and how many people buy a phone to make love to it.
If you consider quality to be an underspeced, overpriced, and shiny product that gets long lines, then you're simply a fanboy. Plain and simple.
My Nexus is a few months older than the iPad mini and is still superior to it.
Galaxy Note owners aren't the one's who are trying too hard or blind...
Last edited:
Is it a requirement to be such a pompous ass after making the switch from iPhone to Android? We get it. You are happy with your purchase, but you don't have to demean people.
Let me try your logic. People with scuffs clearly represent all iPhone 5's
I am pretty sure he said "MY" in his post, so why did you understand "all" out of his post?
Is it a requirement to be such a pompous ass after making the switch from iPhone to Android? We get it. You are happy with your purchase, but you don't have to demean people.
Let me try your logic. People with scuffs clearly represent all iPhone 5's
I apologize. I started typing this way after years of reading comments in the iPhone section.
I certainly didn't mean to demean anyone. (You know, like how you did by calling me a pompous ass and then following up with your own logic).
I promise I won't do it again.
Last edited:
I apologize. I started typing this way after years of reading comments in the iPhone section.
I understand that
specially with comments ending with the apple logo lol theres people around here that really think they are better because they have iphones and use instagram.....
I understand that
Image
The irony of that statement is the heaviest Instagram users I know have android based phones. Buts that's just my circle of friends.
Wait you mean
on my product doesn't make me better? Isn't that the truth. The mentality is similar to people on linux forums when you ask a noob question
Just plain annoying. What shocks me most is that fanboys even defend a faulty Apple product to the teeth.
From some of these posts, it doesn't seem that the issue is Apple products being seen as "status symbols" in some circles...
...it's that brand X, also ran mobile devices aren't...
Jealousy is love and hate at the same time.
I can say as an iPhone 5 owner, I give this kind of stuff zero thought in day to day use. Owners of lesser products are far more taken with subjects like this.
...it's that brand X, also ran mobile devices aren't...
Jealousy is love and hate at the same time.
I can say as an iPhone 5 owner, I give this kind of stuff zero thought in day to day use. Owners of lesser products are far more taken with subjects like this.
People are still lining up to buy the iPhone.
I haven't seen a line for an Android phone last longer than a day. In the end nothing much has changed. Apple appeals to the design conscious and those who tend to be design conscious are mid to upper middle class.
When your well to do friend has a bunch of Apple gear sitting in a nice home it brings status.
You don't get status with a plastic phone with a humongous screen and batteries that pop out when you drop them. I wouldn't pay $50 for it a year either.
I agree. Whether people agree with it or not Apple stuff does get attention.
I had my house on the market and literally every single person who viewed our place said "ooo you have a mac".
Depending on peoples definition of "Status Symbol" I'd like to think that people think I have an appreciation for design and that's why I payed a bit extra for an iMac.
Last edited:
From some of the replies in this thread I'm not so sure that I agree fully, there are some obvious Apple owners that have replied to it that clearly think their Apple products are status symbols, although I do see where you are coming from, it does seem to be a point of contention for some of the "have not's". I must admit, like you, I don't give my ownership of Apple products a second thought, I'm a soldier by trade, my colleagues would laugh me out of the place if they thought I was somehow using my phone or any product as a status symbol.
Apple isn't - Apple iPhone 5 cases for $100k - maybe
http://www.bornrich.com/worlds-expensive-iphone-5-case-100000-features-natural-sapphires-rubies.html
http://www.bornrich.com/worlds-expensive-iphone-5-case-100000-features-natural-sapphires-rubies.html
As several studies have demonstrated, iOS device owners are better educated and earn more money (on average) than Android device owners. This is the marketing segment that considers themselves trend-setters, and this is mostly true as they anchor the bell curve. People want to be "smart and rich" and so they mimic the buying behavior of the upper echelon.
Apple themselves does a remarkable job painting the device as something for the "discerning" consumer. Android doesn't market itself as a brand at all, rather the device makers do. And "I'm a Samsung owner" has nowhere NEAR the "wow" effect as stating "I'm an Apple owner" does. Apple has been cultivating this brand image since the 80's...:.and they are geniuses for doing so.
We both know that a Samsung phone offers far more "features" for the same price as an iPhone. But status symbols aren't about features. They are about brand association.
So simple answer: Apple products are status symbols because they are engineered to BE status symbols. Android phones, almost entirely, are engineered as mass market devices. Arguably, both are winning at their respective games, and Android devices will remain the "poor mans iDevice" as a result.
Marketing 101
Apple themselves does a remarkable job painting the device as something for the "discerning" consumer. Android doesn't market itself as a brand at all, rather the device makers do. And "I'm a Samsung owner" has nowhere NEAR the "wow" effect as stating "I'm an Apple owner" does. Apple has been cultivating this brand image since the 80's...:.and they are geniuses for doing so.
We both know that a Samsung phone offers far more "features" for the same price as an iPhone. But status symbols aren't about features. They are about brand association.
So simple answer: Apple products are status symbols because they are engineered to BE status symbols. Android phones, almost entirely, are engineered as mass market devices. Arguably, both are winning at their respective games, and Android devices will remain the "poor mans iDevice" as a result.
Marketing 101
Didn't notice if anyone mentioned the Apple Stores, but if they aren't an example of premium branding, I'm blind and stupid.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/26/fo...ore-planning-and-philosophy-in-unaired-video/
I thought Apple Stores were a stupid idea, I was sooooo wrong it hurts.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/26/fo...ore-planning-and-philosophy-in-unaired-video/
I thought Apple Stores were a stupid idea, I was sooooo wrong it hurts.
I would say they give you the illusion of having status. It's like somebody said before, when most people think of buying a computer, they think of buying a Windows machine. When they think of buying a phone, they think of buying an iPhone. Any status that it gives you is all in your head, because it's not a rare item, nor is it an expensive phone that sets itself apart from other high-end phones on the market.
I don't disagree, but what is "product ownership status" but an illusion in the first place?
Its all feel-good stuff when you boil it down. There is no "best" or "better" device in any scenario. Its all a matter of how it makes you FEEL. For some of us, that FEEL equates to feeling better about yourself, your purchase, your sense of value, etc.
Marketing is far more about psychology than business any more. Anyone that doubts this needs to only watch Samsung Android phone commercials from 2012 and then compare them to all other Android phone advertisements from prior years. They clearly are taking a page from Apple's "status symbol" playbook. Whether or not they elevate their products to status symbol status is still debateable but there is no doubt that they are trying to get there.
I agree that Apple is seen as a prestige brand, but I don't agree that it actually is. I also agree that Samsung's advertising is starting to rival Apple's. In fact they've started to spend much more than Apple in marketing their products.