The locals obsession with Apple and iPhones

[punchandjudy]

To me:

 

A shirt is a shirt.

A watch is a watch.

A smartphone is a smartphone.

 

One really interesting thing here is how people are obsessed with designer and luxury brands.

 

I have seen construction workers and manual labour etc who do not appear to earn very much, yet some still have iPhones.

 

Is it because they want to show off to their peers and strangers on the street that they have the money to buy an iPhone?

 

Why is standing out through material possessions so important?

[CharlieH]

in short "face is everything" it has to "appear" you have means. In reality they are often knock-offs or older models.

 

 

[Moonlover]

It may have escaped the O/P's notice, but materialism is a worldwide phenomenon.

 

Flaunting ones wares, be they real or fake, is certainly not confined to Thais. Not by a long way.

[punchandjudy]

4 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

It may have escaped the O/P's notice, but materialism is a worldwide phenomenon.

 

Flaunting ones wares, be they real or fake, is certainly not confined to Thais. Not by a long way.

It has not escaped my notice, but it is definitely more widespread in Thailand and Asia in general than it is in the UK at least.

[punchandjudy]

2 minutes ago, Benroon said:

Name a country where everyone doesn't walk round with their face planted in their iPhone !

 

London, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan - not interested in luxury items right ?

 

Another weary attempt to slur....wait a minute that against the rules right ?

Sorry for hurting your feelings by having an opinion mate.

 

Good win against Man Utd by the way.

[shadowofacloud]

Material status is much more important in these parts of the world and it, unfortunately, often is the only way many people here measure their value as members of the society or human beings in general. Not limited to SE and E Asia, of course, but more deeply embedded here than, say, in Western Europe.

[KMartinHandyman]

Speaking directly to the iPhone it’s perceived as a quality device and the ecosystem, iTunes, iMessages, FaceTime etc are feature distinctions from android would be my understanding.
We have standing offers to buy my wife’s used phone in the future as they know I will upgrade hers every few years. Currently a niece has dibs on the X I brought months before they were available in Thailand.
Her brother got the 6 and a friend took the 5 before that.
We sell them for more than the Apple sellers will give me on a trade back and people are happy to pay because they know her and feel confident she’s taken good care of it.

[marin]

51 minutes ago, punchandjudy said:

t has not escaped my notice, but it is definitely more widespread in Thailand and Asia in general than it is in the UK at least.

Where are you now? Comparing Apples to oranges. Go to a US university, 90% of the phones and computers are Apple..

[KittenKong]

Lots of people seem to like Apple's designer image though to me it seems more like slick marketing than anything else. Certainly the phones are not noticeably better quality or better value than some other brands as far as I can see, and I particularly dont like the way that Apple lock you into their universe and cream off a large percentage of everything you spend in it.
Many Thais will buy anything if they think it comes with status attached.

[talahtnut]

Damn, I'm doomed not to have any status

with my 15 year old Nokia tellingbone.

 

[Lacessit]

Advertising, face and prestige. My GF's granddaughter wanted a used iPhone rather than a new low cost Android.

It's the same with scooters. Hondas are THE brand in Thailand, even though Yamahas are just as good.

Black cars denote you are a professional in Thailand. IMHO insanity in this climate; however, I don't suppose Thai education includes Stefan-Boltzmann constants.

[HighPriority]

35 minutes ago, KMartinHandyman said:

Speaking directly to the iPhone it’s perceived as a quality device and the ecosystem, iTunes, iMessages, FaceTime etc are feature distinctions from android would be my understanding.
We have standing offers to buy my wife’s used phone in the future as they know I will upgrade hers every few years. Currently a niece has dibs on the X I brought months before they were available in Thailand.
Her brother got the 6 and a friend took the 5 before that.
We sell them for more than the Apple sellers will give me on a trade back and people are happy to pay because they know her and feel confident she’s taken good care of it.

I agree with you about the Apple features being perceived as a quality system, I haven’t been near an android phone for years... I found them very “clunky” to use and liked the way the Apple system works together, my experience and opinion...

Personally I don’t give a rats arse about looking hip, but I do like quality and functionality.

 

Maybe the op intended to be less Apple specific and is concerned about consumerism in general ?

[guzzi850m2]

Well my wife has an iPhone.

A bit easier to use than Android and she loves it.

Me: well my 300$ Android is just fine.

Samsung is a bit the same, you pay a lot for the brand, can get similar specs on a Chinese phone for about 65% of the price of a Sammy, so I stick to Chinese phones now.

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[tlandtday]

6 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Well my wife has an iPhone.

A bit easier to use than Android and she loves it.

Me: well my 300$ Android is just fine.

Samsung is a bit the same, you pay a lot for the brand, can get similar specs on a Chinese phone for about 65% of the price of a Sammy, so I stick to Chinese phones now.

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

pocophone is excellent as are other xiaomi products.

[Lacessit]

My OPPO A37 is well and truly obsolete. I can play music, read books, use LINE and even make phone calls. It's all I need, no reason to upgrade.

[richard_smith237]

I've made the Switch to the Op Samsung (S5 at the time) and HTC M8... I didn't last long before switching back to Apple iPhones...   so I've evaluated with an open mind from both sides.

 

IMO - the iPhone is better.

 

Just my preference....   I'm not obsessed by Apple and don't really care one way or another - I just think it does what it does better. 

 

[geoffbezoz]

1 hour ago, shadowofacloud said:

Material status is much more important in these parts of the world and it, unfortunately, often is the only way many people here measure their value as members of the society or human beings in general. Not limited to SE and E Asia, of course, but more deeply embedded here than, say, in Western Europe.

Plus, percentage wise, many more in the West are better educated so understand the technical deficiencies of grossly overpriced Apple products so are more concerned about technical excellance then just saving face.

[hansnl]

18 hours ago, Benroon said:

No it isn't. 

Really?

[Jonnapat]

20 hours ago, Benroon said:

No it isn't. 

Agree, because people are looking for value for money 

[Ireland32]

My gf doesn’t want one , she knows I can track her on Find my iPhone, Clever

[Jaxxper]

Few years ago we were out shopping and as we walked away from the car in Big C, I remembered that I had left my old Nokia plugged in to charge in the car. Leaving your phone in the car is a big no no in the UK, because people will break the window to snatch it creating a bigger headache than the loss of the phone. As I headed back to the car to retrieve it my wife said "don't worry, no one will break into the car for that old phone"....555

[Jaxxper]

4 minutes ago, Ireland32 said:

My gf doesn’t want one , she knows I can track her on Find my iPhone, Clever

Hmmm, I must check that the Buddha necklace my wife bought me isn't a GPS tracker....555 

[atyclb]

where "substance" is at a premium, all that remains is "image"

[cryo]

the word SHEEP covers it all and its not just Thailand ????

 

Ken.

 

[ncc1701d]

Apple is a superior product. Software, software integration through to hardware. But I would imagine most of the people using the products don’t use them to their full capabilities. The competition may be catching up, but not yet. 

 

That aside, it is perceived to be better, so people show off with them. 

[ThaiBunny]

3 minutes ago, ncc1701d said:

Apple is a superior product. Software, software integration through to hardware. But I would imagine most of the people using the products don’t use them to their full capabilities. The competition may be catching up, but not yet.

As I said in another thread, I use iPhones for the very reason that was reported in another thread. With iPhones no-one can install an App without my permission (while it's being serviced, for example).  With Android phones it's open slather. But I'd be surprised if security is what crosses most people's mind

[Ulic]

No different than anywhere else in the world. 

[lvr181]

What's an iPhone? 

[StevieAus]

On 4/6/2019 at 4:21 PM, punchandjudy said:

It has not escaped my notice, but it is definitely more widespread in Thailand and Asia in general than it is in the UK at least.

You cannot have travelled outside Thailand recently if you hold that view, we visited the UK and Europe last year during the summer and the use of Iphones were everywhere we went.

I have an Apple IPad and phone, why? because as an old fart I find them easy to use.

[JTXR]

There's no doubt Apple products are more expensive.  Apart from design and perceived status, though, there are two important areas where Apple's ecosystem is demonstrably better than Google's or Microsoft's or Amazon's:  security and privacy. 

If you think the difference is worth the extra price, fine.  If you don't, also fine.