Apple Knows Me Too Well

The iPhone 6 had served me well for four years, but it had become too slow, froze when running some of the new apps, and exhausted its battery after 3 hours. Also, pictures were grainy, especially in low light.

Last month I sprung for the new iPhone XS Max. The reviewers say that non-power-users like me should wait for the iPhone XR, which offers nearly the same features for hundreds of dollars less.

Cleverly, Apple delayed the cheaper iPhone XR by a month after the release of the XS and XS Max, the latter ensnaring buyers like your humble blogger who lack impulse control (or for whom deferred gratification is no longer important). I did try to buy the biggest 512 GB model, but only a 256 GB phone was immediately available. The young Apple salesperson sized me up quickly: "What do you need 512 for?" I could have said I needed to store a lot of videos but sheepishly admitted that it couldn't be justified. (As of this writing, I've only used 45 GB--less than 20%--of the storage.)

The new iPhone's screen resolution and colors, speed, sound, camera, and battery life are so much better than the iPhone 6 that I would have paid 50% more than the $1,200 I actually spent.

My younger, frugal self would have waited and probably bought the iPhone XR, but Apple knows me too well.