[untog]

No doubt Apple will have made a great product but that doesn't oblige you to buy them! What would the Airpod Max bring you that your existing Airpod Pros don't? What problem will they solve? It sounds like you're just buying things because Apple decided to sell them.

[tartoran]

Buying apple also buys status

[bitcharmer]

Excuse me, what?! How do you define status? Owning apple gear?

[halgir]

Owning Apple gear signals status among a significant portion of the population. Maybe not for you, me or the majority of HN's clientele. But even for those who don't buy into this definition, adhering to it can still bring tactically social advantages.

I have a very hard time believing you're not aware of this, and feigning ignorance in order to criticize the fact is just disingenuous.

[bitcharmer]

Could you please define what status advantages Apple gear offers?

[halgir]

Apple gear is, to a degree, a classic Veblen good. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

[lotsofpulp]

Then why did Apple lower the prices of iPhones, iPads, and MacBook Airs?

According to that link’s definition of a “Veblen” good, if Apple had raised prices, then demand would have increased. Either someone in charge of pricing Apple products missed out on huge revenue increases by failing to raise the price, or it’s not a Veblen good.

And there is no contention that the amortized cost of an iPhone SE, iPad Mini, or MacBook Air gets you the lowest cost to quality ratio of any competing product that also last the longest.

[lethologica]

And what's wrong with that if you can afford it like the OP said they could?

[boogies]

Waste. Physical electronic waste and opportunity cost.

For example, these cost more money than an average resident of Sierra Leone earns in a month. You could donate to feed their family.

Or for $550, you could spend $300 on buying a Kenyan family 5 sheep, $100 on gifting 5 Serbian women a month of literacy classes each, and $150 on 15 rides to school for refugee children in Egypt. Taxes not included.¹

¹https://cwsbestgift.org/

[cestith]

Or you could buy yourself a really nice set of $200 headphones and still send $350 to charity.

[untog]

You're asking what's wrong with wasting money?