Dear Apple,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sabrina Salvesen and I’m a diehard iPhone fan.. Or at least I was. I’ve owned almost every iPhone since the iPhone 4s (excluding the iPhone 5c, Plus editions, and the SE). This is the first year I will not be purchasing the new iPhone and I’d like to explain to you why. But first, let me throw some numbers and information at you.

I am one of those crazy people you read about in the news. I stay up once a year every September until 2am (Eastern time) to pre-order your newest phone. Crazy, I know. I am one of the first people to have it either delivered to my house on release day or waiting for me at the store. Well, recently I did a few calculations and realized how much money I’ve actually spent and I’m appalled... You will be too. Below is a list of every iPhone I’ve owned and their prices.

iPhone 4s - October 14, 2011

iPhone 5 - September 21, 2012

iPhone 5s - September 20, 2013

iPhone 6 - September 19, 2014

iPhone 6s - September 25, 2015

iPhone 7 - September 16, 2016

After doing the calculations I found that I have spent $2,076 on iPhone's alone since 2011. This does NOT include tax or the phones and screen I’ve had to replace. Apple, you make quite a bit of money off of me alone. Well, I’m sorry to say I WON’T be purchasing this year and here’s why.

First of all, the difference between the 7 and the 8 is really not that much different. A little faster processor jumping from an A9 processor to an A10 processor. While the iPhone 8 did come with wireless charging, I found that I'd have to BUY The wireless charger. The really BIG change that was made was Apple decided to get rid of their 128GB option.

This brings me to the second reason I will not be upgrading. In 2015 I decided to join the Apple Trade in Program. What this means exactly is that I pay a monthly fee for the physical phone. But the trade in program gives me the option to upgrade after making 12 monthly payments OR I pay 24 monthly payments and the phone is mine to keep. In addition, I also get Apple Care included. Anyway! I currently pay $36 a month for my iPhone, not including my phone bill. IF I had upgraded to the 8 I would have had to pay $4 more a month for 256GB a month. That’s $48 more a year than what I pay now simply because Apple got rid of the 125GB option. OR I could pay less and save $2 a month with HALF of the GB space I have currently. Neither of which sounded appealing enough to me to trade, especially since nothing Apple announced for the 8 really differed from what I have now.

So as you can see, the option to upgrade to the 8 wasn’t even a thought in my mind. I was going to stick with the iPhone 7 I currently have and wait.

BUT THEN!!! APPLE ANNOUNCED THE IPHONE X!

This was a MAJOR game changer. It was a completely different iPhone, and totally worth upgrading too. New design, faster chip, new display upgrades, better camera than the iPhone 7 and 8, new security features, and a better battery. Now THIS was something worth upgrading too. But knowing Apple, I knew it wouldn't be cheap. Once pricing was announced I gave it a lot of thought and decided I could not/would not upgrade this year. And here's why.

For 64GB at $49 a month or 256GB at $56.16 a month I could own the iPhone X... Regardless I'd be paying more for less GB space if I went with the "cheaper" option. Now if you do the math, that's about $600 for a phone for a year. Or if I decided to keep the iPhone X it would be $1,200 for 2 years. NOT including any tax prices... As stated before, I currently pay $36 a month. So that would be an extra $13 more a month than what I currently pay. Which doesn't sound too expensive, but when you add it all up. That's $600 vs. $432 for a phone. It's ridiculous.

As a college student there's only so much money I can invest into a phone. I have other expenses such as car repairs, car insurance, textbooks, social events, and other items to think about. I can't justify spending $600 on a phone I'll have for a year and then trade in for a probably even more expensive phone. It's just becoming too much and I have to stop.

No. I'm not going to consider switching to a Galaxy so don't even ask. I'm just going to be smarter with my iPhone choices. While I love Apple and their iPhone's, they're getting quite ridiculous with their pricing. If they had just kept it at the same price, or upped it maybe $4 or $5 more a month I would have considered upgrading, but $13 is just something I can't bring myself to spend on a phone.

Sorry Apple, you've gone rotten this time.

Sincerely,
Sabrina