As the iPhone 17 series has been released today, and photos of owners flaunting their new purchases online begin to circulate I spent a moment reflecting.
I tuned into the keynote. I got hyped up. I got pre-approved for the 24 month plan on a base model. I waited anxiously for the pre-order screen to refresh and placed my pre-order.
Thankfully the mist cleared fairly quickly and I realised what I’d succumb to. Once I was able to I cancelled the pre-order.
Yes I wanted an iPhone, I’ve been thinking about it for some time now but did I really need the latest model? And did I really need to pre-order it? Of course not. So what happened?
The allure of a well marketed product is that they play the long game. “Leakers” (paid marketers) will start to drop “rumours” about the next generation of devices long before they’re due to launch. This time it was that 120Hz will be standard on all models. This starts to generate chatter and a buzz online, people start looking forward to the announcement.
When the announcement, or in Apple’s case the “Keynote” comes around almost all the features have already been “leaked” and the details are just confirmed. Apple in particular must spend vast amounts of money on these presentations because I’ve seen box office films worse directed than these.
After that you get around a week before you can have the chance to pre-order. This leaves time for the opinions of others to come in. People start getting excited. Youtubers start building the hype. In peoples heads they start justifying reasons that they need this upgrade. A sense of urgency starts to be formed, after all so many people are ready to buy one this is a bandwagon you need to be on, right?
The pre-order window opens and you find yourself with an item in your basket eagerly waiting to part with your cash for a new shiny item. The whole experience builds urgency and excitement, ensuring that you don’t have time for rational thought and to talk yourself out of the purchase. Finally you hit that order button, it’s done.
In my case at least, that was where the bubble popped. The excitement faded and the realisation that I’d just committed to a large unnecessary purchase sunk in. For others that buzz and chatter keeps the excitement rolling until the release date comes around. They receive their new phone, and within a week it feels just the same as their old one. Novelty doesn’t last long and the brain quickly gets used to things and starts seeking out new and shiny again.
The strange thing with Apple’s release this year is that they don’t seem to be keeping up with the demand. I have colleagues who have expected delivery dates for their new iPhones dating well into October. Surely the point of a pre-order is that you receive it on release day? I wonder if the delay will cause many cancellations? After all the whole sense of urgency technique sort of falls over when met with a 3 week delay.
With a much clearer mind, devoid of hype I searched out an iPhone 12 mini. I’ve been gravitating towards smaller devices recently, these 6.8-7.0 inch behemoths just aren’t practical. The Oneplus 13 actually ripped a hole in my jeans pocket because it’s so large, but that’s getting off topic. I paid the princely sum of £115 for a mint condition 64GB (ouch) model in blue. It’ll need a battery replacement, which thanks to the EU I was able to order directly from Apple’s self repair store. It cost around £80 and I will receive a £40 credit when I return the old one. Not bad.
I’ll write a separate post about the iPhone 12 in my phone history series, but I’m smitten with it. It’s not new, it’s not flashy but it’s just received it’s iOS 26 update and it’s size and weight are perfect.
If you’re already using an iPhone made in the last 5 years, or have an Android phone that’s still receiving updates, and have an iPhone 17 series on pre-order this message is for you: Do you really need, or even want this device? Will it bring you any meaningful benefit over your current one? Novelty doesn’t last long, but spending £800-£2000 (depending on your model and configuration) does. Don’t feel bad for cancelling, and certainly don’t feel bad for keeping what you’ve got for a while longer.
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