Snippet: It Is Currently Impossible to Exchange Money for an iPhone ☇

Jason Koebler for Vice (via Nick Heer):

I think that buying a new phone is a shameful but occasionally necessary activity to continue living in the modern world. I disagree with most of Apple’s corporate philosophies on recycling, repair, and its walled-garden, monopolistic approach to the App Store. I do not like spending time in Apple Stores, nor do I like giving the company money, but I appreciate Apple’s commitment to privacy and security, and my current phone is more than three years old, has been repaired three times, and no longer takes photos or connects to WiFi. It is, unfortunately, Time for a New Phone.

The article makes it seem like Koebler would rather talk about how he’s not going to buy an iPhone as some sort of badge of honor. There’s almost this notion that some tech writers can only be against anything new. You don’t see writers who cover the automotive industry argue that while the new model of x is perfectly fine, they’re personally sticking with their 2002 Ford Focus to show everyone! But, back to the unavailable iPhones:

If you want to buy a new iPhone, there are two basic options: You can either become beholden to Apple for the next two years of your life by paying monthly installments of between $30 and $60, or you can give the company a bunch of money up front. […]

The problem is that, at the moment, it is nearly impossible to exchange US currency for an iPhone 11 Pro…

Koebler apparently forgets that most carriers offer financing and there’s plenty of places that do trade-ins (although his phone sounds like it’s on its last leg), so there are ways to get them without full price or Apple’s financing. While inventory is tight at times, they actually just don’t have the model he wants right now:

It is worth noting that you can buy the 64GB version of the iPhone 11 Pro at most stores, which is a version of the phone that shouldn’t exist because that is not enough storage.

I haven’t seen this argument very often, as it’s not like the days of the 16GB iPhones wearing out their welcome. For many people in 2019, 64GB will still feel cavernous, and they probably would be looking at the regular 11 anyway (the 128GB model is a good value proposition). At this point, my advice would be to order it, wait the week or two for the probably lower-volume model to ship, and try to enjoy it.