iPhone is not worth your money

Why would you even bother buying Apple’s most expensive iPhone when it is worth more than your average tuition at Palomar.

Apple is set to release their iPhone X on Oct. 27, 2017, which is priced at $1,149, not including tax, warranty, or network/carrier charges.

The model includes a 5.8-inch display, 3D facial recognition, HDR display, super retina HD display, and dual optical camera. All these features have yet to be seen in prior models, nor in any other Apple products.

Sure these features are cool, but do they really bring value to your life like an education would? You don’t need a bigger screen, you just want one. And 3D recognition, that just sounds like an upcoming new age for hackers. Imagine if a hacker had all your information AND your face. The damage could be tremendous.

It even raises a question about national security, especially with the terrorism our nation has seen and threats from certain religious groups and attacks like the current one in Las Vegas.

Even given the fancy new features and the possible risks, do students really need to spend money on something that on average amounts to a semester at Palomar.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics research, they found from a household Survey, Americans spend an average of “more than $63 per month or $760 a year as of 2016” on their cell phone bills. These Americans “range for 21 to 86 years old.”

The current cost of tuition for a part time to full time student at Palomar is $669 for the 2017-2018 Fall and Spring terms.That’s almost half of what the iPhone X costs.

So not only are you spending more than an average tuition cost of a semester at Palomar, but you’re spending more than the average cell phone bill, and yet you still haven’t even added on the tax, warranty, and network/carrier charges. Not to mention, the accessories, too.

Looking at network, which is mainly what a smartphone is used for, a mini computer, the average cost of a gigabyte of data is $61.70 per gigabyte. The average includes costs from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon. These are the main carriers found on the Apple website to set up the upcoming iPhone X.

Yes, there are plans that most people take advantage of, like the unlimited talk and texts plans. Along with payment plans for the phone itself. Those can range from as little as $15 a month to $220. Then you’re stuck in a contract for two years.

Megan Leonhardt and Kaitlin Mulhere from Time.com compare and contrast the average usage of gigabytes of different age ranges. On average, people aged from 18-24 used the most, at 6.19 gigabytes per month. This is also the average age range for college students.

So by simple math, 6.19 times $61.70, is $381.92. That brings the whopping total to $1,530.92, just for the device and gigabytes. You still need to apply tax, warranty, carrier services, and most important, the $60 otter box case and $40 screen protector they always try to sell to you.

By the end of the day you’ve already spent over $1,600. Can you imagine how many cups of ramen that would be?

Actually, it’s about 12,307 cups of ramen. This could feed you for about 11 years if you have one per meal everyday.