The Iphone X hype: Psychology says

gsmarena.com

I for one am very tired of the over excitement and social media quake every time Apple rolls out a new phone. Since 2007, Apple had been releasing phones but it wasn’t until iPhone 4 before their sales started skyrocketing in Ghana. Iphone 4 and 4s as well as 5 provided a wide range of features that weren’t found in other phones and functioned better than the rest.

Since then, it’s been mediocre from Apple although the sales still go up with every new release. IPhone X is said to have a 5.8” screen, a 12MP camera, 3GB RAM, fast battery charging (50% in 30mins) as well as a Qi wireless charging and interestingly facial recognition. These features are awesome but are already in the market with some phones with even better features. The new Google pixel 2 has 4GB RAM, a 12.2MP rear camera and 8MP front camera.The iPhone camera is one of its important features and when compared with the Pixel 2 by Google, Evan Rodgers at Engadget  had this to say after various tests (click here to read more details of tests);

So which smartphone has the best camera? I feel confident giving that honor to the Pixel 2, but as we've seen, each device has pros and cons. The iPhone X, for example, is the only device that offers a native 24fps 4K video option, which is important if you want to mix it with footage from other cameras. But the Pixel 2's HDR still images, unmatched selfie camera, stable video and surprisingly good portrait mode put it ahead of the competition.

 The LG V30 which has a 6.0” screen, a 16MP back camera and a 4GB RAM certainly has better features. The wireless charging and AMOLED display that iPhone X boasts of goes back to Microsoft Lumia 950 (older phones like the Samsung Galaxy S3 had the AMOLED), which also has a 20MP back camera and fast charging (Charges faster than the IPhone X).

Beginning with iPhone 7, Apple removed the earphone jack to come up with the wireless earphones. This was a laudable idea to some extent but it’s easy to misplace due to the sizes. With the iPhone X, they’ve also removed the home button and users that need it have to buy an accessory. Certainly the iPhone X is not a hype-worthy phone and should have been a 2014 model at best.

Home button accessory starecat.com

So why the hype?

Reputation

Certainly with the early versions, it had gain recognition and so people had the conviction that the new iPhone was always going to be better. IPhone users always feel superior because they feel they’re using an up to date phone. When Apple started increasing the screen size with iPhone 6, users made it seem as though it was the first phone with a big screen (5.0 inches), when such phones had been there since like 2012. Since Apple has a good reputation with phones like the iPhone 4 and 5, people are inclined towards the newest Apple product.

Priming

Secondly, what I believe is happening is a psychological term called priming. Psychology today describes priming as “activating particular representations or associations in memory just before carrying out an action or task”. For example, consider this; ba_k. Your mind already came up with words like back and bark even before you thought much into it. Here, the unconscious mind affects the conscious and actions are taken without proper guidance and consideration. Priming is greatly influenced by good first impressions, where an individual's first encounter with a product can create such associations or representation (or misrepresentations). Products that stimulate a buyer's emotions and senses would encourage individuals to purchase, even without careful considerations. IPhone models very aesthetic and users may have already associated a good looking phone with a modern and proper functioning phone. The iPhone X didn’t provide any new features or functions but because of a good design and a good presentation at the launch, users already assumed they were getting value for money. After the association, it is easier for users to buy the phone without careful consideration of the specs. It is even possible that a good number of iPhone users don’t know the phone specs but would still hype it anyway.

Social Learning Learning

This third explanation sort of plays an important role to some extent. This is a process of learning where people observe certain behavioursof other people (usually their role models or important people in their lives) and then imitate them. For instance, when children observe their parents washing, later you'd find them picking up a few clothes and attempting to wash them. Another example is the Michael Jackson moon walk dance move or recently, social media challenges like the running man challenge and the tide pod challenge. Everyone around the world imitated the dance thousands of times after observing MJ do his thing. In the case of the iPhone, as a lot of celebrities and favourite TV personnel as well as peers and colleagues flock to buy the iPhone on it's release, people tend to also buy without careful considerations in a bid to imitate these people.

There is no way justifying spending GHC6990/$999 on a phone that’s technologically late by about three years, where there are better phones like the LG V30 (priced at GHC2575.70) and Microsoft Lumia 950 (priced at GHC2400). In their presentation as they boasted of an AMOLED screen and wireless charging, Samsung and other phone manufacturers might have been laughing and preparing a good ad for them.

What do you think? Do you still think the iPhone is better? Let me know in the comments. In the end though, it comes down to preferences so I’m not making a choice for you but let’s be more conscious about features of the phone and see if it’s worth the price you’re paying

All phone specs were taken from GSM Arena