How much does an iPhone really cost?

Your iPhones are not really yours.

Why? After a period, let's say 5 years, Apple stops updating them and they stop working as when they were new.

You may see some collectors of old iPhones showing how they still work nowadays. They are usable, perhaps you can call and send SMS with them, but applications like WhatsApp, Twitter, or Instagram won't be supported, and you'll be holding a dumb-phone instead of a smart one.

Anyway, the norm is that between the 2-year or 3-year mark, something in the phone starts to go downhill and you might be thinking of replacing it with a newer version.

I try to use the iPhones as long as they work.

For instance, my first iPhone was an iPhone 5S, and I paid ~680 euros for it. 3 years later it stopped working and I bought the iPhone 6 (it wasn't the last release), so I bought it for ~390 euros. And 2 years later, I bought my current phone, the iPhone XS, and I paid ~900 euros for it.

Let's do quick math:

Phone	Price (euros)	First photo date	Last photo date	Lifespan (days)
iPhone 5s	680	17 May 2014	17 Jul 2017	1157
iPhone 6	390	18 Jul 2017	16 May 2019	667
iPhone XS	900	16 May 2019	10 May 2021	725

I've paid a total of 1970 euros for a total of 2549 days of iPhone usage. 2549 days are ~85 months, so I've been paying a monthly quota of 23 euros to use an iPhone.

Let's go further here, let's calculate how much I've paid to use Apple products.

Phone	Price (euros)	First use date	Last use date	Lifespan (days)
iPhone 5s	680	17 May 2014	17 Jul 2017	1157
iPhone 6	390	18 Jul 2017	16 May 2019	667
iPhone XS	900	16 May 2019	10 May 2021	725
MacBook Air	850	27 Oct 2013	11 Apr 2021	2723
iMac	1500	28 Jan 2015	10 May 2021	2294
Apple Watch	299	4 Feb 2021	10 May 2021	95

I've paid a total of 4619 euros between 27 October 2013 and 10 May 2021 (2752 days). 2752 days are ~91 months, so I've been paying a monthly quota of 50,75 euros to use the list of Apple products above mentioned.

Numbers in the table are approximated but I assume that Apple knows exactly the monthly quota paid by every customer. Of course, I'll be rated as a cheap customer, since I don't renovate products frequently and I don't go for the newest or fanciest.