A research has been carried out by Economists in the University of Chicago which states that owning an Apple device is a major sign of a person being wealthy. The research has been conducted in the US market and has taken into account several generations of Apple’s smartphone lineup, the iPhone along with other products. The researchers said, “Across all years in our data, no individual brand is as predictive of being high-income as owning an Apple iPhone in 2016”.
While the research didn’t provide a proper mechanism for determining the wealth of an individual, it did say that they could determine that an individual is wealthy depending on the phone they own. According to the research, there is a 69% chance of a person being rich if they own an iPhone.
The iPhone has been picked out in specific as Android devices are available in a significantly large price bracket. You can get Android devices for less than Rs.10,000 and for more than Rs.90,000 as well. The varying price bracket means that owners of Android devices cannot be categorized as being “rich”. The iPhone, on the other hand, has a different scenario. Take the current flagship, the iPhone X as an example. The phone retails for more than Rs.125,000 in Pakistan. There are a selected few individuals in Pakistan who can afford the iPhone X and thereby it has become a status symbol throughout the country.
The report also contained other information regarding the wealth of individuals as well. For example, it said that having Bluetooth along with heated/cooled seats in your car was an indication of wealth in the year 2016. Similarly, it also considered signs of wealth in previous years such as 2004, wherein not owning a “Bic” lighter used to be an indicator of “a luxurious choice” and wealth.
While these numbers might be enticing, the research might give birth to inter-society discrimination based on products owned by different consumers. After all, if the iPhone is a sign of wealth, should the owner of a Vivo phone (as an example) be considered inferior?
