Apple just became the first public company to touch USD 3 Trillion in valuation. Apple Products are well known for their connected ecosystem, but are also quite expensive - especially in a country like India.
Original Story by Prashant Sachdev
One of the most successful products that Apple sells in India is the iPhone. However, the top of the line iPhone 14 Pro Max would cost about Rs. 1,38,000 (on the date of publishing this article). What if you could buy most of the Apple devices to enjoy the connected ecosystem for a price lower than that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max?
In this article, I would like to showcase a few Apple Products that might not be the top of the line variants, but would help you get into the larger Apple Ecosystem for better productivity and comfort.
iPhone SE 3rd Generation
The first Apple Product that I would recommend to anyone would be an iPhone. Most of the Apple Ecosystem relies on the iPhone.
The iPhone SE 3rd Generation was released in 2022. It has the A15 Bionic Processor which ensures that the phone’s performance is super fast. Note that the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max uses the same processor.
It is a known fact that the iPhone SE lineup uses the older body from the iPhone 8 which has a smaller display and a large bezel at the top and bottom. But the bottom bezel also consists of the Touch ID based Home Button - which is definitely something that many people would love having on their iPhone rather than the Face ID.
iPad 9th Generation
Most people I know only own an iPhone from the entire Apple Product Lineup. Once you own an iPhone, I would strongly suggest buying an iPad as this would help you enjoy the smooth iOS experience on a larger screen.
Having an iPad would actually help you move away from large screen phones as most of the tasks that do require a larger screen such as watching videos, browsing the web, going through Excel documents can be done more comfortably on a 10 inch iPad screen. Moreover, most iOS apps are now designed differently for the iPad ensuring that more content is displayed on the larger screen.
The iPad 9th Generation has the A13 Bionic Chipset which is capable enough to to handle all the tasks that you would do on an iPad.
You can also opt for the iPad 10th Generation that would cost a little more but offer a newer A14 Bionic Processor and slightly narrowed bezels.
You can also buy the folio keyboard and an Apple Pencil which will help you to eliminate the need of having a laptop for smaller tasks.
Apple TV 4K
Now most people might not be aware of this product. But this is actually one of the most interesting products in the Apple Lineup. The Apple TV 4K is technically a TV Box - similar to the Fire TV, Google Chromecast etc. However, the Apple TV is much more powerful than any of the competition.
The Apple TV consists of the A15 Bionic Chip which is the same Chipset used in the iPhone 14 and iPhone SE. This ensures that you get a much smoother experience while browsing through your TV. Apple TV 4K also supports Dolby Vision and Spacial Audio for a better TV Watching experience.
Products such as the Fire TV or the Smart TVs usually have a very basic processor that slows down within months. Moreover, such basic processors cannot handle multitasking. TVs are no longer meant to be used for watching the cable/satellite channels. Our generation uses TVs for browsing content on multiple apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, Hotstar, Jio TV etc. These apps are getting updates every now and then and they require a faster processor for a smooth user experience.
You can also use your iPhone to display content wirelessly on your TV. You can also pair your Airpods with the Apple TV to get a surround sound experience while watching Movies or TV Shows without disturbing people in your surroundings.
Moreover, with iOS 17, you will be able to use FaceTime on the Apple TV for video calling on larger screens.
Airpods 3rd Generation
Ever since Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone, the earphone listening experience was not just left upto the audio quality or comfort & fit. One of the key functionalities that became important was the bluetooth connectivity.
Back in the old days with wired earphones, we just had to plug the cable to the phone. But with bluetooth earphones, you would have to turn the earphones on first, then get into the phone’s bluetooth settings and then pair/connect the earphones.
But things changed with the AirPods - You just had to take out the earbuds out of the case and plug them into your ears and the pairing process would happen automatically.
The AirPods 3rd generation comes with Spacial Audio, Find My Support and MagSafe Wireless Charging which makes it better than the previous generations of AirPods.
HomePod Mini
The HomePod Mini is a great speaker that has many useful features but also sounds good. The HomePod Mini connects very easily with your iPhone, MacBook, iPad and even the Apple TV 4K as a Home Theatre.
You can even buy two of these and connect them as a stereo pair which will also support Spacial Audio for Apple Music. Further, if you’re listening to music on your iPhone and want to transfer it to the HomePod, just tap your iPhone on the HomePod.
The HomePod mini also has a temperature and humidity sensor. This can be used to create home automations to turn on/off the Air Conditioning or Heaters on the basis of your room temperature/humidity.
The Cost
Let’s now add up the cost of owning all of the above devices. Note that the below prices were noted as per Amazon/Flipkart/Croma on the date of publishing this article and also includes any ongoing bank offers:
1. iPhone SE 3rd Generation (64 GB) - Rs.43,900/-
2. iPad 9th Generation (64 GB) - Rs. 24,000/-
3. Apple TV 4K - Rs. 14,900/-
4. AirPods 3rd Generation - Rs. 18,100/-
5. HomePod Mini - Rs. 7200/-
Total Cost of Ownership: Rs. 1,08,100/- vs. Cost of iPhone 14 Pro Max: Rs. 1,38,000/-
You would still save approximately Rs. 30,000 if you buy the above set of products rather than an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Let me suggest you something that you can do with this money - Apple One Subscription.
Bonus Tip: Buy the Apple One Subscription
Now that you have saved Rs. 30,000 - You can buy the Apple One subscription that would include Ad-Free Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and 50 GB iCloud Storage.
This plan costs Rs. 199/month in India. So you could practically buy this plan for 13 Years at a cost of Rs. 30,000!
You would be able to use all the above services on all of your Devices. This will definitely make your overall Apple Ecosystem experience better.
Conclusion
It’s true that you would miss out on some features on the above devices that would be available on the higher end variants - but it is absolutely upto personal preferences. For me, the overall ecosystem experience is definitely much more important, but for a power user, the preferences might be different.
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