Report Shows How Many Hours You Have to Work to Afford An iPhone 14

iPhone Explorers

Working Hours Needed to Afford a 128GB iPhone 14 Pro Max Around the World

If you think people are done with overpriced and overhyped Apple products by now, think again. Apple still has many fans wrapped around its finger, as evidenced by the public’s reception of the recent launch of the <a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone/">iPhone 14 series</a> featuring the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.&nbsp;

While many people seem to have qualms about the iPhone 14 baseline models due to their similarities with the previous year’s iPhone 13, there is much demand for the Pro and Pro Max models. According to <a href="https://medium.com/@mingchikuo/apple-iphone-14%E8%88%87%E4%BE%9B%E6%87%89%E9%8F%88%E7%9A%84%E8%BF%91%E6%9C%9F%E8%B6%A8%E5%8B%A2%E9%A0%90%E6%B8%AC-some-predictions-for-the-recent-trends-of-apple-iphone-14-and-supply-f896f496aaad">trend predictions</a> by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the estimated delivery time for iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is five to six weeks after the September 7 launch date, indicating that many people have pre-ordered the units. However, the iPhone 14 was in stock in major stores during the September 16 release date, demonstrating that people were not so excited about iPhone 14. While people’s reception of the iPhone 14 Plus popularity is yet to be seen on the October 7th release date, the demand for it seems as lackluster as that of the iPhone 14.&nbsp;

Here’s a peek at what makes the iPhone 14 models a must-have:&nbsp;

Naysayers quickly say that the iPhone 14 is just a glorified version of the previous year’s iPhone 13 and is not worth upgrading to. While there is a grain of truth in that statement, the iPhone 14 does offer a little extra, such as a 5-core GPU, 6GB memory, camera sensors, video stabilization, emergency SOS via satellite, and car crash detection. The iPhone 14 Plus, however, is merely a more significant iteration of the iPhone 14 with longer battery life, perfect for gaming, watching, and shooting photos and videos.&nbsp;

On the other hand, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max have a more pronounced improvement over the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models. The new ones come with the A16 Bionic CPU, a 48MP wide camera, the Dynamic Island feature to replace the notch, and new always-on displays.

Like clockwork, kidney for iPhone memes poking fun at the newest iPhone models have resurfaced around the time of Apple’s Far Out event. During this event, Apple launched the iPhone 14 Series alongside the unveiling of other products such as the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra, and the AirPods Pro 2.

Besides being funny, the memes, some of which are recycled versions from previous years, are just plain relatable — making them even more amusing. Just imagine: having a 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max can set you back by $1599, and that’s before AppleCare+ and accessories.&nbsp;

Here’s how much the iPhone 14 Series models sell for:

Selling your kidney (or any other body part for that matter) for a flashy high-end gadget — even if it is the newest Apple iPhone — might not be the best thing you can do for your health, as then 17-year-old <a href="https://techpp.com/2021/02/20/kidney-joke-origin/">Wang Shangkun</a> found out. And be careful with the memes. Some people might just take them at face value, as some Thais did over one such<a href="https://thainewsroom.com/2022/09/11/thai-netizens-blast-post-on-selling-kidney-to-get-mobile-phone/"> kidney-for-iPhone meme</a>.

How much do people from different countries need to work to get the iPhone 14 Pro Max?

We got curious about how many hours the average Joe — and people from other countries — need to work to afford an iPhone 14 Pro Max, so we shined our glasses, put on our thinking hats, and scoured the internet for answers.&nbsp;

(Based on the iPhone 14 Pro Max 128GB retail price of $1,099)

Citizens of Switzerland — land of chocolates, world-class watches, cheese, the Matterhorn, the Alps, and what-have-you — have an hourly salary of $31.81. Blessed with luck and fat pockets, the Swiss need to work only 35 hours or 4.5 days to afford the 128GB iPhone 14 Pro Max. Imagine getting the latest iPhone in less than a week. Sweet!

Following Switzerland’s lead are Singapore, Australia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. Small wonder, though, as these countries are among the top ten wealthiest countries.&nbsp;

Interestingly, the iPhone 14 prices differ according to country. Japanese web developer Jun Saito surveyed <a href="https://www.nukeni.com/en/apple/iphone/iphone14-pro-max?currency=usd">iPhone Pro Max prices in 37 countries</a>, naming the United States as the country where it’s cheapest to buy Apple’s latest top-tier smartphone. The survey tags Turkey as the most expensive country to buy an iPhone Pro Max 128GB from, as a single unit sells for US$2,399.05 — which is plain ludicrous if you ask us.

And then we have Sri Lanka, whose hourly income averages $0.81. Sinhalese must put their noses to the grindstone for 1,352 hours or 169 days to earn enough and get the latest iPhone 14 Pro Max. Its exorbitant prices are probably why the iPhone isn’t very popular in the country, accounting for only <a href="https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-sri-lanka">a 9.08% share of mobile web traffic</a>.

Joining Sri Lanka at the bottom of the pack are Pakistan, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Nepal. Notably, these countries rank below 100 in the list of wealthiest countries according to their <a href="https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/worlds-richest-and-poorest-countries">GDP per capita in relation to their purchasing power</a>. Pakistan ranked 138th, Nigeria placed 144th, and Venezuela and Nepal secured the 142nd and 151st spots, respectively. It is interesting, though, that Sri Lanka — the country that can least afford the iPhone 14 Pro Max — took the 98th position.

For the first time in the history of mobile devices, there are more iPhone users in the US than any other smartphone type. This phenomenon is a milestone for Apple, as the iPhone had always trailed after early mobile phone brands such as Nokia, Blackberry, and Motorola. Android took the lead soon after it entered the smartphone scene, leaving the iPhone behind.&nbsp;

According to a <a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/apple-posts-revenue-growth-despite-cocktail-headwinds/">study by Counterpoint Research</a>, the iPhone market share has hit a record high of more than 50% in the US. Apple attributes this rise to last year’s iPhone 13 camera capabilities and the growing base of new users, plus the loyal iPhone users of old.&nbsp;

Why the iPhone remains a fast-selling product every year even if the new versions don’t seem to deviate much from the previous models remains a mystery to non-iPhone users. Even if aficionados were to explain what makes the iPhone their smartphone of choice, stalwart Android supporters still wouldn’t get it.&nbsp;

While many people are quick to point out that the expensive iPhone is merely a mark of status or something to brag about, the device can hold its own against Android and other brands regarding functionality, design, and longevity. Many love the iPhone for its sleek and clean interface that’s easy to learn and get used to, not to mention the various apps and features that come with it. If you’re the kind to hold on to things until their last ounce of life, then you’ll find that the iPhone — provided you take proper care of it — can serve you for many years.

And then there’s Apple’s magnetic pull: the consistency that ties the iPhone together into a product that people love and other people love to hate because they can’t have it. Some call it marketing; others call it <a href="https://saatchikevin.com/lovemarks/future-beyond-brands/">lovemarks</a>. But whatever name you might want to call it, Apple’s loyal customer base is hooked and shows no signs of letting up.

We collected the global average monthly income from <a href="https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/prices_by_country.jsp?displayCurrency=USD&amp;itemId=105">Numbeo</a> and divided it by the <a href="https://www.omnicalculator.com/everyday-life/business-days#:~:text=How%20many%20business%20days%20do%20we%20have%20in%20a%20month,varies%20between%2024%2D27%20days.">average number of working days (22) in a month</a> to get the average income per day. Then, we divided the income per day by 8, the <a href="https://everhour.com/blog/average-working-hours/">average work hours in a day</a>, to get the average hourly wage per country.

We then visited the <a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone/">Apple Store website</a> to get the prices for the 128GB iPhone 14 models (iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max).&nbsp;

We divided the iPhone price (per model) by each country's average income per hour to get the number of working hours it takes to afford the iPhone 14 model. However, the summary uses only the data for the <b>128GB iPhone 14 Pro Max</b> to compare expected hours worked per country.

The Most Searched How-To Questions Per State in the Past Year

Supply and Demand Graph Makers

Years ago, the phrase "google it" would have been a pretty strange thing to say. Today, it seems completely normal. Not surprising since Google has become our go-to resource for almost everything, especially for doing and fixing things. For example, when the sink clogs up, most of us would google "how to unclog a sink" instead of "plumbers near me." Makes sense — why pay someone to do it when Google can teach you to DIY?

This is perhaps the reason for the increase in how-to searches over the years. According to Google News Lab data editor Simon Rogers, how-to searches have ballooned more than 140% since 2004, with people asking Google directions for various things, from boiling eggs to jumping cars.&nbsp;

“How to <b>tie a tie</b>?” has been the top-most searched how-to question in the United States for a year.

But what is most surprising is the top how-to search —&nbsp; how to tie a tie. Really? Who asks that?&nbsp;

Apparently, in the U.S. alone, people in 46 out of 51 states are asking Google the question. Roughly 90% of the Google searches in the United States for an entire year are about that piece of cloth worn around the neck. How to use a piece of fabric that serves no function, save for aesthetics, was the topic of Google searches 7787 times per month.&nbsp;

Many see the necktie as a formal accessory that conveys professionalism and authority. Some argue that ties cover the buttons in a man's shirt, which is why they are never worn with dress shirts, whose buttons are concealed. Some think ties are nothing but an attempt to feel superior and elicit undeserved respect. Others feel more confident about themselves when wearing a tie that complements their outfit.

While the jury is still out about ties, we know that more and more Americans want to learn how to tie a tie. More specifically, they want to know how to tie the following:

These are the top five states where most “how to tie a tie” searches came from.

The Top 5: Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio

We don’t know precisely why these states yielded the highest “how to tie a tie” search query. What we do know is that these five are among the ten most populated US states. And while they vary in how strict their Covid restrictions are (Florida ranked as the 8th state with the most relaxed rules and New York placed 39th), they have all <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/states-reopen-map-coronavirus.html">reopened around the same time</a>.&nbsp;

We couldn’t help but ask: have men (and women) missed dressing up after the Covid lockdowns? Do they feel like they need to relearn the rudiments of dressing up and tying a tie after a year or so of working from home dressed in sweatpants, boxers, or their birthday suits? Based on the numbers, that seems to be the case, but your guess is as good as ours.

While 46 of the states were searching for “how to tie a tie”, these five states were searching for these:

Top &amp; Rising Queries of All US States

These are the five top &amp; rising&nbsp; “how-to” questions in every US state:

We used the search term “how to” on Google Trends and limited the results to the United States for the past 12 months (August 2021 to August 2022). We then exported the report from every US state according to the top and rising queries.

To get the exact number of times the query was searched in Google, we used Google’s Keyword Planner — which also gave us the search traffic of every query. We then imported the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GD-ARHvf4roUqbyS_70gpILZsLeDRV8EMapzmXHVvC0/edit#gid=624132238">results into Google Sheets</a> to organize the data and determine the top searches per US state.

To ensure accuracy in the result per state, we did not include searches that do not start with the phrase “how to.”

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Report Shows How Many Hours You Have to Work to Afford An iPhone 14

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Report Shows How Many Hours You Have to Work to Afford An iPhone 14

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