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In China, Some Apple Users Opt For iPhone Makeover Rather Than Buy New (reuters.com)
Instead of buying a new iPhone model, some Chinese iPhone owners are giving their old models a makeover to look like the latest version -- a trend that could dent Apple's efforts to boost sales in what has been its biggest growth driver. Catherine Cadell, reporting for Reuters: Online sites offer shoppers makeover kits, false cameras and even dust plugs to hide the removed headphone jack to give their iPhone 6 or 6S the appearance of the iPhone 7 -- Apple's latest flagship product which launched last month. The makeover quirk mirrors a broader view among some Chinese users that the iPhone 7 doesn't have enough new features to convince them to trade up. "I don't have the money to upgrade, and the (iPhone) 7 is just so-so," said a Beijing-based sales worker, who said he was getting a Shenzhen firm to replace his iPhone 6 back casing with a fake iPhone 7 shell. "I'm changing it to show off," he said, giving only his surname Gao as he wasn't sure that what he was doing was legal. Searches on platforms including Alibaba's Taobao showed a range of products to transform older phones to an iPhone 7 -- from stickers and engraving services to replacing the outer casing and even some of the hardware.
Just more proof that Apple owners only upgrade for style/fashion reasons, not for new features.
No sig today...
If you can't afford a real Rolex, buy a fake Rolex for five bucks. It's not like your friends can tell the difference anyway.
This need to show off nets the smartphone makers millions of sales every year. Most of those people couldn't tell the difference if you gave them a 3 year old smartphone in the enclosure of the new one.