Total Cost of Lifelong Ownership For iPhone

Looking to get an iPhone? Before you rush out and buy one, you may want to think about how much it will cost. Although most people will look at this from a 2 year standpoint, you might want to look longer term at the total lifetime cost of ownership.

Its Not About The First Two Years

For this discussion, I am going to assume you want to buy the new Apple iPhone 4s. You are 21 years old and are dying to get your hands on it. Now when you buy into Apple, mind you, you are buying into a cult. Once you go to Apple, you will never go back. So I will assume you will be a devoted Apple iPhone fan for life.

Now there are three models ranging from 16GB all the way to 64GB. The 32GB model costs $299. We'll base our cost estimate on that model.

Also, your cell phone carrier will lock you into a 2 year contract so there is no backing out.

Its About the Cellular Service Fees

You can choose among three network carriers - AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Let's assume that we are going to use AT&T for our network carrier.

Presently, AT&T offers the 32GB iPhone 4s connection packages at three different price points:

• Nation Unlimited $69.99/month
• 900 Rollover Minutes $59.99/month
• 450 Rollover Minutes $39.99/month

In this estimate, we are going with the minimal 450 minute plan for $39.99/month.

But we don't stop there. When you purchase an iPhone, you need to pay for the mandatory AT&T data plan:

• DataPro 4GB $45.00/month
• DataPro 2GB $25.00/month
• DataPlus 200MB $15.00/month

We'll choose the $25.00 2GB package.

Then we'll assume messaging and data fees at 50 text messages at $0.20/message ($10) and 10 pictures/video messages at $0.30/message ($3.00). In addition, we'll add $7 in taxes and fees.

Here's the monthly breakdown:

• $59.99 cell plan
• $25.00 data plan
• $10.00 text messages
• $3.00 pictures/video messages
• $7.00 taxes and fees

Adding this up, we arrive at $105 in monthly cellular charges ($1260 a year).

Lifelong Cost Of Ownership of Apple iPhone

Now we come to the original question - "How much is the total lifetime cost of owning an iPhone?"

Lets say, you are 21 years old and will live to say 75 years old (i.e. 54 years ). Remember, once you go Apple, you don't go back.

Now you aren't going to be using that same phone for 54 years straight. You are going to be buying new phones as cooler models come out or if your phone breaks or wears from usage. So for sake of this estimate, lets say you replace it every 6 years. Also, your cell phone battery is going to die and you will need a new one. Lets say you replace the battery every 4 years. In addition, you will buy Apps and music too.

• 54 years of service @ $1260 year = $68,040
• 9 replacement batteries @ $100 each = $900
• 9 phones at @ $299 each = $2691
• 250 Apps @ $1 each = $250
• 250 Songs @ $1.99 each = $500

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Total lifetime cost: $72,381

You would have never thought it would cost this much, would you!

Lifetime Cost of Owning An iPhone At Various Ages

For those who are reading this who aren't 21 years old, look up your age below to find out what your total lifetime cost of ownership will be. Apple is going to do its best to make sure you stick to their brand by storing all your personal data in iCloud. So for the most part, you really are locked into Apple for life.

Assumes ownership to age 75

Updated: December 16, 2011

About Kerry Kobashi

Kerry is the founder of KerryOnWorld. He lives in Silicon Valley and has worked as an engineer and project manager. He owns Kobashi Computing a consulting company.