You're reading: New York Times: The true cost of upgrading your phone

New York Times: The true cost of upgrading your phone

Published Oct. 25, 2021. Updated Oct. 25 at 3:22 am

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 27, 2018, Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago, Illinois. Apple reported a jump in second-quarter earnings on May 1, 2018, and announced a hefty new share buyback plan, although sales of iPhone smartphones narrowly missed expectations. Apple reported a 25.3 percent rise in earnings to $13.8 billion. But iPhone sales for the quarter ending March 31 came in at 52.2 million, a bit below consensus estimates of 53 million. Shares rose 4.1 percent to $176.07 in after-hours trading. / AFP PHOTO / JIM YOUNG

Photo by AFP

Let’s talk about buying an iPhone for $1,000. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, once compared this eye-popping price tag to buying a cup of coffee a day over a year. No big deal, right? But financial advisers see this differently. By some estimates, an investment of $1,000 in a retirement account today would balloon to about $17,000 in 30 years.