> This is truly the most dystopian timeline.

Why? Leasing has always been an option that some people and businesses prefer, depending on the circumstances. It’s commonly done with cars. In business situations leasing can be very common because it works well with your cash flow and doesn’t require taking more debt on your books.

You can buy out the item at the end of the lease term. Some people like this optionality because they get to defer the purchase decision into the future and benefit from any new information, like whether or not a new iPhone is worth upgrading to or how the battery is holding up.

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paxys 3 hours ago | parent [-]

The fact that we need to use the financing models of cars for basic consumer electronics is the dystopian part.

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darrenf an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Then I guess we’ve been in the dystopia for almost a century now. When I was a kid in the 70s and 80s we leased our TV and VCR. It was hugely common in the UK, the company was on many high streets and literally called Radio Rentals, founded 1930: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Rentals

> Radio Rentals was the largest television rental group in the UK and claimed that at its peak it had more than two million customers, more than 500 shops, 3,600 technicians, 2,700 skilled installers and a large ancillary staff. It had sales and service locations across the UK; the Radio Rentals logo being a common sight on many High Streets.

	▲	iamnothere an hour ago \| parent [-]
		We still have this in the US, it’s called Rent-A-Center and it’s a way to extract extra money from poor people for luxuries they can’t afford.

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Aurornis 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You don’t need to do it. It’s an option.

Also calling the latest iPhone “basic consumer electronics” is out of touch. The budget options are older generation iPhones or other phones, not one of the most expensive brands on the market.

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pishpash 22 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You already do it for music and TV shows. That's not cheap either.

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fckgw 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You can still just buy it. This is another payment option.

	▲	iamnothere 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		For now

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tekla 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

"need" is doing a lot of work for a luxury product