Why are people willing to spend more than S$1.6k on the latest Apple iPhone?

Perhaps some of those who do that may want to show that they are of a certain status. There are others who are just iPhone enthusiast. Everyone has got their own vices.

What matters is one has to ask himself whether this is the best use of his money.

Maybe they enjoy the whole Apple ecosystem of having all their gadgets magically working seamlessly. Airdrop is really a big plus point when it comes to transferring stuff across different platforms.

It is a symbol of wealth to use an iPhone since celebrities and billionaires use them too. It's the closest you can get to look rich.

Ironically it's the cheapest among the other types of symbols of wealth, comparing to Ferraris, LV, Gucci or Rolex. Imagine paying $1.6K to be in the ranks of celebrities, it's a steal. And you have the bragging rights until the next iPhone launch too.

The same reason why people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on sports cars for the core functionality (getting from A to B). It is the same as a cheap car but the key part would be showing-off-your-income status symbolism!