Why we still get excited about a new iPhone

I still remember the first time I ever held an iPhone. Little did I know then that it was part of a cultural shift that had started from the day the first iPhone was released. It wasn’t mine, of course. I only held it for a while and looked through whatever was on the screen. I don’t remember which apps I opened or how long I had it in my hand. What I do remember is how different it felt. There was a sense that this was more than just another phone.

Many years and several iPhones later, that feeling should have disappeared by now. Strangely, it has not.

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Every year, a few months before a new iPhone is announced, the internet starts gossiping. There are leaked photographs, dummy units, possible colours and endless claims from people who apparently know someone working very close to the matter. One leak says one thing; another says the opposite. I know most of it could be wrong, but I still look.

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Then comes the countdown.

The launch date is announced. People start calculating what time the event will be shown in Bangladesh. Some stay awake to watch it live, although they have no plans to buy the phone. The next morning, the discussion continues at work, in university canteens and inside Messenger groups. Was it worth the wait? Which colour looks better? How much will it cost here?

It is a little silly when you think about it. Yet, that wait is also a big part of the enjoyment.

When we are waiting for something, the mind gets to play with the idea of it. We imagine how it will feel to hold, what photographs we might take, and where we might take them. The actual phone has not arrived, so there is nothing to disappoint us yet. For those few weeks, it can be whatever we want it to be.

In Bangladesh, the excitement has its own rituals.

Someone has a cousin coming from Canada. Someone else knows a shop that will bring it earlier. Prices are converted from dollars to taka, followed by the usual shock and a quick search for exchange offers. Local stores begin taking pre-orders, while Facebook groups fill up with questions about which country’s version to buy.

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Even the people who decide that it is too expensive remain curious.

There’s a lifestyle attached to the iPhone, and it would be dishonest to pretend it doesn’t exist. It can be a sign that someone is doing well here. Sometimes it is bought after months of saving. Some other times it’s a promotion, a birthday or a personal milestone. For many young people it’s also tied to the life they want to build, particularly if that life involves travelling, taking photos or creating content.

I know the feeling. A new phone will make you think you will finally take more photos, record those videos you have been planning, and organise your life a little better. Whether any of that will actually happen is another matter. Most of us find ourselves back on Facebook answering messages and ordering food.

Still, for a while, the possibility feels good.

Once the launch is over, reality returns rather quickly. The prices appear in Bangladesh, the early excitement settles, and everyone begins making sensible calculations. Those who buy it get used to it. Those who don’t move on. Within a few months, it is simply another phone being pulled out of a pocket.

Then the next leak appears, and the whole thing begins again.

I don’t think we wait only for the device. We wait for the small interruption it brings to an otherwise familiar year. It gives us something harmless to speculate about and, if I am being honest, a new version of life to imagine.

The phone may not change much every year. Our excitement, however, was never entirely about the phone.