When should I upgrade my Apple products?

[nickprete11]

Hello everyone! I have an upgrade cycle for my Apple products, and I upgrade my iPhone every 2 years because of my 2 year contract. I have a dilemma though. I just bought an iPad and Mac, and do not know when I should upgrade them. Should I upgrade from my 4th gen iPad to the 5th gen iPad whenever it comes out? When should I upgrade my Mac? Every year? Also, what is the best way to sell it and make the most money? I know about eBay, but final value fees really kill me. Thanks everyone, and have a great weekend!

[Stewart21]

Phones are different but I would say that your iMac may be capable of taking an upgrade in terms of RAM and storage before being replace. It all depends on what you are doing with it. My iMac is from 2007 and is still fine for the applications I use. I will change it when it breaks or when it cannot easily run my apps. My iPad Mini is only two months old, I expect it to last at least three years before I need to replace it.

[DavidbackAII]

hi
i have both the 2nd imac g4 and a mac pro 1.1 intel; with updated software these have worked great for me so far.

but, my rule of new macs is when i run out of their being able to do a function etc...i buy new.
good luck....

[auhagen]

Well i think it's stupid to update all the time, if the products suits your needs.

I personally cannot take it, that people have to upgrade everytime apple release a new product.

If it fits your needs, stay with it.

People are often saying things to me like "Why do you still own a iPhone 4", and the answer is simple "It works". So ask your self, do I need a update, and the money concern, is not a thing i would think too much about. Apple products tend to keep a high price tag, even if their old

[nickprete11]

Well I have the 2012 MacBook Air, so I cannot upgrade it.

[thekev]

Originally Posted by nickprete11

Well I have the 2012 MacBook Air, so I cannot upgrade it.

Did you buy something that suited your needs? It's less than a year old. If it feels slow, you simply purchased the wrong thing.

[designs216]

Seems a little nutty to upgrade each refresh. If it still gets the job done, I stick with it.

[Santabean2000]

1. Upgrade every year - means you always are under AppleCare and always have the very best. The only real downside is the hassle of migrating to a new machine all the time and the annoyance of having to sell off the old tech to recover costs.

2. Buy the best you can and hold onto it for as long as possible - means you have something that requires a one-time setup and then 'just works'. Environmentally better too. You will miss out on the Apple lust as new tech rolls out tho.

For me, I tend to run my desktops into the ground; they have to last a long time. My portable devices get a more regular refresh as they get trashed a lot more.
Me:
iMac 2009, expected to last until 2015 at least.
mini 2011, expected to last until 2017 at least.
MBP 2012, (refreshed from 2009 MBP) expected to last until 2015
iPhone 5, (from iPhone 4), expected to last until 2014
iPad 2, to be refreshed this yr!

[RedCroissant]

Originally Posted by Stewart21

Phones are different but I would say that your iMac may be capable of taking an upgrade in terms of RAM and storage before being replace. It all depends on what you are doing with it. My iMac is from 2007 and is still fine for the applications I use. I will change it when it breaks or when it cannot easily run my apps. My iPad Mini is only two months old, I expect it to last at least three years before I need to replace it.

I agree that an iMac will be fine to have just the RAM upgraded. I still use my 2009 iMac for everything and my 2005 iBook G4 for school and everything else when I can't sit at my desk.

Even though I see how great the new machines are, my current machines work perfectly and the only way I see myself upgrading is if something suddenly fails now that my AppleCare is gone.

[KiwiAdventure]

I have been selling my iPhones and iPads every one to two years old as they keep their value well and Apple has changed the screen and quality a lot. Their are a lot of people who cannot afford new pricing but can afford the lower pricing on one to two year old products.
I now have a iPhone 5 and iPad 3 and I don't see changing these for two years as the screen and quality are great. My iPad has almost replaced my iPhone in use. If I could buy a bigger screen iPad I would, smaller doesn't interest me.
My 2009 Mac Book Pro and Mac Mini will not be replaced for another year or two or until they stop working or I can sell them for a good price, as they have both had new hard drives installed under apple care and work 100%.
Apple need to have 500g drives in their Apple Airs before I'll buy those.

[nickprete11]

So how does this sound? I will upgrade all my Apple devices every two years. I will upgrade my iPhone, Mac, and iPad every two years, my Apple TV every year, and my iPod shuffle every year. And the iPad will probably still be supported, like Apple did with the iPad 2.

[RedCroissant]

Originally Posted by nickprete11

So how does this sound? I will upgrade all my Apple devices every two years. I will upgrade my iPhone, Mac, and iPad every two years, my Apple TV every year, and my iPod shuffle every year. And the iPad will probably still be supported, like Apple did with the iPad 2.

Well, I'll tell you how it sounds: AWESOME and EXPENSIVE. But then again, if you have the money and the inclination; great.

Just feel free to let me know if I can get one of the devices you decide to upgrade! ahem, I wouldn't mind an AppleTV or an iPad.

[Spink10]

Originally Posted by RedCroissant

Well, I'll tell you how it sounds: AWESOME and EXPENSIVE. But then again, if you have the money and the inclination; great.

Just feel free to let me know if I can get one of the devices you decide to upgrade! ahem, I wouldn't mind an AppleTV or an iPad.

I will take the Mac!

[RedCroissant]

Originally Posted by Spink10

I will take the Mac!

WAIT!!!! NO. I'LL take the Mac. Me, this guy right here. Yes, me. Forget Spink. Who's been there for you all throughout this thread???? Well, not throughout, but I was definitely here before Spink was. Look, just check the log and you'll see. OH, YOU'LL SEE.

[Fishrrman]

"When should I upgrade my Mac? Every year?"

Only if you don't mind spending the money for relatively small increases in power.

I would say, upgrade when you find your current Mac is no longer doing for you, what you'd like to do with it.

Example: I just picked up a 2012 Mac Mini, to replace my PowerMac g4, which was going on _NINE_ years old. It still ran ok, but was reaching the point where the software (such as Safari) couldn't "keep up" with changes on the net and wasn't upgradable. So… time for a replacement.

I _can_ think of one reason to upgrade to a new Mac -- the introduction of USB3. VERY nice improvement (I use an SSD connected via a USB3/SATA "docking station" as my boot device, very fast).

[imanidiot]

Now! The time to upgrade is now! Apple has a God-given right to your money and you have no excuse to withhold it from them. "When should I upgrade my Apple products?" What kind of silly question is that? You should upgrade all of your Apple products now! What's the matter with you? Do it! Do it now!

[slu]

I upgrade a device when it no longer will perform a function I want it to. That is my basic rule. I will probably upgrade my Mac this year since my current Mac won't run ML and I'd like to use some of the ML features. I have only had two Macs since 2004. And 3 total computers since 2000.

At this point, I have no reason to upgrade my iPhone 4 as I have not yet been limited in what I want to do. I would like LTE, but I am using pre-paid now so I wouldn't get it anyway. Sure, I would like the latest gadget, but this is the way I have been doing it for a while and it works for me. Same thing with my iPad 2.

[ditzy]

I can't really say what I think you should do, but I can say what I do.
I find that iOS devices begin to get laggy after two generations. If I'm in a good financial position I update these every other generation. If money is tight I wait another generation on top of that.
I personally use my macs until they begin to annoy me with their slowness. With my last mac that took around 4 years. But that is a personal thing.

[nickprete11]

Obviously I'm not made of money. I would sell the older products on eBay first!