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Any of you just keeping your iPhone until it dies?

I usually don't keep phone after it dies, except for nostalgic reasons. Mostly get new phone when it dies as no one calls me any more after.






Sorry, couldn't help myself this morning, in one of those moods where everything seems hilarious to me.
 
bigjnyc said:
Most of Apples groundbreaking features introduced so you can buy a new iphone are gimmicky in my opinion (even though I still always buy it) with the exception of touch ID, that is the only feature I use and love, typing in the password every time to unlock the phone was getting really annoying... the rest I use at first then they kind of faded away for me, like siri, facetime, apple pay, 3D touch (even though 3D touch I still use every once in a while and it is a feature that is still being developed and expanded so this may become useful)
Click to expand...

Touch ID was a huge timesaver for me because I use long complex passwords (1Password ftw). 2GB of ram was HUGE for me too, as an Ingress player or even trying to take a picture while talking on Hangouts caused both apps to close and need to be fresh started on 1GB of ram (6+). The 12 MP camera was a nice bump and I find I'm barely using 3D Touch even though I love how I can press the middle left of the screen to switch apps without hitting the home button. Speed is very noticeable between 6+ and 6s+.

I am glad subsidies are gone, I got -$20/mo on each one of my Verizon Wireless lines - but, now we're paying $44?/mo for each phone from Apple (Upgrade Plan). So, I didn't have to shell out $1000 but I will over time. My wife and I traded in our (Verizon Edge plan) 6+ phones and got $300 each for them (instantly credited back to a visa card) when we got our 6s+ phones on the Apple Upgrade plan.

I got the upgrade plan specifically because I like to upgrade my phone often and my trade ins are usually 100% perfect so I always get max value for them. Now, I can get a new phone every year, and yes, I know I'm paying a little more for that but ... we'll see. My goal is to keep the phone for 2 years, so I can sell it and get max value for my $, but, I'll probably be tempted to get next year's iPhone.
 
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makinao said:
My 2012 carrier-locked iPhone 4s is running 9.3.2, slow but tolerable. Battery life has always been limited, and it needs a power bank to get through the day when cellular data is on. 3g gets slow when other devices are tethered to it. The 16gb is always full, and I have to be frugal with its contents. But it is very reliable, and have it set up exactly how I want it.

I finally decided to upgrade to an SE yesterday when I got a generous bonus at work, I yearned for LTE, and the 4s was left off the iOS 10 list. But I'm keeping my 4s as a backup until all my contacts start communicating with me on my new number (I had to get a new sim because my late 1990s mini-sim cut down to micro-sim could not be cut down to nano-size anymore).
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When I checked what phones O2 is selling, they actually sell a refurbished 4s for £69.
 
MacBH928 said:
When I was younger I used to think like you, I want my purchases to last forever. As I got older, I realized that money is less valuable than experiencing new technology and enjoying it.

I missed on a lot of technology and trends because I refused to upgrade or buy items for their retail price until they got phased out (like the iPod).

I will not upgrade on novelty items like speed "bumps" and force touch.
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The opposite is true for me.
When I was younger I used to always want the newest and best.
Now, I can always think of better things to do with my money.

Then again that's probably also a function of the smartphone being stale nowadays.
 
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Phonefanman said:
It's amazing an iPhone will run 3 times longer than its upgrade cycle.

People trade in their old iPhone it gets shipped off to some 3rd world country to be sold and used for years.

You fork over $600 to $900 for the latest greatest iPhone to have a better camera, little faster processor, etc etc. But for day to day use you realize wow my old iPhone does everything I need and still has lots of life left in it.

You think they will ever design a phone that shuts down after so many years? Just to force you into upgrade. Or does apple design the phones to last way longer so they can resell them to the less fortunate somewhere else in the world?

I say we be the less fortunate ones and run that puppy until it stops working. This will push apple into making a phone you won't want to live without. Instead of these iPhone 6 owners upgrading to the iPhone 6s on release day.

I didn't see the point in upgrading me likes my iPhone 6... iPhone 7 me will want though...i like skipping a generation or two...economical and gives you a serious upgrade when it happens and plus you get a lot of mileage out of your phone this way...
Click to expand...

My first iPhone, the 3GS 32GB, is still in use every day in my household. 7 years old. Not bad.
 
I still have my 5s, which I've been eligible to upgrade on our corporate plan for a while. Why keep it? A few reasons:
  • Lack of compelling new features in the 6s. The larger screen would be nice, but I care not about force touch or Apple Pay
  • Investment in my battery case, which would cost me another $100 on top of the phone price to upgrade. If Apple thinks that the battery on an iPhone lasts long enough that I shouldn't need a battery case, then they don't travel on long flights like I do
The iPhone 7 looks even less likely to motivate an upgrade. Removing the headphone jack means extra cost in the form of bluetooth headphones. And extra inconvenience because wireless headphones won't last for a transatlantic trip, let alone transpacific.

I have no idea why Apple seems to be doing everything it can to get me to NOT upgrade, but it's working.
 
I purchased the original in 2007, a 3GS in 2010, a 5 in 2013, and now an SE in 2016. When I got the 3GS, the original was unlocked and used as an international travel phone. When I got the 5, I unlocked the 3GS and it served that purpose until this year. Now I have the 5 around to use as a travel phone. The 3GS lives in an iHome on my porch, serving up music. My original 4GB iPhone sits lovingly on my desk, a happy reminder of a well-built phone.

I'm not normally in any real hurry to upgrade my iPhones; I tend to upgrade in lurches centered around when the RAM doubles, although I skipped over the 512MB iPhones. I purchase whatever will meet my needs and budget at the time, and use it until the benefits of a new one outweigh the detriment of actually buying a new one.
 
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I have never really used any phone until it died. I usually upgraded to something else eventually but with the way technology and platforms has matured so much in this decade that a $30 Moto E 4G and Lumia 640 can fulfill 90% of my needs, I might not need to buy newer tech as often anymore. And if the perfect battery comes out within five years and never degrades after 200K times or full charges in minutes, I may end up using specific phones until I die first. True lifetime usage.

Once we quantum leap frog with battery life is when we can truly use our phones until the motherboard dies. Great for our Earth too if we create the perfect battery that never degrades and charges fast. Not have them thrown into our oceans. For now, buying newer phones is like buying disposal tools that become junk after a few years. But the vicious cycle of smartphones upgrades will stop for awhile. Nothing truly last forever.

Magic Leap or something else can be the next big thing by the 2030's. I hope Facebook is unpopular by then. Looking at all my funny gifs and cool photos saved on my PhotoBucket account from 2005-2008 a couple nights ago makes me miss MySpace so much. The decade of the 2010's = Smartphones, social media, Apple v Samsung/Google. Something different for the next decade, please?
 
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BigMcGuire said:
Touch ID was a huge timesaver for me because I use long complex passwords (1Password ftw). 2GB of ram was HUGE for me too, as an Ingress player or even trying to take a picture while talking on Hangouts caused both apps to close and need to be fresh started on 1GB of ram (6+). The 12 MP camera was a nice bump and I find I'm barely using 3D Touch even though I love how I can press the middle left of the screen to switch apps without hitting the home button. Speed is very noticeable between 6+ and 6s+.
Click to expand...

Touch ID with 1Password is an amazing combination. Like you I prefer to use long complex passwords (also thanks to 1Password) and I get slightly irritated when websites don't accept symbols and I have to change my 1Password settings on the auto-generated password. This makes it so convenient, plus with a lot of apps utilizing the app extension (https://blog.agilebits.com/1password-apps/) I've found that it's much easier to login to apps and websites on iOS.
 
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I got my wife a 4s for an anniversary gift back in 2012. I then upgraded her to a 5s in 2014, and started using her old 4s for myself. It's been working just fine for me for the last two years, but when I heard about the SE, I decided I was going to get one of those to replace it.

Two months later, the SE still isn't available anywhere in the NYC area. Since I don't have a pressing need for a new phone, I've been content to wait. The funny thing is, in the meanwhile I upgrade the 4s to IOS 9.3.2, and have been amazed at the new life that's been breathed into it. My 4s is far more responsive than it was before. Siri requests take literally a third the time they did last month. The phone is now so fast that I'm rethinking whether I need to update at all.

Given the low price of the SE, it's likely I'll splurge at some point during the next few months, but it's nice to know I don't have to.
 
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It looks like I might. The last 3 times I have bought a phone, I have been very underwhelmed and returned it. At some point I expect my 5s will be too slow. So I won't say that I will keep the phone till it breaks, but keep it for as long as it is usable.
 
I'm still using a 5S and will keep it until it is absolutely dead. I intend to fix it also when componenents start breaking on it (i.e. Home button, etc.), unless, of course, Apple makes it unusable software wise. The 5S is still a great phone.
 
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I have the 6s 128gb and am eligible for another phone in October 2017. But before this, I had a flip phone which lasted me over 11 years. (Battery is still good and it is my defacto backup phone.)

So certainly this phone could last me 3-4 years no problem. The 4.7" size though is the thing giving me pause.

Ideally, Apple would reduce the bezels and do away with the home button while keeping the 4.7" display and then I might stay. But one-handed use suffers currently (typing accuracy blows)...which is why I hope Apple in 2017 adds the 4" model back in the yearly rotation. Choice is good!
 
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I have been using my iPhone 5c (as a spare phone)from its lauch day and still no sign of any wear and tear,the battery is still strong enough to keep me through out the day (the only iPhone i kept so long)
 
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I want to get the first iPhone. I just think they are neat. Be cool to have a collection of all the iPhone's over the years. You need to keep in mind these are still advanced electronics. Be something cool to share with you children's children's children...
 
I used to enjoy collecting things, but now no more. I think it just creates clutter. What I think is more interesting is creating archival content that organizes the information in ways that makes it accessible to the world. But I think there are already many websites that do that for Apple stuff, like e.g., everymac.com.
 
Phonefanman said:
I want to get the first iPhone. I just think they are neat. Be cool to have a collection of all the iPhone's over the years. You need to keep in mind these are still advanced electronics. Be something cool to share with you children's children's children...
Click to expand...
I had the first IBM xt that cost a few thousand dollars, my wife made me throw it out lol.
 
Phonefanman said:
Be something cool to share with you children's children's children...
Click to expand...

Doubtful.

Do you have a hankering to see the early cell phones...you know, the ones that you lugged around...I don't.

In 10-15 years time, maybe the cellphone is the size of a quarter or maybe a business card. Or maybe it gets implanted in you.

Bottom-line, few people really care about old tech and not something as commonplace as a smartphone, nowadays.
 
I have my very own recycling program. I buy the new one... wife gets my 1-year old phone, oldest kid gets hers, 2nd oldest kid gets oldest kid's phone, etc... The family is still rocking a 5. It works out that by the time the phones stop getting updates, the youngest kid is just getting a replacement.
 
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Since 2011 I've upgraded almost every year. In 2012 I sold my 4s and bought a HTC One. In 2013, I sold my broken HTC One and bought a 5s. In 2014 I sold the 5s and bought my 6+.

Last fall my wife bought a 6s and I was expecting to be "wowed" and want to upgrade. It's a fast phone and the faster TouchID is awesome, but otherwise I haven't found a reason to upgrade. Maybe I'll sell my 6+ this year, but I'll have to wait and see how the next iPhone looks.
 
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