iPhone XS Anyone else still using a XS?

[meteoreos]

I’ve had the iPhone XS since it was released back in 2018, but never really had the need to upgrade. But I like the look of the mini iPhones mainly due to their size.

Is anyone else looking to upgrade from their XS this year? If so, what are your reasons?

 

[velocityg4]

Still? I just bought mine this year. I don't see the need to have the latest phone. The XS is way faster than I need, the camera is still just as good as when it was new and the screen is superb.

I get to save money by buying used. Get an excellent product. Plus reduce ewaste by giving a used iPhone a second life rather than buying a new one. In a year or two I'll sell it to someone else. So, it keeps getting used. While moving onto a used iPhone 11 Pro or 12 Pro. Depending on how long I wait.

It costs about $75 a year to use two year old flagship iPhones. Which are still faster and better supported than most other new devices in their price range. Plus they depreciate at a slower pace.

 

[casperes1996]

Still? I just bought mine this year. I don't see the need to have the latest phone. The XS is way faster than I need, the camera is still just as good as when it was new and the screen is superb.

I get to save money by buying used. Get an excellent product. Plus reduce ewaste by giving a used iPhone a second life rather than buying a new one. In a year or two I'll sell it to someone else. So, it keeps getting used. While moving onto a used iPhone 11 Pro or 12 Pro. Depending on how long I wait.

It costs about $75 a year to use two year old flagship iPhones. Which are still faster and better supported than most other new devices in their price range. Plus they depreciate at a slower pace.

As a Dane, I often get the Impression that Americans swap their phones a lot and often have operator contracts with “trade-up” programs to hide the cost.

I have an iPhone 8, my dad has the original SE and my mum has the second gen SE. I’d way way way rather buy a new Mac than a new phone, but ey that’s just me.

Of course folk can prioritize their spending however they want, but this is just another comment in the pile of “There’s a lot of us out there who’re fine not having the latest phones. Some of us don’t even care so much about phones at all”

 

[frou]

The pattern I've settled into is using an iPhone until the battery is shot, then getting the battery replaced and using it until it is shot once again. Will be doing that with my XS too.

I do think it's worth being on an iPhone X onwards (notch, no home button) because then you're on the "modern branch" of all the UI code/design, which is almost certainly what Apple puts more thought into.

 

[Feyl]

I love my XS. I bought it new last September and I will buy a new iPhone this year only if Apple introduces the new mini with better battery. I love smaller iPhones but even the XS is a bit large for me. But it's just as fast for me as the latest iPhones and the camera is really good, so I really have no real reason to upgrade.

 

[TiggrToo]

An XS would be an upgrade from my 7plus!

And there’s folk out there actively using even older devices as their daily driver…

 

[now i see it]

XS is still a modern iPhone. I can see upgrading from an iPhone 6, but not a XS.

 

[velocityg4]

As a Dane, I often get the Impression that Americans swap their phones a lot and often have operator contracts with “trade-up” programs to hide the cost.

I have an iPhone 8, my dad has the original SE and my mum has the second gen SE. I’d way way way rather buy a new Mac than a new phone, but ey that’s just me.

Of course folk can prioritize their spending however they want, but this is just another comment in the pile of “There’s a lot of us out there who’re fine not having the latest phones. Some of us don’t even care so much about phones at all”

Probably seems that way. As American movies and TV makes it seem that way. Plus this forum is heavily biased towards American tech enthusiasts. Many of whom are buying a new iPhone, new iPad and multiple Macs every year or two. Along with every other tech gadget Apple makes.

In my experience that's nowhere close to the norm. Of course I'm also mostly dealing with people who know nothing about tech. So, I'm likely seeing things skewed in the opposite direction.

Going by Statistica. There are 294.15m smartphone users in the US and 126.3m sold in 2020. That's at least a phone every 2.3 years.

Topic: US smartphone market

How many cell phones are sold each year, and how many smartphones are there in the U.S.? Find out in our analysis on the U.S. smartphone market!

www.statista.com

I couldn't find the number of units sold per year in Denmark. But Apple commands about the same market share of phones in the US as Denmark around 50%.

Counterpoint

www.counterpointresearch.com

Mobile smartphone OS market share U.S. 2012-2024 | Statista

Apple's iOS continues to hold the largest share of the smartphone operating systems market in the United States, claiming more than half of the market as of March 2024.

www.statista.com

Denmark also has a smartphone penetration rate of 86.62% and about 85% in the US.

US smartphone ownership 2023 | Statista

The percentage of U.S.

www.statista.com

Denmark: number of smartphone users 2020-2029 | Statista

The number of smartphone users in Denmark was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.3 million users (+5.7 percent).

www.statista.com

As Denmark has a higher household income per capita than the US. I'd expect, given everything else. Danes buy new phones as regularly if not more frequently than Americans.

US Household Income per Capita, 1984 – 2022 | CEIC Data

US Annual Household Income per Capita reached 33,740.800 USD in Dec 2020, compared with the previous value of 33,140.800 USD in Dec 2019.

www.ceicdata.com

Denmark Household Income per Capita, 2000 – 2022 | CEIC Data

Denmark Annual Household Income per Capita reached 44,838.054 USD in Dec 2020, compared with the previous value of 41,909.023 USD in Dec 2019.

www.ceicdata.com

I got way more into this than I though I would.

 

[Saladin12]

I’ve had the iPhone XS since it was released back in 2018, but never really had the need to upgrade. But I like the look of the mini iPhones mainly due to their size.

Is anyone else looking to upgrade from their XS this year? If so, what are your reasons?

I got mine in April 2019 after swapping my 1 month old Samsung S10 with my brother for his iPhone XS that he got on launch in September 2018.

I’ve loved it ever since but, admittedly, I’ve treated it badly and now it’s deffo seen better days. Completely shattered glass back, minor scratches on front screen, and the battery could deffo be better. It’s well loved, shall we say.

I almost upgraded to the 12 in February of this year but held off. Saved money by moving to a sim-only contract. I’ll be buying the 13 Pro Max (fancy a big screen this time) when it comes out this year. I feel like having three years of updates (11 Pro, 12 Pro, 13 Pro) should amount to a good and noticeable upgrade!

 

[Bug-Creator]

The pattern I've settled into is using an iPhone until the battery is shot,

Sounds like a good idea.


Small problem though, my Xr is still at about 102% of design capacity (was 106% when I bought at release)......

 

[meteoreos]

I got mine in April 2019 after swapping my 1 month old Samsung S10 with my brother for his iPhone XS that he got on launch in September 2018.

I’ve loved it ever since but, admittedly, I’ve treated it badly and now it’s deffo seen better days. Completely shattered glass back, minor scratches on front screen, and the battery could deffo be better. It’s well loved, shall we say.

I almost upgraded to the 12 in February of this year but held off. Saved money by moving to a sim-only contract. I’ll be buying the 13 Pro Max (fancy a big screen this time) when it comes out this year. I feel like having three years of updates (11 Pro, 12 Pro, 13 Pro) should amount to a good and noticeable upgrade!

I actually had my XS, which was purchased in 2018, replaced in November last year through Apple Care+ (shattered glass). I’ve since bought another Apple Care+ plan for the replacement they gave me, so I’m set until late 2022 at least.

You’ve all given great points for not upgrading and I agree with them. The only thing that was appealing to me was the smaller footprint of the mini, but I don’t think it’s worth it in the end.

 

[srbNYC]

I used to feel the upgrade itch more quickly than I do with my XS. I love it and feel no need to replace it. My AppleCare is about to expire, so that means I've had it 2 years, right? Still in the bloom of initial love.

 

[TheJing]

I’m still using my X and plan on keeping it until it breaks or the battery is so bad it isn’t usable anymore. There are 0 features on the newer phones that I wish I had on mine.

 

[Closingracer]

As a Dane, I often get the Impression that Americans swap their phones a lot and often have operator contracts with “trade-up” programs to hide the cost.

I have an iPhone 8, my dad has the original SE and my mum has the second gen SE. I’d way way way rather buy a new Mac than a new phone, but ey that’s just me.

Of course folk can prioritize their spending however they want, but this is just another comment in the pile of “There’s a lot of us out there who’re fine not having the latest phones. Some of us don’t even care so much about phones at all”

For me I have a Dell XPS 13 9310 with that 4K screen and for me I love it for my use case but ngl I use my phone for most of my uses so a newer phone would be more important then a new laptop in the next few years. Just my use case.

 

[Closingracer]

I had a Lease in an iPhone X and it was dumb to keep on paying lease payments on that in 2019. I found a good deal on a finance iPhone 11 Pro for the total cost of $849 in December 2019 so jumped on that. Was planning on keeping it for a while but needed to switch carriers so I got an iPhone 12 Pro and now since it has 5G with those C band frequencies I’m set to keep this one for a while. Probably keep this for 4 years

 

[Closingracer]

I’m still using my X and plan on keeping it until it breaks or the battery is so bad it isn’t usable anymore. There are 0 features on the newer phones that I wish I had on mine.

I love taking photos and night mode is worth it imho. For me at least to get the 11.

 

[Closingracer]

I used to feel the upgrade itch more quickly than I do with my XS. I love it and feel no need to replace it. My AppleCare is about to expire, so that means I've had it 2 years, right? Still in the bloom of initial love.

I felt that way with Android. Less so with iPhones.

 

[casperes1996]

For me I have a Dell XPS 13 9310 with that 4K screen and for me I love it for my use case but ngl I use my phone for most of my uses so a newer phone would be more important then a new laptop in the next few years. Just my use case.

Sure. Everyone's needs and priorities are different. I use my phone to check the weather, call and send texts. That's about it. I use my Macs (desktop, laptop) for code, reading, games, films, video lectures, video editing, photo editing, hobby-music production - Macs are my hobby and my profession in that sense. And then my iPad is for all the iOS entertainment stuff I need, no phone used for that either. And my watch takes over a lot of smaller "just check x" tasks as well so I can go days without looking at my phone at all

 

[Closingracer]

Sure. Everyone's needs and priorities are different. I use my phone to check the weather, call and send texts. That's about it. I use my Macs (desktop, laptop) for code, reading, games, films, video lectures, video editing, photo editing, hobby-music production - Macs are my hobby and my profession in that sense. And then my iPad is for all the iOS entertainment stuff I need, no phone used for that either. And my watch takes over a lot of smaller "just check x" tasks as well so I can go days without looking at my phone at all

Yeah I had a 1st iPad Pro 11 and tbh I rarely used it. I got it for entertainment and other uses but never used it. Preferred my iPhone or laptop

 

[tonie walker]

Still using mine, had the battery replaced last year for free. Tried the iphone 12 pro max, i can’t justify upgrading so i still settle to my xs.

 

[Shirasaki]

Sure. Everyone's needs and priorities are different. I use my phone to check the weather, call and send texts. That's about it. I use my Macs (desktop, laptop) for code, reading, games, films, video lectures, video editing, photo editing, hobby-music production - Macs are my hobby and my profession in that sense. And then my iPad is for all the iOS entertainment stuff I need, no phone used for that either. And my watch takes over a lot of smaller "just check x" tasks as well so I can go days without looking at my phone at all

Similar to me. I use iPad way more often than my iPhone nowadays, I sometimes miss notifications from my phone altogether until late night, whereas I can deal with notifications on iPad quick enough. I use windows PC cause tons of stuff on that and I can’t afford to leave Windows. Apple Watch perfectly gets those tiny bit covered so if iPad can manage Apple Watch and make phone call, I’d ditch iPhone completely.

 

[ouimetnick]

I was going to hold on to mine until this year's device, but I screwed things up. I broke the screen when I slipped while hiking. I replaced it with an iFixit screen and that turned out to be a huge mistake. Horrible color quality. I should have paid the $329 for Apple to do it. Instead I sold the phone on eBay and bought myself a gently used 11 Pro Max. Selling the old phone and buying the 11 Pro Max was $450, and then I bought AC+, so it's a $650 "upgrade"

I only "upgraded" because I went from 256GB to 512GB, and it will be supported for at least 1 more year longer than the XS Max. Depending on what this year's model brings I might skip it as well.

The XS is a perfectly capable phone.

 

[prithvi64]

I’ve had the iPhone XS since it was released back in 2018, but never really had the need to upgrade. But I like the look of the mini iPhones mainly due to their size.

Is anyone else looking to upgrade from their XS this year? If so, what are your reasons?

I am also using since 2018. No issue as such but facing call quality issue. sometime, it is not even audible. initially, I thought, it was because of ios 14 but now, after updating to ios 15, continuing same problem.

 

[Shirasaki]

I prolly will only upgrade my iPhone when it is broken somehow. XS for regular stuff is plentiful powerful. And no, iPhone is a terrible device for demanding games anyways. Use iPad to play demanding games.

 

[tranceking26]

Two of my family members have the XS Max and have no intention of upgrading.