iPhone 17 Base iPhone 17 owners: how long do you plan to keep it?

[Sensamic]

Curious to hear about the expected time iPhone 17 owners plan to keep their phones, mainly due to the 8GB RAM, which I think is ok (I'm not that worried about RAM capacity in phones) but who knows I'm 2/3 years with future heavy iOS updates.

Apart from that (and maybe the USB 2.0), I don't see many reasons to think about upgrading the phone in many years.

Does the 8GB RAM feel limited somehow in day to day use? Maybe with Safari/Chrome tabs or something?

 

[bodonnell202]

I’m hoping to keep my 17 for at least another 2 years if the base 19 is released around this time in 2028. Not too worried about ram on a iPhone as the only thing that I find limited ram leads to with iPhones is more frequent reloads.

 

[JPack]

It doesn't really make a difference in the long run. If you ask XR and XS owners if they saw any difference between 3GB and 4GB, they'd probably tell you no.

 

[rui no onna]

Probably until 2027. Honestly, it can last me a lot longer but it's going to be the iPhone's 20th anniversary and I feel like I'd want to upgrade.

It's mainly battery life I had issues with on my 2022 iPhone SE. I would've kept using the SE if not for the abysmal battery. I average like 10 mins daily onscreen time on the iPhone and I still have to charge 2-3 times a day

 

[snipr125]

8GB ram on an iPhone is absolutely fine, and will be for a while. I would have just kept using my 15 Pro (8GB ram), but apple kept messing me about trying to replace the battery.

 

[fatdickie]

I'm still rockin' an iPhone 13 Mini and it's smooth as silk on iOS 26. It has 4GB RAM.

 

[limesmoothie]

Curious to hear about the expected time iPhone 17 owners plan to keep their phones, mainly due to the 8GB RAM, which I think is ok (I'm not that worried about RAM capacity in phones) but who knows I'm 2/3 years with future heavy iOS updates.

Apart from that (and maybe the USB 2.0), I don't see many reasons to think about upgrading the phone in many years.

Does the 8GB RAM feel limited somehow in day to day use? Maybe with Safari/Chrome tabs or something?

Absolutely not. I checked the other day, and I had 80 or so tabs open in Safari on the 17 and it didn't make a difference at all.

I normally upgrade every 1 to 2 years, just depends what the 'new' features are.

 

[Momof2.1107]

I upgrade my daughter every 2 years when her installment payments are over, so that’s when I’ll upgrade her. Her battery should’ve reached 79% by then also, so she’ll definitely either be due for a battery replacement or a new phone, and she’ll of course choose the new phone.

 

[mac4good84]

Just got a 17 from a 12 Pro Max and I’ll have phones minimum 5 years or more now. Had the Max for 5 and would have more but wanted a smaller phone as I got tired of the Max size and weight in my pocket and holding it. 17 so far is just perfection for me, I love it.

 

[littlepud]

Until the base iPhone has a new “killer feature” or until this one becomes unusable. Now that we have 120 Hz, we’re into diminishing returns territory.

 

[adrianlondon]

I went from the 6S to the 11 to the 17. So, around 5 years if the pattern continues.

 

[PandaPunch]

I'm likely going to pay off my current phone, then give it to my mom or siblings with my upgrade. I use the iPhone as a means to work on my credit so it doesn't matter too much if I'm basically cutting down on my family's expenses.

At most, maybe I keep it for a year after I pay it off by the end of the year. Once I do it 3 times, I'll likely stop and keep the phone for much, much longer. But if that plan changes, then I'd keep the 17 for as long as I can.