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iPhone 13 Do you have a time limit on when you'll get the latest iPhone?

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linkgx1

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 12, 2011
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I'm having a tough time getting an unlocked iPhone 13 (I'm under contract/with a big carrier).

So this has me thinking, how long will you wait to get an iPhone before you'll just get the next model? If I can't anything before December, I'm just waiting until next year. I typically do this with electronics, unless I think the device is special and future models won't be the same (aka the first PS3).
 
I’d say it depends on how long you keep your phones. If you upgrade every 3 years, waiting a few months after release isn’t a big deal.

Apple shipping dates are into mid November, so you shouldn’t have any issue getting an unlocked phone before December if you order one now.
 
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tis said:
I’d say it depends on how long you keep your phones. If you upgrade every 3 years, waiting a few months after release isn’t a big deal.

Apple shipping dates are into mid November, so you shouldn’t have any issue getting an unlocked phone before December if you order one now.
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True. I have an XR so pretty much anything released in the past year is an upgrade for me. I might be overthinking, per usual?‍?.
 
I always upgrade between Thanksgiving and Christmas so if I get to the new year I hold off. Of course an old phone can break at anytime so if you don't have a backup device I guess you might not have a choice
 
Totally random for me. This is the first iPhone I've preordered and gotten on launch day, all my previous ones were at random times, just whenever I decided I wanted a new phone. If I'm within a month or two of a new release and it's not an emergency to replace a dying/non-working phone, I'll hold out until the new model comes out and decide whether I want to upgrade or hang on to mine for another year. I usually keep my phones around 2 years, but kept my XS for three years.
 
Well you definitely don't want to be that type of people who buys iPhone in July-August-September.
You also don't want to be the guy buying Macbook pro 16 after 1 year of release date. While others enjoyed latest model for 2 years, now you barely bought and got outpaced by cheaper Air m1.

I myself bought 12 mini in August - just because it cost me $115 through the carrier with no obligations. Right now switched to 13 regular just because it cost me $170 through BestBuy and t-mobile.

So i assume that i am flowing with the money flow i guess. I buy when it is cheap the most. For my wife i try to buy in the beginning of a cycle because i pay full price. But my stopgap would be 6 months. If it is 6 months until new iPhone then not buying. 6 month or more until new iPhone then i can buy it.
 
linkgx1 said:
If I can't anything before December, I'm just waiting until next year.
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That’s absurd.
I never buy the current model. It’s a rip off.
And if I were to buy the current model, I’d wait until January at the earliest. Launch day iPhones suck because they run beta iOS software.
 
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I kept my last iPhone for 6 years. I might consider trading in the 13 Pro Max for the 14 Pro Max. I usually get the phones on launch day.
 
Generally, I upgrade in december/january every 2 years. In this moment I want to keep my 12 mini for at least 3-4 years, I will see.
 
I usually know in advance when I want to upgrade and then simply pre-order to have the new one on launch day.

However, if my phone failed randomly at some point, I would probably get the latest iPhone up until February or March, so basically halfway through its life cycle. If it‘s April, May, or even later I‘d probably get something cheaper until the latest products launch in September and then get that.
 
in the past I updated every year now its when theres a noticeable difference as its getting harder to justify upgrading every year for slightly improved specs.

This year the Battery life, improved cameras and screen made it an easy choice to upgrade to the 13 pro max :)
 
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linkgx1 said:
I'm having a tough time getting an unlocked iPhone 13 (I'm under contract/with a big carrier).

So this has me thinking, how long will you wait to get an iPhone before you'll just get the next model? If I can't anything before December, I'm just waiting until next year. I typically do this with electronics, unless I think the device is special and future models won't be the same (aka the first PS3).
Click to expand...

I wait when it's within 6 months of expected new release unless there's a good sale (cash discount).
 
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I tend to upgrade every five years or so, and when I do upgrade I just walk into an Apple store and buy one within a couple of weeks of launch day. Never had a problem with stock, I tend to get the base model.
 
now i see it said:
I never buy the current model. It’s a rip off.
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I don't know about rip-off, but we got the 11PM in February 2021 because 5G isn't a thing for us and it was cheaper. Not interested in being a 5G guinea pig again after having gone through a 3G/LTE transition with Sprint. LTE is speedy, fine and mature in my market.

I knew the 13 was coming, but I didn't wait for the same reason I didn't get the 12 (see above).

But we got what we wanted and that's always my first consideration.
 
now i see it said:
That’s absurd.
I never buy the current model. It’s a rip off.
And if I were to buy the current model, I’d wait until January at the earliest. Launch day iPhones suck because they run beta iOS software.
Click to expand...
Not true. Been getting latest iPhone on launch day for years and no issues what so ever. No clue where you getting this "beta" from. They all ship with GM's. Betas are for testers and trial runs.
 
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I got my 12 mini in late-February or early-March when I found a good deal. Sometimes, by waiting, you can save a bit of money. However, that's not even always the case.
 
sjperformance said:
Not true. Been getting latest iPhone on launch day for years and no issues what so ever. No clue where you getting this "beta" from. They all ship with GM's. Betas are for testers and trial runs.
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He was meaning that as tongue-in cheek.

iOS 9 had a particularly rough launch. I took my 6+ in for a screen replacement around that time and they gave me a brand new phone because they couldn't get OS9 installed for some reason.

You've never had any issues though and that's fine. Hardware wise I've never had any real issues either, except for my iPhone 5. But there are other things to consider.

Everyone wants 5G right now, but I got the iPhone 5 when LTE was launching. The 5 is Apple's first LTE phone. I had that phone on 3G for over a year and a half. I had to actually drive to the single LTE tower in my market to actually use the LTE the phone was capable of. By the time I left my carrier LTE speeds were 10mbps down or less. 3G was horrible the entire time.

Right now 5G is new. I don't want to experience any of that again. So, buying the 11PM earlier this year that only gets LTE in a mature LTE market is just fine with me.
 
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I bought an 11Pro in early January ; here's my rationale:

Things I value in a phone:
- Battery life (What's the point if you have to tether twice a day)
- A decent but not great camera (I do not use my phone to take the "Pretty" pictures, only archival and realist snapping)
- It being apple (Airdrop, Messages, FindMy [essential])

Why the 12 and 13 didn't appeal to me:
- As mentioned above 5G still is new tech with know battery draining issues as opposed to the 11Pro's acclaimed battery life.
- Notched devices, waiting for a notch-less refresh.

Why I don't upgrade yearly, I don't need to impress, not that a brand new Iphone would. I'm European (therefore I don't share the credit line culture that defines modern US consumerism) and somewhat environmentally conscious.

Not to mention that the whole process seems to be a hassle (apple's trade-in program has an extremely bad value in my country).

But mainly, I do enjoy anally pondering on whether x or y is the best device for me too much for just to mindlessly buy the next iteration.

All about the journey baby !
 
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The last couple of phones I purchased were in March, because that's when the SE launched, lol. I'm planning on upgrading to one of the 13 series, and I just intend to wait until after the holidays. Enough time to get some months-long opinions and to get beyond the stress of the holiday season.
 
sjperformance said:
Not true. Been getting latest iPhone on launch day for years and no issues what so ever. No clue where you getting this "beta" from. They all ship with GM's. Betas are for testers and trial runs.
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I know what they meant, but they said it wrong. What they meant to say is that a lot of times when an iOS version first drops, it has bugs and potential problems.
 
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