iPhone 13 Pro Max Has anyone “downgraded” their iPhone?

[Andeddu]

I'm the same way. I had an iPhone 6s+ since it came out, recently upgraded to a iPhone 8+. Pretty much no difference, better speakers, brighter screen, but is it really worth all the money? I'll probably keep this one for another five, six years. It's a mature product. I'd rather spend the money on other things.

It’s really just the chips that are a big improvement year on year. Everything else is merely incremental. The biggest upgrades over the 8 now are significantly better cameras on the Pro, OLED panels, much faster chips and not much else.

The 8 will likely be supported until late 2024 when iOS 18 is released. I retired my 8 too early in 2020 when I picked up a new 12 Mini… wish I hadn’t bothered because, other than running graphically demanding games like Alien Isolation, there’s barely any noticeable difference between them.

 

[Charlie Carcinogen]

I'm the same way. I had an iPhone 6s+ since it came out, recently upgraded to a iPhone 8+. Pretty much no difference, better speakers, brighter screen, but is it really worth all the money? I'll probably keep this one for another five, six years. It's a mature product. I'd rather spend the money on other things.

Well, to be fair, the 8+ that you upgraded to is pretty old technology now. But I understand what you’re saying. I’m always eager to get a new iPhone, and then as soon as I get it I realize that it’s pretty much the same as my old iPhone. Since the operating system and all the apps are the same, it really doesn’t change much.

The only difference is generally screen size. Although on my newest upgrade to the 13 Pro Max I definitely noticed the difference with Pro Motion. But in the end, while that is pretty cool how clear it is when scrolling, it’s not really benefiting me very much.

 

[Charlie Carcinogen]

I retired my 8 too early in 2020 when I picked up a new 12 Mini… wish I hadn’t bothered, because other than running graphically demanding games like Alien Isolation, there’s barely any noticeable difference between them.

I’m surprised you’re not noticing more of a difference considering that both of those phones are similar in overall size but the 12 mini has a larger display.

 

[Andeddu]

I’m surprised you’re not noticing more of a difference considering that both of those phones are similar in overall size but the 12 mini has a larger display.

It’s only a small difference between the two and you quickly become accustomed to the larger screen size. If I had went to the Regular 12 or PM, the difference would have been much more dramatic. I mostly noticed the quality of the OLED panel over the 8’s LCD, better quality speakers and snappier performance.

 

[rui no onna]

I’m always eager to get a new iPhone, and then as soon as I get it I realize that it’s pretty much the same as my old iPhone. Since the operating system and all the apps are the same, it really doesn’t change much.

After the 5s, I stopped looking forward to phone upgrades. Mostly since I was against larger phones.

Mind, the fact that I can restore from backup and use the new phone just like my old one is one of the things I like most about iPhones. I don’t need to spend a ton of time manually setting up the new phone, installing apps and rearranging icons. Just restore and it’s good to go.

I treat my phone more like a tool or appliance rather than a gadget to tinker with.

 

[mpavilion]

I'm the same way. I had an iPhone 6s+ since it came out, recently upgraded to a iPhone 8+. Pretty much no difference, better speakers, brighter screen, but is it really worth all the money? I'll probably keep this one for another five, six years. It's a mature product. I'd rather spend the money on other things.

How much was “all the money”? Refurbs are pretty affordable. (It also has wireless charging, if that matters to you.)

 

[Andeddu]

How much was “all the money”? Refurbs are pretty affordable. (It also has wireless charging, if that matters to you.)

The iPhone 8 has wireless charging too. It, along with the X, were the first iPhones to adopt it.

 

[mpavilion]

The iPhone 8 has wireless charging too. It, along with the X, were the first iPhones to adopt it.

Right, this is in comparison to 6S+.

 

[Ac1d 8urn]

I have a 13 pro but my daily driver is an SE 3. I also have an 8+ which I still use quite often too. The reason I 'downgraded' was mainly b/c of PWM but also for touch ID. I absolutely loved the 13p's camera, but it doesn't do me much good if using the phone makes me sick :/ The SE 3 is awesome though, I love it.

 

[Charlie Carcinogen]

I have a 13 pro but my daily driver is an SE 3. I also have an 8+ which I still use quite often too. The reason I 'downgraded' was mainly b/c of PWM but also for touch ID. I absolutely loved the 13p's camera, but it doesn't do me much good if using the phone makes me sick :/ The SE 3 is awesome though, I love it.

I’m curious why you downgraded for Touch ID? I found Face ID to be completely seamless, it just always works. Did you have problems with it working?

 

[Ac1d 8urn]

I’m curious why you downgraded for Touch ID? I found Face ID to be completely seamless, it just always works. Did you have problems with it working?

Yeah, face ID would fail on me more times in one day than touch ID would in a week. Basically the only time touch ID doesn't work is if my hands are wet, but face ID would just not work half the time for no obvious reason. I tried all the tricks to make it work better too, and I would think I just had a bad sensor but I had the same behavior on 4 different phones. I just have a face for touch ID I guess ? I'd also have to enter my code after my phone got moved around enough to exhaust all the auth attempts, it just got super annoying after a while.

 

[subjonas]

Mind, the fact that I can restore from backup and use the new phone just like my old one is one of the things I like most about iPhones. I don’t need to spend a ton of time manually setting up the new phone, installing apps and rearranging icons. Just restore and it’s good to go.

Android phones can’t do this?! That’s insane. Such a basic necessity.

I just have a face for touch ID I guess ?

Lol

 

[subjonas]

I downgraded once from a 6S Plus to a 5S because I realized I hated big phones.

 

[Charlie Carcinogen]

Yeah, face ID would fail on me more times in one day than touch ID would in a week. Basically the only time touch ID doesn't work is if my hands are wet, but face ID would just not work half the time for no obvious reason. I tried all the tricks to make it work better too, and I would think I just had a bad sensor but I had the same behavior on 4 different phones. I just have a face for touch ID I guess ? I'd also have to enter my code after my phone got moved around enough to exhaust all the auth attempts, it just got super annoying after a while.

I get it. I have to admit, that’s a shame it doesn’t work for you. For me it is pretty seamless, I don’t even know that it’s working since my phone is just unlocked as I bring it up to look at it.
The only trouble I have is in the morning when I first wake up and look at my phone, I think it’s because my eyes are squinting.

 

[Ac1d 8urn]

I get it. I have to admit, that’s a shame it doesn’t work for you. For me it is pretty seamless, I don’t even know that it’s working since my phone is just unlocked as I bring it up to look at it.
The only trouble I have is in the morning when I first wake up and look at my phone, I think it’s because my eyes are squinting.

It sucks, I really do wish it worked better. I can mitigate the PWM enough to be usable but every time I try to use my 13p I'm just frustrated at the end of the day b/c of face ID. I dunno what the problem is, I'm in IT so I know what I'm doing with tech but nothing so far has worked to make it "seamless" for me :/

 

[rui no onna]

Android phones can’t do this?! That’s insane. Such a basic necessity.

Dunno. They couldn’t back way back when. Not sure if the situation has changed over the years.

 

[snipr125]

Dunno. They couldn’t back way back when. Not sure if the situation has changed over the years.

You can restore a lot of stuff from a google drive backup of an android phone (wife discovered this after dropping previous galaxy s10 into a freezing cold lake!), but its not as good as Apples backup and restore which is basically an exact copy of your previous iphone and very easy and convenient.

 

[rui no onna]

You can restore a lot of stuff from a google drive backup of an android phone (wife discovered this after dropping previous galaxy s10 into a freezing cold lake!), but its not as good as Apples backup and restore which is basically an exact copy of your previous iphone and very easy and convenient.

Yep. I find it super convenient. I’ve been restoring from backup all the way from OG iPhone (with app cleanups before upgrades).

The iCloud backups while charging is also great for my family since they never backup to iTunes. I admit, I’ve gotten lazy about iTunes backups myself. I pretty much only do it now when I upgrade to a new device. Pretty much the only thing I need from backups now is the home screen layout. All the actual data can be handled via iCloud sync.

 

[Charlie Carcinogen]

I never liked restoring when I purchased a new iPhone because I always felt it was better to give a completely clean new installation. I guess it was just burned into my head that it was better from all the years I used windows.

But I did a restore last month when I purchased my new iPhone 13 and I got to say, it was super convenient. Everything was just as it was on my old phone.

@rui no onna I’m curious why you would back up to iTunes at all? I haven’t done that in at least five years. I didn’t think there was any purpose to doing it anymore.

 

[rui no onna]

@rui no onna I’m curious why you would back up to iTunes at all? I haven’t done that in at least five years. I didn’t think there was any purpose to doing it anymore.

Fallback option in case there are problems with the iCloud backup. Can be faster, too.

 

[snipr125]

Fallback option in case there are problems with the iCloud backup. Can be faster, too.

Yeah ive been getting lazy with my itunes backups as well, as hardly use my mac since getting my ipad air 4 and mk combo, and not into my DSLR photography as i used to be. But i have always done back up and restore via itunes when upgrading to a new iphone, as its much faster than icloud. My iphone file has obviously grown though, and will need 128gb for my next one! but its good this way as have all my photos/videos from my first iphone to my current one.

 

[subjonas]

I’m curious why you would back up to iTunes at all? I haven’t done that in at least five years. I didn’t think there was any purpose to doing it anymore.

I think the main reason for me is Time Machine. It keeps versioned backups so if I need an older version of something from my phone, I can make a current backup, restore my phone to an older backup, retrieve what I need, then restore the phone back to the current backup. It’s more of a workaround then a designed function like on Macs, and you can’t always retrieve what you need due to the nature of iOS apps, but it works enough that it’s worth it to me. I recall it saved my butt a couple times when apps glitched and suddenly erased all or a significant portion of my data. I was able to retrieve most of it back. And it’s not really a hassle to backup to iTunes because I need plug it in to charge anyway and it syncs/backs up automatically at the same time.

 

[Al Rukh]

Recently I went from 13 to the SE 2022. The main reason for the change was, well, the 13 seems to attract lots of pocket lint. I’m not sure why exactly but I reckon it’s the all-around boxy design which makes it easier for the lint to settle down. It’s purely aesthetic and also nostalgic because I do miss using a smaller phone.

It will be an experience using a budget device in a time where smartphones are capable of a lot of things.

Only gripes are that there is no double-clicking anything to bring up Apple Pay when using the iPhone midway. And there’s no notification when my Apple Watch has been unlocked by my SE.

I traded great battery life, sharper screen content for something that’s aesthetically pleasing. It makes no sense but hey, let’s see if it works out.

 

[1rottenapple]

Hey everyone!

I’m wondering if anyone here has “downgraded” their iPhone.

By that, I mean something like going from an iPhone 13 Pro Max to an iPhone SE 2020.

What were the reasons? Any regrets?

Me! Ok I’m too much on my phone it’s become disturbing actually. Sooooo I bought an 2016 se for cheap and strip the phone off all apps no YouTube nothing major. Even turn off safari!!! Just key apps. Garage door, Tesla app, few messaging app, target app (order pick up), McDonald’s lol, key essentials and no news. I turned off safari!!! I put google chrome with a 30 min time limit for browsing. I’ll still use my 13 mini for pictures but I’ll leave it at home when working or I’ll turn it off. My iPad Pro is my work iPad and my 1
iPad mini will be my content consumption. Essentially I want to use my phone less with this experiment and center consumption to the iPad to receive iPhone directions and training my brain. With me luck.

 

[ericwn]

Me! Ok I’m too much on my phone it’s become disturbing actually. Sooooo I bought an 2016 se for cheap and strip the phone off all apps no YouTube nothing major. Even turn off safari!!! Just key apps. Garage door, Tesla app, few messaging app, target app (order pick up), McDonald’s lol, key essentials and no news. I turned off safari!!! I put google chrome with a 30 min time limit for browsing. I’ll still use my 13 mini for pictures but I’ll leave it at home when working or I’ll turn it off. My iPad Pro is my work iPad and my 1
iPad mini will be my content consumption. Essentially I want to use my phone less with this experiment and center consumption to the iPad to receive iPhone directions and training my brain. With me luck.

You might benefit more by easing off the fast food, don’t you think?