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iPhone 17 How hard is it to convince oneself being in need of a new iPhone?

Giuanniello

Giuanniello

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
I mean,

what is the innovation (...), beside battery and planned obsolescence, convincing you to upgrade from year to year?

Here on iPhone 15ProMax and a 13ProMax which I gave to my son, until battery runs and I can use a few apps I really can't imagine a reason to upgrade
 
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My 12 Pro was doing fine; things like Apple Intelligence, 120Hz display, Dynamic Island, Always-On Display, Crash Detection, USB-C, etc. weren’t enough to justify the cost to me.

What got me into a (refurbished) 15 Pro Max was the 5x zoom which I felt would be beneficial for a vacation. I wasn’t thrilled about a BIGGER phone but actually it’s not bad from a size perspective.

I can also look at it from the opposite perspective - what features (even if they weren't buying factors) would I be willing to give up, if there was some benefit to doing so? Of the above - the only feature (besides the camera) I find a LITTLE helpful is USB-C. I use exclusively Qi/MagSafe for charging at home - but if I have a rental car without a built-in Qi charger, it's nice to be able to grab one of my USB-C travel cables and not have to have a separate Lightning one handy.

But it’s a very personal metric. Look at the differences in the on-line compare tool and figure out what it’ll cost - your calculus will be different from mine.
 
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How to answer this…?

iPhones and iPads I purchase based on want. If I want it, I will get it. I don't need to convince myself that I 'need' it. I don't need to justify to anyone, let alone myself, that I need it.

I also don't let need determine color, capacity or model. Again. I get what I want.

Sometimes I do need it, and in those cases wanting it lines up with that.

The problem is finances. And also wanting it. If finances were never an issue I would always be getting what I want when I wanted it and need would never, ever, be part of the equation. Because most of the time, what I want, is greater than what I actually need.

My current iPhone is the 11 Pro Max. Since I upgraded to it in 2021 I have yet to see a new model iPhone that I want. For those who routinely read my posts around here, they know that I have a light use case for a phone, so a lot of the things that attract people to getting a new phone do not interest me. Thus, most of the newer iPhones have just been a series of the same phone with a new version of iOS installed.

However, this year, need is actually going to force my hand. T-Mobile (my carrier) is beginning to shut down 4G/LTE and my iPhone is LTE max, no 5G. Sooner or later, I'm going to have to upgrade to something I want. But organizing the finances is the problem, otherwise I would have already upgraded. I can tell you though, that unless something real good happens it will not be to the most current model iPhone (in the color, capacity and model that I want).
 
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I went a period of time where I could only afford the free iPhone carriers were offering. Those were usually a couple generations old at that point. Now that I can afford to I have been getting every phone since the 14 pro. I’ve sold or traded it in previous one to off set the cost. I think the 18 might be the last time I do this and just let it ride for 2-3 years. It gets boring after a while I guess lol
 
When it no longer supports the latest version of iOS, it's getting pretty old, and the hardware is behind the times. At that point, I figure the camera capability in the latest phones has probably improved (would love more optical zoom).

I've got a 12 Pro Max. It's fine. I like it. Wife has a 15 Pro and daughter has a 16 Pro; I think the kid gets better results snap shooting at indoor spectator entertainment events, but otherwise I'm okay. Original battery and still lasts pretty well.

I'm curious to see what the 18 iPhones will offer, but unless it's 6x optical zoom or better, it's iffy whether the upgrade would be worth it to me. I don't want a foldable phone.
 
Normally when I want a new one which is usually after 4 years. I don't use my phone much and don't take photos so a base model is fine. I may break the tradition if the iPhone 18 rumor about satellite calls is true. I go out in the desert alone and for safety reasons it would come in handy, especially since I'm old. If the cost is reasonable I might spring for an 18 Pro.
 
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In my opinion, no one should need convincing from this forum whether or not they need to upgrade from their device to a newer one. If the person is happy using their device and they are not experiencing any performance issues but are coming close to needing a new battery then perhaps they could opt to get a new battery and continue using their device longer until Apple puts out a device they really want to get.

In my signature it shows that I have both the Air and 17 Pro and as nice as these iPhones really are, I still find I prefer using my 1TB Blue Titanium 15 Pro so I did the battery replacement on my 15 Pro by installing a high capacity diagnostic compatible 3400 mAh battery and have 105% battery health. I have been very satisfied using my 15 Pro as my daily device and have placed both my Air and 17 Pro back in my iPhone cabinet.

My point being use the device that suites your use case for as long as you want then if you decide you want a new device, just get it. No need to have anyone “convince” you on the forum.

EDIT: This week I’m using my 15 Pro as well as my 1TB Alpine Green 13 Pro with the 13 Pro getting the new iOS 26.6 Developer Beta 1 iOS update.
 
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I actually just bought a new phone coming back from Android to Iphone. I did it in part because I'm getting a new infotainment system into my car that includes Wireless car play. if I wasn't doing this, I probably would have kept the current phone for a while. My point is you need to convince yourself rather than have anyone else convince for you. Do what is best for you and all that.
 
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I'm a fairly light user of my phones, and generally only upgrade if there's a good deal on a newer one that offers some kind of features that I can genuinely make good use of. The last time I upgraded, Verizon was offering a free iPhone 15 on my plan. I was about to go on vacation and thought that having a baller camera would be of value to me (which it turned out to be greatly valued) and asked if I could pay the difference to get a 15 Pro, which I did and have been thrilled with it since. I use my previous phone, a 13 mini, daily as a work device. Neither phone feels old or slow, both run all the apps I use perfectly well, so I don't see a need other upgrade either of them again.
 
A weak battery is usually what gets me to make the jump. My 15 Pro is down to 85% and I'm beginning to feel it. Once it gets to the point where I can't go a whole day without a charge, I'll start shopping.

I love the idea of replacing the battery, but typically Verizon will have some deals going, and with my trade-in a new phone is pretty much a wash.
 
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Personally, it took a combination of screen features, camera enhancement, and connectivity for me to upgrade.

I started with an iPhone SE3. I loved it to death cause at that time I was a diehard single camera, homebutton, lighting only kind of guy. I thought apple had lost the touch to their design with the X and had no interest at all in upgrading until 2027.

One day I was in a Apple Store getting support for my Apple Watch SE2 (i liked all of apples old designs besides the airpods) while the 15 Pros were still on sale. I played with the camera, went and checked out the specs later, and then looked at carrier deals. The 16 Pros were just 3 months away, so I scored a half off deal with my carrier.

The optical zoom up to 3x, 15x overall zoom, 0.5x capability, night mode, action button for flashlight instead of the ring switch, much brighter 120hz display for games and outdoor use, 8gb of Ram, increased chip power with A17 Pro, Ultra Wideband support, bigger battery, magsafe and USB-C with usb 3 support, 256GB of storage upgrade instead of 64GB, AOD, OLED, and super premium titanium build while not being massive dimesionally but having a massive bit more of screen, dolby atmos speakers, and dynamic island instead of the all convinced me that this was the iphone the future would have and going to such a solid build would be better for my day to day life at little loss. I still have the SE3 and love it, but the 15 Pro was the right bet. I no longer think the old design was 100% perfect like I once did. The 15 Pro ended up aging better than expected, especially sing its the minimum for all the new features. And having it has allowed me to have so many more moments with loved ones that the SE3 simply wouldn’t have been capable of.

If I could put it in one sentance, it would be if the phone can tangibly make my day to day life eaiser and richer. The 15 Pro certainly did that. And I’ve yet to see a phone that can match it for my day to day life. I’ll be getting a new battery in the fall since I’m at 91% health with 600 cycles, and I’m gonna keep using it until either the Air line, if its continued, gets zoom on par with the 15 Pro, or the 20th aniversary brings something absolutely groundbreaking, especially in camera and battery and screen tech. If neither of those then it’ll be whatever Apple has in 2032 that matches my needs best.
 
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Apps and things I do on my phone takes much longer or runs much slower than I expected, then I would consider buy a new phone.
 
Giuanniello said:
I mean,

what is the innovation (...), beside battery and planned obsolescence, convincing you to upgrade from year to year?

Here on iPhone 15ProMax and a 13ProMax which I gave to my son, until battery runs and I can use a few apps I really can't imagine a reason to upgrade
Click to expand...

Have someone else pay for it.

Then, you should need very little convincing 🙂.
 
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I have a 14 pro. I recently had it replaced under AppleCare One due to a problem with the charging port, so it now has a new battery. It runs like new. It's still snappy. I've not run into any app compatibility problems. I'm still getting iOS updates.

Nothing released since the 14 pro is compelling to me. The screen is a hair more edge-to-edge and it has a better camera? I mean, the camera is already outstanding for non-pro photographer. It's excellent.

Apple is going to have to release some super compelling update, or something is going to have to stop working, or I will have to stop receiving updates before I bother to upgrade.
 
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I would have stopped at the 5S and I did until the XS. Main reason for that upgrade was the notch 😉 but also the dual higher resolution cameras and more storage (sadly no more headphone jack, but still had a physical SIM and 3D Touch). Those were my two favorites. Played around with the 12 and 13 mini but really didn't move on from XS until I got a 14 Pro mainly for ProMotion, AOD, and MagSafe capability (the 48MP main sensor was nice as well). I really liked the 14 Pro. And it was my daily until the 17 Pro: all sensors 48MP, great battery life, and USB-C with fast data (I keep my music library synced and even though I don't use this feature that often, it is nice to have when transferring large files or a music library - 14 Pro took 2 1/2 hours to sync my library from scratch, 17 Pro took 18 minutes). I usually keep phones 4-5 years and usually by then enough updates have accumulated that it feels like a new/newish experience. Even though I think the 17 Pro with plateau is the worst design in the history of iPhones, it has been the best in terms of performance, features, battery imo. I tried to go with a refurb 15 Pro to avoid the plateau since I skipped the 15 Pro when it first came out. It is a great phone, but it heats up fairly easily and after using the 4X/8X "optical quality" zoom on the 17 Pro, I just can't do without it now... and the battery life is just awesome. Anyhow, I'm glad I didn't wait for the 18 Pro since the plateau is supposed to unbelievably get even bigger by a mm or two, and I'm fairly sick of camera bumps/plateaus (my personal limit was the X/XS, since then it's just metastasized into ungodly proportions). Plan on skipping the XX like I did the X, maybe the XXS or iPhone 21 Pro or possibly a new mini (wishful thinking) comes along for my next upgrade in 2029-2030.
 
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It looks for modern uses like AI and all this smart indexing and sorting of photos and such faster chips and more internal bandwidth and RAM storage can be useful. Then there is GPS emergency messages and 5G plus the camera upgrades - that are partly software driven. See above.
The old phone as a talk phone is fine and will work well for basic internet needs. You can replace the battery and it will feel "new" again. I am on my owned SE3 and like it. Especially the small size and low profile. On the long run I might go for a fancier one if there are significant camera updates. What I don't need is fold or frameless display.
 
Every three years for me. Anecdotally, most of the people I know who upgraded yearly have stopped doing so as prices have climbed and changes year-to-year haven't been that compelling.
 
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Giuanniello said:
I mean,

what is the innovation (...), beside battery and planned obsolescence, convincing you to upgrade from year to year?

Here on iPhone 15ProMax and a 13ProMax which I gave to my son, until battery runs and I can use a few apps I really can't imagine a reason to upgrade
Click to expand...
The majority of users just buy a new iPhone when their old one dies. What some of the more die-hard fans don;t seem to realise a lot of the time is Apple isn't trying to sell them a new iPhone every year and they shouldn't upgrade annually. Its why Apple always compare the new models to those from 3-4 years ago: this is the audience they're speaking to.

Beyond a tiny bit of extra zoom there isn't one thing the 17 Max does that your 15 Max doesn't do just as well. Wait for the 19 Max if you need a new phone at the time, otherwise upgrade the battery if you don't mind compromising the IP68 integrity.
 
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My 14 Plus was still doing just fine but what made me get the 17 was just me wanting a new phone because I could. I picked the 17 over the 17 Pro because if I was going to be spending the same money for a 256GB 17 Pro or a 512GB 17 I'd rather go with more storage, and the green colour felt like a fun switch up from my yellow 14 Plus.
 
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Had the 12PM. Great phone with a great camera. Needed to go with the 'C' connection vs the 'Lightning' for SSD storage, and the 15 was getting some bad press for some overheating issues. Bought the 16PM. Better phone with a better camera. ymmv
 
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