iPhone 7/Plus How long can I expect to get out of new one of these?

[BigG94]

Don't shoot me, but I'm an Android phone user. (I've used Macs at work for 25 years so I'm fluent in Apple, though.)

I'm interested in changing that and moving to an iPhone.

I can get a "new in box" ... actually it's an Apple Care replacement phone that the person who received it is selling; the plastic is still on it and the battery life as such is 100 percent ... 256 gig iPhone 7 Plus, factory unlocked and SIM free, for less than what Apple on its site wants for a 32 gig iPhone 7 Plus.

I'm very interested in this, even though I have the cash to purchase a newer model. The No. 1 reason is because it's a metal phone and I utterly detest the notion of glass phones (I don't care 2.75 cacas about wireless charging) because I'm a klutz who keeps his phone in the strongest possible case I can find. (I don't care how a phone looks, to me it's a tool.)

I do need a good camera in my phone because of my job, and while I realize the newer models have better cameras, the 7 Plus camera is miles above the 2016 Android I'm currently using. (HTC 10)

My question is simple as per the header ... I see people saying that their iPhone 7s are still going strong, how long can I expect that to continue before I see degradation in performance? (I do not game, at all, and I rarely stream anything and when I do it's just music.)

I've been told elsewhere 3 years, which would get me to 2021. Accurate? How much longer would an 8 Plus give me?

 

[DevinNj]

If it's any help, the IPhone 5s was released September 2013 and is still used by several forum members today. Realistically, I'd think another 3 years like you've been told is accurate. If you can get a good deal, I'd say go for it. It's a great phone.

 

[acorntoy]

I think 3 years is a good estimate, if not 4 if your willing to deal with it in the last year. Phones have been blazing fast for years now, and software upgrades just aren’t straining them like they used to.

The 8+ would probably get you an additional one to two years, it might be worth it because it’s camera is better and your dealing with the phone for years, and once you slap a case over the glass back they look exactly the same (as well as having slightly stronger front glass).

 

[eyoungren]

Well, if it's any indication to you…I have an iPhone 4, a 4s, a 5 and my primary iPhone is a 3+ year old iPhone 6s+ that is still working flawlessly.

My 6s+ has never had any problems.

Some people say that Apple designs iOS so that older iPhones start to slow down over time. I don't know if I agree with that, but Apple is always introducing new features that older phones can't always take advantage of as they get older.

I also don't update because I have a jailbreak. My 6s+ went to iOS 9.0.2 and has stayed there for over 3 years. Consequently, I don't have any of the issues that came with later versions of iOS such as CPU throttling due to battery age.

Hopefully some of that helps you.

 

[BigG94]

I'll stop being coy about the price ... $540 including all original accessories.

And as noted ... and what is attracting me ... there has been zero usage on this phone. It's probably a refurb since it's a replacement phone but it's never been activated/used. And it's 256 whopping gigs.

 

[DevinNj]

G-Force is it? If you get the reference, then yes it doesn't look like a bad deal. See if you can negotiate the deal further, but it's not bad at all.

 

[forestinjersey]

Add to basket, the iPhone 7+ is still a great device, kinda wish I still had mine....

 

[BugeyeSTI]

3 years for sure. 8+ will get you another couple years but as far as what you say your use your phone for, you won’t notice much difference in performance between the two. Camera will be better on the 8+

 

[pdp1]

If you're on the "power user" side and have to have the greatest features of new versions of iOS as they roll out, or if you use specific CPU/RAM intensive apps, I'd say you'd have closer to 2 years than 3. I predict iOS14 will start showing slower performance on an A10 processor. But, if you're more of an average user, 3 years (i.e. until iOS15 is released) should be no problem as many have stated.

That said, I'm by no means a "power user", but based on my previous tack record of holding on to older iPhone for a long time (I just retired an iPhone 6), I'd be inclined to get something newer than a iPhone 7 / A10. That's only because I want my phones to last as long as possible.

 

[44267547]

How much longer would an 8 Plus give me?

With the iPhone 8 Plus, I would suspect at least four years of iOS support, which would place the ending support someone around 2021. However, consumers seems to upgrade their devices long before that, it really depends on if they experience any hardware faults.

 

[BigG94]

Thanks for input, folks, going to mull this over a bit until Thanksgiving vittles overdose subsides.

Am leaning toward getting it, actually have been looking at some 8's and 8 Pluses and something might develop ... my fear is waiting too long for something else to come along and then missing out on this ... but right now I'm not seeing anything close to this kind of deal for a new 256 gig phone in pristine shape with a pristine battery.