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How long do you keep an iPhone?

I am torn between getting the 5 or keeping my 4s.

It's really a matter of, do I want to upgrade every year or every two years, to which I don't know the answer yet :confused:
 
Typically 2 years because of the contract. The intervening update would have to be massive for my to justify updating after 1 year due to the cost.
 
I usually upgrade every year, but i'm getting the iphone 5 64 gigs so I plan on keeping it at least 2 years. I want there to be a wow factor next time I upgrade. :apple:
 
leenak said:
Because, you get the phone at a discount. If you break out of the contract for some reason, then the cost is still less than if you had bought the phone full price.
Click to expand...

Really.
This is my first iPhone, and I did a lot of price comparisons before I bought it.

Not a single contract deal was cheaper than buying the phone outright and getting a SIM. They were always without fail several hundred pounds more expensive than the buying outright method. And, more often than not, gave poorer service (capped data, calls, etc) compared to the SIM deals!

The only time I'd ever consider locking myself into a contract is if I didn't have the capital to buy the phone outright, and even then I can't imagine going for it.

Having an off contract phone also means that I can swap SIMs any time I like to get a better deal or service, as opposed to being stuck with what I bought possibly 24 months ago!
 
I upgrade every year, and I only paid more than $100 for the first one. My process is to list my phone on eBay the day they announce the event. I always get $350-400, and then I just use a spare feature phone until the new one is at my door.

Some people don't see a point in upgrading every year and even view it as frivolous, but I don't agree. My phone is the one gadget that I have with me at all times and it gets used often. It gives me the freedom to do basically anything, anywhere, and, to me, that is priceless. Besides, the real money is being spent on the contracts, and the phone only counts for a fraction of it.
 
Feed Me said:
Really.
This is my first iPhone, and I did a lot of price comparisons before I bought it.

Not a single contract deal was cheaper than buying the phone outright and getting a SIM. They were always without fail several hundred pounds more expensive than the buying outright method. And, more often than not, gave poorer service (capped data, calls, etc) compared to the SIM deals!

The only time I'd ever consider locking myself into a contract is if I didn't have the capital to buy the phone outright, and even then I can't imagine going for it.

Having an off contract phone also means that I can swap SIMs any time I like to get a better deal or service, as opposed to being stuck with what I bought possibly 24 months ago!
Click to expand...

Really? I compared costs over the contract period and the same period (for consitency) with a sim-only deal for O2 and a few others and the contracts were always cheaper. Even more so for monthly rolling contracts which are typically pricier than the 12 month contracts.

E.g. for O2 a 32GB model, the simplicity £20 deal comes out at £1079, whereas the cheapest monthly contract deal (£360 up front and 26pm) is £984.
 
I have an iPhone 4 I got the day after launch in 2010. And it still works well up to this point. (Besides the fact the battery will need replaced.) I plan on using this phone until its EOL (around 2015) due to it having Great LTE support and great specs!
 
My first one was the Verizon 4, got the 4S when it came out, and plan to get the 5 this Friday. I pay for a family plan with multiple lines consisting of regular feature phones that rarely get upgraded, so I'm eligible to get a discounted phone every year.

I hold on to my old phones and re-activate them when I go overseas to minimize the sting of losing Apple's latest phone if I get robbed while traveling.

I agree with previous comments regarding the 4S; other than the better camera, there really wasn't anything that justified me buying it while having a 4 and in hindsight I should have saved my money. I might start waiting 2 years from here on out and buy when Apple does their major overhauls.
 
I upgrade to the newest one ever year. So, around 11 months then I sell it.
 
I upgrade every year. Up to this point, AT&T has given me a full upgrade each year. I easily cover the cost of the new iPhone by selling the old one.
 
Big.Mac.Daddy said:
I am torn between getting the 5 or keeping my 4s.

It's really a matter of, do I want to upgrade every year or every two years, to which I don't know the answer yet :confused:
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. I keep going back and forth.

This is my first iphone. Before it came out, I kept checking news updates for what the phone will look like, features, etc. Since having my iphone, I didn't really care much or keep up with the latest news for the iphone 5. I was pretty content with my phone.

Up until a few hours before preordering, I was debating if I should or not, especially since I had to pay an extra $250 for the iphone 5 to upgrade early. I decided to go ahead and get the iphone 5, but this will be the last time I upgrade early. No matter the features or hype, I'm sticking with what I have.
 
I upgrade every year, always buy sim free. The wife gets my hand me down so is only 1 year behind me.....then the 2 year old phone gets sold for pennies on ebay!
 
NinaJ said:
I feel the same way. I keep going back and forth.

This is my first iphone. Before it came out, I kept checking news updates for what the phone will look like, features, etc. Since having my iphone, I didn't really care much or keep up with the latest news for the iphone 5. I was pretty content with my phone.

Up until a few hours before preordering, I was debating if I should or not, especially since I had to pay an extra $250 for the iphone 5 to upgrade early. I decided to go ahead and get the iphone 5, but this will be the last time I upgrade early. No matter the features or hype, I'm sticking with what I have.
Click to expand...

Thanks for responding to NinaJ :)

Knowing that someone out there is debating the same move you're contemplating is helpful.
 
I upgraded every time there was a new launch. But i'm skipping the 5 series. So I got a different phone and will be waiting patiently for the 6.
 
Moccasin said:
Really? I compared costs over the contract period and the same period (for consitency) with a sim-only deal for O2 and a few others and the contracts were always cheaper. Even more so for monthly rolling contracts which are typically pricier than the 12 month contracts.

E.g. for O2 a 32GB model, the simplicity £20 deal comes out at £1079, whereas the cheapest monthly contract deal (£360 up front and 26pm) is £984.
Click to expand...

When I compared contracts and SIM deals, I only compared deals that I would actually use in the real world. Therefore I only compared deals that had high or unlimited data and texts. I wasn't so bothered about calls. I made a big spreadsheet and everything, and contracts were typically £100-£300 more expensive for the two year term.

Anyway, the point is that O2's cheapest contract which you mention never entered my calculations, and is still more expensive - £80 more expensive - than the unlimited data SIM I bought alongside my unlocked iPhone!

If I were really looking to save money and not just get the best deal, I could get an unlocked 32gb iPhone and pay £6.50/month, totalling £755 for two years, which completely blows the cheapest contract out of the water by a good £200.

For me, getting an unlocked iPhone and a monthly SIM is a no-brainer.
 
I started with the iPhone 4, upgraded to the 4s immediately. I'm sticking with the 4s until the 5 is jailbroken.
 
Feed Me said:
When I compared contracts and SIM deals, I only compared deals that I would actually use in the real world. Therefore I only compared deals that had high or unlimited data and texts. I wasn't so bothered about calls. I made a big spreadsheet and everything, and contracts were typically £100-£300 more expensive for the two year term.

Anyway, the point is that O2's cheapest contract which you mention never entered my calculations, and is still more expensive - £80 more expensive - than the unlimited data SIM I bought alongside my unlocked iPhone!

If I were really looking to save money and not just get the best deal, I could get an unlocked 32gb iPhone and pay £6.50/month, totalling £755 for two years, which completely blows the cheapest contract out of the water by a good £200.

For me, getting an unlocked iPhone and a monthly SIM is a no-brainer.
Click to expand...

My apologies. The big companies do seem to have used the unlimited calls/texts as an excuse to bump up their prices on contracts and sim-only deals
 
I upgrade every year! :cool:

P.S. And i buy unlocked phones because i travel very much.
 
Moccasin said:
My apologies. The big companies do seem to have used the unlimited calls/texts as an excuse to bump up their prices on contracts and sim-only deals
Click to expand...

No worries, all these companies are scumbags.

After being accustomed to getting ripped off left-right-and-centre with my home broadband contract, I went out of my way to find the best way to get my iPhone working without one. I'd have even paid *more* money to avoid a contract!
 
Feed Me said:
Really.
This is my first iPhone, and I did a lot of price comparisons before I bought it.

Not a single contract deal was cheaper than buying the phone outright and getting a SIM. They were always without fail several hundred pounds more expensive than the buying outright method. And, more often than not, gave poorer service (capped data, calls, etc) compared to the SIM deals!

The only time I'd ever consider locking myself into a contract is if I didn't have the capital to buy the phone outright, and even then I can't imagine going for it.

Having an off contract phone also means that I can swap SIMs any time I like to get a better deal or service, as opposed to being stuck with what I bought possibly 24 months ago!
Click to expand...

I think I read that in the UK cellular plans are different than in the US. In the US, your monthly fee is the same regardless if you buy the phone outright or sign up for a contract. The carriers reduce the cost of the phone if you go into a contract but nothing else changes.
 
Started with the 3G. It was stolen a week later and I was iPhoneless with an iPhone plan (unlimited) for about a year, then bought the 3GS when it came out. Upgraded to the 4, and now the 5. Doubt I'll get the 5S unless it's a bigger leap than 4 >> 4S.

I'd say every 2 years I get the new design.
 
I keep mine until the next one is announced, and then I sell what I currently have. Been doing it since the 3GS
 
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