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How Long is iPhone Life?
- Thread starter jianrong
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Those are a lot of assumptions that I have yet to encounter.
My son has an iPhone 4s. Does just fine on iOS 9.3.5.
I have an iPhone 5 on iOS 9.0.1. Does just fine.
My wife's iPhone 5 is on iOS 10.1. Does just fine.
My iPhone 6s+ has been a year on iOS 9.0.2. I go to bed with no less than 70% of battery left. Does just fine.
My wife's iPhone 6s has been a year on iOS 9.0.2. She has no battery issues and it does just fine.
No battery issues on ANY of the devices I just mentioned. In fact, my son's 4s does very, well.
My son has an iPhone 4s. Does just fine on iOS 9.3.5.
I have an iPhone 5 on iOS 9.0.1. Does just fine.
My wife's iPhone 5 is on iOS 10.1. Does just fine.
My iPhone 6s+ has been a year on iOS 9.0.2. I go to bed with no less than 70% of battery left. Does just fine.
My wife's iPhone 6s has been a year on iOS 9.0.2. She has no battery issues and it does just fine.
No battery issues on ANY of the devices I just mentioned. In fact, my son's 4s does very, well.
The only real limiting factor will be the battery i.e. how many cycles it has. Of course, you can always opt to replace the battery at some point, too.
So a combination of the iOS version plus the battery health is the final answer.
I'm at 131 cycles on 9.0.2 JB. I might stay on this forever. Phone bought late Sept 2015.
Only con is that I have a spider-crack on bottom right corner about 1/8" long so I may elect to buy a new phone next year in Oct when eligible. Dropped the phone on my carpet in living-room and the crack appeared (go figure)!
So a combination of the iOS version plus the battery health is the final answer.
I'm at 131 cycles on 9.0.2 JB. I might stay on this forever. Phone bought late Sept 2015.
Only con is that I have a spider-crack on bottom right corner about 1/8" long so I may elect to buy a new phone next year in Oct when eligible. Dropped the phone on my carpet in living-room and the crack appeared (go figure)!
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Staying on older versions of iOS is fine for a year or two, but then newer apps will start requiring a newer version of iOS and you can't just update to the oldest version the app requires. You'll have to update to the latest version of iOS to use them.
Ios9 will be the minimum for most apps probably for another year (I hope). In the meantime, I'm stockpiling potential apps of use even if no interest of running them right now. (Examples are Instapaper, Burner, and a few others...not a long list.)
I'm an old hand when it comes to running iOS versions long after Apple has moved on.
Bought my ipad2 in 2011 and was very selective on what upgrades to install on it. From ios4 to 5, then to 6, and finally 7 (no further).....all jailbroken.
Freak of very lucky timing that my first iPhone came and jail-break followed a week later.
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I'm not going to avoid updating my OS just to keep my device running a little smoother a little longer. I plan on keeping my iPads until they are no longer smooth and fast enough for me to enjoy and that will be the reason I eventually upgrade.
You will easily achieve four years of usage off your iPhone 7 Plus. As @eyoungren stated, he has iPhones that last well over that.
Well, if there is a jailbreak for ios10...I'll upgrade. But only if there is a jail-break! And must be a solid one, at that. I've tweaked this phone to perfection.
It's more about staying jail-broken at this point and less on smoothness (though down the road, the latter will come to the forefront, I'm sure).
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I plan on keeping my 6s for five or six years and am happy with it's current features / performance so unless something unforeseen happens I don't have any plans to update it beyond iOS 9.3.5
The only issue I could see come up that would tick me off is if the apps I have on the phone, which work fine on 9.3.5 and I don't update either, one day suddenly say "sorry, this version of the app is no longer supported, please update to the newest version (which requires iOS 12) for it to work"
I remember in the past even Apple was guilty of this where FaceTime stopped working for devices on iOS 6 because their engineers forgot about and let the certificate expire. Instead of fixing the issue on iOS 6 devices they simply forced people to update to the latest iOS to get FaceTime working again.As for battery life going down over time, Apple has stated that iPhone batteries should retain at least 80% charge after 500 charge cycles but my experience has been even better than that. I would expect my battery to be around 90% of its original capacity after 500 charge cycles based on my previous experience. If the battery level ever drops to uncomfortable levels I can simply pay $80 for a new one from Apple. Apple will continue to service devices up to 5 years after the device is no longer manufactured so I don't have to worry that, for example, in year 4 when I want to replace the battery that I won't be able to.
I plan on keeping my 6s for five or six years and am happy with it's current features / performance so unless something unforeseen happens I don't have any plans to update it beyond iOS 9.3.5
The only issue I could see come up that would tick me off is if the apps I have on the phone, which work fine on 9.3.5 and I don't update either, one day suddenly say "sorry, this version of the app is no longer supported, please update to the newest version (which requires iOS 12) for it to work"
As for battery life going down over time, Apple has stated that iPhone batteries should retain at least 80% charge after 500 charge cycles but my experience has been even better than that. I would expect my battery to be around 90% of its original capacity after 500 charge cycles based on my previous experience. If the battery level ever drops to uncomfortable levels I can simply pay $80 for a new one from Apple. Apple will continue to service devices up to 5 years after the device is no longer manufactured so I don't have to worry that, for example, in year 4 when I want to replace the battery that I won't be able to.
Just keep in mind, if you opt to change the battery w/Apple later on...they might upgrade you to a later iOS.
I saw a thread where the owner was told they had to calibrate or check something (after the new battery was put in)...so be careful if you do go down that route to ask before doing!
Best thing is to care for the battery from the get-go. The less hands that will touch your idevice, the better.
Thanks for the heads up bufffilm. I'll have to do some searches now on users getting battery replacements from Apple and being forced to update their OS. I would hope that if my device is locked via password when I send it to Apple that they wouldn't mess with my software but who knows. Maybe I could even just end up replacing the battery myself? Worst case scenario, if that they update me to iOS 13 or whatever else the current iOS version is at the time and my 6s performance turns to crap I'll simply get a new phone. In the meantime though I'd like to extend the life of my 6s as long as comfortably possible.
Thanks for the heads up bufffilm. I'll have to do some searches now on users getting battery replacements from Apple and being forced to update their OS. I would hope that if my device is locked via password when I send it to Apple that they wouldn't mess with my software but who knows. Maybe I could even just end up replacing the battery myself? Worst case scenario, if that they update me to iOS 13 or whatever else the current iOS version is at the time and my 6s performance turns to crap I'll simply get a new phone. In the meantime though I'd like to extend the life of my 6s as long as comfortably possible.
Again, just relaying what someone posted, don't know if true or not.
Nice to know I'm not the only one when it comes to keeping an idevice on a particular iOS version!
Again, just relaying what someone posted, don't know if true or not.
Nice to know I'm not the only one when it comes to keeping an idevice on a particular iOS version!
Yeah, I like to keep my electronics as long as possible so I try to keep it on the OS it came with to have performance + battery life as good as the day I bought it. I hardly ever get tempted by new software features so if anything new OS updates are a detriment to my devices as I feel they are mostly written for newer hardware and can slow down or drain the battery on the old stuff.
I'm also very safe when using my phone not to go to any shady looking websites, click on suspicious links, or download anything I'm not 100% sure of (plus I stay up to date on any security threats via the forum and other tech news sites) so the security update factor doesn't apply to me as much as they would other, less cautious types.
Same rule goes for my iPad Mini 2 (iOS 9.3.5) and MacBook Air (OSX 10.11.6) as they run perfect so I don't currently plan on updating either of those for as long as I have them. It's nice though that with MacBooks you can upgrade & downgrade the software whenever you want but Apple doesn't allow you to on iOS devices
My iPhone 5 is still alive, after 4 years of abuse. Here are some stats
iPhone 5 16 Gb Silver November 2012
iOS 10.1.1
Battery cycles - 750 + - this is the replacement battery that apple recalled due to mfg defect, Earlier battery also had 600+ cycles at the time of replacement. Current charge holding capacity has reduced to 83%. Battery life is still okay over wifi, very bad on 3G.
Low Power mode most of the time except when playing intensive games.
Had to buy new lightning cable once and earpods twice as they wore off over time, my handling of those are part of the reason.
Apart from some iOS 10 bugs phone is quite snappy and overall performance is still good. iPhones last really long, as many said here, its only about battery degradation.
iPhone 5 16 Gb Silver November 2012
iOS 10.1.1
Battery cycles - 750 + - this is the replacement battery that apple recalled due to mfg defect, Earlier battery also had 600+ cycles at the time of replacement. Current charge holding capacity has reduced to 83%. Battery life is still okay over wifi, very bad on 3G.
Low Power mode most of the time except when playing intensive games.
Had to buy new lightning cable once and earpods twice as they wore off over time, my handling of those are part of the reason.
Apart from some iOS 10 bugs phone is quite snappy and overall performance is still good. iPhones last really long, as many said here, its only about battery degradation.
Yep. Still works perfectly. It's basically just used as an iPod now, though.
There are 2 factors: personal preference and hardware limitation.
As many said, I still see people using iPhone 4. Although I don't recommend staying on older OS due to security risks, many people finds older iPhones still work well. I personally still have an iPhone 5 as my backup iPhone, and it feels okay on iOS10.
In the end, the major limiting factor is the battery. Point again to my iPhone 5. Although it is running iOS10 fine, actual battery life is quite poor to my 6S. So despite the hardware itself is still capable, the cost of battery replacement will usually sway users into just buying a newer phone.
As many said, I still see people using iPhone 4. Although I don't recommend staying on older OS due to security risks, many people finds older iPhones still work well. I personally still have an iPhone 5 as my backup iPhone, and it feels okay on iOS10.
In the end, the major limiting factor is the battery. Point again to my iPhone 5. Although it is running iOS10 fine, actual battery life is quite poor to my 6S. So despite the hardware itself is still capable, the cost of battery replacement will usually sway users into just buying a newer phone.
My 4s with 7.1.2 is still running good. Its battery just replaced last year (not in apple store nor apple service center). My wife's iphone 6 is still going strong with IOS 8.2 (jailbroken) and very responsive as well. I even still have 3gs used by my daughter, running IOS 6 and still functional as a phone and basic smartphone which is still sufficient for her.
Even though it is recommended by apple and many security expert to update the OS to the latest due to security risk, I dont really buy in the idea. Possibly its security breach can happen but at very minimal rate (I havent heard it in practical daily life); also my phone do not contain extremely high confidential data either.
Even though it is recommended by apple and many security expert to update the OS to the latest due to security risk, I dont really buy in the idea. Possibly its security breach can happen but at very minimal rate (I havent heard it in practical daily life); also my phone do not contain extremely high confidential data either.
[doublepost=1479111594][/doublepost]Yes correct. In Indonesia (where I lived) there are few small workshops that can replaced soaked iphone battery with very reasonable price (about $20-$30). They replaced with used battery but with just few cycles (mine is about 90 cycles) and they will not upgrade the OS
Well it depends on what you value as lasting. After some time the phone will not be supported by the latest OS or may run poorly if it's still eligible to be updated. The phone may also have hardware faults but may still be useable. Overtime the battery life will decrease.
My mum bought her iPhone 4 in 2011 about a month after launch and she's still using it 5 years later. The home button no longer works so she's using a virtual on screen home button. The battery life is also quite poor now and the phone hasn't been updated past iOS 7 but otherwise for her it's still very usable.
My mum bought her iPhone 4 in 2011 about a month after launch and she's still using it 5 years later. The home button no longer works so she's using a virtual on screen home button. The battery life is also quite poor now and the phone hasn't been updated past iOS 7 but otherwise for her it's still very usable.
I use 4S, 3 years. iOS 6 was fine, with iOS 7 it became very laggy, with iOS 9 it's almost unusable, I hardly use it as a smartphone anymore. Battery was replaced once, but it's already bad enough, it could last 2 days if I don't use it at all or 30-60 minutes of internet browsing.
Overall I wouldn't expect new iPhone to be usable more than 2 years and I wouldn't recommend to update it more than once (so with iOS 6S update to iOS 10 and stop there). I did fatal mistake once updating my iPhone 4S to iOS 7 and there's no way back.
Overall I wouldn't expect new iPhone to be usable more than 2 years and I wouldn't recommend to update it more than once (so with iOS 6S update to iOS 10 and stop there). I did fatal mistake once updating my iPhone 4S to iOS 7 and there's no way back.
In addition, it depends on the applications that actually require an update for iOS. Not all of them do, but the Apple Watch App would for the lastest Watch OS for example. It varies.