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Do you upgrade your iPhone:

  • Yearly

  • Every Two years

  • In no particular order...

  • I still have my first iPhone


Results are only viewable after voting.
Every year. I can't imagine owning a phone for longer than that. Even before the iPhone came along, I'd upgrade frequently. Maybe even more frequently than I do now.
 
I did & would still but unfortunately the networks will not allow it, other than on a sim only plan & you pay full price for the phone. My last phone would have cost me getting up for £600+
 
Every year, technically. I carry 2 phones. My workplace pays for one, and the other is my personal. I just go in intervals.
 
This year will be the first time ever getting the "S" model. Normally I upgrade every two years.
 
This year will be the first time ever getting the "S" model. Normally I upgrade every two years.
Upgrade if:
1. theres a feature I want
2. If the battery in my current iPhone dies faster
3. if somebody is nice enough to give me a gift
 
Until now I only bought a new one when I really needed it.

My first one was a used black iPhone 4 (16 or 32 GB, can't remember) by the end of 2010. But I sold it very fast again because I did not really need a Smartphone at that time. Internet on such a small display was new to me and I didn't like it at all back then. So the iPhone and the rates for cellular Internet were too expensive for my purposes and I switched back to my old phone and for music I bought a new Sony MP3 player. I also did not own any Mac at that time and hated iTunes on Windows.

So my real first iPhone then was a used white 5 with 64GB in 2012. It replaced my old phone and the music player. I also got my real first Mac that year.

I upgraded to a new golden 6 with 128GB six weeks after it came out last year, mostly because of the slightly larger display and because my whole music library alone was more than 64GB at that time, also I liked the new design, especially the golden color.

As I saw the 6 plus for the first time I was shocked about the size. I actually planned to buy that instead before I saw it in real, but then I changed my mind immediately in the store.

I might keep the 6 until it breaks or is not supported with iOS updates anymore. Maybe the 7 will be so impressive that I have to buy it. Who knows... I will see then.

But I surely skip the 6s. Thought about a 6s plus because of the larger screen. After nearly one year of using the 6 it appears not to be that much oversized anymore. But it's still too large for me carrying it the whole day around and too small to replace the smallest of my MacBooks and the recent iPads are also not powerful enough for that purpose.

I'd rather get an iPad Pro or Air 3 (depends on if or when it will be released) in addition to my iPhone 6 and only take it with me when I really need a bigger screen. Then I don't need two MacBooks anymore and only keep a big one for home usage.
 
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Yearly. I just buy the phone outright via Pre-order. Then I sell it a month (or so) before the next one comes out, for close what I paid for it. I only wind up paying approx. $100 to use it for a year. This beats a two year upgrade cycle and the various (12-month) installment plans by a longshot.
 
I upgrade every year and have since the 3GS (before that, I was using Blackberries). It's a little thing I look forward to yearly, like another holiday or something.
 
My last iPhone was iPhone 3G. When i saw the first Generation i had fell in love. In my country (Turkey) i had the first iPhone 3G. I used until 2012. Since 2012 i'm with Android. Now it's time to get back the old experience.
 
depends....

I've done yearly and I've done 2 years.... but this time since we are one next with at&t we are doing yearly and probably will again next year!
 
My first iPhone was the iPhone 4, 16GB. I waited in a long line in front of the Apple store before work. I made it about 2/3rds the way through the line then I had to go to work. I got back in line after work and eventually got one late that night. I loved that phone. It was my first smartphone. But it did have issues. First the power button stopped working. Then eventually the home button started to fail (I had to press it really hard). Then it needed a new battery. So actually it wasn't a very reliable phone. The stainless steel finish also got scratched up even though I always kept it in a case. I guess sand or other debris got in along side it. And I dropped it once and the back glass shattered. I fixed it with a cheap cover I bought on Amazon. Then it got slower after each iOS upgrade to the point where it was barely usable with iOS 7. So I got the iPhone 5S (64GB) in white (silver). It was nice to have a new color since the iPhone 4 was only available in black when I got it. The 5S has been the best phone I've ever had. It still looks and works like new after 2 years. But I did put a tempered glass screen protector on it and have kept it in a case since day 1. I waited in line at launch day at midnight in front of the Apple store. After a few hours Apple employees notified me I wouldn't get the configuration I wanted because they didn't have enough of them. So I left empty handed. :( The line seemed to be full of mostly foreigners who didn't speak english and people who looked like bums. I guess they were scalpers. The next day Apple enabled "personal pickup" and I was able to reserve one. I walked into the store right past all the people waiting in line. An Apple employee quietly helped me and I got my phone. I felt like a movie star. :) I couldn't resist the temptation to order the new 6S though and I made sure I got the 128GB model since the higher res photos and videos take up more space. I was tempted to buy the 6 because I thought it would be nice to have a little larger screen, but besides that it wasn't much of an upgrade over the 5S (the 5S actually performs faster I think in real-world usage), plus I heard of problems like "bendgate," so I held off. Hopefully they've worked out the kinks with the "S" rendition. I think I'll probably stick with S phones now, unless iPhone 7 is really awesome. Plus I like the sound of that. Just say it... iPhone 7. Sounds awesome.
 
I phone 3G , iphone4s , I phone5 , I phone 6 I upgreate every 2 years. Before that I was blackberry user .
 
Here's when I got my iPhones:

February 2011 - iPhone 4
April 2013 - iPhone 5
September 2014 - iPhone 6
September 2015 - iPhone 6s

So, I'm all over the map. I may keep upgrading every year.
 
depends....

I've done yearly and I've done 2 years.... but this time since we are one next with at&t we are doing yearly and probably will again next year!

The same for me. I've done yearly before, but my last phone was the 5s. I'm getting the 6s+ and will get the 7 when it comes out next year. I'm doing the yearly payment and will get a new one yearly from now on.
 
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