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iPhone 5 or earlier How often should I upgrade?

kc9hzn said:
Hard to say if they ever would. Who’s still rocking an iPhone 3GS as a daily driver phone? (Before you laugh, I saw people daily driving 10+ year old PowerBooks [including Old World ROMs] back after the Intel transition. I think the appeal was that 1) it was hardware they already had and 2) it was offline so it was distraction free.)

There might still be mission critical software for some companies running on old PPC Macs. There probably isn’t mission critical software running on an old iPhone 3GS (really, it’s more older games that people are interested in when it comes to older iPhones).

All that is to say that, outside of collectors and people nostalgic for niche mobile apps/games of yesteryear (or people trying to document niche mobile device accessory hardware of yesteryear*), there’s probably not all that much interest in running older iPhones.

* Back in the 30-pin days, I had a radio dongle for my iPod touch that tuned in HD Radio. It would be cool to figure out how it communicated with the HD Radio app. I could see someone going over it in a YouTube video in the future similar to how someone might go over the first party iPod radio (or random MP3 player accessories, a la DankPods) these days. Maybe we’ll see MacRumors add such a board in 5 to 10 years time (though, of course, the original iPhone will be 20 years old in 3 years**).

** Sorry, this realization makes me feel as old as it probably makes you feel!
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I feel like a good number of those PowerPC Macs are only mission-critical to the mission of occasionally taking a vintage Mac for a spin, to try to turn that feeling of oldness into positive nostalgia. So yes, quite probably a lot less interest given a smaller survival rate for battery-powered mobile devices and the additional hurdles of iOS' locked-down nature... but hey, if such a forum were to exist anywhere, this site ought to be it!
 
macrumorsnewaccount said:
How often should I upgrade?
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Kinda like the oil in your car, I would say "TBD".

The old adage "every 3 months, or three thousand miles" is a good one, but not necessarily a maxim.

Manufacturers often recommend 'every 5-7K miles'.

I know a guy that shared a story detailing a friend that stated "last I changed the oil was 100,000 miles ago" . . . I believe that there was an additional story involving the oil cap, and a saddened *pfffft*

Edmunds dot com inserts some sanity into the dilemma, by positing that the answer depends more upon usage patterns than anything else.

I religiously change the oil in my car 2-3K Km, but that's because I am merely obsessive; not compulsive.

There is no law stating that anyone should adhere to one stance, than another.

Truly, it would probably benefit me if I were to change the oil every month.

I find no need.

My Daily phone was produced four years ago, and it is Fine.

I find no need to update.

You may find that you do.

Just be aware: if you're upping to the latest iPhone, "how often" is reduced to--at minimum--"every year" ;)
 
I think the oldest iPhone you could comfortably use as a daily driver right now is the 6S/SE1. I use both (as secondary devices) and they are fairly quick when web-browsing and are up-to-date enough to run all the latest apps on the App Store.
 
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from World import iPhones

foreach (iPhone in iPhones)
if (NeedFor(iPhone) > switchingInconveniences.sum)
print("Go go go!!")
else
print("cry about it")
 
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You shouldn't have an iPhone at all if you can't take such easy descision on your own.
 
Last edited:
the answer is you upgrade when you want to upgrade and when you're able to afford.
Back when I was in college, flip phones with 3 Megapixel was hot and I wanted it so bad but I could not afford it.
Now I bought everything top of the line simply because I can and I want to enjoy. Maximize your satisfaction within your budget.
 
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iPhone's, MacBook pros, bills are all very costly, I would recommend holding onto your phone till Apple stops supporting it with iOS updates, or when you are ready to update.

I am still using a 12 pro max here with iOS 18 developer beta installed still working like clockwork with 84% battery life.

I used change my phone with every design update 2 - 3 years, but since Cook took the helm, the iPhone’s design hasn’t changed.

Hence even if the phone is power house of features, I do not want to buy into the same phone I am currently using.

For me my next phone may be the iPhone 17, the key word here is ‘when you are ready to update.
 
Depends on who you ask and what your needs are.

If you ask Apple or its shareholders: upgrade often, our latest devices help you get the best out of your work and have the latest features and best performance.

If you ask others: upgrade only when necessary, if the device you have works and is suitable for its purpose, save your money and use it until it comes to the end of useful life (wear or tear or security updates). Get battery serviced by Apple every 3 years or when performance notification comes up on device or you notice reduced runtimes.
 
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Upgrade what? Your phone, your Mac, your car, your house?

If you’re talking phones, I upgrade when my old phone starts bothering me, or when a new phone has a feature that I think is extremely useful.

I am still using an iPhone 8, but plan to upgrade sometime this year to something. Probably the 15 or 16 pro.

Before the iPhone 8, I had an iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s and iPhone 7. I wasn’t really happy with any of those, but was happy with my iPhone 8.
 
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JamesMay82 said:
I admire people who keep their iPhones for 5 years plus! Wish I could be so financially sensible
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Same! I just have weird shiny object syndrome so even if there’s objectively not a big different I’m like I want the new one, and come up with really stupid reasons to justify it haha. Strangely enough I think now that I’m sober it’ll be easier to resist (I never buy stuff under the influence but brain fog the next day often makes me upgrade, that and I sell phones for a living in Canada so I see all the new phones).
 
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I find every 3 years to be the sweet spot for me. My phone company subsidizes the cost, and I like to get the bump in features and specs that would seem incremental with a yearly upgrade.
 
I buy new unlocked phones and see no need to shell out $1000 every year. I consider support and battery health. My iPhone 12 is still supported and has 99% battery health. I will look at the 16 but will likely wait until next year when the 17 comes out.
 
macrumorsnewaccount said:
How often should I upgrade?
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Steve Jobs had a standing order with the local Mercedes-Benz dealership to deliver a new car every six months. They would deliver it to his house and take the "old" car back.

I think you should follow his example but only with an iPhone. This way you always have the latest phone and it never gets dirty or scratched and always looks new.

How could you argue with this? Maybe you can't afford to do this but you did not tell us your budget, how you use the phone, or even what part of the world you live in.
 
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ChrisA said:
Steve Jobs had a standing order with the local Mercedes-Benz dealership to deliver a new car every six months. They would deliver it to his house and take the "old" car back.

I think you should follow his example but only with an iPhone. This way you always have the latest phone and it never gets dirty or scratched and always looks new.

How could you argue with this? Maybe you can't afford to do this but you did not tell us your budget, how you use the phone, or even what part of the world you live in.
Click to expand...

Fun fact, Steve Jobs swapped cars so often because people kept stealing his license plate. At the time, you could use a temp tag for six months.
 
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ChrisA said:
Steve Jobs had a standing order with the local Mercedes-Benz dealership to deliver a new car every six months. They would deliver it to his house and take the "old" car back.

I think you should follow his example but only with an iPhone. This way you always have the latest phone and it never gets dirty or scratched and always looks new.

How could you argue with this? Maybe you can't afford to do this but you did not tell us your budget, how you use the phone, or even what part of the world you live in.
Click to expand...

To be fair, Steve Jobs did that so he wouldn’t ever have to get license plates. It wasn’t so he would have a new shiny.

Getting a new phone every six months doesn’t quite have the same FU to the system statement as driving a car without plates…
 
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