Ahh, the 11 Pro Max is still a great phone and is more than capable for most people’s needs, especially if you keep the battery in good shape with regular servicing.
What are you thinking of upgrading to?
I agree that gaming on iOS is a bit of a niche hobby. While mobile gaming as a whole is huge, I’m not interested in the usual F2P throwaway titles on the App Store. I only care about proper console-quality ports from systems like the PS4 and Xbox One.
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I don’t use touch controls either, I connect a PS4 controller via Bluetooth for that proper console feel. I usually play on my 17 Pro while my girlfriend’s watching TV. I’ve also got a gaming laptop and a PS4, so I still enjoy big-screen gaming when I can. It’s just that playing on my phone is so convenient now, and since I’ve always loved handheld gaming, the smaller screen doesn’t bother me at all.
Right now I'm thinking iPhone 15 or 16 Pro Max. Since 2009, I have had the standing order from my wife that whatever
I upgrade to, she gets the same (except for maybe color). But as long as she can do what she's used to doing she doesn't care when upgrades happen. So, when I do upgrade, she'll get the same - unless she specifically tells me she wants something else. That's happened once or twice in the past.
But 4.5 years in to her 11PM she is still asking me what model phone she has. So… 🤷♂️
The last time I upgraded I wanted the 12PM, but the monthly payments would have been hard to make, so I settled for the 11PM and still got what I wanted out of it. Plus, I avoided being a network guinea pig for T-Mobile. At the time, they were just starting to rollout 5G and I wasn't interested in a repeat of Sprint when they were rolling out LTE.
Now it's almost 5 years later and if they don't have a handle on 5G then I've got a legit right to go whine at them. But either the 15 or 16PM will give me what I want and cost me less. I'm okay using last year's model.
😉
The trick is to find out what's being offered. I was able to get the 11PM at the time because T-Mob was still offering them new on their website. I don't want to buy used. So, if the only deal is the 16PM and there is no 15PM to be found, then that's what we'll get. But I am shooting for the 15PM.
T-Mobile starts refarming LTE in early 2026, so it will become important to upgrade sooner rather than later.
As to handhelds…I used to have one of those 1970s Mattel football devices back when I was a kid (in the 1970s). Got an original Gameboy device before they were released in the USA as well. We used to host Japanese exchange students during the summer and one of them brought it as a gift. My wife dominated Tetris on it, LOL!
But that's pretty much the extent of handhelds for me. My son does have a Switch. His friends got together and all chipped in to buy him one. And when he was younger we got him a Nintendo DS. I didn't realize until later on though that I'd ordered it through a pawn shop that had an eBay storefront - so some kid lost their pawned DS to my son. Ah well…I never told him though.
