Hello,
I’m starting to feel like iPhones just aren’t worth the money anymore.
I bought the iPhone 14 Pro (1TB) as soon as it launched, and went for AppleCare+ with theft and loss cover. I wanted something that would last a few years, as upgrades aren’t worth it every year, or even every couple of years, now.
In November last year, I accidentally stood on it and cracked the back. I used AppleCare+ for the repair and they replaced the battery at the same time, which I was surprised by.
11 months on though, I’ve already lost 11% battery health & iOS 26 seems to be hammering it even more. I’m regularly down to around 20% by the time I get home from work, even with Low Power Mode on. I’ve just switched on Reduced Motion to see if that helps, but haven’t had a chance to test it properly yet. That setting makes the phone feel like a budget Android from 2007 — not exactly what you expect from an almost £2k device.
It’s frustrating. I shouldn’t be thinking about replacing the battery already.
My Apple Watch Series 6 — which I also bought at launch — and my second-hand MacBook Pro (over six years old now) are still going strong. I’ve no urge to upgrade either of those because they still work to my expectations.
iOS has become increasingly buggy over the years. It’s been on the decline ever since Scott Forstall left in 2012/2013, if you ask me. Now it feels like they’re more focused on flashy features like “Apple Intelligence” just to have something new to shout about or subscription services, rather than fixing bugs and making things “just work”. I shouldn’t have to enable reduced motion to try and conserve battery life because of the buggy software update.
For the first time since I started using iPhones, I’m genuinely considering jumping ship.
Anyone else feeling the same?
