Other Users of multi year+ older iPhones, easier to resist upgrades further out?

[MIKX]

My 4s serves me well as a "telephone" and as a "code verifier " for my Australian bank.
Have only had to replace the battery.
Got it for ¥6,000 here in Japan. Cut my 3Gs's SIM card for it.

Now on IOS 9.3.5 and working well if not as fast nor as dazzling as the later models.

 

[johny328i]

The ugly notch is still present for the third time. I hope next year it will be gone for good, and I may upgrade.

The 6s with a new 2200mah li-poly battery is going strong with only weakness in the camera department.

 

[maflynn]

I'm not tempted either way, either with a new-ish phone or an old-ish phone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'd say the lack of major updates to smartphones (thanks to it becoming a mature product), only amplifies that feeling, i.e., less and less reason to upgrade.

 

[delta0]

Only moving on from my 6 because it is starting to notably struggle with some apps now. Lots of lag and crashing. Also it is not supported by the latest OS. 5 years is not bad from a phone. Will get a Pro and likely use that for 5 years again.

 

[FeliApple]

My theory is that 4 full years is the maximum threshold most people are willing to use a smartphone before the itch for something new and shiny becomes unbearable. Most will upgrade well before the 4 years is up.

For me personally, my timeline is something like this:

Year 1: it's so fast and the battery lasts all day! I could use it for a few years...

Year 2: Battery is just okay, but still usable. Phone is still good.

Year 3: Battery sucks, replace battery. Phone still works fine and capable, but bored of the design now compared to all the thin new hotness out there. Usually I will upgrade at this point, but if I don't...

Year 4: I want a new phone, soo bored of this thing now and missing out on all the modern features and fancy cameras. I'll get whatever they release at the end of this year even if its lackluster.

Agree, I just wanted to say that my workaround for the battery thing is to never update iOS. Therefore, if I want to upgrade, it'll be because I like the new devices, not because mine is underperforming.

 

[EugW]

My theory is that 4 full years is the maximum threshold most people are willing to use a smartphone before the itch for something new and shiny becomes unbearable. Most will upgrade well before the 4 years is up.

That likely is not correct. The average in 2019 is now probably about 4 years for an iPhone.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/apple-iphone-replacement-cycle-slowing-toni-sacconaghi-says.html

Furthermore, it is stated that only about 16% of iPhone owners will upgrade this year.

BTW, I myself, as a tech geek, will be keeping my iPhone 7 Plus for 4 years, and will upgrade in 2020 when the 5G models are released. I did get a new battery last year though, but just because it was cheap from the battery replacement program. Otherwise I would not have bothered since I still had over 90% capacity on that battery, after over 2 years. Right now I have 98% battery capacity.

My wife got an XR last year, after having the 6s for 3 years. I see her likely keeping this XR for 4 years. My wife’s mom is using the 6s as a hand me down, and is completely happy with it. No desire to upgrade.

 

[Nacho98]

I'm typically on an 18-24 month upgrade cycle, but I did keep my 3G for 2.5 years, 9 months of which I had a shattered screen.

I personally hate the process of upgrading. It's not fun. It's not fun doing quality control for Apple and having to fret that you didn't get a good device in terms of panel lottery or just flat out other cosmetic QC issues. That said, the only phone I've ever bought that wasn't a keeper on the first try was my Xs, which took 4 to get an acceptable one. I also always set up as new with only contacts in iCloud, so it's always a painstaking half day event to hold the old phone in one hand, new phone in the other, and comb through every single setting one by one to match them, plus any new stuff I need to make a settings decision on with the new phone that the old phone doesn't have.

That said, I also don't like getting too far behind, such that a new phone feels totally foreign and the new features/settings overwhelm me.

I'd say the best part about skipping an upgrade is missing the hassle and stress (and money wasted on accessories) that goes with making sure you get a good one, getting good accessories, and getting the phone set up. Once you get to that point, it's great, but getting there sort of sucks, especially as Apple's prices get higher and so too do my expectations (justifiably). So sitting out an incremental upgrade isn't the end of the world.

One thing for me is that I just couldn't give a rat's ass about the camera, and quite frankly, I'm tired of every review for every phone for the last 10 years spending 50%+ of the review waxing poetic about the camera. I'm also not an instagram whore, so there's that I guess.

 

[GalileoSeven]

I saw that the smartphone market had plateaued and for the longest time, my 6 (that I used for 5 yrs) did the job and did it well. It's been somewhat interesting keeping up with developments/advancements, but at no time did I feel like shelling out for a new one.

It wasn't until the last few months that age/battery related issues popped up (never took advantage of the battery replacement program). That + iOS 13 drove me to make an upgrade out of necessity.

Am hoping this XR can last at least as long

 

[gemnilocs]

i’m still rocking my 10 that i got in 2017...and the phone is physically new cause they had to replace it after the screen was replaced...so i’m ok with not upgrading...i’m upgrading my series 3 to the 5 tho.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I'm pretty firm in not upgrading (my XS Max). The Midnight Green is enticing, but I can definitely resist the purchase. Once you have the frame of mind and know there's always going to be something newer and better every year and that acquiring the latest is really a waste of money (unless you can justify the means), it's easy, at least for me, to pass on new Apple products.

Also, the company I work for, provides all it's employees a personal debit card where the company deposits $$$ into it monthly. I average about $1200/year which is the cost of an iPhone. I bought my XS Max from this employee debit card, so I consider my XS Max Free. I now have another $1200 balance to get a new 11 Pro, but I won't be upgrading. Even though it will be Free, I'm not wasting it on a new phone knowing I just dropped $1449 last year on an XS Max - screen protector and case. It's just a waste to drop cash every year on an already expensive phone.

 

[reppans]

Recently upgraded to an XR from a 6.5 year old iPhone5 and owned an iPhone3 for 5.5yrs before that, so after 12 yrs, I’m on 3rd (new)smartphone. I know how to take care of batteries so all on OEM batts.

I personally resist upgrading stuff, because there’s always seems to be a painful transfer process involved - ie, older apps aren’t supported anymore, need to recreate stuff, formatting differences, data loss, changing peripherals, etc.

 

[Oohara]

I'm using a 7 Plus and since I'm always drooling over new phones, it's been pretty hard to refrain from upgrading until now. It was definitely hard to stop myself when the X came out. At that point I could have traded in my 7 Plus with my provider and restarted my down payment cycle for one of the new phones, which would have been very hassle free though not a great deal in terms of actual money value.

One year later when the XS came out, yes it actually was easier to let go of the upgrade urge. At that point I had paid the 7 Plus in full so just continuing using it vs. starting down payments on a new one felt like using it "for free" by comparison. I also factored in the ease of use which comes with a phone that is older and worth less money, I wouldn't be so nervous about damaging it.

This year I caved though. The improvements have just piled up too high at this point and above everything else I'm really dying to have an OLED iPhone. And after sticking it out with the 7 Plus for three years I feel quite ok with myself for upgrading. Midnight Green iPhone 11 Pro....because I'm worth it

Incredibly I checked the used market and see that I might still be able to get around $300 for my old 7 Plus!! Which will probably go towards an Apple Watch 5....which I'm also worth since I've also stuck it out with my Series 0 AW until now

Disclaimer: I won't mention the OnePlus 6T I spontaneously bought six months ago when I got too desperate for new tech, and then regretted it...ahem. A bigger OLED display than that of the Max and for half the price seemed a sweet deal, and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching movies on it, but in the end my iOS workflow was too well established so I went back to the 7 Plus as a daily driver.

 

[nfl46]

No need for me to upgrade every year anymore. I typically upgrade every 3 years or so. I’ve gotten older and don’t feel the need to upgrade to the latest and greatest when my current phone is working just fine.

 

[EugW]

I'm pretty firm in not upgrading (my XS Max). The Midnight Green is enticing, but I can definitely resist the purchase.

Are you actually saying you considered the upgrade, even just in passing, because of the colour?

If so, you are nuts.

 

[joeblow7777]

seeing lots of 6s and 7 series users humming along just fine as far as I can tell, confidently still holding out and skipping this year.

The people that seem to upgrade, upgrade feverishly (This is usually but not always me, I’m sometimes on the two year plan, never been on a 3 or over though, that sounds kinda cool in a weird way)

I have a theory, and feel like after you break past the 2 years+ of not upgrading (though its not an estimate not an exact science, the timeframe and Threshold depends on individual), you are more inclined to get over it more easily and not give a crap... akin to what I would imagine its like coming off nicotine, tough in the beginning, near impossible, then supposedly gets easier the further out you go without, once you’re past the hot sweats phase and the critical point of hooked you dont even think about it (all in theory of course, not saying as an ex smoker, or anything just conjecturing from what it sounds like). Or akin to obsessing about the first scratch, then with time and more scratches, caring significantly less.. Diminishing effect, type thing. Any discipline that gets easier with repetition and time and some form of practice.

This is of course barring functionality deal breakers almost literally *forcing* someone into an upgrade as they see it, that they are and would be relatively indifferent about otherwise but do out of ambivalent necessity — severely cracked screens, slowed devices to a crawl through a bad configuration or just being THAT old a phone its barely supported, useless battery life, water damaged device, stuck buttons or failed authentication hardware, Storage alerts all the time that they cant trim down for the life of them, etc.... etc.


Anyways, genuinely curious during this time of iPhone ordering season!

It’s a little silly of an ask in a sense, because by virtue of already being on older devices, they’ve necessarily held out successfully and not upgraded and given into temptation — but I’m more curious about the *level* of temptation involved with upgrade dodging specifically, not the bottom line result of not upgrading which is a given, if that makes sense.

I don't think that having an older device makes it easier to resist upgrading. I think that being able to resist upgrading is why people have older devices.

 

[Quixotic3]

Easy to hold off...
I have a 7 plus and the one reason I would "need" a new phone for is 5G coming to my area, beyond that I would like to see USB-C, No Notch, a 4th superzoom lens and a lay flat design with increased battery. Waiting for 2nd gen 5g iPhone at least.

 

[redheeler]

My theory is that 4 full years is the maximum threshold most people are willing to use a smartphone before the itch for something new and shiny becomes unbearable. Most will upgrade well before the 4 years is up.

For me personally, my timeline is something like this:

Year 1: it's so fast and the battery lasts all day! I could use it for a few years...

Year 2: Battery is just okay, but still usable. Phone is still good.

Year 3: Battery sucks, replace battery. Phone still works fine and capable, but bored of the design now compared to all the thin new hotness out there. Usually I will upgrade at this point, but if I don't...

Year 4: I want a new phone, soo bored of this thing now and missing out on all the modern features and fancy cameras. I'll get whatever they release at the end of this year even if its lackluster.

It depends. With a long-life generation like the iPhone 6s Plus (non-16 GB), that threshold could be closer to five years. Plus there are major advancements rumored for 2020, so it's better to wait another year if the plan is to keep the next iPhone for another four or five years.

 

[EugW]

It depends. With a long-life generation like the iPhone 6s Plus (non-16 GB), that threshold could be closer to five years. Plus there are major advancements rumored for 2020, so it's better to wait another year if the plan is to keep the next iPhone for another four or five years.

That seems to agree with what some of the analysts are saying for the update cycle length, now in 2019, with an average of 4 years, but a lot of people waiting longer.

Update cycles were shorter prior to 2019, however, with an average closer to 3 years.

 

[mrochester]

This is why it’s so commendable that Apple support their phones for so long so that they can stay useful much longer than competing devices.

I salute that level of corporate responsibility and wish more manufacturers would take a leaf from Apples book.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

Are you actually saying you considered the upgrade, even just in passing, because of the colour?

If so, you are nuts.

Well, there have been others in the past, if you recall, here in the forums, who upgraded to Product Red on the iPhone 7 because of just the color alone. I called it a mid-year upgrade.

I don't plan on upgrading my XS Max. But I was in the market for an XS and later found out Apple isn't selling the left over inventory, so in order for me to acquire that X/XS footprint is to consider the 11 Pro. I'm not going search for an XS online in fear of getting scammed. That scam would've been wasted money spent towards the 11 Pro. I like to play things safe. We'll see come Nov. That's when I buy my iPhones I like to take advantage of the holiday return policy to see if I keep the phone or return it after almost 2 months of trial. If I do purchase an 11 Pro, it will be Midnight Green.

 

[macbookguy]

I sat out XR/XS/XS Max because I couldn’t justify price for basically the same thing as my X. (How it felt at the time.). Was going to sit out the 11... but it has just enough new and I decided to get the regular 11 and not the Pro.

 

[zachlegomaniac]

Happy with my 7. Was hard to resist X, but it didn’t last long. No desire for XS. My business partner wanted to upgrade this year so I jumped in, too. I could have passed for another year, but am admittedly looking forward to the camera, FaceID (have it on iPad Pro and the Touch ID doesn’t work for me most of the time because I work with my hands) and screen size of the 11 Pro.

I think the longer you wait the less you care. I wanted to upgrade my 2013 rMBP when I saw the 2016. Really glad I didn’t and I’m still on that machine (although I do need to make a decision soon because 4 GB RAM is not enough for the work I do anymore).

I always remind myself I can upgrade anytime I want. Let the launch noise die down and so does that nagging human desire.

 

[zkap]

This isn't exclusively about the iPhone but more about upgrades in general.

I used the iPhone 6 from 2014 to 2018 when I bought the XR. I didn't really have a particular urge to upgrade, because for me the main thing is for the device to work properly and satisfy my needs. Sure, I did eye the new iPhones, but just didn't see anything that I'd want that much. When the iPhone X came out, there was no urge at all because I didn't like the whole idea of it. A luxury thousand dollar phone was not for me and I was unsure about it, being first generation and all. Same thing with the 2018 iPads and the 2019 iPhones. I'm not feeling that "latest and greatest" vibe so that makes it easy. What's really important to me is to be able to justify the purchase and get out of that device what I can. This means no annual upgrades as the cycle is too short.

This year I was thinking about upgrade cycles and, as you can tell from my signature, I'm in the ecosystem so replacing those devices isn't cheap. I don't want to have to replace several devices all at once so I decided to make an upgrade schedule, depending on the cost and payment plan, and buy new devices according to that schedule. This way I'll have my expenses in check and upgrade each device every three to four years.

I remember when I was on a trip and the guide told us we were having a bathroom break. Someone replied that they didn't need one, and the guide said "You don't have bathroom breaks when there's a necessity, you have them when there's an opportunity." So I'm applying the same logic here, on account of it being sound and reasonable. So I'm going to update my Mac next year and the iPhone in 2021. This means the iPad gets upgraded in 2022. That's the plan anyway so we'll see.

 

[thadoggfather]

I'm typically on an 18-24 month upgrade cycle, but I did keep my 3G for 2.5 years, 9 months of which I had a shattered screen.

I personally hate the process of upgrading. It's not fun. It's not fun doing quality control for Apple and having to fret that you didn't get a good device in terms of panel lottery or just flat out other cosmetic QC issues. That said, the only phone I've ever bought that wasn't a keeper on the first try was my Xs, which took 4 to get an acceptable one. I also always set up as new with only contacts in iCloud, so it's always a painstaking half day event to hold the old phone in one hand, new phone in the other, and comb through every single setting one by one to match them, plus any new stuff I need to make a settings decision on with the new phone that the old phone doesn't have.

That said, I also don't like getting too far behind, such that a new phone feels totally foreign and the new features/settings overwhelm me.

I'd say the best part about skipping an upgrade is missing the hassle and stress (and money wasted on accessories) that goes with making sure you get a good one, getting good accessories, and getting the phone set up. Once you get to that point, it's great, but getting there sort of sucks, especially as Apple's prices get higher and so too do my expectations (justifiably). So sitting out an incremental upgrade isn't the end of the world.

One thing for me is that I just couldn't give a rat's ass about the camera, and quite frankly, I'm tired of every review for every phone for the last 10 years spending 50%+ of the review waxing poetic about the camera. I'm also not an instagram whore, so there's that I guess.

Burning money on cases, migration process, having two phones if you’re a jailbreak addict like me and feeling like a glutton, and playing the qc / panel lottery, all aren’t fun indeed

Plus money saved instead of money spent Is always a bonus

 

[mantan]

This is why it’s so commendable that Apple support their phones for so long so that they can stay useful much longer than competing devices.

I salute that level of corporate responsibility and wish more manufacturers would take a leaf from Apples book.

Things also changed when Apple did two thing

1) They optimized iOS for older models. There were a few years where iOS ran sluggish on 2 or more models. The last few versions of iOS run great 3-4 models back.

2) They made it easy to replace the battery. A lot of people upgraded because the batteries just deteriorated to the point where it wasn't worth it and Apple made you jump through hoops to replace it. People would just upgrade to get a viable battery.