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

[KOTN91]

I have tended to upgrade every 2 years and preferred getting the new designs to S models

However starting with the iPhone 7 and especially the XR they are so good they can last more than 2 years. Nearly didn’t upgrade from 7 to XR but loved the design and colours. Would think about it next year but if they have that hideous tryphobic camera and it stays around for a few years then I’ll just keep the XR until it’s no longer supported

 

[cane811]

Just scooped up a smart battery case for my 7

Going another year with this bad boy. God speed.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I have tended to upgrade every 2 years and preferred getting the new designs to S models

However starting with the iPhone 7 and especially the XR they are so good they can last more than 2 years. Nearly didn’t upgrade from 7 to XR but loved the design and colours. Would think about it next year but if they have that hideous tryphobic camera and it stays around for a few years then I’ll just keep the XR until it’s no longer supported

It'll be interesting to see what happens next year. I know that there's rumors of a redesign, but I'm also believing there may not be. Rhetorically, is Apple going to jump from iPhone 11/11Pro/11 Pro Max ro iPhone 12 should there be a redesign. With the new branding of the Pro name, what would happen to the S name for next year i.e. 11S/11S Pro/11S Pro Max? I know Apple skipped over iPhone 9 completely, because of their 10 year anniversary which I don't think had any relations to naming it iPhone X. To get back to what you commented on, I think that triple lens will be integrated to next years iPhone. I doubt the design of it will change, if anything, just a tweak. I question though if next year is a complete redesign with the exact 3 leans camera, and will it be an S model or 12?

 

[thadoggfather]

It'll be interesting to see what happens next year. I know that there's rumors of a redesign, but I'm also believing there may not be. Rhetorically, is Apple going to jump from iPhone 11/11Pro/11 Pro Max ro iPhone 12 should there be a redesign. With the new branding of the Pro name, what would happen to the S name for next year i.e. 11S/11S Pro/11S Pro Max? I know Apple skipped over iPhone 9 completely, because of their 10 year anniversary which I don't think had any relations to naming it iPhone X. To get back to what you commented on, I think that triple lens will be integrated to next years iPhone. I doubt the design of it will change, if anything, just a tweak. I question though if next year is a complete redesign with the exact 3 leans camera, and will it be an S model or 12?

Hopefully with rumors and leaks we have some idea in coming months

 

[Jimmy James]

A 4 year old design is still very good. Previously, even a new phone was sluggish and poor by modern standards.

There’s no longer the same disadvantage with keeping a phone for many years.

 

[44267547]

Do consumers really care that much about aesthetics and designs? I don’t think they do. I think a smart phone is nothing more than a tool to them, and have probably more important things to actually focus on versus having the latest iPhone. I mean, my neighbor is a Podiatrist, lives in a $3 million house and uses an iPhone 6, and his wife uses an iPhone 7, they clearly can afford the latest iPhones, but they don’t care to. Point is, I don’t think design is as influential for some as it is for others, I guess it depends how someone is invested into upgrading their tech.

 

[gary77]

I've said the same in another trend but i'll say it here I originally upgraded every 2 years to the S model my habits changed once i got the iPhone 6s which i had from launch never had any issues with the phone the iPhone 7 didn't appeal to me the only reason i upgraded was due to the iPhone 8 having features like wireless charging and fast charging.

It's also the same reason why i haven't upgraded since then nothing appeals to me not interested in camera upgrades or bigger screen sizes iOS is still being supported and the phone runs fine.

However if the new iPhone SE 2 rumors turns out to be true i may go for it as i'm happy with the iPhone 8 design and would have better spec

 

[anthonymoody]

I think it's the case that the longer you have a phone the easier it is to sit tight. It's a self-reinforcing cycle. The converse is also true, and here's why: the camera. Doubly so if it's your primary camera (or only camera).

I've upgraded my phone yearly since the 4 (@me). My phone has been the only camera I've had since the 5. Over the years, even though the annual iPhone camera updates are more or less incremental (with a few bigger steps up along the way), the cumulative effect is nothing short of MASSIVE. But you wouldn't notice that if you'd conditioned yourself to get used to the photo quality of, say, the 5S or 7 or whatever. The photos are "good" or "fine" on those phones, and certainly don't get any worse with time. But by not upgrading, you're not seeing on the regular how much better the quality has become via better cameras in newer phones.

I've accumulated a library of tens of thousands of photos over the years and it's extremely easy to compare them. The difference in quality over time is astonishing. I have no interest in buying/carrying/using a standalone, superior, camera like a DSLR or mirrorless 4/3 or whatever. Factor in travel, kids, etc. and the camera in my phone is extremely important.

So yeah, for me, the incremental updates are totally worth it, I make them, and I'm happy. But I can also easily see how one could be so used to a photo quality level of XYZ that one wouldn't bother.

 

[nanogirl21]

It really depends on the situation. I was on an iPhone 7 and decided to upgrade to iPhone 11 Pro. I would have upgraded a long time ago, but I recently had my battery replaced because of the antenna recall and my phone was almost paid off from Verizon. Why give a like-new phone back that is 95% paid off? That just doesn’t make sense to me. Granted, I could have traded in at 50% and got a new phone every year, but I kind of didn’t want to give up the fingerprint sensor and was hoping the notch on the new devices went away. The night mode on the new phone and the new specs for front facing camera is what sold me. Everything else I could care less about. Just my luck my mother broke her iPhone 7 screen (fully paid off device) so the plan is to give her my like-new iPhone 7 and I’ll get the new iPhone 11 Pro. The trade in value of the iPhone 7 is $100 so it’s better for me just to pass it down to her instead of getting her a new phone. She just plays Words with Friends and scrolls though Facebook. She doesn’t need much.

 

[stix666]

At a recent family holiday, all except me had older iPhones while I had the XS Pro. They absolutely weren't bothered until they looked at the quality of the pictures - vast improvement compared to the older models (which were 6 or later).

Although Apple makes a big deal of the camera and video tech at launch, most people still think of it as a phone rather than a camera and the form factor hasn't changed; nor have the phone functions significantly. So I guess most people don't register just how improved the photo and video functios are.