Other What have you done with a pre iOS 26 compatible iPhone

[FeliApple]

I don’t really pay attention to battery cycles and don’t have Coconut Battery or any other third-party app to give me an accurate count. I tend to charge my 8’s battery once a day, from around 50% to 100%, using a 12W charging pad. I didn’t expect it to drop to 92% battery health so quickly, though. It doesn’t affect my usage as the 8’s SoT is well over 4 hours and I only really use it for video streaming and web browsing.

I ran a small test. iPhone 8, 2300 cycles, 76% health, running iOS 14.7.1:

2.5 hours of SOT 100% to 75%. In other words, the same SOT I have always gotten from 4.7-inch iPhones on original or good iOS versions. This matches my 6s on iOS 9 when it was there, and it matches my current 6s on iOS 10.

This is the usual: 7-8 hours of light SOT on Wi-Fi, about 6 hours of moderate cellular use with outdoor brightness. Anything more intensive and it’s no longer enough for a full day, at least for me.

We’ve come far. My 16 Plus after 2.5 hours is at 95% remaining. After 8 hours of SOT, it has 70% remaining. The iPhone 8 would be dead.

Still, you can see why I don’t care about battery health with this exact screenshot. Battery life never drops if the iOS version is good.

 

[Andeddu]

Yeah, maybe just for videos those devices work. Battery life is also decent on those iOS devices so if performance is good enough to just open the app and play videos then it might work. Still, with newer devices I wouldn’t even tolerate that. The Mini 4 that you have may run poorly, but it surely runs circles around the 1st-gen Mini. Still, the A8 was quite underpowered for iOS 15. It should’ve been dropped sooner. That’s probably true for most iOS devices pre-iPhone 8, however. And if we’re are mentioning battery life I’d even go newer than that. Maybe the Xʀ/Xs, well, the A12 Bionic devices remain half-decent on iOS 18. iOS 26 is killing everything so it just ends there. The iPhone 8 on iOS 14 is like-new. iOS 16 is probably worse but how much I can’t tell you. If you get 5 hours with low brightness, then maybe I can get 7-8, so 25% worse or so? Nothing unusable, in any case.

I’ve long intended to run a battery life test on my iPhone 8 on iOS 14. Considering it doesn’t last very long (7-8 hours of SOT isn’t much. I get 16 on the Xʀ and 27 on my 16 Plus), maybe I’ll run one and let you know.

The Mini 4 is barely tolerable for web browsing, but everything appears to load properly, so I’m glad Safari is mostly supported. It does run rings around the Mini 1, and I’ll be bringing it on a trip soon to a hotel so I can watch movies and TV shows with my partner.

Yeah, I did say before that newer devices seem to be less affected by iOS updates. For example, the iPhone 13, which launched with iOS 15, runs iOS 18 without any noticeable issues. iOS 25, which appears to have impacted it, still performs well and battery life seems to last a long time. I managed to get a full day’s battery life on my iPhone 13 with iOS 25.

Yeah, it’s like I said earlier, even with poor battery life, devices remain usable because battery life isn’t as needed anymore. 4-5 hours is decent and usable.

That’s why I don’t really track battery life on my secondary devices. I just require them to last a maximum of 3-4 hours per day for YouTube videos, light browsing and other media streaming apps.

To be fair, the 1st-gen SE has practically 6s Plus-like battery life on iOS 9 and 10. Not quite there, but close. It is not surprising that it maintains some kind of advantage over the regular 6s, even if it is now unremarkable. Even 5-6 hours would be rather poor with low brightness content consumption. It was around 9-10 on iOS 9.

I haven’t really tried a full battery drain with my OGSE in its current state. However, I do recall posting a SoT back when I had a replacement battery on iOS 15. With a medium volume and adaptive brightness, I was getting around 5.5+ hours of constant video streaming which is impressive for such a diminutive device.

Yeah, that’s a good way of keeping your devices usable for as long as possible. The Xʀ goes really dim, I think it is dimmer than both the 8 and the “1 nit brightness” 16 Plus. I didn’t activate reduce white point on the latter, however.

I never liked Apple pushing iPads more than iPhones. My theory has always been that they can’t kill battery life more on iPhones and they wait until iPads are similarly poor (9.7-inch iPad Pro on iPadOS 16: garbage; 10.5-inch iPad Pro on iPadOS 17, garbage battery life too)

The dimmest secondary phone I own is the iPhone 13, which dips well below the 8’s level of brightness. However, I might find it considerably heavier than the OGSE and the 8.

Apple definitely pushes iPads further than iPhones because of their battery capacities. For example, my 10-year-old iPad Mini 4 still lasts a fairly long time on iOS 15.

That makes a lot of sense, and that, I guess, is the advantage of updating. When battery life drops and it doesn’t matter the importance of compatibility increases.

With the use I give them however, updating now would be pointless. I doubt I’d use my Xʀ more if it were fully updated in spite of its current lack of compatibility.

It’s funny that we both have our newest secondary iPhones as the least-used iPhones. I don’t plan to change my approach: my main secondary iPhone will remain my iPhone 8, I really love it. The final 4.7-inch flagship ever. It’s just perfect. Good storage for music (64GB, more than enough for me), good (like-new) battery life, completely smooth performance, good compatibility. Just the whole package that I need for a secondary phone. And I also get to use the classic iPhone design.

I’ll miss the 8’s design, especially the large bezels that prevent accidental screen touches and fast-forwarding/rewinding videos. I’m starting to wish I had picked up a new SE3 a couple of years ago. I also love that I can simply lay the phone on the charging pad and never have to worry about plugging it in.

 

[goldmac2006]

As a second camera it is cool! Also for music like I use the iPhone 8 on iOS 14. That will probably work forever. I pretty much don’t use the camera on the Xʀ however. I grab that one to browse my pictures and a little MacRumors sometimes (as it still works perfectly on iOS 12 - and 10, last I tried).

I don’t have much use for a second camera myself, so the Xʀ is sadly mostly unused, even if I would like to use it. For some games I just use the iPhone 8 too.

Thing is, there is obviously a massive overlap between my main iPhone (a 16 Plus) and the others, so it leaves the older iPhones relegated to some specific functions.

I use them for music, a second camera, some games, and there’s not much else. I have the same issue with the internal “competition” between my Air 5 and my 11th-gen iPad. Since standby battery life is so poor on the Air 5 even though it is on iPadOS 15 (its original version), I prefer to keep it off instead of watching it be drained by standby inefficiencies.

The iPad Mini 1 on iOS 9 is completely unusable for me. A family member has one and I just cannot tolerate its performance. If I don’t update current, 64-bit iPhones do as not to lose performance and battery life, the Mini 1 is definitely intolerable for me. Even with full compatibility I wouldn’t use one. Basic functions like (yes!) sliding to unlock are so slow and laggy that I don’t even have the patience for that. It crashes a lot and when it doesn’t it’s so laggy that I can’t tolerate it. The lightest games and apps crash it, so it’s no surprise it crashes too for you.

My similar device in terms of processing power is an iPod Touch 5G… flawlessly running iOS 6.0.

Those devices if updated aren’t worth the materials with which they are built. It’s so pathetic, I don’t understand how Apple’s software division ever approved those updates. The iPhone 4s on iOS 9 is yet an another piece of garbage.

I do rly agree with that. I use my iPhone 7 for the photos and videos as a secondary camera and I do browse some photos from the past on there. I also use it if I need to run older iOS apps.

That iPad mini I did witness these slowdowns when it was in its last leg at iOS 9. Now with every app requiring iOS 16 or later for most of them, it cannot be useable for video streaming anymore.

Still use my iPhone 15 pro as primary device for everything else, even to play music, wear my Apple Watch and track runs on Nike Run Club, in case I need to play roblox and apple arcade games when my Mac’s not with me, etc., content consumption, emails, etc.

 

[arefbe]

My old iPhone 11 Pro Max makes an excellent iPod touch. It's on iOS 16.7.2.

 

[FeliApple]

The Mini 4 is barely tolerable for web browsing, but everything appears to load properly, so I’m glad Safari is mostly supported. It does run rings around the Mini 1, and I’ll be bringing it on a trip soon to a hotel so I can watch movies and TV shows with my partner.

Yeah, I did say before that newer devices seem to be less affected by iOS updates. For example, the iPhone 13, which launched with iOS 15, runs iOS 18 without any noticeable issues. iOS 25, which appears to have impacted it, still performs well and battery life seems to last a long time. I managed to get a full day’s battery life on my iPhone 13 with iOS 25.


That’s why I don’t really track battery life on my secondary devices. I just require them to last a maximum of 3-4 hours per day for YouTube videos, light browsing and other media streaming apps.

Yeah, as long as they more or less give a full day of light use with not-so-many hours of SOT, it’s fine. The issue comes, imo, when they don’t.

Even for music, I have to charge my 6s on iOS 13 in the middle of the day if I use it significantly during the morning. That is annoying for me. The rest of my music iPhones (6s on iOS 10; 8 on iOS 14; and if I were to use it, Xʀ on iOS 12) have more than enough battery life for a full day. Sure, maybe I have 60% by noon. But I know 60% with this 6s isn’t enough to comfortably use it during the (longer) afternoon. So I must charge it. I can’t charge it outside other than with a power bank (with the sun and the heat? Not a good idea). Is it doable? Yes. Is it so bad so as to render it unusable? No. But it’s annoying, because if Apple hadn’t forced it out, I’d be getting more than twice the battery life on the iOS version it should be: iOS 9.3.3.

I haven’t really tried a full battery drain with my OGSE in its current state. However, I do recall posting a SoT back when I had a replacement battery on iOS 15. With a medium volume and adaptive brightness, I was getting around 5.5+ hours of constant video streaming which is impressive for such a diminutive device.

This is far better. Maybe this SE would be enough for me.

The dimmest secondary phone I own is the iPhone 13, which dips well below the 8’s level of brightness. However, I might find it considerably heavier than the OGSE and the 8.

While it is heavier, I think that it has the same advantages as my Xʀ: battery life is probably far better. As I said, I haven’t used it like that, but just for music I reckon I’d finish the day with, I don’t know, 75-80% with the same usage for which I need more than 100% of my 6s on iOS 13’s battery. The difference is massive.

Apple definitely pushes iPads further than iPhones because of their battery capacities. For example, my 10-year-old iPad Mini 4 still lasts a fairly long time on iOS 15.

They end up pushing too much
sometimes: The Air 2, 9.7 and 10.5-inch iPad Pros, and others have appalling battery life on their final iOS versions. I’m lucky to have my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12 even if, like the 6s, it should be on iOS 9.3.4. The Air 2 as far as I know is quite poor, I don’t know how your Mini 4 remains good.

I’ll miss the 8’s design, especially the large bezels that prevent accidental screen touches and fast-forwarding/rewinding videos. I’m starting to wish I had picked up a new SE3 a couple of years ago. I also love that I can simply lay the phone on the charging pad and never have to worry about plugging it in.

Yeah, maybe if the streaming apps you use stop working (I reckon you have a long time still. Netflix works on iOS 10) you can find another purpose, like music.

Unless something magically changes, I’m going to keep using my iPhone 8 for music.

I just wish I could take advantage of my Xʀ on iOS 12 a bit more. It’s my least used secondary iPhone, and arguably, it is the best (by FAR). iOS 12 and the A12 Bionic came after the iOS 11 fiasco. Apple put a lot of emphasis on performance for iOS 12.

It shows. The best-performing iOS device I’ve ever used, and one of the most optimised iOS versions ever. It’s a shame it lives powered off.

You know, I also considered the SE 3 as a music device when my main iPhone was the Xʀ and I was using the updated 6s for music. I think it would be a great device, especially on iOS 15. Luckily for us, I think the iPhone 8 can play that role for both of us.

 

[FeliApple]

I do rly agree with that. I use my iPhone 7 for the photos and videos as a secondary camera and I do browse some photos from the past on there. I also use it if I need to run older iOS apps.

That iPad mini I did witness these slowdowns when it was in its last leg at iOS 9. Now with every app requiring iOS 16 or later for most of them, it cannot be useable for video streaming anymore.

Still use my iPhone 15 pro as primary device for everything else, even to play music, wear my Apple Watch and track runs on Nike Run Club, in case I need to play roblox and apple arcade games when my Mac’s not with me, etc., content consumption, emails, etc.

Interesting that you use the 15 for Music. I assume you don’t take the iPhone 7 with you and you use it at home like me.

I’d recommend the 7 as a music device if battery life is good enough (which considering my experience with the 6s on iOS 13, it might not be). I think it’s a great purpose for a secondary iPhone.

I also have some games I play on the iPhone 8, but that’s just to conserve battery on the 16 Plus.

 

[goldmac2006]

Interesting that you use the 15 for Music. I assume you don’t take the iPhone 7 with you and you use it at home like me.

I’d recommend the 7 as a music device if battery life is good enough (which considering my experience with the 6s on iOS 13, it might not be). I think it’s a great purpose for a secondary iPhone.

I also have some games I play on the iPhone 8, but that’s just to conserve battery on the 16 Plus.

The iPhone 7 has no active SIM card anymore so it’s left at home.

 

[FeliApple]

The iPhone 7 has no active SIM card anymore so it’s left at home.

Yeah, likewise with all of my secondary iPhones.

One phone ringing is enough for me😂

 

[goldmac2006]

Yeah, likewise with all of my secondary iPhones.

One phone ringing is enough for me😂

Same here.

We have dual sim and multi eSIM cards so no need to have a separate work and home iPhone 📱!

 

[Andeddu]

Yeah, as long as they more or less give a full day of light use with not-so-many hours of SOT, it’s fine. The issue comes, imo, when they don’t.

Even for music, I have to charge my 6s on iOS 13 in the middle of the day if I use it significantly during the morning. That is annoying for me. The rest of my music iPhones (6s on iOS 10; 8 on iOS 14; and if I were to use it, Xʀ on iOS 12) have more than enough battery life for a full day. Sure, maybe I have 60% by noon. But I know 60% with this 6s isn’t enough to comfortably use it during the (longer) afternoon. So I must charge it. I can’t charge it outside other than with a power bank (with the sun and the heat? Not a good idea). Is it doable? Yes. Is it so bad so as to render it unusable? No. But it’s annoying, because if Apple hadn’t forced it out, I’d be getting more than twice the battery life on the iOS version it should be: iOS 9.3.3.

I don’t have much of an issue with Apple Music when it comes to any of my phones as I am pretty much always hooked up to a Bluetooth speaker, whether it’s an actual speaker in my house or my car stereo.

I tend to do around 80% of my music streaming through my daily driver though because I don’t ever want to have two separate devices on me when outside my home address.

This is far better. Maybe this SE would be enough for me.

The OGSE is the most impressive iPhone I’ve ever used. All the power of a 6S in a tiny package with amazing battery life. It literally had no drawbacks back when it was released in 2016. I was late to the game and picked up a new old stock gold OGSE in 2022 and used it as a daily driver for almost a year before picking up my 13. I had more joy using the OGSE than I did with the larger devices despite the massive power differential between them.

They end up pushing too much
sometimes: The Air 2, 9.7 and 10.5-inch iPad Pros, and others have appalling battery life on their final iOS versions. I’m lucky to have my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12 even if, like the 6s, it should be on iOS 9.3.4. The Air 2 as far as I know is quite poor, I don’t know how your Mini 4 remains good.

I don’t believe my Mini 4 is comparable to how it was when it was new, especially since I don’t use it very often. I’ll only use it for about an hour a day for YouTube videos, and I’ll charge it every 3 to 4 days. The battery life is probably garbage, but I just haven’t noticed.

Yeah, maybe if the streaming apps you use stop working (I reckon you have a long time still. Netflix works on iOS 10) you can find another purpose, like music.

Unless something magically changes, I’m going to keep using my iPhone 8 for music.

I’m not sure about that, but I just received an email from Disney this morning stating that they’ll be removing all compatibility with their app for older devices in December 2025.

iOS 15 has been unsupported for quite a while now so I am assuming that they’ll be making older versions of Disney+ fully incompatible.

Are you sure Netflix still works on iOS 10? I thought iOS 13 was the absolute minimum requirement to stream videos on that platform.

It’ll be a sad day indeed when these devices become completely redundant to me. I would be happy just to get another 1-2 years of compatibility. I have watched a ridiculous amount of media on these two phones. Currently watching ESPN’s The Kingdom series on Disney+ on my OGSE.

I just wish I could take advantage of my Xʀ on iOS 12 a bit more. It’s my least used secondary iPhone, and arguably, it is the best (by FAR). iOS 12 and the A12 Bionic came after the iOS 11 fiasco. Apple put a lot of emphasis on performance for iOS 12.

It shows. The best-performing iOS device I’ve ever used, and one of the most optimised iOS versions ever. It’s a shame it lives powered off.

You know, I also considered the SE 3 as a music device when my main iPhone was the Xʀ and I was using the updated 6s for music. I think it would be a great device, especially on iOS 15. Luckily for us, I think the iPhone 8 can play that role for both of us.

Why do you favour your 8 over the XR? Is it the form factor you prefer?

I feel the same way and much prefer my 8 as a secondary device to my 13, which is much larger and less comfortable to use. I am also a sucker for bezels, like I said before.

 

[stormchasejg]

I use a iPhone 7 for mobile gaming and web browsing, but what do you use your old iPhones for today

My iPhone 5 is currently used as a paperweight as it barely holds a charge and even when it is fully charged doesn’t really work for most things due to its age but it’s still nice if you want to remind yourself how small it once was or if I need a prop for something. Although when I got my 17PM I did a side by side photo comparison between the two devices and ngl both produced decent looking images and you didn’t really notice much difference unless you zoomed fully in I forgot just how good its camera was

 

[Andeddu]

I ran a small test. iPhone 8, 2300 cycles, 76% health, running iOS 14.7.1:

View attachment 2573878

2.5 hours of SOT 100% to 75%. In other words, the same SOT I have always gotten from 4.7-inch iPhones on original or good iOS versions. This matches my 6s on iOS 9 when it was there, and it matches my current 6s on iOS 10.

This is the usual: 7-8 hours of light SOT on Wi-Fi, about 6 hours of moderate cellular use with outdoor brightness. Anything more intensive and it’s no longer enough for a full day, at least for me.

We’ve come far. My 16 Plus after 2.5 hours is at 95% remaining. After 8 hours of SOT, it has 70% remaining. The iPhone 8 would be dead.

Still, you can see why I don’t care about battery health with this exact screenshot. Battery life never drops if the iOS version is good.

I watched three 50 minute episodes of ‘The Kingdom’ on Disney+ along with some light web-browsing and YouTube and drained my OGSE’s battery from 100% to 4% with over 4 hours of SoT at 95% battery health. Not bad considering it’s on iOS 15 and I had the volume maxed out the entire time with True Tone on giving me fairly high brightness levels.

 

[goldmac2006]

View attachment 2574483View attachment 2574484
I watched three 50 minute episodes of ‘The Kingdom’ on Disney+ along with some light web-browsing and YouTube and drained my OGSE’s battery from 100% to 4% with over 4 hours of SoT at 95% battery health. Not bad considering it’s on iOS 15 and I had the volume maxed out the entire time with True Tone on giving me fairly high brightness levels.

Has the battery ever been replaced?

 

[Andeddu]

Has the battery ever been replaced?

Yes, I had Apple replace the battery in January 2023.

Although it’s new old stock and the battery health was at 100%, it was acting erratically. I checked the IMEI out and it was manufactured in June 2016.

 

[FeliApple]

I don’t have much of an issue with Apple Music when it comes to any of my phones as I am pretty much always hooked up to a Bluetooth speaker, whether it’s an actual speaker in my house or my car stereo.

I tend to do around 80% of my music streaming through my daily driver though because I don’t ever want to have two separate devices on me when outside my home address.

Yeah, I almost always listen to music at home too, but I have music on my 16 Plus for those moments in which I want to listen to music when I’m not at home. In practice, this means car trips. I got the 256 GB version so I can spare the 30GB or so of music I like to have (about 3,000 songs).

At home also includes outside though, so I need to crank the brightness up on the 6s on iOS 13. Even if the only SOT I have is music selection, it still isn’t enough for a full day of music listening if I’m outside. I can charge so it doesn’t matter, but I must say it is somewhat annoying. Every other non-updated iPhone I have (or not updated as much, like the iPhone 8) would have the battery life required for that. So, every iPhone I have except for the 6s on iOS 13.

The OGSE is the most impressive iPhone I’ve ever used. All the power of a 6S in a tiny package with amazing battery life. It literally had no drawbacks back when it was released in 2016. I was late to the game and picked up a new old stock gold OGSE in 2022 and used it as a daily driver for almost a year before picking up my 13. I had more joy using the OGSE than I did with the larger devices despite the massive power differential between them.

I completely agree. The 1st-gen SE on iOS 9 is my dream iPhone. I wish I’d bought it when it was released. I’m a huge 3D Touch fan though, so I’d say my favourite iPhone is the 6s on iOS 10.

I will say however, I wanted Night Mode and the camera features too much when I had the Xʀ for almost 6 years. The iPhone I really wanted was the 11. The 16 Plus gives me that. If it were compatible, I’d be content using an iPhone 11 on iOS 13 today.

It’s like I have always said. I was really angry with Apple when they forced my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 9 to iOS 12. I of course like the latest devices like everybody else (though not the 17 series, I like my Plus’s battery life and iOS design with iOS 18 and dislike iOS 26 but I digress)… but my most fundamental need is a device running its original iOS version with flawless performance and battery life.

I don’t care how old it is, as long as it runs its original iOS version and has perfect performance and battery life. You want to give me a 1st-gen SE to use as a main iPhone today? I’ll happily grab it. Give it to me fully working and compatible on iOS 9 and I’ll take it.

I don’t need new. I need good. Compatibility is my only hurdle to really-long-term use. Give me endless compatibility and I’ll use it until its materials disintegrate.

I am happy with my Air 5 (device from which I am typing this message) on iPadOS 15. I bought an 11th-gen iPad on iPadOS 18 solely just in case I’d need the compatibility, so as not to be forced to update the Air. That’s the only reason why I bought it. First and foremost, I need it on its original version. Then we can discuss everything else. I will upgrade before updating if I can, always.

I don’t believe my Mini 4 is comparable to how it was when it was new, especially since I don’t use it very often. I’ll only use it for about an hour a day for YouTube videos, and I’ll charge it every 3 to 4 days. The battery life is probably garbage, but I just haven’t noticed.

One hour a day and you charge it every 3-4 days? Yeah, that’s bad. I can get more than that with my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12, but it’s like we said: it’s not like we need so many hours of battery life anyway when they’re secondary devices.

I’m not sure about that, but I just received an email from Disney this morning stating that they’ll be removing all compatibility with their app for older devices in December 2025.

View attachment 2574406

iOS 15 has been unsupported for quite a while now so I am assuming that they’ll be making older versions of Disney+ fully incompatible.

I can’t see anything about a specific version. Hopefully they don’t cut off my Air 5 on iPadOS 15. That’s the one I use for Disney+…

Are you sure Netflix still works on iOS 10? I thought iOS 13 was the absolute minimum requirement to stream videos on that platform.

It worked as of a few months ago. I can’t try it now, however. I’ll have access to my 6s on iOS 10 soon. I’ll try it and let you know. The oldest version I have with me is iOS 12. It works there, I can confirm that.

View attachment 2574407
It’ll be a sad day indeed when these devices become completely redundant to me. I would be happy just to get another 1-2 years of compatibility. I have watched a ridiculous amount of media on these two phones. Currently watching ESPN’s The Kingdom series on Disney+ on my OGSE.

Yes, absolutely. Even if Disney+ or other streaming apps you use lose compatibility, I hope you can find some purpose for them.

My 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12 has always been my favourite iPad ever. But I no longer use it. It’s too incompatible and my secondary devices are all iPhones (well, and the Air 5), I just have no use for it. It’s a bit sad. Hopefully we both can find a purpose for our secondary devices (from what I can tell, four iPhones for you and I also have four iPhones, apart from main) for as long as possible. I will certainly try.

Why do you favour your 8 over the XR? Is it the form factor you prefer?

I feel the same way and much prefer my 8 as a secondary device to my 13, which is much larger and less comfortable to use. I am also a sucker for bezels, like I said before.

Yeah, I use it just to use that form factor. Also, storage. I’d have to clear at least 30GB from the Xʀ to use as a music device and I really don’t want to. Also, standby battery life is relatively poor on iOS 12 on the Xʀ, while it is significantly better on the iPhone 8 on iOS 14 (don’t ask why. Yes, I never understood that, either).

Maybe at some point I will think that having such a perfect iPhone in a drawer is a waste (it is, by far, the best optimised iOS device I have ever used. Apple put in a huge effort in terms of performance with iOS 12 and it shows) and I’ll clear the storage for music, but I’ll use the 8 for now.


My iPad Air 5 is the one I’m a bit “sad” about. I didn’t use it much throughout its lifespan (it has only 63 cycles in over three years of ownership) but I want to take advantage of my 11th-gen iPad while it is the newest iPad that exists, so I prioritize that one. But I feel like I’ve barely taken advantage of the Air 5. That’s why sometimes I randomly grab it instead of the 11th-gen, like right now.

 

[FeliApple]

View attachment 2574483View attachment 2574484
I watched three 50 minute episodes of ‘The Kingdom’ on Disney+ along with some light web-browsing and YouTube and drained my OGSE’s battery from 100% to 4% with over 4 hours of SoT at 95% battery health. Not bad considering it’s on iOS 15 and I had the volume maxed out the entire time with True Tone on giving me fairly high brightness levels.

iPhone Speakers or headphones/Bluetooth speakers?

That looks decent, especially at higher brightness levels. It’s probably not as good as my 6s on iOS 10 or the 8 on iOS 14, but it isn’t all too bad. The SE’s longevity is outstanding. My 6s on iOS 13 wouldn’t be close to that with high brightness. (3 hours of moderate cellular use would drop it to 30%.).

I have always called battery health irrelevant if the device isn’t updated. I stand by that. My 8 on iOS 14 is like-new. My 6s on iOS 10, with 60% health, is like-new. I will never replace a battery.

But that statement implies that battery health is relevant if the device is updated. This result shows that. 95% health gives you that. If you had 60% like me, I doubt you’d get much more than one hour.

 

[Starfia]

At my home:

• A first-gen iPhone SE rests in landscape running a Web app I wrote to visualize my home server activity

• A second-gen iPhone SE is in the kitchen as the main source of home music

• A second-gen iPad mini lives in a custom box to play videos of wildlife for our cat during those longer workdays

 

[goldmac2006]

Yes, I had Apple replace the battery in January 2023.

Although it’s new old stock and the battery health was at 100%, it was acting erratically. I checked the IMEI out and it was manufactured in June 2016.

The replacement was when you noticed the battery health dropping to 80% or below, right?

I’ll consider it when my iPhone 15 Pro reaches that point. Its battery health declined almost 5-9 percentage at its fifth to sixth month of ownership, but it’s still too early to get the battery swapped. So, I’ve been making a few changes to settings for display, using adaptive power mode, and setting a charge limit, along with other software changes recommended by Apple experts (including former Apple employees and the current employees at my local Apple Store like the geniuses) that have slowed the drop in maximum capacity. It was 91% since the iOS 26 beta was installed, and it hasn’t gone down in the past month compared to when it started dropping from 100% to 99%, then 98 to 95% for two to three weeks in April to May, and finally stopped at 91% battery health on June. My iPhone 15 Pro is still at that capacity. If my iPhone experiences any sudden drains or accelerated battery discharges during certain early beta builds, I use MagSafe power banks. My 15 Pro doesn’t run betas when the initial iOS version is released to the public on September to early June. I mainly run a mix of public release and RC versions.

Since my iPhone 7 is only used for photography and reminiscing about past memories, I decided not to replace the battery and simply power it off when I don’t need to use it. Media consumption causes higher battery drops and also abnormal heat issues.

I’d be in your shoes if I used it to watch movies like you. However, all my Apple TV+, YouTube, and MLB games are watched on my 15 Pro. If your iPhone 17 Pro isn’t performing well in terms of battery life and you’d like to discuss it further, I have my iOS 26 battery life thread open for discussion.

 

[goldmac2006]

At my home:

• A first-gen iPhone SE rests in landscape running a Web app I wrote to visualize my home server activity

• A second-gen iPhone SE is in the kitchen as the main source of home music

• A second-gen iPad mini lives in a custom box to play videos of wildlife for our cat during those longer workdays

That’s a fantastic idea to use that old iPad mini as a nature video player! I also noticed the Headspace app has these 10-minute video loops called Nature Breaks, which feature wildlife and animals in nature, along with meditation, inspirational videos, and guided meditation tips. They also offer virtual therapy and home workouts/yoga sessions. 😂 I used the Nature Breaks videos to see how vibrant my Mac’s Liquid Retina XDR display is (and to assess screen burn in or dead pixels), and as a fun screensaver when I didn’t want to close my Roblox game.

If my iPad mini 1 hadn’t been so slow and could have run more iOS versions than the iPad mini 2’s A7 boost, which gave it an extra three years of compatibility compared to its predecessor, I might have considered using it as a HomeKit hub, as an external display for my MacBook Pro with a sidecar alternative, or even as a point-of-sale (POS) or kiosk if I opened my own iPhone repair shop!

It’s quite interesting that my school keeps using these pricey iPad Pro m2-m4 models just to mount them as kiosks or virtual sign-in sheets for their waiting rooms for counselling/nurses offices and the library. They should have used airs, minis or 10th gen iPads instead.

 

[splifingate]

I answered two calls, today

 

[Andeddu]

Yeah, I almost always listen to music at home too, but I have music on my 16 Plus for those moments in which I want to listen to music when I’m not at home. In practice, this means car trips. I got the 256 GB version so I can spare the 30GB or so of music I like to have (about 3,000 songs).

At home also includes outside though, so I need to crank the brightness up on the 6s on iOS 13. Even if the only SOT I have is music selection, it still isn’t enough for a full day of music listening if I’m outside. I can charge so it doesn’t matter, but I must say it is somewhat annoying. Every other non-updated iPhone I have (or not updated as much, like the iPhone 8) would have the battery life required for that. So, every iPhone I have except for the 6s on iOS 13.

Ahh, I am an Apple Music subscriber which is another reason why I can’t really bring my non-daily driver with me. I require constant connectivity to stream my music.

The 6S has the worst-performing battery on any later version of iOS I’ve ever seen. Despite this, I’m still glad I paid for the battery replacement because I used it as a secondary device for about a year before getting a battery service for my 8.
I really enjoyed using it and managed to watch about 40 complete TV series on various streaming platforms during that time.

I completely agree. The 1st-gen SE on iOS 9 is my dream iPhone. I wish I’d bought it when it was released. I’m a huge 3D Touch fan though, so I’d say my favourite iPhone is the 6s on iOS 10.

The original iPhone SE is easily my favourite iPhone of all time. It packed nearly all the key features of the 6S into that compact, classic design, the incredibly fast (for its era) A9 chip, Apple Pay support, and the same 12MP rear camera, etc... It was the perfect blend of power, portability, and timeless design.

It’s honestly a crime that planned obsolescence will eventually put an end to such a beautifully designed device and that software support, rather than performance, will be what finally forces it into retirement, because it’s still more than capable as a daily driver.

I don’t care how old it is, as long as it runs its original iOS version and has perfect performance and battery life. You want to give me a 1st-gen SE to use as a main iPhone today? I’ll happily grab it. Give it to me fully working and compatible on iOS 9 and I’ll take it.

I’m the same, I honestly would’ve been perfectly content staying on iOS 9. The problem for me is that I can’t stand dealing with app or website incompatibilities. I’d rather sacrifice performance and battery life just to make sure everything looks right and functions properly on my device. In that sense, we’re complete opposites. If I left my OGSE on iOS 9, it would’ve been retired in its box years ago. By updating it to iOS 15, it’s still being used and may have another year or two of use for me.

It worked as of a few months ago. I can’t try it now, however. I’ll have access to my 6s on iOS 10 soon. I’ll try it and let you know. The oldest version I have with me is iOS 12. It works there, I can confirm that.

That’s good, even if I can’t use my legacy devices for Disney+, I would still be happy using them for Netflix.

Yeah, I use it just to use that form factor. Also, storage. I’d have to clear at least 30GB from the Xʀ to use as a music device and I really don’t want to. Also, standby battery life is relatively poor on iOS 12 on the Xʀ, while it is significantly better on the iPhone 8 on iOS 14 (don’t ask why. Yes, I never understood that, either).

Maybe at some point I will think that having such a perfect iPhone in a drawer is a waste (it is, by far, the best optimised iOS device I have ever used. Apple put in a huge effort in terms of performance with iOS 12 and it shows) and I’ll clear the storage for music, but I’ll use the 8 for now.

My iPad Air 5 is the one I’m a bit “sad” about. I didn’t use it much throughout its lifespan (it has only 63 cycles in over three years of ownership) but I want to take advantage of my 11th-gen iPad while it is the newest iPad that exists, so I prioritize that one. But I feel like I’ve barely taken advantage of the Air 5. That’s why sometimes I randomly grab it instead of the 11th-gen, like right now.

I feel a little guilty about my 13, also a perfect iPhone, being left in storage doing absolutely nothing. I do have plans for it in the future though and it’ll eventually become my secondary device.

Why do you have two modern and powerful iPads? I’d be a bit annoyed too if I had an M1 powerhouse that I wasn’t using. Perhaps you could split your time between them? The M1, by your own definition, should be getting more use since it’s on an older iOS version and will become obsolete quicker. The M1 will handle any iOS update you throw at it though with minimal impact on battery life and performance so you should definitely consider updating it to the latest iPad OS.

 

[Andeddu]

iPhone Speakers or headphones/Bluetooth speakers?

That looks decent, especially at higher brightness levels. It’s probably not as good as my 6s on iOS 10 or the 8 on iOS 14, but it isn’t all too bad. The SE’s longevity is outstanding. My 6s on iOS 13 wouldn’t be close to that with high brightness. (3 hours of moderate cellular use would drop it to 30%.).

I have always called battery health irrelevant if the device isn’t updated. I stand by that. My 8 on iOS 14 is like-new. My 6s on iOS 10, with 60% health, is like-new. I will never replace a battery.

But that statement implies that battery health is relevant if the device is updated. This result shows that. 95% health gives you that. If you had 60% like me, I doubt you’d get much more than one hour.

I had the sound blaring out of the iPhone speakers. I never watch TV shows while connected to Bluetooth speakers, only while listening to music.

I always get battery services for all my iPhones after 2-3 years because I require the latest compatible iOS versions along with the longest possible battery life. I wish there was a way we could have the best of both worlds.

Microsoft is heading down the same path by effectively making PCs obsolete based on age rather than actual performance. Windows 11 only supports Intel processors from 2017 onward and AMD chips from 2018 or newer. With support for Windows 10 coming to an end, countless older yet perfectly functional machines will be rendered useless, turning solid, working hardware into e-waste.

 

[Andeddu]

The replacement was when you noticed the battery health dropping to 80% or below, right?

I’ll consider it when my iPhone 15 Pro reaches that point. Its battery health declined almost 5-9 percentage at its fifth to sixth month of ownership, but it’s still too early to get the battery swapped. So, I’ve been making a few changes to settings for display, using adaptive power mode, and setting a charge limit, along with other software changes recommended by Apple experts (including former Apple employees and the current employees at my local Apple Store like the geniuses) that have slowed the drop in maximum capacity. It was 91% since the iOS 26 beta was installed, and it hasn’t gone down in the past month compared to when it started dropping from 100% to 99%, then 98 to 95% for two to three weeks in April to May, and finally stopped at 91% battery health on June. My iPhone 15 Pro is still at that capacity. If my iPhone experiences any sudden drains or accelerated battery discharges during certain early beta builds, I use MagSafe power banks. My 15 Pro doesn’t run betas when the initial iOS version is released to the public on September to early June. I mainly run a mix of public release and RC versions.

Since my iPhone 7 is only used for photography and reminiscing about past memories, I decided not to replace the battery and simply power it off when I don’t need to use it. Media consumption causes higher battery drops and also abnormal heat issues.

I’d be in your shoes if I used it to watch movies like you. However, all my Apple TV+, YouTube, and MLB games are watched on my 15 Pro. If your iPhone 17 Pro isn’t performing well in terms of battery life and you’d like to discuss it further, I have my iOS 26 battery life thread open for discussion.

I bought my brand new OGSE in 2022, even though it had been manufactured back in 2016. Since it had been sitting in storage for 6 years, the battery had degraded and started acting up whenever it dropped below 10%, often shutting down randomly. To work around this, I used a battery case to keep it from ever dipping under 30%, which kept it stable for a while. However, once I started using the SE as a secondary device and didn’t want to depend on the bulky battery case anymore, I decided to take it to Apple for a proper battery replacement.

I was in the same situation with my iPhone 13, its battery health had dropped to 87% before I finally had Apple replace it. Until then, I was getting by with an Apple MagSafe Battery Pack just to make it through the day.

My iPhone 17 Pro delivers outstanding battery life on iOS 26. I can easily spend several hours playing AAA games each day, plus another 1–2 hours streaming media, and still have plenty of power left for extensive web browsing, instant messaging, and both VOIP and regular phone calls. My SoT is normally over 8 hours.

 

[Andeddu]

One hour a day and you charge it every 3-4 days? Yeah, that’s bad. I can get more than that with my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12, but it’s like we said: it’s not like we need so many hours of battery life anyway when they’re secondary devices.

I never actually turn off my Mini 4, so its battery is constantly experiencing residual drain throughout the day and night, which naturally impacts its overall lifespan. The device is too slow to power on and off, so I just keep it running all the time.

 

[Andeddu]

Yes @FeliApple, I plan to cycle between 4 secondary devices (6S, OGSE, 8 and 13) however I reckon I’ll be keeping the 8 as a permanent fixture until it’s completely redundant because it’s so powerful, light and has the perfect balance between older and newer hardware.