Other Why Aren't we Keeping our iPhones for Years?

[Alvinc]

I usually keep my iPhones for a long time, with a few exceptions:

Original, 2007 to 2011, 4 years (the touch response broke on the display)

4s, 2011 to 2013. 2 years (I loved this design, always my favorite, but I gave my daughter my 4s as a her first phone)

5s, 2013 to 2015, 2 years (I gave the 5s to my wife after she broke her iPhone)

6s Plus, 2015 to 2017. 1.5 years ( I hated the large size and rounded edges of the phone, I replaced it as soon as the 128GB SE1 launched in March of 2017, the 6s plus was only iPhone I owned that I hated, also the only one that I sold)

SE1, 2017 to 2022, 5 years (still use it sometimes. I love the size and weight of it)

13 Mini, 2022 to ?, 4 years (I will probably use it until I break it or something stops working on it that I need)

iPhone 5s: almost 3 years from 2013 to 2016 due to small battery and storage; replaced by SE (1st Gen) until 2018 followed by iPhone X.

iPhone X was used between 2018 and 2022 almost four years, and I returned to iPhone 13 mini till now with only battery replaced.

My current small phone is more than 4 years and I have no plans to change.

 

[Philip1]

This may have already been posted but it appears that many of people who haven't upgraded recently are using smaller phones (I included).

 

[Andeddu]

Argh, it’s such a waste, but I don’t think I’ll be using my immaculate OGSE with a 95% BH OEM battery going forward, so it’ll be going back into its box in a week or so.

I went for an Apple battery service with my 8 back in July 2024 and ended up using it as my dedicated secondary for exactly two years with the intention of replacing it with my 13, which has also received an Apple battery service and is sitting with 100% BH.

It transpired that the 13 was too heavy to use in bed, and even with a pop socket, it didn’t help because it was too uncomfortable.

I went back to the OGSE; however, the screen, even when it’s at the lowest brightness, is still considerably brighter than the 8’s, which isn’t good when you’re trying to fall asleep.

Looks like I’ll be going back to my trusty 8 again.

 

[Macdctr]

Great to hear that's still the case as we've had quite a few conversations about this.

It's interesting that quite a few folk in other forums seem to have had a reprieve after finally updating to iOS 26.6 but for me personally this hasn't had much of a difference.

I never really felt with iOS 26 that booting or App opening times were that awful. It was always the overheating when charging and battery "counting down", often 2% at the time when any video was involved, especially when outside of WiFi, overheating also at that time vs the same use case in iOS 18.

Ive kind off put all eggs in the one basket moving to iOS 26 and have so much hope with iOS 27 as surely, it can all only get better. Feature wise I do like this latest OS functionality better that all previous versions, obviously without all the negative side effects.

When you upgrade your 13 mini to iOS 27, you will notice the change for the better. 👍🏽

 

[geta]

I'm preaching to myself I guess, but with the high quality of iPhones both in physical build and OS, I'm curious why we move on to a new iPhone after only a year or two of use? With a couple of my old devices, I replaced them after only a year or so of use - the iPhone SE (1st gen) and the 13. But on the other hand, I kept my iPhone 8 Plus for four years, and I was extremely happy with it from day one all the way to the end of its 48 month tenure. I figure I could have squeezed another couple of years out of it, but the thought of a shiny new device (the 13) was too much to take lol. At the end of the 8 Plus' time with me, it seemed just as capable and fast as when I first got it.

With my iPhone 8 Plus experience under my belt, I've decided to keep my 16e, which I've had for only 3-1/2 months, for 5 years. Or at least try for 5 years. Since I'm retired and have limited income, it seems the smart thing to do - especially with the high quality of iDevices I've experienced, and specifically my experience with the 8 Plus.

Who else wants to keep their iPhones for a looooooong time?

No idea who is “we”, but I tend to keep my devices as long as they serve my needs.