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

[bapegg]

I went to the 17 Pro from a 14 Pro. Mainly for USB-C with faster data transfer and the cameras felt like a substantial update (love the 4X and 8X). Features aside, my 14 Pro still ran well (I didn't update it to iOS 26) but the battery life on the 17 Pro felt like double the 14 Pro (not really, but it was immediately noticeable the first week of use that it was holding charge much longer than the 14 Pro). Just battery life alone made the jump to 17 Pro worth it for me even though I really dislike the 17 Pro design, the camera plateau, aluminum vs stainless steel.

I was already having battery issues with my 14 Plus from letting it get too hot that single time and upgrading to IOS 26 made it worse.

It reminded me of what happened to my iPhone 6 when I upgraded to IOS 12. I didn't want to mess with that again.

 

[conmee]

My first smartphone was a Samsung SPH-i330. I really liked it because it was hefty and felt good to hold. I also liked the stylus input. And synced with Windows XP. Only downside is the rigid antenna that did not retract, so when plugging it into the charger and then dropping it into a cupholder didn't work out so well. But I liked it. Then I got a Palm Treo 650 which was a nice upgrade. But my favorite pre-iPhone phone was the Samsung Blackjack. It was very lightweight and had storage slot and replaceable battery so I'd just take one or two extra batteries during travels. I really liked the keyboard and stayed with the Blackjack and Blackjack II until I left Microsoft and completely abandoned Windows and Windows CE/Windows Mobile for a MacBook Pro and iPhone in 2009. Been with Apple products ever since.

 

[ElPaso]

My last multiple phones were replaced only because they fell off support and no longer got updates. All worked great otherwise.

Today's phone specs (cameras, processors, storage) have been well beyond anything I've needed for years. Kinda like buying a vehicle, "Biggest in class this! Best in class that! 0 to 60 in xxx!" when all I need is something to get around with.

I like your vehicle analogy - Today's phones offer a suite of apps and capabilities that many people (myself included) probably will never need. That's one reason I chose the 16e as my newest iDevice. I just don't need the complicated stuff.

 

[packeteer]

2-3 years for me. battery life is usually the first thing to go, so I'll start hunting a replacement when the battery is at 80% life

 

[ElPaso]

I keep my iPhone until no updates are possible. So I guess I'll buy a new 17e/16e next year to replace the current SE in good use (I don't like large screens).

Makes me curious - would it make sense to continue to use an iPhone after it is unable to receive updates? I'm reading a lot of posts from people that use older versions of iOS.

 

[ElPaso]

My 15 Pro is my last iPhone. Everything new now appears to be optimized as a disease vector for the AI contagion, and I’m completely uninterested in participating in that abysmal boondoggle. My next phone, if there even is one, will be a dumb phone- one that just places, and perhaps even receives, (wait for it) telephone calls. I do not need texts, apps, blinkylights, or flashycolors: it is a goddamned telephone. I miss my old Nokia.

I absolutely regret the 15 being involuntarily updated to 26 dot whatever, due to my inaction. I didn’t see it coming, and when I realized what had happened, it was already too late to downgrade. If the damned thing updates itself again to something even worse, I’ll just let the battery run down to zero, and then back over it a couple of times with my car. I do not want what is now being sold as The Wave Of The Future, and I do not consent to having it done to me.

I realize that puts me in the minority. So be it. Your mileage may vary- no doubt lots of people actually want that dreck. However, and speaking strictly for myself: time has stopped for my Macs at Sequoia, and there will be no further updating of anything Apple. For me, the current fetishization of AI by Apple stops right here, and right now.

I like this post a lot. You make a lot of sense, and speak for a lot of iPhone users. I'm curious, though - on my 16e the use of AI (Apple Intelligence) seems to be optional and would require the installation of an app. I may be mixed up, though - but can't we opt out?

 

[conmee]

I like this post a lot. You make a lot of sense, and speak for a lot of iPhone users. I'm curious, though - on my 16e the use of AI (Apple Intelligence) seems to be optional and would require the installation of an app. I may be mixed up, though - but can't we opt out?

Well the good news is your 16e only has 8GB of memory which already limits the Apple Intelligence features even if enabled (I think voices and dictation with upcoming Siri AI won't even work without at least 12GB memory). So as Apple adds more features, it is likely iPhone 15 Pro/16e and other phones with 8GB or less of memory will be increasingly left behind Apple's AI plans. So that could be an additional benefit for those not interested in Apple Intelligence. iOS 26 allows you to toggle off Apple Intelligence in Settings. I haven't tried iOS 27 beta yet so not sure if that is still possible. If not, just don't upgrade past iOS 26 to avoid new AI features.

 

[ElPaso]

Because everyone on this website is a tech enthusiast in one way or another. the average person doesnt care about yearly releases and just upgrades when their battery starts to go bad. one of my friends has a 13 pro and loves it still, but the battery is starting to go so hes going to get a new one this fall. 5 years out of a phone is great imo given how much use they get. id venture to guess the average person goes 3-5 years between upgrades. people that are on macrumors typically like the latest and greatest and are willing to pay for it every year or 2 even though we all know the differences are minimal year over year.

Good post - That's one thing I had not considered when I wrote the op. Would the answers to my post be different if all iPhone users were asked, as opposed to people that are just part of the MacRumors community? You're right - everyone here at the Forum is a tech enthusiast, but every iPhone owner may not be.

 

[uacd]

Yeah, after buying 17 Pro I thought just that. Like why did I even do that? I am not susceptible to those marketing-fueled impulse buys. It all started after my 11 Pro developed two bright green lines, I am not sure whether it did so on its own or as a result of impact and poor phone case that I didn’t replace when it got damaged. Anyway I still didn’t fix 11 Pro because it will be 2nd time I will be replacing a display on it, for the first time it simply died for no apparent reason.

If I won’t sell 17 Pro (because it is boring and new iOS 26 and now 27 SUCKS) I will probably be using it for the next 10 years, even if the battery is going to be nuts. Unless Apple releases what I want: an iPhone 5 or 5s rival. A phone with small chassis that I can hold in one hand, that weights less that 120 grams, the phone that has camera that doesn’t do all that “computational magic” that I didn’t ask for. I don’t need triple cameras, I need just one that has equivalent of 33 or 35mm, not this 24mm madness. Like, who asked for that? I have a GoPro for wide angle, I don’t need neither 24mm nor 13mm cameras

But I guess that will never happen, so I got a plan to simply hunt for used 5s to shoot photos, because there is not such a device on the market that is both as compact and as fun to shoot photos with as old 5s.

I am very much thankful to large bloggers who talk about the issues. For example MKBHD released second video on the topic of iPhone camera shooting unnatural images and overusing HDR and all the AI pipeline

 

[eyoungren]

Makes me curious - would it make sense to continue to use an iPhone after it is unable to receive updates? I'm reading a lot of posts from people that use older versions of iOS.

Sense in what way? Like you normally would? Probably not.

But sense in using an older iPhone to watch Youtube, stream music, monitor servers on your network, etc? Sure. I have an iPad Mini 1st Gen running iOS9. I specifically bought it because Google Maps still works on that iPad in a logged out mode. It goes in the car in a dash mount and serves as my GPS/NAV unit. iOS 9 isn't getting a large amount of updates last I checked.

People seem to think that the moment there are no more updates a device's usefulness goes right out the window. It doesn't.

 

[Pjrufus]

I used my 6 plus until 12 pro which I will keep using as long as it works. We still keep the 6 plus around and have loaned it out to others whose phones endured sudden death. it still makes calls, texts and email, but can't run many apps anymore.

 

[eyoungren]

I used my 6 plus until 12 pro which I will keep using as long as it works. We still keep the 6 plus around and have loaned it out to others whose phones endured sudden death. it still makes calls, texts and email, but can't run many apps anymore.

In mid-2021 I needed to replace my 11 Pro Max. It took a week to arrive. In that time, I was back using my 6s+ (it has its own line still) until the 11PM came. 6s+ filled in without any problems and I was glad I wasn't out a phone for an entire week.

 

[Pjrufus]

In mid-2021 I needed to replace my 11 Pro Max. It took a week to arrive. In that time, I was back using my 6s+ (it has its own line still) until the 11PM came. 6s+ filled in without any problems and I was glad I wasn't out a phone for an entire week.

I don't keep a separate line for the 6+, been able to swap out a sim from the disabled.

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

Trust me, I wanted to update my iPad Air 3 with just the base iPad but with the price hike I feel like I'll use it even further until it's truly dead than rush for the A16 model. iPhone on the other hand, I feel giving its daily usage is fine to be updated every 3-4 years, I got gifted 15PMx otherwise I was just gonna change battery on my beloved 12PMx.

My wife on the other hand "needs" to have a 17/18PMx from the current 16Plus and 14PMx that she has, cause all of her friends in office have the latest and she feels odd one out. I asked her specifically what's the difference between the models, didn't get an answer. If only I could justify divorce over this materialistic woman who is honestly an angel but loves to "keep up with the joneses". AHHHH! Seriously what even is girl math! 😬

 

[eyoungren]

I don't keep a separate line for the 6+, been able to swap out a sim from the disabled.

My upgrade path went iPhone 6s+ (2015) to Pixel 3a XL (2020) to 11 Pro Max (2021), which is my current primary iPhone. I got a second (backup) line in 2017 and at the time my iPhone 5 filled that role. Once I upgraded to the Pixel, my 6s+ got the secondary line. In 2021 my choice was to keep using the 6s+ or move that SIM card to my Pixel. I chose to stay with the 6s+ as the backup line.

The backup line is useful to me for the purpose that I can also have 2FA sent to my 6s+ and not just my 11PM. If I lose my 11PM (or it's stolen) then I can still access stuff by having 2FA going to my 6s+.

 

[ddhhddhh2]

Well, I went from an iPhone 7 Plus all the way to an iPhone 16 Plus. Does that count as holding onto a phone for a long time?

To be fair, I dropped the 7 Plus and messed up the camera, so it could not take decent photos anymore. Then the repair cost somehow ended up being higher than what the phone was even worth, which felt personally disrespectful, so I decided to replace it.

But my take is, you do not really need a reason to buy stuff. When the dopamine is calling, you answer and hit buy.

 

[Ctrlos]

I’ve always argued that a fool upgrades every year. People complain about incremental upgrades but forget that when new models drop Apple is largely trying to sell them to buyers from 3-4 years ago by which point they’ve snowballed.

 

[subjonas]

I think people upgrade yearly for three main reasons--camera improvements, to know they have the "best" tech, and boredom.

I rarely upgrade because I only do so when I believe that it will make an appreciable positive change to my quality of life (which historically has been rare), or when my old phone no longer functions.

 

[Luftkopf]

Yeah, after buying 17 Pro I thought just that. Like why did I even do that? I am not susceptible to those marketing-fueled impulse buys. It all started after my 11 Pro developed two bright green lines, I am not sure whether it did so on its own or as a result of impact and poor phone case that I didn’t replace when it got damaged. Anyway I still didn’t fix 11 Pro because it will be 2nd time I will be replacing a display on it, for the first time it simply died for no apparent reason.

If I won’t sell 17 Pro (because it is boring and new iOS 26 and now 27 SUCKS) I will probably be using it for the next 10 years, even if the battery is going to be nuts. Unless Apple releases what I want: an iPhone 5 or 5s rival. A phone with small chassis that I can hold in one hand, that weights less that 120 grams, the phone that has camera that doesn’t do all that “computational magic” that I didn’t ask for. I don’t need triple cameras, I need just one that has equivalent of 33 or 35mm, not this 24mm madness. Like, who asked for that? I have a GoPro for wide angle, I don’t need neither 24mm nor 13mm cameras

But I guess that will never happen, so I got a plan to simply hunt for used 5s to shoot photos, because there is not such a device on the market that is both as compact and as fun to shoot photos with as old 5s.

I am very much thankful to large bloggers who talk about the issues. For example MKBHD released second video on the topic of iPhone camera shooting unnatural images and overusing HDR and all the AI pipeline

I can't speak personally for anything newer than my iPhone 14, but after watching that video, I can state categorically that outdoors, in perfect conditions, my iPhone 14 takes way better photos than my iPhone 11 does, and the gap just widens when conditions aren't perfect. It was the one big thing keeping me from switching back to the 11 when I broke the screen on my 14.

If new phones are that bad, I wonder when they peaked?

Trust me, I wanted to update my iPad Air 3 with just the base iPad but with the price hike I feel like I'll use it even further until it's truly dead than rush for the A16 model. iPhone on the other hand, I feel giving its daily usage is fine to be updated every 3-4 years, I got gifted 15PMx otherwise I was just gonna change battery on my beloved 12PMx.

My wife on the other hand "needs" to have a 17/18PMx from the current 16Plus and 14PMx that she has, cause all of her friends in office have the latest and she feels odd one out. I asked her specifically what's the difference between the models, didn't get an answer. If only I could justify divorce over this materialistic woman who is honestly an angel but loves to "keep up with the joneses". AHHHH! Seriously what even is girl math! 😬

My wife is the opposite. She's mad her Pixel 4a died, and she's switching to my iPhone 11 (I got it from a friend when I broke my 14) so she doesn't have to spend money on another phone. She doesn't want to switch, because she has to learn a new system, and set things up all over again, but that's better than spending more money she reckons.

 

[nekton1]

I'm using a pair of SE2020 one running iOS26.5.1 and the other iOS27 dev beta. They were given to me with dead batteries so I DIYed them with new non-Apple batteries. I'm a dev, so I like to have an older smaller phone around because debugging the UI on an actual small screen gives me a better feel for a real user's experience compared to just checking using the Simulator. When they can't run the latest iOS version I'll upgrade one to a later iPhone model that can, but it won't be the iPhone 18 b/c think new iPhones are ridiculously overpriced with very few compelling features compared to the previous two or three models. The ONLY thing that might move me to the latest model is if Apple complies with the EU Directive mandating user-replaceable batteries.

 

[KeithBN]

I had the original iPhone (they day it launched), then the 3GS then 4S then 5S because tech was advancing rapidly in the early days, and upgrading after 2 years was a significant leap,

Kept my 5S for 6 years, eventually replacing it with an 11.

I replaced the 11 with a 13 Pro because I was doing a lot of photography and video so the increased storage and improved camera was very useful.

Still have my 13 Pro, planning to replace after 5 years with an 18 Pro.

So currently at 3 phones for 13 years, which I think is not unreasonable…

 

[Dex762]

I started from 4s I copy from my elder sister, then 6s then XS (couple years later when I got new iPhone 13PM, my friend want my XS so gave it away because my friend their phone got stolen) next 13PM the 13PM is excellence had no problem with it and then now currently I got 16 pro late last year, the 13PM still with me for spare just in case if 16 pro having the problem etc

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I would confidently say that most iPhone users DO keep their phones for several years. People here on Mac Rumours are small snippet of the consumer base really. Most people are not upgrading their iPhone on an annual basis, even if plenty also do.

I am about to commit to keeping my 16 Pro Max for a third year when my contract is up in September and nearly everybody I know keeps their phones for 3 to 5 years on average. Phones have gotten so expensive, it doesn't make a lot of sense these days to trade in and pay more out for a phone with a slightly faster processor and fractionly better camera after a single year of use.

 

[Dex762]

from an old-school Motorola,

Omg the old phone I had Nokia that time it has no text etc I think just before 2000 text just came out first time if I can remember jeez how the phone it has change so much over the years, sadly some company made the phone and went broke since the first apple iPhone came out I think from 2005 or 2006

 

[Dex762]

Phones have gotten so expensive

Yes it does