Scepticalscribe
macrumors Haswell
Some of us - among whom, I would class, count, or include myself - do keep our iPhones for years. And years. And years.
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Other Why Aren't we Keeping our iPhones for Years?
- Thread starter ElPaso
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I’m very guilty of changing every 2 years or sooner if I can palm one off to another family member.
My macs I did 10 years but recently I’ve upgraded them all and got a bit carried away with all interest free deals and have a MacBook I don’t really need.
It’s very wasteful and money would be better spent or saved on something else
My macs I did 10 years but recently I’ve upgraded them all and got a bit carried away with all interest free deals and have a MacBook I don’t really need.
It’s very wasteful and money would be better spent or saved on something else
ClaraStahlbaum
macrumors 6502a
Going forward I am convinced I am one of those people who trades in and upgrades every year. It makes sense to do so because the trade in values only go down afterward, so it doesn't make any sense to keep a phone for years when it is losing value.
Because there are a lot of highly paid engineers, product managers and marketers who are very good at making us want to.
They are incremental year-over-year, but those changes pile up over a period of a few years. An iPhone 3-4 years newer than the previous one feels like a way bigger upgrade.
Most are. When Apple sells 200+ million iPhones a year, it’s not the same 200 million people buying phones over and over. Usually, half of those go to people that have never owned an Apple phone before.
transpo1
macrumors 68000
#1 Reason: Boredom / Shiny new bauble syndrome
#2 Waning battery life and slower speeds
#3 A new hardware feature that you need or which will improve your life (but this is rare; usually it’s Reason #1)
I try to only upgrade every 2 years. Sometimes it’s 1; sometimes it’s 3. Managed to hold on to iPhone 15 PM for 3 years now but I know I’ll likely upgrade two years in a row from 18 Pro Max to 20th Anniversary Pro Max equivalent if it’s tempting enough. So it all evens out to 2 years 😄
Ta_whirimatea
macrumors regular
I went from a 13pm to a 17 (normal) as i found the PM size too big in my jacket pocket. But I regret ‘downgrading’ to the 17. I think the pro model would be my sweet spot. The 17 is a good size but I miss the extra camera. The camera button is stupid & in the wrong location so permanently disabled.
Biggest problem is the software, it’s an absolute PoS mess! I’ve got to the point I use my phone as little as possible, the camera focus battles with itself, predictive text constantly creates new words, changes correctly typed out words to words that don’t exist in the English language (not matter how many times I reset the dictionary). CarPlay is useless, music (non subscription) keeps playing music that isn’t on my device (when I have streaming disabled. If I didn’t have my AWU3 I’d be moving to another company. Apples iOS currently is making android look good.!!
Every day I get more frustrated with how awful & non friendly the apple software has become.
Just make a phone device that is a phone & just works, & not a device that tries to do 1000 mostly all badly.
✌️☮️
Biggest problem is the software, it’s an absolute PoS mess! I’ve got to the point I use my phone as little as possible, the camera focus battles with itself, predictive text constantly creates new words, changes correctly typed out words to words that don’t exist in the English language (not matter how many times I reset the dictionary). CarPlay is useless, music (non subscription) keeps playing music that isn’t on my device (when I have streaming disabled. If I didn’t have my AWU3 I’d be moving to another company. Apples iOS currently is making android look good.!!
Every day I get more frustrated with how awful & non friendly the apple software has become.
Just make a phone device that is a phone & just works, & not a device that tries to do 1000 mostly all badly.
✌️☮️
East India Company
macrumors 6502
I kept my 2007 aluminium iMac for 12 years. It still works today but I changed it for a Mac mini 2018 then M1 MacBook Air later because I needed a laptop due to change of personal situation. I intend to use the M1 Air for 10 years.
Current iPhone is a 15 Pro. I intend to use it for at least 7-8 years. Previous was a Xr. Before that SE, 5 and 3G.
Current iPhone is a 15 Pro. I intend to use it for at least 7-8 years. Previous was a Xr. Before that SE, 5 and 3G.
Starfia
macrumors 68000
The only features I've mildly envied are the Action button and macro-photography.
And I know performance and battery have improved a lot, et cetera… but that's just not what I'm doing with my mobile device. It's there to sync to the Watch, play music and video, read from, and be the camera I have with me – and beyond that, its job is to be small. (And the 12 mini is already significantly bigger and heavier than the SE.)
So it's almost the best iPhone I could have right now, overall. I would "upgrade" to a good iPhone 13 mini if I lost it.
the iPhone is my favorite device. I’ve always bought the latest iPhone with 1 exception. The iPhone 16 pro max was the first year I couldn’t justify upgrading to. People hated the camera button (I do too) and the ai features were available to iPhone 15 pro max. But the 17 pro max and iPhone Air (I bought both) were truly nice upgrades. My 17 pro max collects dust unless I’m doing photos or video. But the air has surprised me. It’s so nice to use.
Dawizkid
macrumors newbie
I keep my phones for as long as they will run which is about 5-6 years. I've only had 3 iPhones so far and I never had an Android.
Because Apple and Samsung and everyone else have good marketing teams and have convinced people with the untrue propaganda that says that you need to upgrade your electronics constantly. That mindset unfortunately contributes to lots of e-waste. But if every person simply committed not to buy any new phone for 1 year (instead buying the many many used phones that are perfectly capable), we'd see a huge shift in how phone companies approach things.
But that won't happen. The propaganda is too strong.
You can, if you really wanted to. You just choose to participate in needless consumerism.
The only legitimate reason to upgrade constantly is if the slightly faster speeds on your phone directly contributes to you making more money as a result of your business being something directly correlated to the speed of your device.
But let's be real: that's only true of computers (used for processing/exporting video files or running AI). Not phones.
SevenTheGamingKitty
macrumors regular
Because people can't be bothered to deal with the most minor of issues relating to software support, apparently
stiligFox
macrumors 68000
I got a used iPhone XS Max when it was a year old. Used that for five years until it physically broke, got a rough used iPhone 12 mini for $100, used that for a few months until I got my first brand new iPhone, my 16 Pro. Definitely use my phones for years and years.
I *may* get an iPhone Air 2 when it comes out - but either this phone or an Air 2 will definitely be my next “5 year phone.”
I *may* get an iPhone Air 2 when it comes out - but either this phone or an Air 2 will definitely be my next “5 year phone.”
To answer the discussion subject question: different people have different preferences in many things including keeping the phone shorter or longer. I like to get my phone updated yearly while others like to keep longer time for any reasons. So, the answer is very subjective.
I may be a minority here but I upgrade to the latest Pro Max every year. Why? I use my iPhone 77 hours a week for mainly business use. A device used that often can justify the small capital outlay and often trade my phone in with the premium trade in companies here in Australia. This year I’ll give my wife my 17PM and I’ll trade in my 14PM which she’s been using.
I think it all depends on your financial situation and how often you use the device and can it satisfy all your daily requirements.
I think it all depends on your financial situation and how often you use the device and can it satisfy all your daily requirements.
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Logan VII
macrumors newbie
No different really to leasing a car for business and swapping it out once a year because of the mileage.
Good post. We are all under the pressure of marketing - they TELL us what we need -- your 16 is sooooooo outdated, so you need a 17. Many of us cannot resist -
ThailandToo
macrumors 65816
Unfortunately, I cannot say I am this smart. I preach it all the time. The only iPhone version I didn’t buy was the 16. And I did buy it 16 Pro and Pro Max. It just wasn’t an upgrade for the 15 Pro Max to me. Every other iPhone I bought. Every year, when I didn’t need them. None of them. I have the iPhone Air for personal use and 17 Pro Max for business now. I do need two phones as I have two personal numbers and one work number. Three numbers won’t work on one phone simultaneously. However, I have old iPhones still I could use, Android phones and etc. It’s watching tech YouTubers and the excitement of the new features that get me. FOMO I suppose. With the 16 Pro and Pro Max I used them both and realized I wasn’t missing out. I do believe that marketing, social media, media and other influences factor in heavily for most people. The psychology of missing out. I always buy mine day one. Preorder some. Show up at store for others. Since the original. The most value I have ever been with an iPhone is probably the 15 Pro Max. I dropped it like 15 times on pavement and it didn’t have a scratch, except the micro display scratches from whatever. I gave it to my son when I bought the Air/Pro Max. Happiest I have been with a form factor would be the 4 or Air, as they’re both really nice design. Although, missing the ultrawide camera on the Air really sucks. I will probably not upgrade to the Air 2, because I will all ready own the Ultra/Fold.
So yeah, you’re preaching a solid sermon but we aren’t going to change until we change our psychology and think more about the money and opportunity cost. And even then will be hard for many. When you’re invested and doing well, use the iPhones for work, they seem like a tool. But the one before usually did just as good of a job.
Totally agree. Will still buy the dang Ultra day one!
So yeah, you’re preaching a solid sermon but we aren’t going to change until we change our psychology and think more about the money and opportunity cost. And even then will be hard for many. When you’re invested and doing well, use the iPhones for work, they seem like a tool. But the one before usually did just as good of a job.
Totally agree. Will still buy the dang Ultra day one!
ClaraStahlbaum
macrumors 6502a
I have just ordered the Iphone 17e. Tomorrow if all goes to plan I will be saying goodbye to my 16e.
