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

The other factor is they keep making them faster with better more accurate displays and we actually use more storage now another problem arrises we can offload to a drive or computer or buy a new phone with more storage expensive yes but instant gratification if you want it immediately.
 
One thing that pushes most of us to upgrade is more and better features we will actually use and the fact most of us have the phone on us most of the time unlike our desktop, laptop or pads so we become more dependent and spoiled I am guilty.
 
I've never updated annually, but I am tending to keep them longer now. Running a 15Pro Max and do not really have the urge to upgrade. Battery is still at 95%, and I am not short of storage or needing faster speeds.

I was thinking about an 18 Pro Max just for a change, but with all the hype about the iPhone 20 I wonder how many will decide to wait rather than upgrade this year.
 
ElPaso said:
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?
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Batteries. I think few people have the patience to do a battery swap out. I've moved to a 3 year cycle.
 
Why?
  1. FOMO
  2. Laziness to fix a problem with existing device
  3. Treat their phones like sports equipment and beat the everloving crap out of them
  4. Pushy carrier salespeople
  5. Confusing promotional offers trick you into thinking a new phone is "free"
  6. What else should I spend this excess income on?
 
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I live by the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I keep my iPhones until they're not usable or until a new feature is introduced that I really want.
 
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I think the increasing size of phones has sales increasing do to pockets are not getting larger and hands are not shrinking and watching people wrestle them out and fumble them to the ground sometimes the damage is to great oops new phone.
 
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Like others have said, I think most of us are keeping our phones for years. I’m still using a 12 Pro. It’s having battery issues now, but up until a month ago, I hadn’t noticed any slowdown or battery issues at all. And I use Halide, Adobe apps, Microsoft apps, etc for work every day. I do think I’ll upgrade this October, but this is the first time I’ve felt any need to do so.
 
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I'm still using relatively old Mac. Until now, I've been upgrading my digital stuff like every year, always wanted the best of the best.

Then, I eventually realized that all things digital are just one of the many that I can enjoy. After more than 10 years of work life, I realized going out/seeing nature that kind of things are much fun then being online / SNS / gaming. So.. I got to spend my money on cameras, camping equipments, and I also started doing clay shooting (love 694 DLC!!). I still love my kindle reader, but 've started to like an actual physical book. I also started enjoying mechanical watches. And guess what? These things last much longer than digital stuffs.
I'll probably upgrade to a new iphone one or two years later, and I will genuinely keep up with what's latest and great, just several years behind.

So that's it from my side of story. I just found other things that I enjoy more.
 
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This is why some people moan every year the update isn't very drastic. It's not going to be and is a pointless waste of money. People don't usually change cars every 1 or 2 years, why a smartphone? Maybe when they were new and every year had big improvements, but not now it's a mature product.

I went from a 6S to a 15 Pro. Was an amazing upgrade. That was definitely a bit too long as the 6S had got very slow, but it still worked ok. When will I change my 15 Pro? Dunno. Works great for now. Maybe iPhone 21-ish?? What can they add that I really need? Still does everything I need it to and there's a hell of a lot more things in life worth buying than tech that'll get old and go in the trash sooner or later anyway.
 
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I didn't read every reply, but in case you are looking for actual answer...

I could always do better in some areas, but I do pretty well. Cheap mortgage, retirement savings, no cc debt, etc. No kids to spend it on. So when there is a notable feature I'm after, a new phone is happening. Even if it was only a year prior.

I work in tech and keeping updated is one of my dopamine habits nowadays. Then I normally take the old one and hand it down to a friend/family member. Everybody ends up happy and I get a new device to explore. 🙂
 
ElPaso said:
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?
Click to expand...
Still have my 11 Pro Max 512gb as my daily driver. Never had any issues and it’s just as snappy as ever. I’m at 79% battery health, but the original battery was sooo good, that even now it lasts me ALL DAY. It was bought brand new from Apple. However the recent price hikes has me contemplating making the jump before this insanity hits the iPhones!!
 
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blkjedi954 said:
Still have my 11 Pro Max 512gb as my daily driver. Never had any issues and it’s just as snappy as ever. I’m at 79% battery health, but the original battery was sooo good, that even now it lasts me ALL DAY. It was bought brand new from Apple. However the recent price hikes has me contemplating making the jump before this insanity hits the iPhones!!
Click to expand...
The better idea: keep using your phone and run it into the ground (get the most you can out of it). Then, when you NEED a new one, buy from somewhere like eBay or Swappa. Get a gently used model that isn't the latest and greatest but is still perfectly capable and good.
 
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tomori said:
Who is this 'we' that replaces their phone every 2 years?
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The average consumer, unfortunately. 2 years is probably a bit exaggerated (the average is now closer to 3), per this source, https://www.sellcell.com/blog/how-often-do-people-upgrade-their-phone/, but it's still in the ballpark.

Phones are the the equivalent of computers these days; changes are not happening as rapidly as they did a decade ago; and so phones should not be upgraded as frequently as people do. They do get more use, yes, so chances of breaking a phone are higher than breaking your laptop (probably). But I'm just talking about upgrading when there's nothing wrong with your current phone.

But people are sheeple (not an Apple dig, it applies to all average consumers) and are easily persuaded by good advertising and peer pressure. I fear that as AI takes root more and more, people will use even less critical thinking skills and we'll see these issues continue to grow. The only real obstacle I foresee slowing that down is the cost of living continuing to rise out of sync with wages.
 
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FOMO triggered by the annual marketing con jobs. And enabled by a decent resale value for 1 year old iphones in mint condition. At least for me it is/was. I have been able to do it on a 2-3 year cycle these days for the past couple upgrades. In todays world, keeping a phone for 3 years is the old 6+ years. At 3 years i find more noticeable user experience changes. A lot of people use their phones as their daily and most often used (sometime only), computing device. So even incremental upgrades may seem like a big enough deal. Then you add the fashion/social aspect on top of that like with most luxury items. Gone are the days that a phone is just a phone.
 
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