This is my depression post: it seemed like the perfect spot here.
I was ALL on board to get a new phone this year. It would have been the first year since getting my first iphone in 2013 with the 5c, where I paid full retail. It was $550. We had NEVER paid that much money for a phone because we were pretty broke for four years, but had just made it into a better career where we had some extra money to spend and we needed smartphones.
Ever since then, it's been free iphone promotions through carriers, or screaming iphone 7 deal for $350 through best buy when the 8 was released.....
Today, I had enough money saved up to confidently spend $650, but i DID NOT want to waste my money on a iphone unless I absolutely LOVED it. I love the mini. It's perfect. Small. Light (As light as the 3gs... look it up yourself).
What I needed this year was more battery life. The iphone 7 was bad on iOS 13, and it's even worse on iOS 14. I get 3.5 hours average screen on time for last ten days. That sucks.
But what I DON'T need is a damn brick in my pocket.
So, the mini seems just about perfect! It's battery life is somewhere in the middle between the SE and the 11 (depending on metric... again, look it up on tech specs Apple page).
What isn't perfect is the $699 price with 64 GB of storage. Starting at $650 with 64 GB, or $699 with 128GB would have been palatable, as I only have that $650 pricepoint I could comfortably spend with savings.
And no I don't have a phone to trade-in because I got screwed by Verizon's "free" iphone 7 last year where they just give you 24 months of bill credits. The only clear information I can get is that MAYBE my credits will disappear if I trade the phone in and will be billed for the $200 still left due on the "free" phone. I'm screwed and can't do any trade-in promotions until the "free" phone is "paid off" by Verizon's bill credits. It SUCKS.
So, here I was all excited to finally be able to get a BRAND NEW iPHONE, the NEWEST one out there at 2am PREORDER..... Finally.
But no. It's $699. It's depressing because the 11 was $699 last year and Apple couldn't price the 12 this year at $699, with the mini $50 or $100 less. It sucks. I was expecting $650.... I'm very disappointed now and bummed and depressed that it wasn't $650.
Now I have to decide to hold onto my cracked screen 7 with terrible battery life, or spend $399 for an SE that is NOT what I would love. I HATE the curved edges. It's slippery and hurts my hands when I have to hold it tightly to keep it from falling out my hand.
So, yeah, depressed because I feel like there is NO GOOD OPTIONS this year for me.
I may not upgrade this year and just hold on to my decrepit, gimpy 7.
If anyone has any information on trading in a phone with Verizon or Apple that is still getting bill credits, please let me know. I don't know if the bill credits end if I trade in the phone or sell it, and Verizon agents aren't helpful because the 3 or 4 I've talked to can't give me a knowledgeable answer.
This sucks. I was so ready to buy a new iPhone full retail.
