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Other How long do you keep your phone?

How long do you generally keep a phone?

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dumastudetto said:
2 years should be the maximum you hold onto an iPhone before upgrading to the latest and greatest. I'm yearly myself, and proud. I've never regretted an upgrade yet.
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Total nonsense. Especially since every single high end smartphones have plateaued for 3-4 years (except camera department)
I guess consumerism and Apple marketing still work like a charm on weak minds.
Dont get me wrong upgrading every 2 or 3 years is perfectly fine, even more true if you are an enthusiast but saying everyone should upgrade every 1 or 2 year max is just dumb
 
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Haha. Like 4 years. I have so many things I love to buy, but getting a new phone every year isn't one of them.

It's funny, I would buy a 2 pairs of $500 shoes which I never wear without batting an eyelid, or a $3000 handbag in a heartbeat, but getting a new phone just isn't as thrilling to me. Don't know why.
 
I used to switch every other years but now I keep them for 3 years:
2008: 3G
2010: 4
2012: 5
2015: 6s
2018: XS
2021: 13 ? (Pro ? mini ?)

To be honest I think I'll only upgrade this year if either:
- 5G becomes truly useful in France (where 4G is already very strong)
- they bring touchId back and masks are still mandatory
- or they come up with some breakthrough.

Otherwise my Xs (256gb) is still as good as new. The A12 is still a perfectly good chip for what I do and although I would love to have the latest camera upgrades I prefer to save that money and invest it in actual camera gear, it's a much better investment imho.
By the way my 6s is also still working great for a family member (that, unlike me, doesn't care about having the latest and greatest and was delighted to upgrade from 5 to 6S in 2018)

I finally upgraded my iPad 2 (wasn't using it anymore) to an iPad pro in 2020 and my apple Watch S3 serves me perfectly well daily. I plan on keeping those until they die or loose software support.
 
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Generally less than a year, Currently on a XS Max I bought second hand. I love Android as much as iOS so always changing.
 
jcorbin said:
Wow nice setup
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I tend to keep stuff and we (my wife and I) don't upgrade every year, particularly with computers.

With phones, our upgrades tend to be between 2 to 4 years, depending. Most of the time new phones are paid for with our tax refund. But we keep our old phones.

That said, I never actually owned the 3GS or 4s (or 4) at launch. I've been filling in around my iPhone 5 and my 6s+. I did have a 6+ for about nine months before we ported to another carrier and traded it in (for the 6s+).

I'd love to have the kind of cash to be able to upgrade every year, but I don't so getting older phones at around $20 a pop works for me.

PS. That's an early 2009 MacPro 4,1 upgraded to a 5,1. The '99 G3 there in the middle is my server. ;)

Then there are the Macs in the garage…
 
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Usually every 2 years. Currently have an iphone 11 pro max and will probably upgrade this year with the iphone 12S or iphone 13 (whatever the 2021 iPhones will be called). Though rumors of a foldable iphone in 2022 is tempting though, but if that ends up being true, I won't upgrade to that until 2023 or 2024.
 
I like to keep mine as long as I can, not that I need the latest technology like some which makes it necessary. 5G is still in its infancy so there is not much I can use it for. Until there is I plan to keep my 11 Pro until at least 2022 or 23, or if I lose or damage it. Before that I had the 6s and before that the 4.
However, if Apple came out with a massive camera upgrade I would seriously consider upgrading.
 
Usually about 3 years. I think the only time I upgrade sooner than that is going from the 5s to the 6 after just 1 year. I wanted a larger display. Funny enough, every iPhone I've owned has had a larger display than the last:

3Gs --> 5s --> 6 --> 8 Plus --> 12 Pro Max.
 
I upgrade every 4 generations. Current phone is a XS Max. Last phone before that as a 6. My wife kept her iPhone 7 for 5 years before getting a 12.

Now we get 1 iPhone every 2 years between the two of us. I'll be the next upgrade in 2022 for the iPhone 14. I see little value in upgrading more often. I have an XS Max and often will play with my wife's 12 pro. It feels relatively unchanged from my XS Max in daily use.

dumastudetto said:
2 years should be the maximum you hold onto an iPhone before upgrading to the latest and greatest. I'm yearly myself, and proud. I've never regretted an upgrade yet.
Click to expand...
Blah. I struggle to see any noticable difference between the 12 pro and XS Max in daily use. I'll keep my $1000 and replace the battery instead to get 2 more years out of it.
 
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dumastudetto said:
2 years should be the maximum you hold onto an iPhone before upgrading to the latest and greatest. I'm yearly myself, and proud. I've never regretted an upgrade yet.
Click to expand...

Why should 2 years be the maximum people should keep an iPhone? These phones don’t change enough in that time to warrant it being a need. I change mine every 2 years but it’s because I fancy doing it. In reality I could go 3 or 4 years and still have a very capable iPhone in my pocket.
 
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It really varies.
I generally upgrade either my Android or iPhone yearly and keep the one replaced as a backup unless I need to gift it to someone.
So I buy a new one yearly. I tend to update my iPhone more frequently as I can setup my Android exactly how I want it. That makes hardware updates more relevent on the iPhone.
 
2011-4S
2013-5S
2014-6 (sold after a month, 5S performance was equal if not better)
2015-6S (amazing phone, still use as backup)
2017- X
My X is the first phone I've had for more than two years and am planning on waiting until I'm blown away by a new iPhone to replace it. I was on the fence with the 12 Pro series but decided to wait till next year to see what's offered.
 
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Got my 7 plus early 2017 - still runs well and got a battery change in 2018. Probably could use another change now. I am very tempted by the iPhone 12 Pro but am in a bit of a financial bind at the moment. In any case with Apple's support and updates even for older models I am pretty happy - and realise I didn't need to update every two years as I did back when I got my 4 almost exactly 10 years (!!) ago.
 
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Used to change phones every year, but now I am doing every 2-3 years. Been very happy with my midnight green 11 Pro Max 256GB, battery life has been phenomenal and I don’t see anything worth moving to from it, a lot of the stuff out now seems to regress in some areas or not improve enough.

Got a beautiful Forest Green leather case for it some time lasts year and it still looks amazing after all the sanitizing and heavy usage, very happy overall.
 
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I didn't upgrade yearly anymore after 5S. Recently, I changed phones quite often, it is because the size and weight issues. I upgraded to XR from iPhone 7(broke due to loop disease of IC audio) and 11, they were too big and heavy. And then I bought SE2 and loved. I was shocked when mini was released. Never thought that apple would make full boom features miniature iPhone, I'm loving my mini beside missing TouchID:)DFaceID disabled since I got it)
 
I upgraded annually from the 3GS through the 8 Plus. I would have continued this through today if I wasn’t impacted by PWM. I held onto the 8 Plus reluctantly for 3 years and have had the 11 a while now.
 
My xr is really starting to slow down. Hopefully they offer another great upgrade deal this fall on att for the 13...
 
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