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Other How many of you don't upgrade every year?

I get that some people want the latest and greatest phone (and if you are that person - you do you) but as far as I'm concerned they're a disposable computing device that i want to spend the bare minimum on so long as it will do what i want it to do and the battery life is acceptable.

I don't run cases, i am sometimes rough on equipment, if i was to upgrade every year i'd be super annoyed when i break one. For doing anything else other than mail, limited social media, iMessage and calls... i have other more powerful devices that I tend to upgrade more frequently.

Personally i can't wait until the watch gets long enough battery life to be independent of the iPhone so i can ditch it. Smartphones are a trap, you tend to spend way too much time on them in situations you really should be paying attention to other things.
 
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I went from the 7 plus and an extra iPhone 7 Plus to a 256mg xs max and 64 meg XR. I skipped the 8 and X I’m skipping the 11 and waiting for a 5g phone before I upgrade. Since they stoped selling the XS Max at I phone 11 release made me think the iPhone 11 was not much better then the XS Max and they had to get rid of in store competition
 
I agree, Quu. My 8 Plus does not seem all that different from my 5s. Yes, it is larger, and much heavier for some reason, but it feels like it is essentially the same phone. Personally, I am waiting for the iPhone to be developed to the point where it can transport one from one place to another a'la the transporter on Star Trek! Now THAT would be something! I would pay $2000 gladly for a phone that could do that! :p
 
I used to upgrade phone nearly every year but I still have my iPhone XS Max now, waiting for the next "X" level form factor change, hopefully no notch, usb-c or even no charging port. I've had the original iPhone, 3GS, 4, 4s, 5, 5s, 6+, SE, 7, X, XS Max. I did update watch to series 5. I'd really like watch to get blood sugar testing!

iPad Pro I have the terabyte 3rd gen 12.9, and I don't care about or use the cameras so I will keep it if that's the main update. I use it mostly for sheet music... I had Original iPad and iPad Pro 12.9 (1st gen)

I sold my Mac Pro trashcan and just got a base iMac 27" 2 years ago, no need for the newest Mac Pro .. I might get a loaded mac mini or iMac when they update next. Before the trashcan I had the original Mac Pro.
 
With the rumour that iPhone is going to have no button at all and no practical way to reset the phone if iOS is frozen, I feel that the time for customers to upgrade every two or three years is going to end in the near future.

As for now, I will upgrade only when I feel needed or the last Phone is broken. This can range from 3 to 5 years depending on how well my current iPhone holds.
 
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DJ_Smith said:
@rui no onna this answers all your queries. Only legends can understand 👎🏿
Click to expand...
I have a couple of co-workers with no cellphone at all and someone with a $30 Android on $10/90 days prepaid pay as you go service. That $300 iPhone 7+ and monthly cell subscription is already a needless waste for them. Not like they can't afford it either. Their problem tends to be if they've sent in enough in estimated prepayments for taxes on dividends and capital gains.

I also had a co-worker (already passed away) who looked like he was homeless and lived like a monk but had over $3 million in his stock portfolio alone plus probably a couple more mil in Treasuries. That went to his estranged family (our bosses had to trace the next of kin).

Got an aunt who's just bought a couple of Louis Vuitton bags this year (I was quite shocked to learn how much those cost). They're already set for retirement - house paid off, kid already a lawyer with student loans paid off. She gives a lot to charity and is pretty generous helping out less fortunate family members, too (she subsidized my grandma while my grandma was still alive and paid for my cousin's hospital bill when my cousin had a baby).

I'm not gonna dictate how people spend (or don't spend) their money. It's their money not mine. Personally, I'm still on the iPhone 7 and am looking into getting the cheaper iPhone SE2/9 when I upgrade. If someone wants to upgrade their phones every year though and they can afford it after all obligations are met (including retirement savings), then that's their business, not mine.
 
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I definitely do not consider upgrading every year as something necessary, especially that rarely the YoY changes are very meaningful (perhaps the last one was the already legendary bump in RAM which made 6s so much better phone than the 6...). So now I am on my third iPhone over the last six years - started with the 5 (a used one) in 2014, then got myself a brand new 6 a year later in 2015 and finally, a launch day X which I have until now and will keep until this autumn. Hence, my average would be around 26-27 months between upgrades, which I can accept, afford and also resist the itch to upgrade in between.

However, had it not been for the improvements in camera (I envy the wide-angle lens and night mode of the 11s) and battery life (and also a cracked back glass which happened last week), I am not sure if I had a good reason to upgrade, as the X is still plenty fast and does absolutely everything I want. This is a real contrast to the 6, which started to slow down after some first major updates (so iOS10 and later).
 
steelhauler34 said:
You techies are the best. Love you guys lol

Don’t get the ?? My seven gets on google, email, any app I have ever wanted , takes pictures etc etc. Not sure what I’m missing.
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Looking at the videos of the 7+ compared to the XR and other current iPhones, I’d say I can fully understand why it’s still a popular phone. My 8+ is still super fast and reliable, not to mention the battery life is excellent. If I upgrade in September it will be for nothing other than ‘just fancying it’. I certainly won’t need to as my iPhone holds its own against the current devices and doesn’t cost a grand.
 
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DJ_Smith said:
@rui no onna this answers all your queries. Only legends can understand 👎🏿
Click to expand...

steelhauler34 said:
Don’t get the ?? My seven gets on google, email, any app I have ever wanted , takes pictures etc etc. Not sure what I’m missing.
Click to expand...

Apart from sending animated poo emojis (what was I doing with my life beforehand?????), IMHO you’re missing out on nothing.

Like you, I don’t see the value in purchasing the later model phones (XS, 11 pro etc), when the older phones (ie 7, 8) do everything I need.

The difference (to me) is even less pronounced given the phones take "good enough" photos (for me), and run the same software, with the older models taking longer to complete a task (depending on the app).

Differences are notable in tasks like video rendering (which I don’t do, but acknowledge others do), but for many apps (ie web browser, email, facebook, insta, wallet, news, weather, whatsapp etc), the difference is far less pronounced.
 
I may replace my smashed Iphone 8 plus 256Gb with a new one from the Genius Bar but it will cost me 430€. In the meanwhile, I have my daughter’s SE and discovered you can totally live with 32gb.
It is not as nice as the Iphone 8 + specially in terms of camera (the 2x zoom was awesome). But it is so much easier to carry around. My 8 plus fell out of my pocket because it was too big (Sometimes I think it was designed to fall down from the pocket and break, so you can buy a new one )So now I am considering either to wait for the SE2 or buy a relatively compact Android that takes nice pictures (eg. mid-range Xiaomi or Motorola or Samsung S10e).
 
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