Other iPhone 14: Just say no

[Hoyboy]

This is a great example of a situation where more frequent upgrades might be beneficial. These devices are tools after all.

I’m afraid that, unfortunately, for most people, they don’t actually gain real-world benefits from their frequent phone upgrades, despite them trying to justify otherwise. And I think that’s what the OP was getting at.

I do wish more folks would look at their purchases more critically like @BlueandSilver. Some people need the advantages that these newer tools (phones) provide. But others don’t. Unfortunately, they’ve already swiped the credit card before considering otherwise.

Why is it a great example out of interest? Their primary concern of their phone is battery life. It would make more sense to replace the battery rather than buy a new phone if we are talking business sense here.

End of the day there is literally no one on planet earth who NEEDS to upgrade every year to the newest iPhone. It’s more a case of WANTING to.

Don’t get why people have to try and make excuses up for why they think they need it. Just be honest with yourself or do people not want to do that because suddenly giving away money for no real need doesn’t feel right?

 

[Hoyboy]

I am sincerely happy for you that an 8 Plus does the job. For me it just doesn’t. The 13 Pro Max is the only device with the battery life that truly handles my needs as a business owner who is away from power for 15 hours a day and uses it heavily for utilitarian proposes. Will it make me happy? Not directly, no, my family is the thing that makes me happy, not tools. But I do need the tools to accomplish my daily purposes. I need more frequent upgrades to ensure that the tool handles what I throw at it, not for fun but to actually provide for my family. It is my absolute primary device for running my business. Does providing for my family make me happy? Yes. We all buy iPhones. That is the only thing all of us in this chat have in common, fundamentally. Beyond that, we all live very different lives and who knows what needs the other’s have. I’m looking forward to seeing what the iPhone 14 has to offer. It may or may not be more me. I haven’t seen it so I cannot say.

I’m curious now. What do you need from the iPhone 14 that your iPhone 13PM doesn’t already provide for your business? If the answer is battery life then Apple let you buy a new battery btw

 

[reeneebob]

The arrogance in your posts... that you're right objectively, not just for yourself... is incredibly offputting. I have to say this over and over because people here are incredibly bad at realizing it, but you are not everyone. Your likes and dislikes are not universal. But phrasing your posts as if they are (and making the OP here) just comes off as trollish or blindly condescending. Or both.

There’s one person on my block list on this site. Guess who it is.

 

[bevsb2]

Do I need to upgrade every year? Of course not, but I can afford to and it gives me pleasure to get the new iPhone annually. We are all free to choose how to spend discretionary income without justification or listening to someone's advice on a forum.

 

[MacCurry]

Do I need to upgrade every year? Of course not, but I can afford to and it gives me pleasure to get the new iPhone annually. We are all free to choose how to spend discretionary income without justification or listening to someone's advice on a forum.

This might be the last year for me for at least 3 years, as a market correction of 20% is on the cards for this fall, high energy costs and inflation will eat the disposable incomes of families earning up to $250K/year. In the US, if the same party controls the executive & legislative branches, taxes will go up, unemployment will increase and middle class incomes will decline.

 

[VuvuzelaiPhone]

Do I need to upgrade every year? Of course not, but I can afford to and it gives me pleasure to get the new iPhone annually. We are all free to choose how to spend discretionary income without justification or listening to someone's advice on a forum.

Except for all the externalities created by it.

 

[bevsb2]

This might be the last year for me for at least 3 years, as a market correction of 20% is on the cards for this fall, high energy costs and inflation will eat the disposable incomes of families earning up to $250K/year. In the US, if the same party controls the executive & legislative branches, taxes will go up, unemployment will increase and middle class incomes will decline.

This may be the last new phone for me for awhile also based on this.

 

[bevsb2]

Except for all the externalities created by it.

Yep, true for many other purchases as well. My iPhones are recycled as gifts to family or by Apple.

 

[timeconsumer]

Money I have saved by sticking happily with my 8+ and not lapping up Apple's annual "upgraded" phone every year:
X, 11, 12, 13, 14: ~$6500 (not including Apple Care). Including investment return on that money: ~$8,775. Including accessories not purchased: ~$9,775. Including hassle of acquisitions and realization that I was suckered into a new phone to do the same things I was doing on my previous phone: priceless.

Would you not trade in the phones or sell them? If you kept the phones and upgraded each year then yes, you would be out ~$6500. But, if you trade them in and let's say you spend approximately $400 each year after trade in that's ~$2,000 over those 5 years (X, 11, 12, 13, 14). If you're estimating that amount went from ~$6,500 to ~$8,775 then using similar numbers that $2,000 would go to approximately $2,700. $2,700 over 5 years comes to about $45 per month. For $45 per month I'll enjoy upgrading my phone.

 

[spiderman0616]

It's that time of year again, when Apple and its legions of followers will make you think you need to separate yourself from $1,500 of hard-earned money to get a new phone.

Here's a checklist I use when thinking about acquiring a new phone.

1. Will the phone do anything I need? No.
2. With the new phone, will I end up doing exactly the same things I'm doing with my present phone? Yes.
3. Will the phone make me happier? No.
4. Will the phone make me poorer? Yes, in several ways.

Food for thought...

So today I got a new battery for my 8 Plus. Totally happy, and probably good for another 2 years.

So.......don't buy one?

I mean, the reason millions of people buy iPhones every year isn't always because they are all just drooling over the newest, most expensive model. Look at my household as just one anecdotal example of different kinds of iPhone buyers:

1) I personally let most of my devices age until the batteries need to be replaced, but I get a new iPhone every year and usually the nicest model. I feel like the iPhone is still the premier device in the ecosystem, and I just like having the new one every year. I know it's wasteful and impractical. I do it anyway because I love iPhones. I take very good care of them, so at least I know they find good homes when I give them back to Apple.

2) My wife has an iPhone 12 Pro Max and will probably not upgrade it for another two years or more. She keeps her iPhones until there's a REALLY compelling hardware upgrade or her battery is toast. When she does upgrade, she buys outright. Her iPhones go through hell and back, but she does keep them in a case and usually gets pretty good resale value for them, even when they're a few years old.

3) My teenager. He is a completely different league of iPhone user. He has a gaming PC, a school-issued Chromebook, an iPad, and an iPhone. Out of all those devices, the iPhone gets the most use and it's not even close. If it can feasibly done on an iPhone, I feel like that's where he does it. His first iPhone was the previous generation SE and I just upgraded him to the iPhone 13 base model. Not just to upgrade, but because he hammers that battery all day and night and they just don't last very long in that department. We need to be able to get a hold of him when he's out, and he was having to carry a battery pack around with the SE all the time.

4) My 11 yr old, soon to be 12 yr old. He will probably get his first phone this year pending a good first report card of the school year, and it will probably be a base model 14 or a base model 13 like his brother.

Apple is not going to just stop releasing iPhones every year. Is that what you'd like them to do? There are millions and millions and millions of Android users out there that Apple would love to switch over to an iPhone, and their efforts are proving to be effective. Switchers are accelerating.

Sounds like you still think the 8 Plus is a great phone that will now give you another usable year or two before you lose OS update support. At that point you'll have a decision to make--upgrade hardware or stick with old software on hardware you still want to keep. Why not just leave it at that and leave everyone else alone?

 

[treyhunnid]

I wish Apple release a SE Plus model.

It's that time of year again, when Apple and its legions of followers will make you think you need to separate yourself from $1,500 of hard-earned money to get a new phone.

Here's a checklist I use when thinking about acquiring a new phone.

1. Will the phone do anything I need? No.
2. With the new phone, will I end up doing exactly the same things I'm doing with my present phone? Yes.
3. Will the phone make me happier? No.
4. Will the phone make me poorer? Yes, in several ways.

Food for thought...

So today I got a new battery for my 8 Plus. Totally happy, and probably good for another 2 years.

That 8 plus definitely showing its age. Yup.
Is That 8 plus is EOL after ios16? Yup
Still using Touch ID in 2022? Cmon.
Does the 8 plus even do 5G? Nope.

 

[Dealmans]

I have had every iPhone since the 4S, holding my 13 pro max this year. These phones are $2099AUD for a 256gb now so can't keep doing that.

But if there is one locally available tomorrow at 9am that could all change lol

 

[janeauburn]

In my first post I estimated ~$1,500 for a new iphone. The "best" model at 1 TB is actually more expensive. Comes out to about $1,700, before any case or accessory! Yikes.

 

[Olivia23]

It's that time of year again, when Apple and its legions of followers will make you think you need to separate yourself from $1,500 of hard-earned money to get a new phone.

Here's a checklist I use when thinking about acquiring a new phone.

1. Will the phone do anything I need? No.
2. With the new phone, will I end up doing exactly the same things I'm doing with my present phone? Yes.
3. Will the phone make me happier? No.
4. Will the phone make me poorer? Yes, in several ways.

Food for thought...

So today I got a new battery for my 8 Plus. Totally happy, and probably good for another 2 years.

Why because you say so?

 

[spiderman0616]

Why because you say so?

You can find the same posts about the new Apple Watches and AirPods, and I even saw one about the rumored new iPad Pro that hasn't even been announced yet.

People are just projecting. Best to ignore and move along, but I don't always follow my own advice.

I don't know why some need to feel like they're on a team. The days where anyone pays any attention to what cell phone others are using are long gone.

 

[sunnyjohn2]

What's an iPhone?

 

[symphony]

OP wishes to get new iPhone. OP creates thread to try to convince themselves that they’re not missing out.

 

[VuvuzelaiPhone]

OP wishes to get new iPhone. OP creates thread to try to convince themselves that they’re not missing out.

Right at home with all the post of people justifying their purchase.

 

[symphony]

Right at home with all the post of people justifying their purchase.

Hahaha that’s true as well

 

[bluespark]

It's that time of year again, when Apple and its legions of followers will make you think you need to separate yourself from $1,500 of hard-earned money to get a new phone.

Here's a checklist I use when thinking about acquiring a new phone.

1. Will the phone do anything I need? No.
2. With the new phone, will I end up doing exactly the same things I'm doing with my present phone? Yes.
3. Will the phone make me happier? No.
4. Will the phone make me poorer? Yes, in several ways.

Food for thought...

So today I got a new battery for my 8 Plus. Totally happy, and probably good for another 2 years.

Many will criticize this as negative, but I think this is a useful way of approaching consumer purchase decisions in general. Sure, the new thing looks shiny and has new features, but does it realistically create a change in the buyer's life that is worth the money spent?

I'm buying one because I'm coming from an older phone and have other ways to justify the purchase, but I'm a fan of thinking about things in a way that makes one less susceptible to marketing.

 

[timeconsumer]

In my first post I estimated ~$1,500 for a new iphone. The "best" model at 1 TB is actually more expensive. Comes out to about $1,700, before any case or accessory! Yikes.

I don’t disagree with you that $1,500 for a phone is a lot to spend but most people in the US are selling their previous phone or trading it in or getting a carrier deal so they aren’t paying that full cost.

 

[gorkt]

No.

And I am not talking about the phone.

I am talking to you.

 

[PirateP]

There’s one person on my block list on this site. Guess who it is.

SAME. 😂

 

[lkalliance]

There’s one person on my block list on this site. Guess who it is.

Me? Is it me?

 

[janeauburn]

I don’t disagree with you that $1,500 for a phone is a lot to spend but most people in the US are selling their previous phone or trading it in or getting a carrier deal so they aren’t paying that full cost.

Bottom line is that these new phones are needed by almost no one today. They're all "wants," and for reasons that grow thinner and thinner with each iPhone iteration. "Gotta have AOD!" "Oh, that new color!" "The island is the bomb!" But then you realize, fairly quickly, that you're just using an expensive new toy to do the very same things you did yesterday on your perfectly good previous phone.

It's all a bit sad, really, this vapid consumerism.