For me upgrade should be significant enough to overcome expense and hassle of screen lottery. My Iphone X has all the features I really wanted except for size. Iphone 12 with 5.4 in screen will fit the hand better, along with multiple iterative upgrades and Iphone 4 appearance which was the best Iphone design.
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Other Is anyone else considering hanging onto their phone for a long time?
- Thread starter Seanm87
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I always want to hang onto my phone for 3-4 years. The only times I've budged from that cycle is when there really is a feature that will absolutely make my life easier (rare) or when Verizon offers a deal that I can't turn down.
I really really hate upgrading anything. All of my devices are used for productivity and the disruption caused by upgrading is a serious deterrent. I'm never at a time when upgrading anything is convenient.
I really really hate upgrading anything. All of my devices are used for productivity and the disruption caused by upgrading is a serious deterrent. I'm never at a time when upgrading anything is convenient.
I bought the original iPhone and upgraded every year through probably the iPhone 7. Last phone I bought for myself was the X and I honestly don't care to upgrade it. It does everything I want. Until there is some real game changer, I'll just keep it and swap out the battery as needed.
My last 2 upgrades have consisted of me buying last years model and keeping it for 2 years. The device by the time I get rid of it is a 3 year old design in effect and I feel it’s time for a change.
Having said that I currently have an 8+ and it’s still as fast and fluid to use as the day it cane out. This may be a device I keep longer as there’s really no point upgrading at this stage to get anything of any value, feature wise IMO.
Having said that I currently have an 8+ and it’s still as fast and fluid to use as the day it cane out. This may be a device I keep longer as there’s really no point upgrading at this stage to get anything of any value, feature wise IMO.
3GS, 4S, Nexus 5, 6, 7 (lottery price), 8 plus from USA, XS.
7 was not planned, 8 plus was an opportunity for a good price, XS was a gift from my parents (I’m 31 yo, with a good job, but they still love me
)
7 was not planned, 8 plus was an opportunity for a good price, XS was a gift from my parents (I’m 31 yo, with a good job, but they still love me
)
I would argue blowing $1500 all at once on a phone isn't a great idea either.
I'm not the majority by a long shot but I'm quite old fashioned--I hold onto ANY devices, Phone, laptop, TV, etc until they break or no longer serve my needs. Still use my Zenith Digital System 3 CRT TV in the garage. That thing was made in January 1988.
E-waste is a bad thing and I'm not a fan of constant consumerism and the 'fashion' of a phone means nothing to me. I just don't need a shiny thing when it launches. I'd still have my 3GS if I were smarter. Still got and use my PowerBook G4. I bought Apple for longevity not fashion.
The aforism, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems lost on today's generation of folks.
E-waste is a bad thing and I'm not a fan of constant consumerism and the 'fashion' of a phone means nothing to me. I just don't need a shiny thing when it launches. I'd still have my 3GS if I were smarter. Still got and use my PowerBook G4. I bought Apple for longevity not fashion.
The aforism, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems lost on today's generation of folks.
There is validity to this. Unless you keep such said device for a long time.
I see devices as mere tools, so I always keep my iPhones until they are inoperable (ie. broken), or a newer device comes along that solves enough real issues for me to be worth upgrading to.
My history:
- First iPhone (4s) I kept until it broke.
- Second iPhone (5s) I kept until Apple Pay came along to help make my purchases more secure, and secondarily—more storage, improved low light photos/videos, and faster performance.
- Third iPhone (SE) I still have.
I’ll update again only when my SE stops working sufficiently, or an iPhone is released with enough of the following features: true one-handed use, higher storage, optical zoom, ois, better low light photos/videos, water resistance, wireless charging, front-facing and/or louder speakers.
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My history:
- First iPhone (4s) I kept until it broke.
- Second iPhone (5s) I kept until Apple Pay came along to help make my purchases more secure, and secondarily—more storage, improved low light photos/videos, and faster performance.
- Third iPhone (SE) I still have.
I’ll update again only when my SE stops working sufficiently, or an iPhone is released with enough of the following features: true one-handed use, higher storage, optical zoom, ois, better low light photos/videos, water resistance, wireless charging, front-facing and/or louder speakers.
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I’m hanging on to my 8 plus as long as I can. At least untill that notch is something of the past or Apple slows it down too much with their updates.
I always used to want to upgrade every year. I never did (being younger and not that rich), but I was close to being tempted a lot. I remember being burned by the 3GS which came out very soon after I got the 3G. The compass was a cool party trick that made me jealous of my friends. I got the 4, because of the retina display. I couldn't look at my 3G again after that.
I only kept it a couple of years and got the 5 on contract, because that was still the "done thing" back then in the UK. It worked out about the same cost to get it on contract as it would have done to buy it up front and go sim only... Except my mother found out to her cost that that calculation was based upon finishing the 18 month contract (I think that was the length) then going SIM only or upgrading, and not based upon continuing the contract for another 12 months. Costly mistake - oops! I'm sure three loved getting £35 a month from her when she could have been paying less than £15. She eventually went sim only and got a 6 plus in feb 2015 which she's kept to this day. It still seems to be working fine. She talked about getting a 7 plus. She talked about getting an XR. They've both been and gone as "current" models and her phone soldiers on strong. She'll be getting a hand me down X from me, probably, in September.
My own history is based on being the lucky recipient of a bunch of gifts/regifts from my in-laws who were really hot on Samsung, specifically the Galaxy S4 iirc. FIL liked it and had no interest in anything different. I was given a 5S because I went to China and found that my 5 wasn't compatible with 3G networks out here. Edge data SUCKED. I didn't keep it particularly long - 6 months at best. I bought an iPhone 6 that october. Kept that for a while, propped up by the smart battery case (I destroyed both the phone battery and the battery case battery with gaming...) until I eventually was given my wife's 7 when she got herself a 7 plus mid-year. Longed for an X when it came out. Was given one out of the blue 7 days before the XS was announced! So I've had it about 15 months now.
I'll be keeping the X til September 2020, I think, and then handing it to my mum. That said, it's not set in stone and I think my wife is giving her her old 7 plus soon. So I may well be able to eek out a further year from this phone and delay what is a fairly large cash spend. If I get a new battery in it next year, though, I'm sure it'll last my mum far longer than I'd stick with it. Aging hasn't actually reduced the want to upgrade - it's just helped me manage it better. Same with Airpods (not getting my APP until my 1st gen ones properly die, even getting only an hour or so of battery life is enough for my commutes) and Apple Watch (sort of... I resolved to stick to aluminium models so that I can get a new one every 18 months or so, skipping every 3rd model, if I feel I want to).
I only kept it a couple of years and got the 5 on contract, because that was still the "done thing" back then in the UK. It worked out about the same cost to get it on contract as it would have done to buy it up front and go sim only... Except my mother found out to her cost that that calculation was based upon finishing the 18 month contract (I think that was the length) then going SIM only or upgrading, and not based upon continuing the contract for another 12 months. Costly mistake - oops! I'm sure three loved getting £35 a month from her when she could have been paying less than £15. She eventually went sim only and got a 6 plus in feb 2015 which she's kept to this day. It still seems to be working fine. She talked about getting a 7 plus. She talked about getting an XR. They've both been and gone as "current" models and her phone soldiers on strong. She'll be getting a hand me down X from me, probably, in September.
My own history is based on being the lucky recipient of a bunch of gifts/regifts from my in-laws who were really hot on Samsung, specifically the Galaxy S4 iirc. FIL liked it and had no interest in anything different. I was given a 5S because I went to China and found that my 5 wasn't compatible with 3G networks out here. Edge data SUCKED. I didn't keep it particularly long - 6 months at best. I bought an iPhone 6 that october. Kept that for a while, propped up by the smart battery case (I destroyed both the phone battery and the battery case battery with gaming...) until I eventually was given my wife's 7 when she got herself a 7 plus mid-year. Longed for an X when it came out. Was given one out of the blue 7 days before the XS was announced! So I've had it about 15 months now.
I'll be keeping the X til September 2020, I think, and then handing it to my mum. That said, it's not set in stone and I think my wife is giving her her old 7 plus soon. So I may well be able to eek out a further year from this phone and delay what is a fairly large cash spend. If I get a new battery in it next year, though, I'm sure it'll last my mum far longer than I'd stick with it. Aging hasn't actually reduced the want to upgrade - it's just helped me manage it better. Same with Airpods (not getting my APP until my 1st gen ones properly die, even getting only an hour or so of battery life is enough for my commutes) and Apple Watch (sort of... I resolved to stick to aluminium models so that I can get a new one every 18 months or so, skipping every 3rd model, if I feel I want to).
I used to love upgrading back during the 2G/3GS era, because there was always an improved feature or something. The iPhone 4 had the Retina display for the first time, the iPhone 4S had Siri, iOS 6 had Siri on iPad, Snow Leopard looked AWESOME compared to what came before it, and so on.
Even the Android side had some rather interesting phones, slider phones, smart flip phones, folding tablets, etc.
But then iOS 7 and up happened and since then everything has been meh, boring, all flat glass slabs, sliders are extinct, etc. UI design is STILL ugly to an extent. Apple is bringing back some subtle hints at skeuo but I will never 'get used to flat design'. Can't wait for skeuomorphism to return and give me a reason to upgrade again. There's just nothing new I need or look forward to. Smartphones, tablets have stagnated and new models are no longer interesting enough to warrant an upgrade these days. The only real changes are removing features I still use--headphone jacks, home buttons, etc.
I just miss the massive WOW that came when the first iPhone was launched amidst a sea of convoluted 'smartphones' ala Palm Treo, BlackBerry Pearls, and Moto ROKRs. Where's that WOW factor today? Three cameras? really? HTC did multiple cameras with the M8 and we all know what a flop-a-rooni that was.
Even the Android side had some rather interesting phones, slider phones, smart flip phones, folding tablets, etc.
But then iOS 7 and up happened and since then everything has been meh, boring, all flat glass slabs, sliders are extinct, etc. UI design is STILL ugly to an extent. Apple is bringing back some subtle hints at skeuo but I will never 'get used to flat design'. Can't wait for skeuomorphism to return and give me a reason to upgrade again. There's just nothing new I need or look forward to. Smartphones, tablets have stagnated and new models are no longer interesting enough to warrant an upgrade these days. The only real changes are removing features I still use--headphone jacks, home buttons, etc.
I just miss the massive WOW that came when the first iPhone was launched amidst a sea of convoluted 'smartphones' ala Palm Treo, BlackBerry Pearls, and Moto ROKRs. Where's that WOW factor today? Three cameras? really? HTC did multiple cameras with the M8 and we all know what a flop-a-rooni that was.
phone tech has peaked I believe making it harder to justify an upgrade with a few minor changes, I will be holding on to my current iphone pro 11 for longer than my usual yearly upgrade
No. I won’t fool myself. I’ve upgraded very year since 2014. And between 2012- 2014 I was even worse, going through several android phones a year. My 11 pro max is good enough to last several years but the reality is that I will upgrade again next year.
I'm an admitted tech junkie and have purchased most iPhones with the exception of the 7. This year was the first time I actually paid for my phone (11 Pro Max) with no financing. It's kind of nice to control my own destiny with regards to upgrading. The upcoming 2020 phone sounds very nice but one thing I've learned is that my experience stays pretty much the same with every new iPhone. After a few days or weeks the shine wears off and it's still an iPhone. For my use case there's not much difference. I'm tired of buying new cases and screen protectors every year or so. I'm hanging onto this phone for a bit.
Something has to come out that is as revolutionary as the original iPhone was for me to feel like upgrading.
Generally consumers ‘hang on their phones for a long time’, because they don’t see the value in upgrading annually, and it’s just too expensive in today’s smart phone market. Smart phones all accomplish the same things, some of them have more advanced features with cameras and OLED displays, but in the end, it’s a tool, not something I would _need_ to upgrade annually. (It’s probably more of a want.)
No, I'm on a 6S I got cheap for $149. I came from Android. I'm saying that it will have to be a revolutionary WOW factor to make me upgrade from a 6S. There's nothing I'm interested in lately. I don't need a multi-camera setup or more RAM. I don't need to lose a headphone jack or home button.
When the OG iPhone came out a 'smartphone' was literally a PalmOS device with a large retractable antenna, or a Treo running a horrible Windows Mobile 6.x, or a Moto RAZR V3i. The iPhone changed or rather 'revinvented' the smartphone landscape. It literally changed how smartphones worked.
There has to be something that different from the current landscape to make me feel like upgrading from a 6S.
Now my father was on an original iPhone he was given from a friend and used until he died in 2015. It was on a T-Mobile GSM account (who still had a functional EDGE/2G network as of that time). He only used it as a phone or used Safari. He came from a RAZR which died when AT&T killed GPRS packet data--it wouldn't even make calls anymore.