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iPhone 16/Plus is it just me or as a apple fan boy its getting harder and harder to justify paying 1k for a phone with no changes in my use case?

I used to be a serial upgrader - but I stopped at the iPhone 13.
Skipped the 14.
Currently have the 15.

I love buying the latest and greatest, but once the new handset is set up it just feels like a letdown. A 'more of the same' kinda thing. So I'd rather spend my money elsewhere TBH. The Apple hype train is very contagious though!

Was planning on a 2 year cycle, which means I would be due an iPhone 17, but looking at some of the renderings so far, that might be a miss too!!!
 
1rottenapple said:
I considered the SE4, but honestly I didn't like how the square body feels I like the redesign sides of the 15 and 16. I just found out the 15 is actually 2 generations behind processor wise. I know it's silly. I may just pull the trigger and screw it I'll get the 16 but 512.
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Care to tell us where we can inspect that square SE4 for ourselves??
 
icanhazmac said:
I don't see why you would feel it hard to "justify" anything or why you would want the title of "fan boy"?

IMHO if you want it, or need it, buy it. FOMO as a "fan boy" is irrelevant and always has been.

It seems we are in a bit if a stagnant phase with mobile phones, for many years it has been processor/memory/storage and camera upgrades, that's it. It is a natural progression and as we continue in this phase people tend to hold onto devices longer. The 2 year cycle is largely dead and has become 3-4 years. It has been this way for many years with personal computers. Back in the day you rarely got more than 3-4 years out of a personal computer, now that timeline has stretched to an easy 5-7. I gave an old gaming laptop to my parents that is from 2011 and it still performs for their very light use case.
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A gaming laptop from 2011? That thing must have been expensive.
 
As Apple fans we have to accept the old truth that Christmas morning has been and gone and now its boxing day afternoon. The days of phones being exciting products for any manufacturer are long gone. You only have to look at the way gimmicky folding phones are described as the future and how manufacturers turned to the rear of the device, the bit you never see because its in your hands or a case as a differentiator. Imagine going to a car showroom and all they had was a catalogue of rear bumper shots.

Forget excitement and think utility: how useful is the upgrade? The Mini range has been and gone unfortunately. You can't judge a new purchase on ergonomics. So what's left: Speed? The iPhone 13 is still no slouch. Cameras? Certainly better but not noticeably so. USB-C? Incredibly useful. Wider range of accessory compatibiity, faster speeds and you never know when a proper video out might be handy. SOS? If you're out in the sticks quite frequently this could actually be a lifesaver. AI? You'd be surprised how handy a quick rewrite or some object elimination can actually be. Shortcut button? Your phone is now a proper flashlight.
 
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Ifti said:
I used to be a serial upgrader - but I stopped at the iPhone 13.
Skipped the 14.
Currently have the 15.

I love buying the latest and greatest, but once the new handset is set up it just feels like a letdown. A 'more of the same' kinda thing. So I'd rather spend my money elsewhere TBH. The Apple hype train is very contagious though!

Was planning on a 2 year cycle, which means I would be due an iPhone 17, but looking at some of the renderings so far, that might be a miss too!!!
Click to expand...
I wish I had a regular upgrade pattern but I don’t. I’ll keep a phone for 2 years and then I’ll have 3 different phones in another particular year. I guess the only pattern to my phone ownership is that there is no pattern.

I’m kind of jealous of you guys who have good set patterns of ownership.

I have a 16 PM now and I could say I’ll keep it for 3 years, but with my past buying behavior, there’s no telling how long I will have it.
 
iBreatheApple said:
Yes. I’m still on a 13P and would likely stay for years to come but I fear the battery will be insufficient in 1-2 years.
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I'm on the same phone and its around 3 years old now. Still going strong and with the 18.2 update it seems like its giving me even better battery time (fingers crossed).
Was planning on upgrading but will prob wait till the 17 range is being released.

My main reason for swapping phones is often battery degradation and since I have to transfer data from one phone to the other swapping batteries isn't an option.

But, I do like the 15 and 16 series, main reason I would have for updating is..

* USB-C
* New battery
* AI (yes, might seem underwhelming now but that will change)
* Better screen
* I like the idea of a camera button, haven't tried it IRL tho.
* Better camera and screen.

All this will of course be available for the 17 series...so if nothing major changes in terms of battery degradation or similar I'll wait.
 
I'm enough of an Apple fangirl, but to be honest, no one really needs a new phone every year. I had a 12PM and the wife had an 11PM, we upgraded to 15s (Pro for me, and Plus for her). We're good for 3 or 4 years.

Hell, I only upgraded because getting back glass and battery for my 12PM would have required a 7-10 day wait, and my ADHD ass would have lost my damn fool mind waiting.
 
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OP,
I think you have started the grieving process for your 13 mini and that may be what was the impetus for your thread. I felt the same about the 4s and the 13 mini. Once I realized Apple was done with my favorite form factor, I embraced the new. If I have to look hard to justify a purchase, I won’t make the purchase, provided personal bias isn’t getting in the way.
 
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My 13P got stolen and I had to get a new phone. Looked at the 16P, but the price was just ridiculous up here, I found a 15P for $450 less. It was nothing that pushed me towards the 16P. It´s the first time I'm buying an iPhone and I'm not excited. The most exciting thing was the usb-c port and that it feels better in the hand. I would have kept my 13P for at least another year if it wasn't stolen. My 15P feels pretty much exactly like my 13P after 2 days
 
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I have had every iPhone since 4, bought the 16 Pro, returned it, keeping my 15 Pro. Apple taking us for mugs. You cant call a iPhone new with a new button.
 
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I feel exactly the same way. We got the 16 Pro this year, and I didn’t have nearly the same level of awe as previous years. I opened up the box and screamed out loud, “THAT’S IT??? IT’S THE SAME DAMN THING”. Since we bought it with the T-Mobile trade-in deals, we’re fine with it, but $1000 for a 16 Pro is unjustifiable in my eyes.

I say the best move is to go for a 15 Pro refurbished, you’ll barely notice a difference versus the 16 Pro, and it’s definitely going to be better than the 16 overall, apart from maybe Photographic Styles and the 48MP ultra wide lens.

I’m also an Apple fanboy as well, and I hate that I don’t feel as excited about their products as of late (with the exception of the Mac mini and iPad Pro). However, I also feel better not trying to shamelessly defend them, instead trying to see them from an unbiased, unfiltered point of view.

That’s just my experience, make of that what you will, hope I somewhat helped!
 
1rottenapple said:
Been testing this iPhone 16 for satellite SOS and to replace my 13 mini that's having issues with 5g uw and overheating. And while I like the 16 without a case, and its comfortable to hold unlike the 14 pro I briefly owned, I'm having a hard time justifying paying 1k for the 16 with 512gb (my mini has 512gb and prefer more storage over paying apple $3 a month for icloud). And it's not about my finances to afford the phone, but its hard to justify when the use case is the same as my 13 mini (aside from satellite SOS for off road adventures).

Maybe if I can say satellite SOS may potentially save my life if I have a breakdown in my jeep with no help for 10 miles out? There's Garmin satellite phone for $400 but there's monthly fee, which I believe is $20 which this iPhone can replace.

Thus far the AI features reminds me of Animoji when that came out. Fun to make my niece laugh a few times but it's very underwhelming. Picture editing, and generative images, for my use case when the heck am I going to use this? AI Summaries? Auto responses to friends? Why have friends if you'll just have Siri respond lol

I was actually looking at swappa and eBay and an unlocked 15 might be great actually buy... but then I somewhat prefer big jumps in generation before I upgrade. Anyway just posting random thoughts about this as I try to justify leaving the mini behind.

I think this apple fan boy has finally gotten over it.
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That’s the very same reason I always buy base iPhone 1 generation behind, brand new with more reasonable price.
 
To be fair it's been this way for a good few years now...

I was even tempted to order a Pixel 9 Pro just for a change, but haven't. The whole design needs a refresh now.
 
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1rottenapple said:
we

I don’t know man. Back in 2002 when I got my iPod 3rd gen, I joined MR. It was so helpful back then. Now it’s just like social media. Go figure.
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I joined MR nine years later in 2011. What I found in the iPhone forum at the time was a group of people who were dumping on everyone else who did not upgrade yearly. If you didn't have the newest iPhone model, you were beneath them.

Yet start asking them questions and you find out that all they could afford was the base model storage. So, you had Apple fanbois coming down on everyone else for not owning the newest iPhone while hiding behind the fact that Apple did not print the capacity of their iPhone on the back.

Fortunately that group of MR users has largely seemed to disappear. But, if that was your group of people then I can see why you feel you're being attacked.
 
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Regardless of varied use cases and preferences, I agree that ~$1K feels more wasteful as time marches on and we experience more replacement cycles of our once beloved devices, even when they last for years. On the other hand, a year of YouTube TV base plan would also cost ~$1K, so there's that.
 
I just gave up and joined the iPhone upgrade program. New phone every year with a monthly payment to Citizens of roughly $55/mont, $0 interest, AppleCare included. So easy and the monthly payment adds up to far less than the difference between selling, trading in an old phone and purchasing a new phone with far less hassle. I have a brand new phone every year (don't use a case, so no expense there) so only have to put the used phone in the box they send me and put it in the FedEx Box to return it after they send me a brand new phone. If I decide I can't afford it at some point, it will be 50% paid after a year and I can just pay the interest free payments for another year or pay the difference and own the phone outright. I might actually do that this year if the rumors about an aluminum phone are correct. I really like my titanium 16Pro.
 
CharlesShaw said:
Regardless of varied use cases and preferences, I agree that ~$1K feels more wasteful as time marches on and we experience more replacement cycles of our once beloved devices, even when they last for years. On the other hand, a year of YouTube TV base plan would also cost ~$1K, so there's that.
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I would say that this is a subjective opinion. Sure, lots of people feel this way. But those same people will plunk down ~$1k for a computer. Even used computers sometimes.

And then there is the group of people who say that the iPhone/iPad has replaced a computer. If computers cost ~$1k new, then why is there a problem paying that price for a phone?

I'm not advocating that we all should overpay, but I am saying that I don't see a problem with the current pricing.
 
techyOS said:
I feel exactly the same way. We got the 16 Pro this year, and I didn’t have nearly the same level of awe as previous years. I opened up the box and screamed out loud, “THAT’S IT??? IT’S THE SAME DAMN THING”. Since we bought it with the T-Mobile trade-in deals, we’re fine with it, but $1000 for a 16 Pro is unjustifiable in my eyes.

I say the best move is to go for a 15 Pro refurbished, you’ll barely notice a difference versus the 16 Pro, and it’s definitely going to be better than the 16 overall, apart from maybe Photographic Styles and the 48MP ultra wide lens.

I’m also an Apple fanboy as well, and I hate that I don’t feel as excited about their products as of late (with the exception of the Mac mini and iPad Pro). However, I also feel better not trying to shamelessly defend them, instead trying to see them from an unbiased, unfiltered point of view.

That’s just my experience, make of that what you will, hope I somewhat helped!
Click to expand...

Does your post help? No, but let’s recap since you asked lol. You saw the keynote and the specs and the photos on the website and thought, “wow this phone looks tres bien and dramatically different than my 15pro, let me order it”. It arrives and you scream as if an oiled up Francis Ngannou were waiting for you in a bathroom stall because the phone looks exactly as advertised and has the same slab shape with 3 camera bump design. But you were fully titillated and struck in awe when upgrading from the unchanged design language of the 13 to the 14 and then the 15. Did I miss anything..
 
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Jumpthesnark said:
Then... don't buy it?

Make a decision based on your wants and needs and finances. I never understood the MR threads that were just crowdsourcing "should I or shouldn't I" consumerism.
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Then... don't read or comment on them? ;)

From my armchair, it seems like "should I or shouldn't I" is one of the essential ingredients in everything about this site.
 
CharlesShaw said:
Regardless of varied use cases and preferences, I agree that ~$1K feels more wasteful as time marches on and we experience more replacement cycles of our once beloved devices, even when they last for years. On the other hand, a year of YouTube TV base plan would also cost ~$1K, so there's that.
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The iPhone, for something that many here on MR claim is as important as air, food and water, $1K for such an important thing, to me it seems, is a mere “bag of shells”.
 
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