Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Curious as to why you upgrade every year. Is it because you go commando and like a different colored phone each year? Rough on the screen and it gets scratched? It can't be the hardware, as so little has changed since 2020, and the major improvements are now UI based.



3 years for me as that is the duration of the AT&T promotional discounts which got me two iPhone 15 256's for free with the trade in of two iPhone 12 256's. $0 out of pocket. Nothing. Free. And we've been with AT&T for 16 years so they could have had me at 'hello'.
Free? what happened to your BMW, beach house and designer wife you used to brag about lol?
 
Oh it’s not free paying the high plan prices. Want to leave? Things happen… Phone needs to be paid off first.
The plan pricing hasn’t changed since I took it in 2020. My 12’s cost me $0 when I traded in my X’s and now my 15’s cost me $0 when I traded in my 12’s. Yes I’m committed to AT&T but it’s been perfect for us for 16 years.
 
Free? what happened to your BMW, beach house and designer wife you used to brag about lol?
Nothing at all, I just find it remarkable that after all these years the carriers are still getting their best customers into the new iPhones they want for free.
 
Love this post! I have to add that holding the pro max without a case is amazing. The weight and feel of the titanium with the back makes it feel like a solid piece of metal. The curves are also seamless and a joy. It’s the best iPhone ever made for sure.
It really is nice! I wish I wasn’t afraid to go caseless. Lol

I do a hybrid approach. Use the phone caseless, but slide it into a leather sleeve when I'm not using it. The sleeve offers great protection when I'm just carrying the phone around but adds no bulk when I'm actually doing something with it. And I agree, the 15 Pro Max looks and feels awesome! I'd hate to keep it covered up.

I've also noticed over the years that if I'm going to drop my iPhone, it won't be while I'm actively using it. It'll be when I'm just carting it around, or maybe manage to somehow knock it off a desk.

The leather sleeve also makes a nice protective resting mat if I happen to be semi-actively using it, like sitting down somewhere and monitoring or waiting for something to happen on the screen.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: bevsb2
nothing is free when it comes to telcos, you'd be paying for them somehow
If the cost of my service never included the cost of the hardware and it has not increased in four years and I now have two brand new iPhone 15s simply by trading in two used iPhone 12s, the hardware is free.
 
If the cost of my service never included the cost of the hardware and it has not increased in four years and I now have two brand new iPhone 15s simply by trading in two used iPhone 12s, the hardware is free.
Then the carrier is probably overcharging you for their services if they can profit off of giving new devices to you. The U.S. market is broken in many ways, but living overseas now I was able to reduce my bill by like 75% by getting a plan that didn't come with a new phone (even before including the installment costs for the device).
 
  • Like
Reactions: klasma
Then the carrier is probably overcharging you for their services if they can profit off of giving new devices to you. The U.S. market is broken in many ways, but living overseas now I was able to reduce my bill by like 75% by getting a plan that didn't come with a new phone (even before including the installment costs for the device).

I'm fine with that. They deserve to make a profit. That's how the world works. But I don't look at it from the carrier's perspective, only mine.

So if for the last 49 months my monthly bill has been at the same $ per month and for the next 36 months it will remain at the exact same amount, the upgrade to new hardware is costing me $0. I'm paying the same thing this December as I did last December yet I have two new iPhones. So they didn't cost me anything.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: klasma and ssledoux
Curious as to why you upgrade every year. Is it because you go commando and like a different colored phone each year? Rough on the screen and it gets scratched? It can't be the hardware, as so little has changed since 2020, and the major improvements are now UI based.



3 years for me as that is the duration of the AT&T promotional discounts which got me two iPhone 15 256's for free with the trade in of two iPhone 12 256's. $0 out of pocket. Nothing. Free. And we've been with AT&T for 16 years so they could have had me at 'hello'.

Honestly, no good reason. I keep my phones in cases with screen protectors, and can usually sell them and get back a decent amount towards the new phone, so I just do it. I’ve changed up sizes a few times, but this is the first time I’ve ever gone with a pro max. Hopefully this will be the one I keep longer than a year - that’s the plan anyway.
 
The plan pricing hasn’t changed since I took it in 2020. My 12’s cost me $0 when I traded in my X’s and now my 15’s cost me $0 when I traded in my 12’s. Yes I’m committed to AT&T but it’s been perfect for us for 16 years.

Yep. I pay the same plan price whether I have a new phone or not, and I’m likely not ever switching from ATT (been with them since they were Cellular Wireless and I got my first cell phone in the 90’s - before Cingular even took over). Phone or no phone, I’m paying $30/line for unlimited talk/text/data and 15 gb hotspot. It wouldn’t cost me any more for that line if I traded in a phone and got a free phone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Larsvonhier
Yep. I pay the same plan price whether I have a new phone or not, and I’m likely not ever switching from ATT (been with them since they were Cellular Wireless and I got my first cell phone in the 90’s - before Cingular even took over). Phone or no phone, I’m paying $30/line for unlimited talk/text/data and 15 gb hotspot. It wouldn’t cost me any more for that line if I traded in a phone and got a free phone.

Similar story here, we're $20/line for unlimited everything including unlimited hotspot and 5G and $10/line for each Apple Watch. So it's $107 for the plan, $120 for 6 iPhones, $20 for 2 Watches, total of $247/mo and $0 for any equipment as we trade in our old phones for new ones at the 36 month point. Remember "new every two"? Well, now it's new every three. And we're good with it.

Enjoy your new Pro Max!
 
  • Like
Reactions: ssledoux
I'm not sure what a restocking fee is but I do think Apple need to do something about the people who buy multiple iPhones especially when they are new releases, review them and then return them.



And for this reason I agree a returns policy needs to be in place as it's really important but something does need to be put in place for those who abuse it.

How do you differentiate from the people who buy them as gifts and then get rejected. Or their business and then their IT guy says no. Vs the people who can’t make a decision.
 
I'm not sure what a restocking fee is but I do think Apple need to do something about the people who buy multiple iPhones especially when they are new releases, review them and then return them.



And for this reason I agree a returns policy needs to be in place as it's really important but something does need to be put in place for those who abuse it.
Apple sold 232 million iPhones in 2022. How many people review phones? Besides, some of those reviews generate views and promotes the product. Considering the number of returns compared to overall sales and that Apple sells those returned as refurb almost for full price, I think this is non issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: klasma
I do a hybrid approach. Use the phone caseless, but slide it into a leather sleeve when I'm not using it. The sleeve offers great protection when I'm just carrying the phone around but adds no bulk when I'm actually doing something with it. And I agree, the 15 Pro Max looks and feels awesome! I'd hate to keep it covered up.

I've also noticed over the years that if I'm going to drop my iPhone, it won't be while I'm actively using it. It'll be when I'm just carting it around, or maybe manage to somehow knock it off a desk.

The leather sleeve also makes a nice protective resting mat if I happen to be semi-actively using it, like sitting down somewhere and monitoring or waiting for something to happen on the screen.
I always use a carbon case for protection and very slim.
 
I always use a carbon case for protection and very slim.
I tried several cases years ago and never found one I didn't mind holding and using. But with all the cases out there, there may well be one that I would actually like.

I also had a glass screen protector on my phone back in those days, which I expect I'd feel the need to put on there if I were using a case instead of a sleeve now.

I would definitely say that a plus for cases is that they provide a great way to personalize your phone, and even mix it up throughout the month/week/day as desired (whether for planned activities or just variety).
 
  • Like
Reactions: C. Robert
I would definitely say that a plus for cases is that they provide a great way to personalize your phone, and even mix it up throughout the month/week/day as desired (whether for planned activities or just variety).

A case also:

1. Protects the trim in your car from getting scratched.
2. Protects the iPhone to maximize trade in value.
3. Allows for putting keys in the same jacket pocket as the phone.
4. Creates grip especially for cold/wet days.
5. Creates the confidence to skip AppleCare.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rukind2
Then the carrier is probably overcharging you for their services if they can profit off of giving new devices to you. The U.S. market is broken in many ways, but living overseas now I was able to reduce my bill by like 75% by getting a plan that didn't come with a new phone (even before including the installment costs for the device).
You should see how much cars cost here in the USA, junk vehicles with 200K miles plus selling for 7K upwards comical.
 
I'm fine with that. They deserve to make a profit. That's how the world works. But I don't look at it from the carrier's perspective, only mine.

So if for the last 49 months my monthly bill has been at the same $ per month and for the next 36 months it will remain at the exact same amount, the upgrade to new hardware is costing me $0. I'm paying the same thing this December as I did last December yet I have two new iPhones. So they didn't cost me anything.
That means you have been overpaying for years then
 
  • Like
Reactions: klasma
there is some gouging, we pay $5AUD here for a watch cellular, 3 x times cheaper.

why aren't you buying the pro's?
Unless you're offering to pay someone else's bill, what does it matter what others pay especially when you're comparing different carriers and markets in different countries? Your posts in this thread are not particularly helpful in any manner. Do you expect everyone to move to Australia based solely on phone bill cost?

That's not to bash Australia, but the options are different there. If you're in the U.S. then you have the same options as everyone else here. Doesn't matter what others pay on another continent, it has zero impact on an individual's local choices.
 
Unless you're offering to pay someone else's bill, what does it matter what others pay especially when you're comparing different carriers and markets in different countries? Your posts in this thread are not particularly helpful in any manner. Do you expect everyone to move to Australia based solely on phone bill cost?

That's not to bash Australia, but the options are different there. If you're in the U.S. then you have the same options as everyone else here. Doesn't matter what others pay on another continent, it has zero impact on an individual's local choices.
nah stay in your own country lol
 
That means you have been overpaying for years then
Again, I look at this only from the perspective of how much I need to pay out every month. I have been paying out the exact same thing since 2019 despite 6 family members upgrading their iPhones every 3 years. That’s 9 brand new phones since we committed to this particular plan and zero dollars out of pocket after trade-ins. I thought AT&T would get me for $5 or $10 per month to move from my iPhone 12 to iPhone 15 and that did not happen.

Considering how inflation is affecting everything in the United States right now from diapers to luxury cars, I have no complaints.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Surfsalot
why aren't you buying the pro's?

I don’t like the size of the camera bump on the Pro models. The design aesthetic of an iPhone is very important to me and this doesn’t cut it. And as you probably know the base model 15 has 90% of the performance and features of the 14 Pro so there really isn’t much of an incentive outside of the always on display which is meh.

I was very close this year to getting the Pro but only because of the natural titanium color, not because of features. When Apple dropped the leather case and didn’t have a decent shade of gray to go with natural titanium I just stuck with the standard 15 in black.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.