Poor LTE coverage is your issue. I see no practical difference between 5G and 4G because 4G is pretty much 99% coverage where I reside.
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Other What’s the real reason for upgrading?
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Could very well be but if it fixes the issue (my old phone is very slow to download while someone across table/room, using the same carrier, is many time faster) I’m good. Who knows there might be even something broken in my XR. But seems like a valid reason to upgrade.
Your bill doesn’t increase, but it doesn’t decrease either. Exactly what they want.
I usually sell my iPhone each year on eBay right now I have the 15 Pro 128 GB I listed for $899 on eBay but hopefully 16 pro stay at $999
For me carrier trade-in is not financially smart because you usually have to have the highest plan. I have T-mobile Essential 5 lines for $130 and all lines have unlimited data, text, and call
I have a second line for an old OGSE and there’s no noticeable difference for video or music streaming between that on LTE and my 13 which is on 5G.
Perhaps LTE isn’t as widely supported in your area… definitely upgrade though if you think it’ll solve your issue.
By the way, there’s no thermal issue with the iPhone 15. It’s the iPhone 15 Pro that has the thermal issue. You’re safe to upgrade to a 15 at a discount if you want once the 16 gets released next month.
Phones aren't as exciting to upgrade as the early years for me. In the 2010s era, upgrades were significant because smartphones wasn't mature yet. Performance - even for everyday tasks was not that great from the start but since around 2018-20, smartphones are becoming a mature product. Performance is still good for years and they implement basically all the basic and useful stuff to make our everyday stuff we need. I see smartphones nowadays like computers. I only switch computer every ~5 years and that's for a specific reasons : Computer becoming slow, need more power for specific tasks etc.
It's the same thing for phones. I'll only switch when my current phone no longer suits my needs in many areas that becoming a constant frustration to use. Even if I like to have shiny new stuff, I have a launch 13 pro max here and it still do everything I need without any issues. I noticed zero slowdowns, battery health still at 89%, easily last a day or even two, I can't really justify myself buying a new phone right now. And (again, for me) the new stuff added since the iPhone 13 is very tiny. The only thing that make me upgrading is if they simnifically increase the RAM of at least 12 but the rumours for this year is still at 8 and the AI stuff is not something I really care so...
In conclusion, its totally fine if someone still enjoy buying a phone every single year, I just think nowadays these kind of people are not that many anymore. Those people are a little like the ones who likes to upgrade their PCs every year with the most top of the line graphic cards etc. But I think the vast majority of people now are in a good ~4-5 years upgrade cycle now and the phones are just made to last longer as well.
It's the same thing for phones. I'll only switch when my current phone no longer suits my needs in many areas that becoming a constant frustration to use. Even if I like to have shiny new stuff, I have a launch 13 pro max here and it still do everything I need without any issues. I noticed zero slowdowns, battery health still at 89%, easily last a day or even two, I can't really justify myself buying a new phone right now. And (again, for me) the new stuff added since the iPhone 13 is very tiny. The only thing that make me upgrading is if they simnifically increase the RAM of at least 12 but the rumours for this year is still at 8 and the AI stuff is not something I really care so...
In conclusion, its totally fine if someone still enjoy buying a phone every single year, I just think nowadays these kind of people are not that many anymore. Those people are a little like the ones who likes to upgrade their PCs every year with the most top of the line graphic cards etc. But I think the vast majority of people now are in a good ~4-5 years upgrade cycle now and the phones are just made to last longer as well.
I think for me, the phone just gets boring after awhile. I know it is wasteful of my money. I'm trying to stop doing it. I had a 15 pro max, sold it, bought a 13 pro on Macrumors marketplace, so I can have a physical sim again. The 13 pro is just as good as 15 pro max imo. I want to keep the 13 pro until at least it's unsupported, which I believe will be 2028.
That isn't true. It's a lie fed to you by those who believe that you should only buy what you need when you need it. That crowd looks down on others because they believe others are financially irresponsible. They get offended by people (such as myself) who buy what they want and enjoy what they have.
But it isn't their money you're spending. It's your money. If you get what you want, enjoy what you got and are still able to pay the bills, then that is your prerogative and no one else has the right to tell you that you wasted your money.
Don't hold yourself to their approval.
You realize that nobody cares of what you buy or did with your money. All we do is discussing about what upgrade mean these days and why we want to do it. If you're offended by other people thoughts, its your problem but you're definitively wrong and completely off topic if you really think this topic is all about judging others and tell them what to do.
I don't know anyone buying a new car every year, or a new computer every year. We just want to understand the trend of upgrading a phone every year or so and why. If you're not mature enough to discuss, pass on.
I would not consider doing it. But to be fair, there are people who lease their car and get a new one each year. And people who trade-in and refinance their monthly payments on a new iPhone each year with their carrier are effectively just leasing their phone the same way as people lease their cars.
I think you’re underestimating the financial literacy in the world. “It’s your money” isn’t particularly true when most iPhones are financed and most (Americans) people don’t have $1k for emergencies.
If no one cared, then over the years here on MacRumors I would not have been a periodic target of vitriol by others for stating that I get what I want, rather than what I need. While I don't get offended by thoughts, when others believe that their thinking on the matter is the only one that's right, then I do have a problem.
The topic of this thread is "What’s the real reason for upgrading?". It is NOT "What’s the real reason for upgrading each year. You can find my reason for upgrading on the first page of this thread. My comment on this page (that you quoted) is relevant to the subject because there are those (as I have just explained) that believe that their opinion regarding upgrades is the only correct choice.
I will leave it to others to determine for themselves what my level of maturity is. I won't be offended by their thoughts, not even yours.
I don't really have a response to that. All I can say is that we (my wife and I) do not have any savings. But she is employed, I am employed, the mortgage is paid each month, the bills we incur each month are paid and we have health care. There is food on the table, a car (paid off) in the driveway that has full coverage insurance and we deal with stuff as it comes up.
The things we want are purchased around all of that whenever it's possible. The bills come first. It's no good to us to have what we want if the house is in foreclosure and the utilities are shut off.
I surely hope you don’t buy the new iPhone each year if you have zero savings.
I've mentioned it at least three or four times in this thread now, but I will mention it again…
We upgrade every 3.5 to 5.5 years. My current iPhone is the 11 Pro Max. Same for my wife. My kids have the SE2 (and no, they aren't little - they are 20 and 16). My backup iPhone is the 6s Plus.
So, no. I don't upgrade every year. And our next upgrade is looking to be the 16 Pro Max - when the 18 series launches. That'll mark about 5.5 years with the 11PM.
Basically, because I knew the 13-mini would no longer be sold (and *cough* the 12-mini left me wanting).
I got two (new), and only use one.
Wow it's ten pages of people answering this LOL. The reason people upgrade falls into a few categories
1. Some people have disposable income and are hardcore Apple fans and MUST have the latest and greatest.
2. Some are tech junkies and Apple fans who treat themselves to the latest and greatest iPhone.
3. Some have older phones or their current phone is on it's death bed and want to upgrade.
4. They are upgrading to pass along their current phone to a family member who needs a newer phone.
This pretty much covers all the reasons people upgrade lol.
1. Some people have disposable income and are hardcore Apple fans and MUST have the latest and greatest.
2. Some are tech junkies and Apple fans who treat themselves to the latest and greatest iPhone.
3. Some have older phones or their current phone is on it's death bed and want to upgrade.
4. They are upgrading to pass along their current phone to a family member who needs a newer phone.
This pretty much covers all the reasons people upgrade lol.
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yes, this covers most but May be we can add one more category
5. Sell the older phone at a good deal (Say at 70% of its original value ), and just pay 30% extra from pocket to get a new and latest iphone. I did the same when i upgraded from 6s plus to xs max and xs max to 12 pro max.
I’m not sure if I see the difference between the first and second category. I definitely fall into the third one though.
One additional category. People who have come to some conclusion that they have a shortcoming with their existing phone (e.g., not enough storage, Display too small) and since they need to update to fix this, it might as well get the newest one
I think there is also some crossover for others too.
In late September 2015, my wife and I ported out of Sprint. I had the 6 Plus and she had the 6. Both phones were bought new in February 2015. In early September I dropped mine and cracked the screen, so had it replaced. When we turned our phones in for trade my wife's phone was seven months old and mine (the replacement) was a week old.
Since we were trading them in when moving to T-Mobile, I just decided to upgrade her to a 6s and me to the 6s Plus. I didn't see any point in going back to the same model iPhones we'd just traded in. So, that year was the shortest amount of time we have ever upgraded. The only other short amount of time was 9 months with Google Pixels before going back to iPhone.
It's not a big category of people I suppose, but it happens.
5a. Trade in when on last year for maximum carrier credit, which is this year for my 12PM if T-Mobile’s pattern holds. Wait another year and credit likely drops by $400-$500.