Other What’s the real reason for upgrading?

[ignatius345]

I am not telling anyone how to spend their own money because it’s theirs to do with as they wish, I am just genuinely interested in what motivates individuals to purchase the same tech every 1-3 years with no rational motivation for doing so.

New, shiny thing + generous carrier incentive.

I went from a 13 Mini to a 15 Pro. The new phone is faster, has a better looking screen, better battery life, takes better pictures and has a cool lidar sensor my old one didn't have. So, no, it's not the "same tech".

 

[internetrando]

I upgrade because I want to, and I can. Simple as that.

That said, I may be skipping the 16 series entirely. I fail to see anything (at this time) that would persaude me otherwise and, quite frankly, I need to save money for a new laptop.

 

[JamesMay82]

The reality is that people are replacing their phones purely because they want something new and for no other legitimate reason. Much of the time they’re forced to replace the battery or replace their phone and they use the cost of the battery replacement as an excuse to replace their entire device. I have been guilty of this many times in the past because of my love of new technology.

I regularly use an SE1 and 6S (with fresh OEM batteries) and they perform well in 2024.

My iPhone 8, which received an Apple battery replacement last week, is very slick on iOS 16 and can do pretty much anything an iPhone 15 can do without much of a noticeable difference in performance.

An iPhone 12 is as good as anything that’s available today and will be until around 2026.

The consumer based society in which we live is a throwaway and shallow world view which results in so much needless waste.

I shake my head every time I see someone claim that they need a slightly better camera module as the camera in an 11/12 is as good as a regular person will ever require. If you’re not a professional photographer then you should learn how to use a camera properly before using it as a throwaway excuse to spend $1200+ on a marginally better phone. Some of the best photos I’ve ever seen were taken on an iPhone 12 or prior. This includes 4K video footage as proven by top YouTubers such as Marques Brownlee.

The user is almost always the limitation, not the technology. Learn to use what you have rather than purchasing something that’s better. If your photographs are not good, you are the problem.

I used to get excited when purchasing a new phone but when I got my iPhone 13, in Jan 2023, it was a shallow and mundane experience as it replaced an iPhone 12 Mini which was identical in every way other than in size. I just popped on the new case, spent 10 minutes setting it up, and got on with my day. The same would be true if I were to replace my iPhone 13 with an iPhone 15 or upcoming iPhone 16.

We’ve reached peak smartphone now so just learn to use what you’ve got and don’t replace anything unless it’s a necessity to do so.

If you genuinely love new tech and get a buzz every time you unbox a new device, keep on doing what you’re doing… just don’t upgrade because you’re going through the motions and you feel like “it’s time” to upgrade.

So why do you guys upgrade? Is there a legitimate reason for it given that there are so many great SIM only contracts available? Do you actually still get a kick when unboxing and handling the newest tech? I am only having a rant because I don’t think there is much to add to current smartphones. The AI gimmick people are using as an excuse to upgrade to the iPhone 16 is laughable also. I also saw someone using a “better camera module” as an excuse to upgrade to an iPhone 16 Pro which made me giggle.

I am not telling anyone how to spend their own money because it’s theirs to do with as they wish, I am just genuinely interested in what motivates individuals to purchase the same tech every 1-3 years with no rational motivation for doing so.

I agree we are a disposable society and I’m guilty of it! I sometimes wonder if it’s a dopamine hit that makes us do it.

Here in the UK we have interest free on lot of big purchases which has weirdly become the upgrade cycle.

Cars, couch’s and phones in particular tend to get upgraded every 2-4 years. The old thing gets traded in usually as deposit for the new thing and the cycle begins again.

 

[Andeddu]

6S? No.

I had a 6S as my main phone for 8 years (replaced with 15 Pro end of last year) and it was painfully slow by the end with modern apps. Running stuff like Komoot to navigate rinsed the battery very fast (with its 3rd new battery that actually lasted slightly longer than the original did). Other stuff had got very slow. The camera was poor by modern standards. It had no IP rating so I had to be very careful with it outside in the rain bikepacking.

So I wholeheartedly agree most people usually change their phones far too often for minimal gains as they just want the latest thing. However, my 6S was clearly past it's best (at least for my use case) and bordering on unusable. Sure, I might be able to use a 6S if literally only texting and making calls, but I'd just go buy a low end but more modern android if I was still using that in 2024. When compared to the 15 Pro it is a completely different ballpark. And I got a lot of new added features with an 8 year jump!

I have a work SE too. (I presume maybe SE1 version? Dunno). But the faster processor in it makes it a lot more usable than the 6S was. It looks the same as the 6S, but clearly a lot faster.

So if you keep your phone for many years, good for you, and if you change your phone every year you probably have more money than sense, but I can't say I found a 6S "performed well" or anywhere close to it, at the end of 2023.

The caveat for me is that the 6S I have is not my daily driver. I use it as a WiFi only device and have a 13 which I use as my main phone.

My 6S has a new OEM Apple installed battery and is used for web-browsing, video streaming (Apple TV+, Prime, Disney+, Netflix and YouTube), Skype, FaceTime, banking, trading apps, podcasts, music and shopping on apps like Amazon. It’s still able to do everything I ask for it however it is no where near as snappy as my 13. It’s still a good performer though, in my opinion.

 

[TechnoMonk]

lol. So the OP upgraded and lecturing people on using 6S. What’s wrong with the picture? I retire my old phones, no need to waste money replacing batteries after it’s retired. Sounds like hoarding is the real reason for all the mental gymnastics.

 

[eyoungren]

lol. So the OP upgraded and lecturing people on using 6S. What’s wrong with the picture? I retire my old phones, no need to waste money replacing batteries after it’s retired. Sounds like hoarding is the real reason for all the mental gymnastics.

I bought a 6 Plus off eBay last year for $75. I then spent $115 to replace the battery.

And no, that isn't my primary device. It's not even a tertiary device.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I bought a 6 Plus off eBay last year for $75. I then spent $115 to replace the battery.

And no, that isn't my primary device. It's not even a tertiary device.

I am surprised you could still replace the batteries for 6S. I still have the original iPhone, and iPod Nano.

 

[eoblaed]

I am just genuinely interested in what motivates individuals to purchase the same tech every 1-3 years with no rational motivation for doing so.

I use my phone every waking hour of every day. I do a lot with this device. For something I depend on (or at least benefit from) for so many things, it's of value to me to have that device be the most capable device I can get. Upgrading annually means my phone is always the fastest it can be, with the best chipsets, the best display (that I interact with, a lot), the best camera system, the most integration options, etc.

Even if you pay cash for one of the top end devices (as opposed to using an upgrade plan), that works out to roughly $100/month. How many people spend more than that on coffee, garbage drive through food, or other unnecessary things.

To me, for the things I value, upgrading my phone annually is absolutely rationally motivated.

 

[eyoungren]

I am surprised you could still replace the batteries for 6S. I still have the original iPhone, and iPad Nano.

It was actually just the plain old 6 Plus. I turned that phone in when we switched from Sprint to T-Mob in 2015. It was the only phone in my 'line of succession' that I didn't have. All the way back to 2007. I had my 6s Plus already so I wanted the 6 Plus back.

The only difference here is that the model I got (6 Plus) is the AT&T version and fully unlocked. I have a second line, so I checked that it all worked and yep. I can do normal phone stuff with it.

The seller was honest in saying that the headphone jack was messed up inside (causing static), and pics showed a very small pin-sized dent in the back. But everything else was good including the screen. And I use bone-conduction headphones which are bluetooth so I really didn't care about the jack.

Apple would not replace the battery. They were going to, but then I made the genius mad because I challenged his assessment as to why the phone was switching off. So, I took it to uBreakiFix and they had an OEM battery for it. It all worked out. But even if it's NOT an OEM battery, this phone is not a daily driver and it's ten years old so I really don't care. It works and at this point that is all that concerns me.

 

[thefourthpope]

Sometimes it’s column A, sometimes it’s column B. I bought iPhone gen 1 because it replaced 3-4 devices (I was the guy walking around with the cell phone, Palm pilot, camera…). Is that a need or a want?

I went for the 4 because the OG was feeling outdated. That’s probably a want.

I got a 6s after I dropped my 4 into a river. That was a need, though I suppose I could have bought used.

Just a couple of years later, I got a seven because it was waterproof. I’m in and around water a lot. Need or want?

Don’t remember the next one but I’m guessing it was partially because ATT was trying to keep me from jumping ship.

Then the 13 mini, for the form factor and Qi / MagSafe. Need or want?

I don’t know when or why I’ll upgrade next.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Those are excellent reasons! You have my approval!*

*not that you needed it of course,

My error. Post fixed! I do need it!

 

[HDFan]

my 15 Pro Max has:

1. Camera longer zoom. I can now use Merlin to identify birds using my bird feeder
2. 50% faster internet with WiFi 6E.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

Upgraded from an iPhone 10 to 11 and from that to a 14 Pro. That was for the cameras because I like photography. I found it hard to justify the price of a Pro phone and still think I’m slightly nuts for paying that much for a phone - until I think about what I would pay for different lenses for my proper camera.
That‘s definitely a ”want” situation.

I bought a 2020 Intel MBP because I needed a new laptop. That was very unfortunate timing because if I could have waited half a year, I could have gotten an M1. I still bought an M1 MBA but that one was because I wanted it rather than needed. The MBP has since been sold.

iPads are largely a “want” as well because they’re complementary devices the way I use them. They have, however, replaced any and all paper around my desk (and household in general)

I feel like I‘m an edge case, though, because I only started using Apple devices around 2020 and felt like I needed to figure out what works for me. I now have everything I need/want and for about the past two years, the newly released devices have not really thrilled me at all or not enough to want to upgrade.

 

[con2apple]

Yes and why is that bad?

Because "new" stimulates our brain.
In other words, if you buy something because it's new, you briefly satisfy your body's desire for dopamine.

You become a junkie of your own body.
"I want something new. What? Something! The main thing is new!"
And because new lasts shorter than a marijuana cigarette, you fall into a hole that immediately needs new substances.

In the case of computer technology, this drug is slowed down a little by the high prices. Not so with cheap clothing, for example.
According to current statistics, 90% of the clothes we buy end up in the bin within the same week. Because they were only bought because they were new.

Millions of junkies with a legal drug that is produced in their own brains.

 

[eyoungren]

I feel like I‘m an edge case, though, because I only started using Apple devices around 2020 and felt like I needed to figure out what works for me. I now have everything I need/want and for about the past two years, the newly released devices have not really thrilled me at all or not enough to want to upgrade.

You've come in to Apple at a much better time than I did. I was solidly PC/DOS from 1990 to about 1997 when I was finally forced to accept using Windows if I wanted to play games on my PC. But I didn't wholly convert to Mac until 2003.

By that point I'd actually had a Mac for two years, but hardly used it. The jobs I had at the time though showed me that Macs were quite capable of still getting things done when there were problems with the OS. If there's a problem with Windows, it's often hard to even boot the computer.

Through an unfortunate series of events I completely switched to Mac and there I stayed on PowerPC everything until around 2016. Even then, I did not fully switch to Intel Macs until 2020, the year you switched. So from 2003 to 2020 I dealt with having to make all my old stuff work with the modern era.

While I'm no fan of the newer versions of MacOS it's a reality now that there is now a lot of ways to get things done then there ever was back in the PowerPC era. For instance, my last PowerPC Mac for daily use was a Quad G5 stuck on Leopard. It will always be stuck on Leopard. But I am typing this message in on a 2009 MacPro running Monterey. Because someone made that possible.

So you may be an edge case but at least you came in during a time where there are a lot more options available to you. Things are much better now.

 

[Lakris]

I actually upgraded both my phone, aw and mba this year.
phone from 14 to 15 pro: wanted
aw from SE (1.gen?) to series 9: wanted to, but also because the bad battery, it didn't last a whole day.
mba from early 2016 to mba m3: mostly want but since it was old also a litt needed to, maybe? 😅

 

[eyoungren]

Because "new" stimulates our brain.
In other words, if you buy something because it's new, you briefly satisfy your body's desire for dopamine.

You become a junkie of your own body.
"I want something new. What? Something! The main thing is new!"
And because new lasts shorter than a marijuana cigarette, you fall into a hole that immediately needs new substances.

In the case of computer technology, this drug is slowed down a little by the high prices. Not so with cheap clothing, for example.
According to current statistics, 90% of the clothes we buy end up in the bin within the same week. Because they were only bought because they were new.

Millions of junkies with a legal drug that is produced in their own brains.

My parents did a very good job of short-circuiting the dopamine high of 'new' for me. My sister got that, I got the broken stuff or the stuff no one else wanted (but not new). Not all the time, but consistently enough that the feeling of getting 'new' had no real hold on me.

However, getting what I WANT and most especially something that was expensive when it was new IS that dopamine high. I suppose that may be my middle finger to it all because ultimately I was not denied that 'new' thing even if it was no longer new.

I'm quite comfortable in using older things (particularly tech) that would have costs thousands when they were 'new', but paying a small fraction of that new price. The particular dopamine high is making those things work in a modern world where they've already been discarded or considered obsolete. My way of getting back at my parents by turning those broken/old things into useful items that work I guess.

 

[Parowdy]

always appreciate the "all people" talk.
you might have a point, but I wouldn't know cause you lost me and I didn't read past that first line. not that you might care, just saying. a tldr would have been nice

ok I read a little further because I saw SE in there. but yeah the 12 is as perfect as the 11 Pro that using right now is, which is to say, not much. Im really looking forward to upgrading to a 15 pro with promotion, better cameras and more capabilities, brighter screen, better speakers and USB C. I see many reasons to upgrade to that even from a 12.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

You've come in to Apple at a much better time than I did. I was solidly PC/DOS from 1990 to about 1997 when I was finally forced to accept using Windows if I wanted to play games on my PC. But I didn't wholly convert to Mac until 2003.

[...]

So you may be an edge case but at least you came in during a time where there are a lot more options available to you. Things are much better now.

Yeah, I think you're right. I've always been curious about other operating systems and would test out Linux distributions and other Windows alternatives. Mac was always out of the question because I didn't have money to buy one and/or the software I was using wasn't available on Mac.
Plus, a lot of what we're doing on computers these days is web-based anyway, which makes the choice of OS much less important and potentially restrictive.

I did test Mac OS 8 at some point, too. I did not get on with it as well as I did with Catalina
Catalina was a bit of a shift in some regards ("Clicking the X only closes the window instead of quitting the program?!") but it's a lot closer to Windows imo.

I'm quite comfortable in using older things (particularly tech) that would have costs thousands when they were 'new', but paying a small fraction of that new price. The particular dopamine high is making those things work in a modern world where they've already been discarded or considered obsolete. My way of getting back at my parents by turning those broken/old things into useful items that work I guess.

I like doing that. Granted, I'm not going too far back but I've got some old Macs here at the moment - Mac mini 2012, Mac mini 2006 and a MacBook 2009. They're all upgradeable to some extent and I love doing that sort of stuff.
The 2012 especially is surprisingly capable still now that I gave it an SSD and 16 GB RAM. The graphics chip may not be the fastest, but as an "old game station" it'll be fantastic. It even runs the (imo) last really nice version of Windows - Windows 7

The MacBook is running Snow Leopard and Windows XP, both of which are quite nostalgic to me. Snow Leopard only for the overall look (that I tried to emulate with skins on Windows XP back then) and the quite iconic default wallpaper.

I'm almost sad once those old computers run fine again because then the fixing part is over xD

 

[Elusi]

Because "new" stimulates our brain.
In other words, if you buy something because it's new, you briefly satisfy your body's desire for dopamine.

You become a junkie of your own body.
"I want something new. What? Something! The main thing is new!"
And because new lasts shorter than a marijuana cigarette, you fall into a hole that immediately needs new substances.

In the case of computer technology, this drug is slowed down a little by the high prices. Not so with cheap clothing, for example.
According to current statistics, 90% of the clothes we buy end up in the bin within the same week. Because they were only bought because they were new.

Millions of junkies with a legal drug that is produced in their own brains.

Though "new to me" is enough for dopamine.

 

[tridley68]

I upgrade every year purely to have a good battery .

 

[Andeddu]

I upgrade every year purely to have a good battery .

That’s a bit overkill when all that’s required is a relatively inexpensive battery replacement. Are there no Apple Stores near your residence?

 

[eyoungren]

I upgrade every year purely to have a good battery .

?????

I replaced the battery on my 6s Plus in November 2020. No upgrade necessary and it cost me $80 something. Last year I bought a 6 Plus off eBay for $75 and replaced the battery in it for $115. No upgrade necessary and it cost less than a new phone.

Currently, my primary iPhone, an 11 Pro Max, is at 92% battery health.

Possibly you use your phones hard?

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I upgrade every year purely to have a good battery .

I don't buy a new vehicle when it needs a battery, and I'm not buying a new phone for a weak battery either.

 

[russell_314]

Because "new" stimulates our brain.
In other words, if you buy something because it's new, you briefly satisfy your body's desire for dopamine.

You become a junkie of your own body.
"I want something new. What? Something! The main thing is new!"
And because new lasts shorter than a marijuana cigarette, you fall into a hole that immediately needs new substances.

In the case of computer technology, this drug is slowed down a little by the high prices. Not so with cheap clothing, for example.

I get excited about new stuff but it has to make some logical sense to me. This is especially true if it’s expensive. I’m not super practical though like I’m not still using my iPhone 7

According to current statistics, 90% of the clothes we buy end up in the bin within the same week. Because they were only bought because they were new.

Within the same week?? Maybe clothes don’t excite me because they don’t end up in the bin till they have a tear or look terrible. It’s usually over a year.

Millions of junkies with a legal drug that is produced in their own brains.

Have you tried gambling? 😂