I am for sure not keeping my pre-X phone.
Like you I have the 8 plus. I originally ordered the X, but when I realized that the net screen will be less than the 8 plus (especially in the width) i canceled my X order and got the 8 plus.
But I have to say my 8 plus and wife's 8 had some of the worst cell phone receptions of phones we had over they years. When I got my first mobile phone in 1990's it was brick with > 1 lbs, had to be charged several times a day and talk time was something like 20 to 30 minutes (which we mostly didn't need since it was hugely expensive). But in 1990's and early 2000's the number one focus of testing was how good the reception is and if you can make calls in remote areas with low signal.
Today the focus is on how smart a phone is (in many cases much smarter, than the owner), but it seems the basics have been forgotten. I want to be able to make and receive calls as well send and receive text in low signal areas (which I am frequently in as an outdoor enthusiast).
For me between 3G, 4, 5, 6, 7 Plus and 8 Plus the 8 is clearly the lowest performer in that category. With the forecast of the new phone having improved antenna and modem, this will be my main reason to upgrade to the XS plus.
Than add the this time the really bigger screen, Face ID and better camera and I give you a clear I am in ...
Sadly I’m in the same position. I had actually even tried the Qualcomm version of the unlocked IPhone 8 Plus first and found the hard way that Apple must have handicapped it a bit too much to bring it down to the level of the intel modems, because call quality was so horrible on it. I made sure to get an Intel AT&T’s version during my exchange just to see if there would be any improvement.
I love everything about my two 8 Pluses. Except for modem performance.
I had an iPhone X for a month around the extended holiday return period. I liked it but not as much as I like the 8 Plus design. I prefer Touch ID and LCD. I did not like Apple’s implementation of the OLED display. It gave me eye strain.
So I got two 8 Pluses intending to keep them until they fall apart. I got my silver one for only $600 thanks to trading in a 7 Plus that was acting a bit wonky and going out of warranty.
I paid full price for the Product Red 8 Plus with Apple Care Plus a few months later. I’m going to keep the red 8 Plus. Reading ebooks on the loveliest LCD display I’ve ever seen is a pleasure I don’t intend to give up.
But the silver 8 Plus didn’t get the extended warranty. Trading it in while it’s still in good working order and just within warranty could be advantageous.
With news of better new modems and hope of better call quality and signal retention, I am thinking it would work out to trade in the Silver 8 Plus and give the XS a try and maybe get one last shot at getting some use out of the abandoned and expensive X cases my family got me for Christmas.
Yeah I have a lot of phones. At my age, with my responsibilities and my schedule looking after teens and four elders, playing around with phones is about the only “hobby” I have time and opportunity to indulge. I can afford it for now, but when we’re on retirement income with college tuition to pay, hah, I’ll be making mosaics out of painted elbow macaroni as a hobby.
At least then I will likely have leisure time for macaroni art.
