Other Why so many of you folks order the new iPhone on launch day?

[WarmWinterHat]

It doesn’t really make much since to not upgrade because of the trade in value you get for the old phone. You could also sell it and get even more money. However the 15 pro max may be my last iPhone for a while. With the usb-c port, 8gbs of Ram, 5x camera. Anything else they add will probably just be speed improvements.

I don't trade or sell my old phones, I hand them down to family members or others, or recycle them when they stop getting updates.. Their money value doesn't mean much to me.

I also kinda get attached to my devices and don't like to part with them, even for something newer.

This. The lowest IQ move to me was purchasing the color refresh mid cycle. You're paying full price to enjoy the newest iPhone at half the duration of its cycle

If you keep the phone for 2-4, 5 years, then who cares? I bought my 13 pro mid-cycle, and don't plan to get rid of it until it loses support. I enjoy it exactly as much as the iPhone before it... Does six months matter in the scheme of five years?

I never buy anything at launch, ever. I prefer to test, and in the case of physical devices, feel it before I buy. I'm the anti-early adopter.....but I don't care what others do.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Because need is not the real reason people buy stuff.

This is a slippery slope. People don’t need much other than food , water or air to live. Commenting on macrumors or using a smart phone isn’t a need either.

 

[Katvonc]

It’s the thrill of holding that shiny new phone in your hand. I am an Apple person from way back. I have the 13 and felt the 15 was worth the extra $100. I loved the year you were able to track your phone on its flight from China. Rumor has it no phone tomorrow. I guess I’ll live😀😀

 

[Larabee119]

Because I can and I want all the latest. Work my ass off so the best thing I can treat myself is the latest tech. Oh boys, we don't grow older, just the toys are getting more expensive.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Everyone has a fetish in life: food, driving fancy cars, traveling, collecting passports. The iPhone just happens to be one of those things. I'm practical about it and just upgrade when I need to.

 

[LiemTa]

I don't trade or sell my old phones, I hand them down to family members or others, or recycle them when they stop getting updates.. Their money value doesn't mean much to me.

I also kinda get attached to my devices and don't like to part with them, even for something newer.



If you keep the phone for 2-4, 5 years, then who cares? I bought my 13 pro mid-cycle, and don't plan to get rid of it until it loses support. I enjoy it exactly as much as the iPhone before it... Does six months matter in the scheme of five years?

I never buy anything at launch, ever. I prefer to test, and in the case of physical devices, feel it before I buy. I'm the anti-early adopter.....but I don't care what others do.

Notice I said

at half the duration of its cycle

and not

for 2 to 4 to 5 years

 

[LiemTa]

This is a slippery slope. People don’t need much other than food , water or air to live. Commenting on macrumors or using a smart phone isn’t a need either.

You're the only person I've ever seen actually call out this braindead common argument point. In order to use cheap technicalities to win an argument, people dishonestly use the term "need" as if it only applies to a physical requirement to sustain life, and not include drastic reductions in quality of life

 

[JaisHTX]

Almost every year, there are hundreds of threads (big And small ones) discussing launch day iPhone purchase, from availability, to sharing experience, tracking, to walk-in purchase or local store pickup.

During the iPhone early years, I can get it on why people pile up for the latest and greatest because of major leap every year. But nowadays especially in last 3 years, iPhone has been in incremental update with few if any “wow” factors.

This gets me wondering: why so many people still try to get their iPhone on launch day with any means necessary? Is the launch day iPhone super special compared to non-launch day one? I am both curious and puzzled. 🤔

Edit: based on criticism, I updated the title.

Why not? All I witness is people from very different places that likely wouldn't interact on the day-to-day finding some common ground and sharing in the excitement. Does that bother you?

 

[rhemy123]

I traded in an iPhone X. It only netted me $74, but hanging onto your phone for over 5 years is going to far outweigh trying to stay ahead of the trade-in value curve. I also absolutely hate switching horses so I'll only upgrade when I feel like it's really necessary or they make an offer that I can't turn down.

Not being tied to any upgrade cycle was how I ended up with an iPhone X at a steep discount. Verizon must have had a glut of them because they gave me the $400 discount without requiring a trade-in. It just so happened that my wife was needing a new phone so it was the perfect offer at the perfect time to allow me to give my iPhone 7 to my wife.

My point was simply that after the first year the value of the iPhone takes a nose dive. So you’ll get the best value if you sell it and upgrade or keep it for a long time. Usually Apple will give you just under half the value. If you sell it you could get half to maybe even a 2/3’s. If you sign a contract with a carrier it can usually almost be free. The longer you keep it the more it doesn’t really make much sense to sell it.

 

[fatTribble]

Very true, but the OP comparing early purchasers to zealots, in the title no less, tells me what I need to know about the motivations behind the thread.

I was trying to be diplomatic and wasn’t sure if they were a native English speaker

 

[Spock]

I just like to have the newest and after struggling a bit I can finally afford to treat myself to a new iPhone every year.

 

[TechnoMonk]

You're the only person I've ever seen actually call out this braindead common argument point. In order to use cheap technicalities to win an argument, people dishonestly use the term "need" as if it only applies to a physical requirement to sustain life, and not include drastic reductions in quality of life

Yep. And quality of life is subjective, depending on individual.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Why not? All I witness is people from very different places that likely wouldn't interact on the day-to-day finding some common ground and sharing in the excitement. Does that bother you?

Not sure about OP or others, but in my personal experience in group settings, it’s usually a coping mechanism for some one who can’t do/have things others do. Naturally it becomes demeaning thing to do, to pump their own self.

 

[krebphone]

Why suffer with an outdated phone?

 

[MacCheetah3]

I was going to wait for refurbished iPhone 15 Pro models, however, that’s difficult to predict — and iPhone 14s aren’t even readily available refurb after a year.

Because there are presumably no discounts anywhere near:

On top of that, buying at launch means enjoying the phone for the longest time possible.

P.S. I’m replacing an iPhone X with an iPhone 15 Pro Max. So, there's plenty (non-incremental improvement) to look forward to.

 

[ignatius345]

When you trade in every year the price is cut in half. just saying

Or even less, through carriers. I am getting an truly insane $830 rebate by turning in my 13 Mini to buy a 15 Pro from Verizon. So my net cost will be just a few hundred bucks. Last year they gave my wife a similar amount for her SE 2 which if I recall was even a little damaged. If you're spending a fair bit on your monthly phone plan, they seem very interested in you signing on for another couple years.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

This gets me wondering: why so many people still try to get their iPhone on launch day with any means necessary? Is the launch day iPhone super special compared to non-launch day one? I am both curious and puzzled. 🤔

If I had to guess: PTSD from the chip shortage. When the iPhone 13 dropped the 13 Pro was highly sought after since it added 120hz to iPhone, a massive upgrade to the camera, the A15 Bionic (a chip so good they reused it the following year,) and a big upgrade to battery life. It deadass was the best iPhone ever made at least until 15 Pro showed up.

But due to the chip shortage iPhone 13 Pros were in limited supply. It was either order now to get it at launch day, or wait months for resupply. During this time a lot of people's phones gotten old and they wanted the new 13 Pro to be their new longterm phone. I should know I was one of them as my 7 Plus was one year away before getting cut off from updates so I wanted a 13 Pro ASAP to replace it. I got lucky and managed to order it in time, as ten minutes after I ordered the day one preorders officially sold out with deliveries estimated not until late December to January

 

[htnt7919]

you pay the same price either on the 1st date or 2 months later. So why not have the phone on your hand as earliest as possible ?

 

[Sami13496]

You're the only person I've ever seen actually call out this braindead common argument point. In order to use cheap technicalities to win an argument, people dishonestly use the term "need" as if it only applies to a physical requirement to sustain life, and not include drastic reductions in quality of life

Yea yea. Our economy is based on lost meaning. It’s not “quality of life” it’s braindead consumerism to fill the void.

 

[fatTribble]

I just like to have the newest and after struggling a bit I can finally afford to treat myself to a new iPhone every year.

Logical. Absolutely logical. 🤓🥰

 

[christlinah]

I do it because I want to and I can. Period.

 

[contacos]

Almost every year, there are hundreds of threads (big And small ones) discussing launch day iPhone purchase, from availability, to sharing experience, tracking, to walk-in purchase or local store pickup.

During the iPhone early years, I can get it on why people pile up for the latest and greatest because of major leap every year. But nowadays especially in last 3 years, iPhone has been in incremental update with few if any “wow” factors.

This gets me wondering: why so many people still try to get their iPhone on launch day with any means necessary? Is the launch day iPhone super special compared to non-launch day one? I am both curious and puzzled. 🤔

Edit: based on criticism, I updated the title.

It’s called having no patience. Grew up like this. I remember when I was about to get my first Game Boy Color as a kid. I couldn’t sleep for like a week. Is it too late to blame my parents as a 35 year old? It’s not my fault they drove me an hour to get Pokémon Blue because the other store only had red. Didn’t ask. Or did I?

Hasn’t changed since tbh 😅 woke up at 5 am this morning in anticipation and right now I am walking towards the Apple Store like Christmas Day.

 

[dmdcash]

Not sure about OP or others, but in my personal experience in group settings, it’s usually a coping mechanism for some one who can’t do/have things others do. Naturally it becomes demeaning thing to do, to pump their own self.

TOTALLY agree with you. As somebody that suffered terrible losses in the last few years (Wife, FIL, both parents) sometimes it's the little things we find that give us some joy. I wish people would just leave those of us alone to our little fun without crapping all over it in order to make their stupid selfish justification.

 

[smirking]

Not sure about OP or others, but in my personal experience in group settings, it’s usually a coping mechanism for some one who can’t do/have things others do. Naturally it becomes demeaning thing to do, to pump their own self.

Two related, but somewhat diametric things:

• Most of us are projecting when we talk about how we believe we're being perceived.
• Also, most people judge too harshly about things that other people find joy in because they don't understand it.

That puts us in a circular chicken or the egg riddle where casting judgment on the feeling of being judged is a judgement in itself.

 

[redheeler]

Unpopular opinion (on MacRumors): Waiting longer between upgrades makes the upgrade more exciting. It's delayed gratification.

I order a top-of-the-line phone for launch day and then just use it for years. When I do finally upgrade I'm getting many generations of improvements at once.