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Sir Ruben

macrumors 68000
Jul 3, 2010
1,899
1,240
UK
I upgraded from an iPhone 11Pro - Initially I wasn't going to bother again this year, but I did so that I could pass my 11 to my wife and her X to my mother (who is limping along on an iPhone 6). Anyway. Its a fantastic phone, beautifully made and powerful but when all is said and done, not too different from my 11 Pro. Yearly upgrades are over for me, even though I now have more disposable income than ever. It just seems such a waste dropping 1K for incremental changes.
 
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Detonation

macrumors regular
Apr 29, 2015
209
266
There really isn’t a way of getting around spending $100 to $150 / year on an iPhone no matter how you do it.

Case in point:
Purchased a refurbished one year old iPhone for $580 six years ago. Used it for six years = $96.66/ year. After six years it’s worthless on the resell market and almost worthless to use as a phone.

A person can’t really do it cheaper than that -yet it costs $100/year.

Not if you take advantage of carrier promos and trade in deals. Verizon is giving $800 for an old Galaxy S9. Bought one on ebay for $100, traded it in towards a 13 Pro. Cost after two years once the bill credits finish is $300. Cost for a regular 13 would have been $100. Either phone will be still be easily worth that, and likely eligible to be traded in for a similar inflated value.

Given that I will be paying for cell service regardless, my device cost per year is theoretically $0 or less.
 

Marshall73

macrumors 68030
Apr 20, 2015
2,713
2,837
I used to upgrade annually but have stopped at the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Previously I would upgrade then my old handset would be passed to a family member. But we all have iPhone X or newer and the upgrades are so slight now there's not much point. And I really like the blue colour of my iPhone 12 Pro Max.
 

AlexJ092

macrumors 6502
Apr 15, 2013
331
460
I upgrade my iPhone every year, yes I upgraded from a 12promax to a 13promax. I use my phone for an average of 9hours a day (screen time) for work related purposes so i definitely get my moneys worth every year. I also trade in my phone every year which pays off a large amount off my new one ?
 

MacWorld78

macrumors 6502a
Jul 25, 2012
630
425
I'm not that type of person who would love to upgrade yearly, I move from X to 13 Pro Max which is lovely big change - that's just me (I always think before spending money)

I have no desire to follow what my family, friend, people or youtube who rave about latest techie, I'm just happy for them that's all really.
 

Aibocyrus

macrumors 6502a
May 26, 2015
906
847
Orlando, FL
Idk about y’all but I got $1,000 off my 13 Pro Max because I had the 12 pro max, because I upgrade every year. So idk what y’all are talking about spending that much each year. I’m paying $200 plus tax for my 256 GB 13 Pro Max. Waived upgrade fee too because I ordered online.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
17,321
25,479
Wales, United Kingdom
It’s not always 1k though. With good trade in prices, programs where you pay for 12 months etc, most people never spend the full 1k on buying a new device.

Apple certainly don’t offer good trade in prices. My launch day iPhone 12 cost £799 just 11 months ago, and Apple’s trade in estimate for it was just £400. That’s utterly dismal to be honest. As it happens I choose to keep my iPhone for 2 years anyway otherwise I’d find upgrading boring. I like to feel a significant jump in performance and annual upgrades seem to be too incremental in recent years.
 

RichP74

macrumors regular
Dec 16, 2012
208
117
I upgraded from an iPhone 11Pro - Initially I wasn't going to bother again this year, but I did so that I could pass my 11 to my wife and her X to my mother (who is limping along on an iPhone 6). Anyway. Its a fantastic phone, beautifully made and powerful but when all is said and done, not too different from my 11 Pro. Yearly upgrades are over for me, even though I now have more disposable income than ever. It just seems such a waste dropping 1K for incremental changes.
Thank you for posting this; I've been wrestling with the same decision. I do want the better optical zoom on the 13, but, is it worth a grand?? I can buy a DSLR for that money. :-D
 

CooKieMoNs7eR

macrumors 68020
Nov 18, 2009
2,235
1,152
I buy every cycle and it doesn’t cost me anywhere close to 1k each year.

I pay full price on day one, sell it the next year and typically get 75% or so, of what I originally paid, back from the sale.

A few hundreds bucks a year with a better battery and some other improvements is worth it to me.
I do the same exact thing, idk why ppl complicate things, nobody is spending $1k+ lol
 

Banglazed

macrumors 603
Apr 17, 2017
5,014
9,514
Cupertino, CA
I don’t think anyone would spend $1k every year. Most people including me would just trade in or sell the previous iPhone that will significantly reduce the cost for the new iPhone whether through Apple or carrier deals
 
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JM91Six

macrumors regular
Apr 22, 2019
121
93
I buy every cycle and it doesn’t cost me anywhere close to 1k each year.

I pay full price on day one, sell it the next year and typically get 75% or so, of what I originally paid, back from the sale.

A few hundreds bucks a year with a better battery and some other improvements is worth it to me.

this x1000. It’s definitely not necessary to buy yearly. Hell, people have asked me what’s really new this year. I just say, “cameras are a bit better, screen upgraded.. but you probably wouldn’t notice”. I do it because I like having the new phone yearly. And because I purchased outright many years ago, and iPhones hold such great value. I reap the benefits every year when it comes to upgrade.

I don’t spend much money on other stuff, maybe some power tools haha. But this kind of tech stuff is what I enjoy
 

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
19,579
10,875
Colorado
Meh, people have different needs/wants and make their decisions based on them. Personally, I don't need to upgrade every year. That said, I don't question or judge those that do, they can do what they want with their money.
 

now i see it

macrumors G4
Jan 2, 2002
11,258
24,293
The iPhone Upgrade Program is essentially an endless lease with payments every month forever.

How much are the monthly payments on IUP this year? Depends on the iPhone model of course
 
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Hotpinkflamingoaz

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2018
162
116
Az
I usually go 2 years between phones but the deals are too good this year. $134 to upgrade from a 12 PM to a 13 PM and own it outright with no credits?! Yup I had to.
 

Dominican

macrumors 6502a
Nov 23, 2013
765
456
Not if you take advantage of carrier promos and trade in deals. Verizon is giving $800 for an old Galaxy S9. Bought one on ebay for $100, traded it in towards a 13 Pro. Cost after two years once the bill credits finish is $300. Cost for a regular 13 would have been $100. Either phone will be still be easily worth that, and likely eligible to be traded in for a similar inflated value.

Given that I will be paying for cell service regardless, my device cost per year is theoretically $0 or less.
I was checking right now it’s true get 800 for s9 thanks for the info
 

Hunter5117

macrumors 6502a
Mar 17, 2010
569
401
I typically upgrade every 2-3 years, from a 7 to a 10s PM to 12 PM. This year the trade-in plus the carrier credit seemed like a really good deal and the new camera functions were enough that I upgraded again. I figure it will cost me about $300 so much less than $1000. Last year I paid full price for my 12PM and handed down my 10s to my son. Who knows what next year will bring but I am enjoying my new 13 PM.
 

Ninjaman

Suspended
Jul 13, 2021
329
329
Why spend 7.00 on coffee everyday..not sure why people are so concerned on how others spend money

by the way I spent less than 400 on the brand new 13 pro max
 

kreesobe

macrumors newbie
Sep 27, 2021
2
0
used my son's iPhone 12 Mini 64gb to upgrade to the 13 Pro Max 256gb! his phone (12 mini) WAS paid off. I paid $699 before tax. But yeah... I hopped on that special AT&T deal. I'll be getting $1000 over 36 months for the 12 mini 64gb. not bad! switched sims with him and now he's using my old 12 Pro 256gb while I use my new 13 Pro Max 256gb. I plan to use this for the next 3 years (36 months) so i'll be getting $1000 divided by 36 = $27.77. Crazy how att giving $1000 in credits in a span of 36 months for a $699 phone.
 

kreesobe

macrumors newbie
Sep 27, 2021
2
0
used my son's iPhone 12 Mini 64gb to upgrade to the 13 Pro Max 256gb! his phone (12 mini) WAS paid off. I paid $699 before tax. But yeah... I hopped on that special AT&T deal. I'll be getting $1000 over 36 months for the 12 mini 64gb. not bad! switched sims with him and now he's using my old 12 Pro 256gb while I use my new 13 Pro Max 256gb. I plan to use this 13 Pro Max 256gb for the next 3 years (36 months) so I'll be getting $1000 divided by 36 = ($27.77) a month. Crazy how AT&T giving $1000 in credits in a span of 36 months for a $699 phone.
 

WriteNow

macrumors 6502
Aug 27, 2021
384
397
I'm a cheapskate, so I can't imagine spending $1,000 a phone, period, let alone once a year!

But I can imagine that some feel it's well worth it. And it can be argued that a lot of people spend far more than a $1,000 a year on, say, a daily Starbucks visit.
 
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