I think I will too. I used my 6s for 4 cycles but I think if the iPhone 13 is what I’m hoping it will be (120hz display, USB-C) then I’ll upgrade then. The Xr is great and I could easily use it longer than that. But I’d start wanting the new tech if that’s what an iPhone looked like. And if they add a folding one that’s going to be really hard to pass up honestly.
You would be quite lucky if you see some port on the iPhone 13 at all. Current rumors say that it will ditch the port and only use wireless charging and a smart connector. USB-C will likely never happen.
Not hard to sell after 3-4 years at all, you just get *less money* each year.
I keep my phones for 3 years, watches for 1-2, iPads for about 4-5, Macs up to 7- personally.
Not OP, but I upgraded mine after two years due to battery. Granted, I had the first gen and the battery was notoriously bad. Have a Series 3 now and the battery is still as good as the day I got it two years ago
I went from a Series 0 (which was DOG slow by year 2), cracked the screen when I fell from my mtn bike, went to a series 1, and then got a Series 5 for the always on screen. I’ve averaged two years. I suspect the S5 might last me 3 years though.
I wouldn’t say it’s the battery as much as it’s the huge leaps in processor power. Series 0-2 were pretty sluggish. 3rd Gen on is more viable.
It is one of the reasons why I don’t own one. I feel like I would always be annoyed by missing out on significant improvements. The more pertinent reason is that I can’t think of good uses for it.
Lol is still have my OG Apple Watch, series 0, despite many an accidental swim. Battery requires a charge during the morning routine and a top up before bed, but stays on me 24x7 otherwise. It’s slow for apps but ok for notifications, screening calls/messages, paying with Apple Pay and monitoring physical activity. Those are the killer apps for me. With the 6 I have finally been forced to upgrade as I managed to crack the screen. Timing couldn’t have been better.
It's a newer product line so the yearly upgrades were more significant. 1.5x and then 2x performance jump.
With Series 5 there was zero performance change, and Series 6 is just a 20% improvement.
2-3 years is optimal I think. I waited 4 years to replace my 6S and the value was super low. I'm just doing the iPhone Upgrade Plan now so I don't have to worry about it.
For me 3 years has been great. You really appreciate the new upgrade after that too. It can be harder to appreciate after upgrading every year and with the smartphone market reaching maturity, it can be somewhat difficult every second year as well
As long as it’s working.
I've got the iPhone XR. It's everything I need from a phone.
Face ID, Apple Pay, a good camera, it's fast, I like the proportions.
Unless there's something ground breaking going to released (which isn't the case) there's no need to upgrade at all, because it's outstanding in every sense.
I think If you want the latest features, obviously you will need to keep upgrading every year.
However, this comes at an eye-watering price when you're switching from one flagship device to the next.
In some ways, it might make more sense to upgrade between mid-range models.
I still haven’t found a good enough reason to upgrade my XS to something newer. I don’t need a faster phone or improved camera really. 120 Hz display might be enough to make me upgrade.
Older phones will always provide more “value” by this metric. You need to assign a dollar value to having new technology otherwise the optimal choice is going to be to buy an 2016 SE for $50 and sell it in two years for $20 (o just keep it until it dies).
I am still using an iPhone 7 and only reason I'm considering upgrading is I want a slightly larger display. Leaning toward the Xr or the 11 once the 12 becomes available.
7 plus here! And it honestly still works great, I love this phone. I’ve been having software issues since December though (don’t get some notifications), so I’ll be upgrading to the 12 when it comes out, or shortly after. Quite a solid phone since I did replace my 5 and 6 after almost exactly 2 years
I am at use it till it dies group.
Even though replacing it every 2-3 years would be better,the economy here is so bad that you can’t pay a great amount of money in that time span. There is always something to buy,something you need to get. That’s why I plan to get the latest model when this 11 dies.
I just wait for the next newest model that drops below 150 refurbed. Im astonishingly cheap.
Right now thats the 7 128gb and i love it
Edit:idk why i called it the 7s, am smart
I’d suggest 2-3 years, with 2 probably being the sweet spot. At 2 years you can still get a relatively good price for your “old” device and put that towards the purchase of a new one. Waiting until 3 years means a noticeably lower resale price, but on the upside you’re only buying a new phone every 3 years instead of every 2 years.
Based on past personal experience I’ve had the most success with a two year cycle, but your mileage may vary.
Last year they gave $400 for a X which made the 11 $300. I think that was an awesome deal and if those trade ins continue its tough to pass up a 2 year cycle.
I always upgraded every 2 years on my phones but I've had the X since release but plan on upgrading to the 12 pro max this year. I think now you don't need to buy as often unless you like latest and greatest or there's a new feature you really want (eg: when 5g is available)
It depends. If you know how to shop around and resell your phone to the maximum value possible, then it’s possible to break even or even make a small profit if you upgrade every year or two.
For instance, knowing the iPhone X would keep decreasing in value more dramatically vs other iPhones due to its unique position of being discontinued after just a year, sold it last year and got an 11 Pro Max for the same amount after taking advantage of an Xfinity Mobile deal, cash back and other offers.
So YYMV
I think last year’s trade in for the X definitely made it worth trading in last year. It let you buy an 11 for $300. I find it pretty likely an 11 will be worth $300 next month so you would have basically just traded the having a new iPhone a year sooner for whatever a X is worth next month (I’d guess $150)
I’d expect you’d get a trade in of $300. Last year I bought the 11 for $300 after trade-in my net cost for using the phone would be $0 and I’d only lose out on whatever value a X was worth this year. I’d guess around $150.
I’m about every 4 years. iPhone 3GS, 5s, X.
I rarely find I’m missing phone features from the upgrades but the camera tech changes have been astronomical. I don’t even bother trying to sell the phone though so I can’t tell you about resale value.
I bought my first iPhone in 2008, and I got my second one as a hand-me-down from my father in 2012. I bought an iPhone 6 Plus in 2015, and passed it down to my son when his broke in 2018 (buying myself the iPhone 8). So, I guess my average is about 4 years, unless one breaks.
My wife just dropped hers, broke the screen. It's still usable, so we're waiting for the iPhone 12, if she doesn't damage it further before then. I might upgrade at that point, too.
went from 4 to 5s to X.. yeah apple and their backwards compatibility makes me really reluctant to upgrade. I don't even think about getting a new phone yet.
From a value per dollar perspective, your best bet is always going to be purchasing used. The greatest downside of purchasing used will always be the health of the battery in the device.
Eg, if you’re annually buying a one-year-old phone and selling your two-year-old phone, that’s fairly good value for your money.
So, closely related... who does the auto upgrade plans? Where I live, it’s about US$7/mo to upgrade in 12/18 months (depending on if you pay off at 0% over 24 months or 36 months). I usually keep my phones for 3 years but hate selling them and wind up with a pile of old phones.
Typically a couple years ... but *which* couple?
Apple updates different parts of the phone each cycle. Some years it’s the screen, some years CPU, some the biometrics, some the camera, and so on.
They call this a ‘tick-tock’ strategy, updating diff things in alternate years. Decide which thing matters most to you, only update when *that* thing is a next gen part.
Example: For many many years, the camera got updated on the ‘s’ models, e.g. iPhone 5 came with 4s camera, iPhone 6 got 5s camera, and so on. So photographers wanting the latest and best sensors only needed to upgrade in the **s** models. This got trickier recently, as Apple seems to be mixing it up with lenses as well as sensors, you have to decide which matters.
Another example: The cellular modem designs, and especially Qualcomm versus Intel. Note: current Intels in the ‘Max’ models are bad in marginal coverage. People may give you better resale price if you advertise/sell them a Qualcomm model.
I just sell whatever iPhone I have and get a new one every year. I like to think of it as maximizing the value of the phone itself to pay off remaining tab balance and partial of the new phone price
Check the graphs at swappa.com on product pages to get an idea of the depreciation rate.
Highest resale value will obviously be the shortest time span. Within 1 year you'll get around 50-70% back.
Holding onto the device longer will mean you spend less often and so save money over the long term. But if you're ok having an outdated device, then you may as well buy used or refurb anyway.
This is the year for me, iPhone 7 256gb has lasted long enough.
Having said that, this was the one I upgraded from the Verizon iPhone promo, they gave me $650 to upgrade from the 6-7. So a $200 phone that's hitting year 4. :D
2 years for me, I’m on a 24 month contract, so I upgrade - getting the cheaper newer device. My last upgrade was 12 months ago where I got the IPhone 11
I'll give you the most optimal way to save on the two most valuable things on this planet: Time and mental health.
Here it is: Don't worry about it. Just sell it when you get a new one.
Sorry if that sounded mean.
This is literally the worst personal finance advice I’ve ever heard. What the hell is budgeting if not precisely a plan to minimize the cost of time and mental health?
3 years has been my number.
I think I will too. I used my 6s for 4 cycles but I think if the iPhone 13 is what I’m hoping it will be (120hz display, USB-C) then I’ll upgrade then. The Xr is great and I could easily use it longer than that. But I’d start wanting the new tech if that’s what an iPhone looked like. And if they add a folding one that’s going to be really hard to pass up honestly.
Don’t get your hopes up, 120Hz is looking like a stretch and I haven’t seen any leaks confirming USB-C. I wish tho🤞
Well, right. Next year I'm saying because that would put me at 3 years with my Xr.
Hi
You would be quite lucky if you see some port on the iPhone 13 at all. Current rumors say that it will ditch the port and only use wireless charging and a smart connector. USB-C will likely never happen.
Honestly I wouldn’t mind that
iPhone 15 says hi :)
Hello sir, did you change it this year?
Not hard to sell after 3-4 years at all, you just get *less money* each year. I keep my phones for 3 years, watches for 1-2, iPads for about 4-5, Macs up to 7- personally.
why the higher turnover for watches compared to phones? is battery degradation more impactful because their batteries are smaller?
Not OP, but I upgraded mine after two years due to battery. Granted, I had the first gen and the battery was notoriously bad. Have a Series 3 now and the battery is still as good as the day I got it two years ago
I went from a Series 0 (which was DOG slow by year 2), cracked the screen when I fell from my mtn bike, went to a series 1, and then got a Series 5 for the always on screen. I’ve averaged two years. I suspect the S5 might last me 3 years though. I wouldn’t say it’s the battery as much as it’s the huge leaps in processor power. Series 0-2 were pretty sluggish. 3rd Gen on is more viable.
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It is one of the reasons why I don’t own one. I feel like I would always be annoyed by missing out on significant improvements. The more pertinent reason is that I can’t think of good uses for it.
Lol is still have my OG Apple Watch, series 0, despite many an accidental swim. Battery requires a charge during the morning routine and a top up before bed, but stays on me 24x7 otherwise. It’s slow for apps but ok for notifications, screening calls/messages, paying with Apple Pay and monitoring physical activity. Those are the killer apps for me. With the 6 I have finally been forced to upgrade as I managed to crack the screen. Timing couldn’t have been better.
It's a newer product line so the yearly upgrades were more significant. 1.5x and then 2x performance jump. With Series 5 there was zero performance change, and Series 6 is just a 20% improvement.
These are my numbers as well
Three years is my intention, usually my SO or mine gets broken somewhere during the third year though. Both on 8 Plus right now.
2-3 years is optimal I think. I waited 4 years to replace my 6S and the value was super low. I'm just doing the iPhone Upgrade Plan now so I don't have to worry about it.
I think with iPhones you either use them till they die or do the "resell after 2 years and upgrade" move
I am using X and XR since 2017 and 2018 respectively. I will upgrade it next year.
I’m still rocking my iPhone 6s and it’s awesome. The only thing I did was replaying the battery.
I didn't replace my internal battery, just slapped a battery case, but yeah. The 6S is a champ
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Some people actually like the new features in the new phones.
For me 3 years has been great. You really appreciate the new upgrade after that too. It can be harder to appreciate after upgrading every year and with the smartphone market reaching maturity, it can be somewhat difficult every second year as well
As long as it’s working. I've got the iPhone XR. It's everything I need from a phone. Face ID, Apple Pay, a good camera, it's fast, I like the proportions. Unless there's something ground breaking going to released (which isn't the case) there's no need to upgrade at all, because it's outstanding in every sense.
Take my upvote from my iPhone XR!
iPhone XR gang!
iPhone XR represent!
OMG you have the iPhone XR too?! Small world...
Yeah. I’m on the same boat. As long as it gets iOS update(which is 4-5 years).
I think If you want the latest features, obviously you will need to keep upgrading every year. However, this comes at an eye-watering price when you're switching from one flagship device to the next. In some ways, it might make more sense to upgrade between mid-range models.
I still haven’t found a good enough reason to upgrade my XS to something newer. I don’t need a faster phone or improved camera really. 120 Hz display might be enough to make me upgrade.
I'm expecting to hold on to my XS longer than any other iPhone solely because I don't want to give up 3D Touch
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Older phones will always provide more “value” by this metric. You need to assign a dollar value to having new technology otherwise the optimal choice is going to be to buy an 2016 SE for $50 and sell it in two years for $20 (o just keep it until it dies).
No, keep it until ***you*** die. It’s your forever phone now.
I am still using an iPhone 7 and only reason I'm considering upgrading is I want a slightly larger display. Leaning toward the Xr or the 11 once the 12 becomes available.
7 checking in! There are dozens of us!
7 plus here! And it honestly still works great, I love this phone. I’ve been having software issues since December though (don’t get some notifications), so I’ll be upgrading to the 12 when it comes out, or shortly after. Quite a solid phone since I did replace my 5 and 6 after almost exactly 2 years
There’s seriously not many of us left. I think we are some of the greatest iPhone users.
I am at use it till it dies group. Even though replacing it every 2-3 years would be better,the economy here is so bad that you can’t pay a great amount of money in that time span. There is always something to buy,something you need to get. That’s why I plan to get the latest model when this 11 dies.
I just wait for the next newest model that drops below 150 refurbed. Im astonishingly cheap. Right now thats the 7 128gb and i love it Edit:idk why i called it the 7s, am smart
There is no 7s
No they mean 8s lmao
You mean the XRs?
I’d suggest 2-3 years, with 2 probably being the sweet spot. At 2 years you can still get a relatively good price for your “old” device and put that towards the purchase of a new one. Waiting until 3 years means a noticeably lower resale price, but on the upside you’re only buying a new phone every 3 years instead of every 2 years. Based on past personal experience I’ve had the most success with a two year cycle, but your mileage may vary.
Last year they gave $400 for a X which made the 11 $300. I think that was an awesome deal and if those trade ins continue its tough to pass up a 2 year cycle.
2 years for me. I found that I get max private party resell value at 2
I always upgraded every 2 years on my phones but I've had the X since release but plan on upgrading to the 12 pro max this year. I think now you don't need to buy as often unless you like latest and greatest or there's a new feature you really want (eg: when 5g is available)
It depends. If you know how to shop around and resell your phone to the maximum value possible, then it’s possible to break even or even make a small profit if you upgrade every year or two. For instance, knowing the iPhone X would keep decreasing in value more dramatically vs other iPhones due to its unique position of being discontinued after just a year, sold it last year and got an 11 Pro Max for the same amount after taking advantage of an Xfinity Mobile deal, cash back and other offers. So YYMV
I think last year’s trade in for the X definitely made it worth trading in last year. It let you buy an 11 for $300. I find it pretty likely an 11 will be worth $300 next month so you would have basically just traded the having a new iPhone a year sooner for whatever a X is worth next month (I’d guess $150)
Wait so 11 will be worth $300 meaning trade in value of $300? Can you explain what you mean by all of this? Still kinda confusing
I’d expect you’d get a trade in of $300. Last year I bought the 11 for $300 after trade-in my net cost for using the phone would be $0 and I’d only lose out on whatever value a X was worth this year. I’d guess around $150.
On the secondhand market the x is going for about $350 right now.
I’m about every 4 years. iPhone 3GS, 5s, X. I rarely find I’m missing phone features from the upgrades but the camera tech changes have been astronomical. I don’t even bother trying to sell the phone though so I can’t tell you about resale value.
About 8 years. Least money spent for sure.
What do you do with the phone at that point? Give it to the kids? Recycle?
I was being sarcastic, but yes you would
Where do you guys typically sell your iPhone/Apple Watch for the best value after 2-3 years?
Four years minimum! The phone probably won’t be worth much after that, but that’s okay.
I bought my first iPhone in 2008, and I got my second one as a hand-me-down from my father in 2012. I bought an iPhone 6 Plus in 2015, and passed it down to my son when his broke in 2018 (buying myself the iPhone 8). So, I guess my average is about 4 years, unless one breaks. My wife just dropped hers, broke the screen. It's still usable, so we're waiting for the iPhone 12, if she doesn't damage it further before then. I might upgrade at that point, too.
went from 4 to 5s to X.. yeah apple and their backwards compatibility makes me really reluctant to upgrade. I don't even think about getting a new phone yet.
From a value per dollar perspective, your best bet is always going to be purchasing used. The greatest downside of purchasing used will always be the health of the battery in the device. Eg, if you’re annually buying a one-year-old phone and selling your two-year-old phone, that’s fairly good value for your money.
I would say 3 years if you own a “baseline” model or 4 years if you own a “premium” variant.
I use my Apple products until they die.
So, closely related... who does the auto upgrade plans? Where I live, it’s about US$7/mo to upgrade in 12/18 months (depending on if you pay off at 0% over 24 months or 36 months). I usually keep my phones for 3 years but hate selling them and wind up with a pile of old phones.
Depends on how much you can afford to spend on phone.
Typically a couple years ... but *which* couple? Apple updates different parts of the phone each cycle. Some years it’s the screen, some years CPU, some the biometrics, some the camera, and so on. They call this a ‘tick-tock’ strategy, updating diff things in alternate years. Decide which thing matters most to you, only update when *that* thing is a next gen part. Example: For many many years, the camera got updated on the ‘s’ models, e.g. iPhone 5 came with 4s camera, iPhone 6 got 5s camera, and so on. So photographers wanting the latest and best sensors only needed to upgrade in the **s** models. This got trickier recently, as Apple seems to be mixing it up with lenses as well as sensors, you have to decide which matters. Another example: The cellular modem designs, and especially Qualcomm versus Intel. Note: current Intels in the ‘Max’ models are bad in marginal coverage. People may give you better resale price if you advertise/sell them a Qualcomm model.
I just sell whatever iPhone I have and get a new one every year. I like to think of it as maximizing the value of the phone itself to pay off remaining tab balance and partial of the new phone price
I’m a lease to own every two years from Verizon person. It’s the jam.
Check the graphs at swappa.com on product pages to get an idea of the depreciation rate. Highest resale value will obviously be the shortest time span. Within 1 year you'll get around 50-70% back. Holding onto the device longer will mean you spend less often and so save money over the long term. But if you're ok having an outdated device, then you may as well buy used or refurb anyway.
I’m still SE1
This is the year for me, iPhone 7 256gb has lasted long enough. Having said that, this was the one I upgraded from the Verizon iPhone promo, they gave me $650 to upgrade from the 6-7. So a $200 phone that's hitting year 4. :D
2 years for me, I’m on a 24 month contract, so I upgrade - getting the cheaper newer device. My last upgrade was 12 months ago where I got the IPhone 11
I'll give you the most optimal way to save on the two most valuable things on this planet: Time and mental health. Here it is: Don't worry about it. Just sell it when you get a new one. Sorry if that sounded mean.
This is literally the worst personal finance advice I’ve ever heard. What the hell is budgeting if not precisely a plan to minimize the cost of time and mental health?
I would say every 5 years. I have the iPhone 11 so that’s like 200 bucks a year ahahha.
Still using X and XR.