I have a 12, and before that a 6. I was a actually contemplating if I should get the 18 because it follows the pattern, but my 12 is still going strong with 86% battery life left.

Same, it’s still going strong and I can usually get about two days of battery life out of it still. No reason to buy a new one.

I don’t know anyone these days who buys a new iPhone each year.

Used to be worth it, now they’re refreshes.

My 15promax is still spec and feature wise ahead of the current iphoneSE.

No idea if I’ll get the new one, maybe wait another year. Though the better camera is what I really want.

For clarity I think I’m dead smack in their demographic, I have expendable income and COULD buy a new phone each year, I’m in an Apple ecosystem and develop on Apple.

I don’t speak for everyone obviously, but I think it’s more of a meme and anti-apple/tech-tribalism that pushes the idea of “must consume new phone”

Android really pushes you to keep upgrading because the phones stop being supported, it’s wild. iPhones receive updates for quite some time. The iPhone 11 from pre-Covid is still marked as capable of ios27 so still receives updates.

Because other manufacturers will make a new phone and you still need to compete with them for customers who want phones that year. People don't get their phones in uniform cycles and phones can die unexpectedly

Nobody should and most don't buy a phone every year. But there are still a lot of people buying new phones every year if that makes sense.

I mean, if my phone was 5 years old and I was to upgrade phone now and pick iPhone - it’d be 16 (mostly due to price). If it was to happen next year - it’d probably be 17 instead, and then then next upgrade would be 16 (or 17) + 5 (or how long you’re okay with old phone). So, there’s a bit more of convenience here than if releases were once in 5 years, even if you’re not being that one Apple fan everybody knows, who upgrades everything yearly.

I’m not actually sure about 17/18’s tho as their pricing was certainly affected by RAMpocalypse.

Nah man, iPhones will last even longer than that. Swap the battery when it hits the 78% health mark and keep on trucking.

Mine is over 5 years old now and after considering upgrading, I just decided to buy a new battery and replace it. Much easier than most people realize but I have been fixing them for like 18 years now so maybe I’m biased.

I keep friends and family iPhones going until they just simply want to upgrade, not because of planned obsolescence or incompatibility. The former typically happens first…

This is just not true, I am still using an iPhone 11 with 0 issues. No slowdowns or visual lag whatsoever.

I also still get access to the latest iOS updates while also getting the vast majority of features, excluding anything that the phones hardware physically cannot support. (generally only features that require an OLED screen or a powerful enough NPU)

I’m still on an iPhone 12 with no issues

Iphones usually tend to last 5+ years easily, the battery is the only part that might crap out early.

But of course an easily repairable phone like the fair phone is even better. Unfortunate that it costs a premium compared to phones with similar specs. Repairable should be the default, not a niche offered by few manufacturers.

Isn't seven years about the same as most long-term updates for phones? I know that was the promise I got when I got mine.

My iphone 12 Pro from 2020 is working just fine as is, with no battery maintenance or repairs? Weird. I'll ride this one until I finally break it.

most iphones I’ve ever had lasted more than 5 years. I hand them down to my children and MIL without issue.

the only that didn’t was my first one , a 4s

Idk phones are a lot better these days. My 14 Pro is going very strong. I’m not to 5 years yet, but think it’s got 1-2 years left easily, maybe more.

The battery is definitely not as good as new, but it easily lasts a day, which is all you really need.

And no complaints about performance either. Honestly there’s nothing about the new phones that appeals to me.

It's correct. Planned obsolescence was a big problem, but it isnt anymore. Phones have software support for 7 years. I have had my current phone for nearly 4 years and it runs as fast as the day I bought it. I will take it through next year and probably the one after.

We kind of peaked with smartphones already. In the last 5 years, there hasnt been many big upgrades that people need. Phones are high quality, high performant, and unless you are playing games on them, they last all day.

The Fairphone is great. I'd recommend buying phones outright, if you can afford it, and getting a SIM only contract.

Not the point I'm making. I'm strictly talking about the design of the phone.

I've never bought or owned an iPhone but I think 4s may be the best looking one. New models just look ugly.

Also he would be a zombie. so yeah.