I'm wondering if I am missing out on anything but I can't help feeling that I would struggle to afford a new iPhone every year. Do you sell last year's iPhone to someone else and then use the money to buy the latest iPhone?

In the words of Ms. Hilton herself… (If only it were that easy ; upgrading for me is always preceded by a long internal financial debate.)

Cromulent said:

I'm wondering if I am missing out on anything but I can't help feeling that I would struggle to afford a new iPhone every year. Do you sell last year's iPhone to someone else and then use the money to buy the latest iPhone?

I imagine it's how some people justify going on holiday twice a year, or buying that luxury handbag, or some other discretionary expense. We have disposable income, each of us has our own guilty pleasure, and there it is. Though I imagine they are able to sell their phone to partly offset the cost of a new phone (I know some Telcos offer such a promotion).

Unless you have some compelling reason to do so, repeat "compelling", why bother?
I have an iPhone XS Max. I love it. The battery still lasts throughout the day (but I am retired; a busy working dude might get different results), etc. I don't have the latests and greatest camera, but the photos taken with my XS are superb.
I tend to wait four of five iterations before selling my old iPhone and buying new one. I will look hard at the 14 when it comes out. MOREOVER, when you sell, sell it on Craigslist. You will get considerably more than you will get at ANY of the online sites. You don't have to screw around with trust issues: I meet the buyer in a public place where it is safe, and I demand that payment be in cash. Have sold four this way; all w/o any problem.
Good luck.

i still use an 8+ even though we could afford a new phone every year.

nobody needs a new phone every release, especially if it will create a financial hardship.

I use the iPhone Upgrade Program. I justify it because I like it and I can afford it. It's a splurge for certain. My iPad (which I use daily) is from 2018 so I don't upgrade everything I have all the time.

There is no justification for replacing fully functional hardware, period.

You should consider an "upgrade" if, AND ONLY IF, the old hardware can't to the job NEEDED.

Abazigal said:

I imagine it's how some people justify going on holiday twice a year, or buying that luxury handbag, or some other discretionary expense. We have disposable income, each of us has our own guilty pleasure, and there it is.

Agree 100%. I don't care what you spend your money on and I really don't care about what others think about what I spend my hard earned money on.

dwig said:

There is no justification for replacing fully functional hardware, period.

You should consider an "upgrade" if, AND ONLY IF, the old hardware can't to the job NEEDED.

How incredibly short sighted of you. Given your mindset we would still be using a horse and buggy.

Additionally, if you bought a cell phone for its intended purpose only (making calls) then I would assume you’re using one of the unsupported iPhones because it still makes calls…right?

dwig said:

There is no justification for replacing fully functional hardware, period.

You should consider an "upgrade" if, AND ONLY IF, the old hardware can't to the job NEEDED.

No, you should consider an upgrade if you want a new device (doesn't matter for what reason) and most importantly, if you can afford it

People prefer to spend their money differently. If it makes them happy, they have all the right in the world to do so, and more power to them. It makes no difference if they have any sort of functional purpose for it or not. I bought a nice watch a wanted because I wanted it. It makes me happy.

Cromulent said:

I'm wondering if I am missing out on anything but I can't help feeling that I would struggle to afford a new iPhone every year. Do you sell last year's iPhone to someone else and then use the money to buy the latest iPhone?

You’re not and real talk most of us that do don’t need the latest and just use it as a fleeting moment of happiness ha.

I never really understood the need for over consumerism. I have zero desire to upgrade my phone until it’s useful life is over. It’s not a money thing as I can afford it.

I get it, if phones are a persons hobby or business, but otherwise why would a typical person, especially one that doesn’t have the spare cash, want constant updates?

mollyc said:

i still use an 8+ even though we could afford a new phone every year.

nobody needs a new phone every release, especially if it will create a financial hardship.

I used my 8+ until December 31st last year. I would have kept using it, but the charging port was worn out and I need to use the audio out to my truck. Great phone even today. I hope to have my 13 pro max as long.

I just purchased an refurbished iPhone 8 Plus three months ago and I’m thrilled with it. It’s still the best iPhone made (in my book) and I could buy any new iPhone. Tried the 13PM and returned it.
The 8+ is monster upgrade from my 6 Plus I used for SIX years.

I think 'justify' is a strong word. I don't have to justify purchasing something I want - ever. To anyone, not even my wife (and she doesn't have to justify to me getting what she wants). We all want what we want. I ignore society telling me that in order to buy something I have to have a damn good reason or justification for it. Who is society to tell me what I can or cannot spend my money on and when?

So, aside from when I am ready and when finances allow, I buy what and when I want.

I buy the new one and sell the old one, and it comes out at maybe 1$ per day or a little more.

That’s easy to justify for me if you think of the value per hour of use. Maybe only comparable to glasses or your mattress.

I use Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program to get Apple’s latest and greatest iPhone every year. I justify this a few ways:
1. The cost of the phone is essentially halved because I’m paying for the cost of phone divided over 24 months, and when trading it in after 12 months it stops payments on that device. If I were to buy the phone outright and then sell it after a year, I might get slightly more than 50% the cost of the phone but you also have to factor in all the effort needed to list it, sell it, ensure payment is delivered, or meet the person you are selling it to and hope they pay/won’t stab you.
2. I use my iPhone literally every day. In terms of spending money on something that seems excessive, I do not put iPhones in such a category. I take pictures with my phone every day. I listen to music, use apps, surf the web, check personal and work emails, and do other personal and professional work on my phone every day. I watch movies, tv shows, and often play games on my phone each and every day. The phones can cost $1000+ but I use this device more than I even drive my car. Think about a semi big ticket item you’ve purchased in the last 5 years and ask yourself how often do you use it? Chances are that some of those items cost far more than an iPhone and are used WAY less.

Due to those reasons I feel it’s useful to have the latest and greatest device. It’s worth while to me and I can afford it. Now this obviously isn't the case for everyone but I feel as long as most people replace their phone every 2-3 years then they are getting even greater value out of them, despite not having the most advanced features.

IMO holding onto a phone more than 3 years is silly and anything after 5-6 years is foolish, because:
1. The battery may be diminished enough to make charging more of a requirement throughout the day.
2. Certain features/app may not work or not work as well, especially on 5+ year old devices.
3. If the device is having issues, which is almost a guarantee after enough time has passed, what is your time worth having to go get it serviced time and again rather than just purchasing a new one.

Buying a new phone each year on the upgrade plan eliminates most of these annoyances, makes it easy to return the old device, allows me to only pay for the time I use the phone, and allows me to keep using the newest tech with a brand new battery and not have to worry about issues. To each their own but those are my reasons for upgrading each year.

I use the iPhone Upgrade Program.

To me, the math plays out when one considers how long they want to go between upgrades.

If I want to upgrade every year, I make the monthly payment and trade the phone in after a year. I got to use the phone for a year, and only paid for half. So it’s equivalent to selling the phone back to Apple for half its original cost.

If I want to upgrade every two years, I’m going to make the monthly payment for two years. At the end I own the phone and can resell it, or trade it in albeit for a reduced valuable compared to the first year trade in price.

If I want to keep the phone for 3 years, I’ll pay monthly for two years, and then nothing for the 3rd year. This is kinda the first threshold where it feels like money can be saved. And each year beyond, the savings increases.

Personally, I upgrade every year. I justify it saying that if I’m going to make that monthly payment for the second year, I might as well make it on the newest phone.

I don’t have an interest in keeping the phone for 3 years, so I don’t really consider that option for myself. But I know people who do and like going about it that way, and I think they probably save a lot of money doing so.

I sell or trade in the old phone to get the new one at a significantly lower price.

I can't justify it, other than that the iPhone is basically my most used, most versatile computer, and I still find value in having the nicest one every year. I suspect that will continue to be the case until something does to the iPhone what the iPhone did to the iPod and "dumb" phones.

I don't upgrade any other Apple device yearly except for this one. I do it through Apple, so even though it's not exactly environmentally responsible, at least I know they're getting it back into use or recycled instead of dumping into a land fill. As far as being financially responsible, I care about the new features every year enough where I almost always upgrade. I work hard for my paychecks and am fortunate enough to be able to do this when I want to. Other people have other vices. My main one is iPhones I guess.

I think making monthly payments on a phone is nuts. Then when paid off sign up for another new phone with more monthly payments? So always making a monthly phone payment. Even more nuts.
I generally use a phone until the battery shows too much wear, about 3 years after original purchase. Then I shop for a new one. There’s just not enough improvements to justify a new phone every year imo.

Being completely honest with my needs and values, I have decided that upgrading every year and every other year is in no way worth it for me considering the total cost of iPhones.
The main reasoning is that I mostly use my iPhone for “core iOS” stuff that almost any iPhone newer than 6S or 7 can do and doesn’t require any of latest and greatest cellular chips, GPU, CPU, cameras or sensors.

And I also feel like year to year performance increases are getting less and less noticeable.

The only thing right the bothers me a little bit about using my 11 Pro is RAM.

It’s only a minor nuisance when switching apps. But I’ll definitely upgrade within the next 2-3 years if we get iPhones with 8GB RAM or more.

Then again. Maybe it’s just iOS 15 sucking a bit at RAM management. In which case I won’t upgrade if iOS 16 or 17 improves RAM management.

.. and FaceID under the screen could also make me upgrade. No sleepless nights waiting for that though.

I highly doubt anyone would just throw their old phones away. Of course sell while it’s still somewhat new and use the cash to pay for the new one. Then just keep paying the difference every year. But you would miss out on the amazement of jumping directly from a 6 to a XS, for example like I did.

now i see it said:

I just purchased an refurbished iPhone 8 Plus three months ago and I’m thrilled with it. It’s still the best iPhone made (in my book) and I could buy any new iPhone. Tried the 13PM and returned it.
The 8+ is monster upgrade from my 6 Plus I used for SIX years.

you obviously haven’t tried out the newer phones for extended periods of time. screens, cameras and batteries are miles ahead. seems you’re just avoiding paying the premium for the newest