Skipping my iPhone upgrade

Everyone who knows me, knows I’m a tech enthusiast, and phones are the ultimate personal tech product that drive the majority of our digital interactions today. This is a future I’ve always subscribed to and as such I’ve upgraded my iPhone religiously every year since the 3GS in 2009.

Most people seemed to be on a two year upgrade cycle, as the majority tend to pay the phones off over time with a contract. I’ve never liked those, or the idea of carrier lock-in so always just bought them outright.

The leaps in technology used to be massive so an upgrade was easily justifiable. Around 2013 the speed of the processors being shipped were so impressive they no longer send to get slow after a year or more of software updates. The focus for upgrades moved to cameras and screen sizes. Most of the phones, aesthetically at least, seemed to evolve only incrementally, or on S-years invisibly. But then the X came along. Technologically, and aesthetically very different in so many ways. I fell in love with the iPhone all over again. But this was also the year that the price increases began to hit home. A maxed out Plus-sized phone was already pretty pricey, but the X took it to a new level. It’s a price still worth paying I believe, but it stings.

The iPhone X is so good and powerful, with such a great camera, combined with the fact it got faster with the optimisation focused iOS 12 released last year, I saw little reason to upgrade in 2018. Additionally the now £1000+ investment led me to decide to skip the XS. Breaking a 10 year trend felt weird at first, but it’s a decision I’m glad I made. I still love my phone and realistically don’t think I’d see much difference in day to day use of I did upgrade - something I felt less true in the past.

If I’m thinking this, and given the longevity of the devices today, I wonder how many 2-year upgrades are shifting to 3 or more year cycles? This all has to be a substantial influence on the leveling out of sales the entire phone industry is reporting. The market is mature, upgrades are less important and more expensive, so a natural plateau is being reached.

Bonus; I’m now more excited than I’ve been in a long time to upgrade when the 11 comes out later this year.


Part of my 2018 year in review

 
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