Wife and daughter 2nd gen SE.

Me, 11 Pro

Son, 11 Pro Max

I do have a 12 for QA purposes and decided I could skip it for personal carry.

I use my phone as my key in the Tesla. The app, which controls everything, does have requirements for the phone so I imagine as the tech increases the need for a new phone may come up.

my wife was compelled to upgrade phones when our banking institution no longer worked with her old one.

my 8 still talks to our Tesla, so there is that.

7 here.
camera sucks, more-or-less.

Mom's 8-10 started becoming unintelligible.
Both her iPhone and her iWatch.
It became pure electronic jumbled garbage. The old 4 bit lossy .mp3 sound quality from the 1980's was far better.

She started having to scream into both thinking that this was normal. Also the disconnects.
(Even I couldn't hear it)
So many important conversations were ruined.
If she was trying to call emergency services in a life-death situation...she would not be understood.

She thought buying a newer device version was the best action to take.

I thought a class action suit against Apple for sabotaging their own purchased products would be more appropriate.
Like a dealership going to homes and yanking caps and wires.

But are they sabotaging, or like most computers, does the OS and things being asked of the hardware eventually outstrip the capabilities of the old hardware. The home page may look the same, but there are often so many new features that do run fine on the new hardware. So, folks with new hardware get whiz-bang new features and love them. Folks with old hardware have the opportunity to get the new whiz-bang features, but because they have old hardware, their stuff performance is going to suffer.

As the phone gets long in the tooth, why not just turn off automatic updates?

Also, there's often guides online of settings that can be changed and services that can be disabled that help an older phone run better. Often things like turning off background processing for certain apps that don't need it, turning off location services or having them only function when in the app, etc....

I tend to lag behind the bleeding edge in technology and buy 1-2 year used stuff instead. My daughter's version 8 phone finally died this week so rather than paying over $100 to repair the charging port I gave her my 8+ and picked up the newest 13 ProMax. Honestly I don't see much difference other than the home button is now gone so learning new swipes. The back of the phone is rather obnoxious with all the camera lenses. Have not taken any pictures with it but I believe it's rated pretty high in that regard.

iPhone 11 for work.

personal phone is ollder but I forgot the password and now its locked

I hate the iPhone.
camera.
to turn on the flash you don't press the flash button. which I did about 100 times before figuring out that you press the ^ at the top of the screen, THEN you have to go down to the bottom and press the flash then turn it on. they needed a few more button presses to turn it on I think.
pressing the flash button ONLY turns it off.

photos.
they all stay in the "recents" album. they are copied into other albums instead of being moved.
I have pics I don't want anyone to see. my old phone has a"hidden" folder but the hidden folder is NOT hidden. at least on the 11 there is an option to hide the hidden folder.
but still. trying to maintain pics in different albums so that when you show someone a pic they don't run across a dirty pic....I have lost control of it. I cant keep up with what pics I have copied to another album.
oh, there is no way to look at the file name of a pic or arrange the order they are in.
on the android when you hid a pic it was gone.
oh, there is a "people and places" system folder. I don't want ANY pics in it but it keeps putting pics in there.

to add a new contact, like from texting or recents. you have to press about 4 buttons to finally get to where you add them.
I really think these software/phone designers love to press buttons just to take you to different screens

I like to be able to facetime on the iPhone.
I was in a meeting and facetimed a girl. she pulled down her pants to show me her thong.
gotta love it.

android was much easier to use and way more user friendly. it seemed to make more sense and give you more options.

my biggest hate for all phones is the forced updates.
they have updated my phone and EVERYTHING changed. colors, fonts, backgrounds.

I had an XR and my wife had a 7 - we both upgraded this past weekend, since my wife was having issues with battery and power on the 7. She got the 13 mini, and I got the 13 - couldn't justify the extra $$ for a better camera lens setup (If I really want to take pictures, I can use my Nikon 3200 DSLR - older tech, but still must more versitile than any smart phone camera).

As for the phones - so far, so good. Migrating from the old to the new was relatively straightforward, except for my work portals.

5S
Small and very functional--Had newer ones When I worked ..............

Tis my brides hand me down to me

SE with lots of memory. Works fine but battery is now at 84% capacity. I like the small size as it fits (barely) in my bike bento box.

hitting the flash icon on the top corner turns it on/off for me.

I was a die hard Android guy (had the first couple of "google" phones G1, G2, and I think another HTC after. I did like Android. Android didn't seem quite as stable to me (probably due the diversity of the environment, so many different versions of hardware and so much software). And then some of the phones had a ton of bloat added by the manufacturer.

Forced updates?

turn this off
https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content...p&trim=2,2,2,2

Last 3 phones have all been Motorola android... Current phone is a Motorola Moto z4. I love it.

Would not even know how to make a call on an i-phone. Also would not know how to even turn on a Mac computer. ;)

I am a mechanical engineer.... not an artsy-fartsy type. :)

My major complaint was that it stopped functioning like a basic phone, which could be a hazardous condition under some circustances.
The brand name of the product is "iPhone".

afaik no major FCC system changes have occurred.
New feature additions were not part of the original contract.
These were forced.
They might as well add CRAY/SETI/Bticoin mining super-computing functionality, but that would still alter the original agreement.

It's as if new Ford Mustang owners found their performance remotely degraded from 460hp to 310hp and then the engine won't even start.

A fully functioning phone as advertised was originally bought and paid for.
Those should all be "off" by default.
Those should all be "opt-in" by default with known defects disclosed and a clear choice to revert available.

Pro tip: you can replace batteries yourself and they usually cost around 15 bucks to purchase.

My (very old) iPhone 5 is still in use by my dad. I believe it is on its 4:th battery.
My old 8 Plus is used by my daughter. I also replaced the battery and screen myself (I accidentally drove over it!).
My son has my old 7...also with new battery.

Basically, old iPhones are fully usable as long as they are upgradeable to latest iOS and fitted with fresh battery.

Yes, that's bad. I've never had a phone, Apple, Android or otherwise do that. I can see that if someone is using a really phone, and the technologies used by 99.9% of carrier users have changed so that old phones won't work on the new systems, that's another issue, but I wouldn't think that would yet be impacting any iPhone. That's similar to folks that used to have C-band satellite TV being told "we aren't going to support that any more, you've got to upgrade to one of the new, little dishes," and that did happen.

Meh, these are more like mini-computers with phone functionality. These really aren't that much different than a PC running Windows or a Mac. Computers become unsupported and obsolete. It usually takes a REALLY long time (at least 5-10 years in my experience). My mom has been using dumb phones up until this past summer. She finally got her first iPhone because her previous flip phone literally fell apart. Electronics die and become obsolete, especially these days when almost everything has some sort of processor built in somewhere.

The other item to remember is that you don't really own it all. You had to agree to an EULA to setup the phone, and, I'm pretty sure, the EULA doesn't say "you own everything and it'll work forever."

It's also completely possible that changes to the carrier network caused the issue (vs the phone being the cause).

I have 10Xs

I keep my old iPhones to use as music streamers and I think the 7 is still my favorite. Feels so perfect in hand and pocket but battery won’t hold a charge so I just keep it plugged in while streaming tunes

13 Pro Max here for the wife and I. Why? We were eligible for an upgrade from Verizon. Last phone was a 10X. I love the battery life and camera on this new phone! One of my customer's came in the other day and he still uses an iPhone 4s.

I'm still using my ultra-reliable 64GB iPhone6. Yes 6.

Last year I got my wife a 12 (she likes the larger screen and some of the shopping rebate apps need the newer o/s) but I saw no reason to update my 6.

Sure there are a few apps I can't run on my phone because they need iOS 13 or later, but I really only use it for voice, text, e-mail and a few other things that still run fine. If I need more, I go to one of the many PC's we have around the house, and I have several good cameras if I have the need to take photos.

Truth be told, I have started thinking about getting an SE....eventually.

I will stick to my first complaint for the record.
A phone which stops functioning because the manufacturer changed something is no excuse.
Gordian Knot.

The Apple watch however is completely useless to old people except for the accelerometer which caught her fall injury at home.
One single app.
That alone was worth the price......

There were other similar wearable devices, but iWatch was the only one with the bling which worked everywhere using telephony instead of local bluetooth.

It's too bad a hundred tiny crap appppppppppp buttons fill the screen and makes that watch otherwise unusable.

When phone calls became scrambled garbage the entire system (both watch and phone) becomes unusable.
Gordian Knot.

My g/f son gave me his 8s when my 7s died. He got a new 13? for x-mas so now he's going to give me his 10s.

You know that you can put so icons in most of the watch faces, right?

And you can change the app list from a grid view (which isn't the best) to a list view which is easier to see.
https://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-rearrange-apple-watch-app-icons/

In my humble opinion, the most humble in fact, which the entire world should follow:

-They should only have 6 or 9 big buttons on the face, with a fat legible swipe strip at the top or bottom with page numbers to know where the f you are.

.The same should be true for vertical sub-menus. ie this is how far you are into this tangent

-There should always be an escape/back.menu button on every screen.

I think you need at least an iPhone 6. And if your battery is closing in on 4 years, get it replaced. Old batteries cause weird behavior. My old 6 started acting up, and that is what I was told. And reboot weekly. My 10 got weird, would not scroll, and when it locked up/shut down decided to call 911. It was only a year or 2 old. Now I reboot every Sunday.

Nice 911

Must be a Windows app. Windoze always does that sh$t.

Apple OSs upgrade, not reconfigure and make you buy new software/hardware regularly.

I would NOT go back to the Windoze platform. It is BS.

I'm still a Windoze user by default:
-Only because Google has become pure evil and now controls everything,
-Apple is quickly becoming a close second,
-I am too stupid and/or lazy to learn Linux code.

^ This.

When the Apple Watch first came out, I thought it was the most non-functional device. Why would I need a watch that is just a small mirror screen to my phone that is always nearby? How wrong I was...

Want to know how your stock is doing? Just a tap on the face of the watch will get you there.

If I want to pause the music or podcast on my phone, it will allow me to do so, and remind / fast forward as well.

The AppleWatch interfaces with Apple Maps and will show you turn by turn directions, and will tap you twice for right hand turns, three times for lefts, and other 'haptic' responses for other directions.

Meetings / Calendar function is outstanding to keep track of the next meeting I need to hop on to for work.

Activity app allows you to keep track of your steps, time standing, and exercise. Exercise mode allows you to select different exercise modes to keep track of those certain types of workouts.

If I get a text msg, it pops up on the phone, and I can just glance at the watch and determine if I need to respond or not. Phone calls - same thing. Plus I can answer the phone call with the watch - I mean really, don't tell me you never wanted to be like Dick Tracy...

The EKG function will determine if your Sinus Rhythm is off or not, and will warn you if there are any signs of atrial fibrillation. A few weeks after my friend at work got his Apple Watch, it told him his sinus rhythm was off. A doctor's consult determined his heart was having trouble. This was followed by heart surgery. The Apple Watch may have saved his life.

If you are a diabetic, and use a CGM (continuous glucose monitor), you can see your blood sugars on the face of the watch. Quite helpful in the middle of the night - just tap the screen, and you know what your sugars are, instead of looking at your phone, or worse, having to poke your finger. The watch will also beep and vibrate and wake you up if your sugar is too low. Very helpful and can prevent a potential lower blood sugar situation.

And that's just scratching the surface.

Cheap give away 4 year old sammy, it's just a phone... and I only turn data on for google maps. I don't give out my cell number, so it's only family and friends.

Two cell phones and house phone (cell dongle same old number), shared plan, unlimited Canada and US long distance and text, $75 Canadian ($58 USD) a month.
;)

My kids phone alone cost more than our yearly plan, maybe twice as much... and the screen has now broke on his phone.

I suspect that's a newer version than mine. But still, I tend to keep my phone on silent 99.9% of the time, but I almost never miss a call or text because my watch lets me know what's going on if I don't notice on my phone. My watch is still going strong, but I must admit that the thought of "needing" to replace it from time to time as it gets old or the battery gets old is irritating because of the cost. That's the only downside that I can see.

Just upgraded from a 6s to a 13.
Nice to have some battery life in the cold again!

My watch is a series 4, so it is a few years old, and there hasn't been sufficient improvements to the newer ones that would warrant me getting one. Battery still lasts for 24+ hours as well, so I'm good for now...

I couldn't remember, so I had to check. Mine is a series 3, but like you, it's still working fine with decent battery life. I charge it every night, but think I get at least 32-36ish hours out of it if I don't.

I've heard they can be also used to make phone calls.

Yea, but mostly receive junk phone calls about the El Camino warranty is about to expire, or someone wanting to know if I will sell my home. Over the last two days I have received 14 spam calls. Grrrr.

Is this vid accurate?

<iframe width="733" height="412" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UgmtNJuqEHI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgmtNJuqEHI

Almost embarrassed to say that my 5S is my second cell. First was a Razr. Batt & Mem issues now, going to be making the jump soon to a new phone, finally.:D

Yes. iPhone is very easy to swap battery on. Pentalobe and very smal philips screwdrivers are only special tools. Only thing I do not like in the video is application of double-size adhesive for the battery. There is special adhesive strip that I usually order at the same time as battery.

Also, he is removing old battery the wrong way. using the tool to bend the battery from phone body might puncture it, which is not fun with Lithium battery. There is much better way: you take the edge of OEM adhesive strip and just pull it....it will behave like a long chewing gum and you can basically pull it from underneath the battery. It is hard to descrive, but you can check it out on Youtube.

I just went from a 4s to a 2020.

Got the 13 Pro Max today. Waiting for a new case before I switch over. My 12 Pro Max has been getting quiet recently, well, as soon as the warranty expired. All volumes maxed out and I only hear texts and emails when it's connected to another device.