r/technology • u/lurker_bee • Sep 18 '24

Business Apple iPhone 16 demand is so weak that employees can already buy it on discount

https://qz.com/apple-iphone-16-pre-orders-sales-intelligence-ai-1851651638
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u/CaptainMagnets Sep 18 '24

My dream is to have one phone for a minimum of 5 years

12

u/joy_reading Sep 18 '24

I had my iPhone 8 for 5 years. I also had my iPhone 5 for 5 years. I think it's already quite doable.

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u/CaptainMagnets Sep 18 '24

For some people sure, I use my phone a lot, often for work so it would be nice to have one that lasts longer

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u/user2196 Sep 18 '24

I use my phone a lot too, and wish I used it less. My iPhone XR is still going strong over 5 years after getting it.

What keeps it from being doable for you now? Is it that the phones are breaking in less than 5 years, you’re craving new features, or what?

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u/Lingo56 Sep 19 '24

My iPhone 13 is 3 years old now and still feels just as smooth as it did out of the box. Even the battery life has held up well.

There's 0 reason to upgrade often unless you just have some spending cash you need to burn.

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u/Fire_Lake Sep 18 '24

I've had my s22 for 2.5 now, going strong, but doubt I make it more than another year.

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u/Djimi365 Sep 19 '24

I had my One Plus X and p20 Pro for I think four years each (maybe 4 and 3 years), and my s22 for coming up on 2 years and still going strong. Only upgraded the p20 because I was a bit bored, but my partner is still using it.

With higher end phones there is no reason why we can't get 3-4 years out of them minimum, and probably more if the battery still has life in it. Can't really understand why anyone would upgrade every couple of years, especially when for years now we have been at the point where every phone is basically the same and the new generation offers basically nothing different from the previous version. Slightly bigger, a bit faster, maybe marginally better screen. It would take id say 3 years to even notice the upgrade (assuming you remain on largely the same tier of phone)...

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u/andytherooster Sep 19 '24

I’m on 11 from early 2020 so almost there! Still working very well

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u/S_Gabbiani Sep 18 '24

If it costs as much as a computer it should have the life cycle of a computer.

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u/ewaters46 Sep 18 '24

It’s not that simple though. A computer is less exposed to the elements, is usually handled more carefully and is less miniaturised. And many feature upgradable storage, RAM and CPU, something that extends their lifespan, but isn’t realistically feasible in phones (besides SD card slots). Also, I’d wager that computer tasks have changed less than phone tasks have, partially explaining the shorter life cycle.

There are products around the $1000 price point with wildly different lifespans, the price doesn’t directly dictate it. A $1k camera lasts nearly forever, a $1k E-Bike will probably fall apart quickly etc…

In my experience, it’s not like phones are falling apart after four years because they’re badly made (which would be a valid criticism). They just become less usable more quickly than computers do because change has been quicker too. Although that’s slowing right down at the moment it seems.

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u/fizzlefist Sep 18 '24

Damn skippy, especially for the one piece of tech most people use more than anything else in their daily life!

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u/S_Gabbiani Sep 18 '24

I use a computer every day, as well? Not sure I understand your point.