iPhone XS How much longer would an X or XS be useable as a daily driver without noticeable slowdown from updates?

[NewBench]

Always bought my phones in full rather than pay monthly and decided that I'm not going to pay full price for the 12 so going for a used/second hand phone now.

Had my 32GB SE 1st gen for last 18 months and it's been great - no slowdown at all, battery health still 98% and no complaints really, but I'd really like to get rid of the home button.

Within my budget I can get a 64GB X or XS, so I'd like to ask:

* How much longer will Apple expect to support updates for the X and XS?
* Will a used X or XS still be useable and free from noticeable slowdown for the next 1-2 years?

 

[ericwn]

I expect that these devices get updates for somewhere between three and five years from their release onwards.

Since Apple is trying to generate more profits from services I don’t expect new OS releases to impact the operating speed much anymore - and these are pretty powerful devices already.

 

[jschnee21]

What is your budget? Have you considered the XR, 11, or new SE2?

That said Apple iOS devices have incredible longevity. I have several 6s models that work just fine. You cannot really run modern hardcore games on them (Oceanhorn2, Roblox, etc.) but Netflix, web browsing, texting, FaceTime, email, etc all work fine.

There is some slow down mainly from iOS 11, to 12, to 13. But it’s still way faster than my Samsung S7 Edge was when it was new. It’s pitiful now with Android 8 or whatever.

The only reason my wife upgraded from her 6s to an 11 Pro was battery life. iOS 13 seems to be killing the battery in the 6s. We even had the battery replaced at the Apple store, and wiped the phone and setup as new, and it didn’t really help.

She loves her 11 Pro, and my son loves his 11. I’m still rocking my XSM that I got last year and will keep until Oct 2021 or so (once 5G and the switch back to Qualcomm settles down). We all upgraded from 6s’es.

 

[jschnee21]

I should add, the new SE2 looks like a great value at $399. Otherwise I’d recommend getting at least the XR/XS series (aka 10S) or newer. The X series (aka 10) had a verity of “new form factor” and Intel modem and antenna issues.

I assume you are on Verizon? If so getting an 11 series or SE2 will get you CBRS band support which will start to become a big deal in late 2020 / early 2021 to ease Verizon’s capacity woes.

 

[oilers780]

Always bought my phones in full rather than pay monthly and decided that I'm not going to pay full price for the 12 so going for a used/second hand phone now.

Had my 32GB SE 1st gen for last 18 months and it's been great - no slowdown at all, battery health still 98% and no complaints really, but I'd really like to get rid of the home button.

Within my budget I can get a 64GB X or XS, so I'd like to ask:

* How much longer will Apple expect to support updates for the X and XS?
* Will a used X or XS still be useable and free from noticeable slowdown for the next 1-2 years?

Just wanted to ask, how do you feel about the XR or 11? You're likely going to find some good deals on the XR. I get that OLED could be important. But at the same time, I was wondering if you would opt to go for a new XR to save $ and still get a product w/ a full warranty?

 

[mattopotamus]

I should add, the new SE2 looks like a great value at $399. Otherwise I’d recommend getting at least the XR/XS series (aka 10S) or newer. The X series (aka 10) had a verity of “new form factor” and Intel modem and antenna issues.

I assume you are on Verizon? If so getting an 11 series or SE2 will get you CBRS band support which will start to become a big deal in late 2020 / early 2021 to ease Verizon’s capacity woes.

one of the worst devices I have owned when it comes to holding a wifi signal.

To OP,

The X will probably get another 2-3 max of updates
The XS will probably get another 3-4 max of updates

It will 100% depend on how IOS evolves if you will see slow downs or not. The last few iterations have not had a dramatic impact on older devices, which is why you are just now seeing people on 6/6S starting to upgrade. IOS13 is likely the last update those phones will receive.

 

[rui no onna]

Apple just released the iPad 7th gen with Apple A10/3GB RAM and the iPad Air 3 with Apple A12/3GB RAM last year.

I expect the X and Xs would receive minimum 3 years support from now with both devices performing quite well.

Personally, while the A8-based iPhone 6 didn't age all that gracefully (it was just OK even on launch), I find A9-based devices work quite well even on iOS 13.

 

[Falhófnir]

Apple just released the iPad 7th gen with Apple A10/3GB RAM and the iPad Air 3 with Apple A12/3GB RAM last year.

I expect the X and Xs would receive minimum 3 years support from now with both devices performing quite well.

Personally, while the A8-based iPhone 6 didn't age all that gracefully (it was just OK even on launch), I find A9-based devices work quite well even on iOS 13.

And even then a big part of that was the 1GB RAM which they probably stuck with a generation too long. All the 2GB iPhones since (and the 2GB A8/X based iPads) seem to have held up a lot better into the tail end of their iOS support.

 

[jschnee21]

IMHO, i don’t really see any great benefit of the OLED screen. I have one on my XSM and my wife has one on her 11 Pro.

My son has the 11 with the LCD screen and they all look the same to me.

 

[maerz001]

I should add, the new SE2 looks like a great value at $399. Otherwise I’d recommend getting at least the XR/XS series (aka 10S) or newer. The X series (aka 10) had a verity of “new form factor” and Intel modem and antenna issues.

I assume you are on Verizon? If so getting an 11 series or SE2 will get you CBRS band support which will start to become a big deal in late 2020 / early 2021 to ease Verizon’s capacity woes.

The only reason he gave why he wants to upgrade is because of the home button. So i guess the SE2 won’t be on the list...

The XS won’t slow as much as the X cos of 3GB RAM. Especially in the next 2 years u will be fine

 

[now i see it]

The older iPhones were slow on day one. Yeah they were faster than the previous model - but they were still pokey slow.
Apple is going to hit the wall of Moore's law too eventually. It's not possible to increase the speed of the CPU forever. We may already be approaching that time.
That Being so... future iPhones aren't going to be significantly faster the older models they replaced - and that being so - older phones (like the (X) will age better. You can expect 6 years out of an iPhone nowadays. But realistically, most people will break it or be bored of it by then.

 

[Patriks7]

I really don't think we're going to see such significant device slowdowns anymore, and especially so quickly, as we did in the past. I have an XS and I gave my mother my previous X. They both still run like the day I set them up, absolutely no visible slowdowns or issues. With the combination of very powerful processors and not as big jumps in iOS as there used to be, I believe they will run at least another 2 years like this.

 

[NewBench]

Thanks for the replies.

@jschnee21 - I'm in the UK, my budget is around £450 - £700 so the only second hand handsets out of my budget would be the 11 Pro/Pro Max. I'm coming from an SE so size is definitely a factor (I prefer the smaller handsets) although I accept that the X/XS/XR/11 are all going to be a similar size. The SE2 is definitely a no go from me, considering its size isn't much smaller than an X/XS/XR/11 and so I might as well take advantage of the home button-free/thin bezel display. Good to see that you have the confidence in an XS to stick with it another year.

@oilers780 Definitely considering any of the home button-free models including the XR. I think you're right, there should be some competitive deals out there for the XR, I think with the 11 coming out the XR is a bit of a forgotten phone. OLED would be nice, I've looked at the X/XS/11 Pro in stores and it is noticeably brighter/crisper in my opinion compared to say the XR screen, but it's not a deal breaker.


Anyway guys, thanks for the input. The opinion seems to be that the X/XS will be good for at least another couple of updates and that the XR/11 are worth considering too.

I think I'm leaning towards getting an XS unless I get a very good deal on an XR.

Thanks.

 

[mrex]

im still using my 6s+ and no slowdowns.

 

[ian87w]

Always bought my phones in full rather than pay monthly and decided that I'm not going to pay full price for the 12 so going for a used/second hand phone now.

Had my 32GB SE 1st gen for last 18 months and it's been great - no slowdown at all, battery health still 98% and no complaints really, but I'd really like to get rid of the home button.

Within my budget I can get a 64GB X or XS, so I'd like to ask:

* How much longer will Apple expect to support updates for the X and XS?
* Will a used X or XS still be useable and free from noticeable slowdown for the next 1-2 years?

Rather than buying an X or XS, why not just get the new SE?
It's not that the X/XS are slowing down (I personally have an iPhone 7 Plus, and I don't see performance being an issue on iOS13), but a used phone might have degraded battery (unless you meant buying refurbished from Apple).

Still, I would suggest considering the new SE. The haptic home button is much more reliable (as it's not an actual button).

 

[mattopotamus]

I really don't think we're going to see such significant device slowdowns anymore, and especially so quickly, as we did in the past. I have an XS and I gave my mother my previous X. They both still run like the day I set them up, absolutely no visible slowdowns or issues. With the combination of very powerful processors and not as big jumps in iOS as there used to be, I believe they will run at least another 2 years like this.

I very much agree. Unless something drastically changes in IOS causing RAM to be extremely important, phones with 3gb of RAM seem pretty safe. The chips are definitely not going to be a bottleneck.

 

[hovscorpion12]

The iPhone X/XS is powerful. I expect either device to last up to 5-7 years. The iPhone 6S is 5 years old and can be upgraded to iOS 13. Some of the videos I've seen show no slowdown. With the X/XS powerful CPU/GPU/RAM tri-combo, easy 7 years. Possibly 10.

 

[Falhófnir]

The iPhone X/XS is powerful. I expect either device to last up to 5-7 years. The iPhone 6S is 5 years old and can be upgraded to iOS 13. Some of the videos I've seen show no slowdown. With the X/XS powerful CPU/GPU/RAM tri-combo, easy 7 years. Possibly 10.

OS support will probably be the limiting factor - for a device as old as the X at least. Assuming like the 5s it gets 6 versions iOS 16 would be the last, in 2022-23. That would be a solid 3 years away, but so far the 5s is exceptional with 6 iOS versions, most iPhones up to this point only see 5*. Apps usually get a year or two grace before starting to fall out of compatibility, so 5 years yes probably, 7-10 maybe, though you might struggle with getting the latest versions of apps, and the battery longevity will also become a factor.

*the 6s will become the second if it gets iOS 14 as rumoured.

 

[oilers780]

Thanks for the replies.

@jschnee21 - I'm in the UK, my budget is around £450 - £700 so the only second hand handsets out of my budget would be the 11 Pro/Pro Max. I'm coming from an SE so size is definitely a factor (I prefer the smaller handsets) although I accept that the X/XS/XR/11 are all going to be a similar size. The SE2 is definitely a no go from me, considering its size isn't much smaller than an X/XS/XR/11 and so I might as well take advantage of the home button-free/thin bezel display. Good to see that you have the confidence in an XS to stick with it another year.

@oilers780 Definitely considering any of the home button-free models including the XR. I think you're right, there should be some competitive deals out there for the XR, I think with the 11 coming out the XR is a bit of a forgotten phone. OLED would be nice, I've looked at the X/XS/11 Pro in stores and it is noticeably brighter/crisper in my opinion compared to say the XR screen, but it's not a deal breaker.


Anyway guys, thanks for the input. The opinion seems to be that the X/XS will be good for at least another couple of updates and that the XR/11 are worth considering too.

I think I'm leaning towards getting an XS unless I get a very good deal on an XR.

Thanks.

I would checkout Slickdeals to see if you can get a good promo for the XR or XS. Some carriers or 3rd parties may have excess stock on the XR or XS. I managed to snag an iPhone X 64gb in silver for $500 w/ a warranty brand new on clearance before. That's app is how I found out about the price.

 

[BigDO]

OS support will probably be the limiting factor - for a device as old as the X at least. Assuming like the 5s it gets 6 versions iOS 16 would be the last, in 2022-23. That would be a solid 3 years away, but so far the 5s is exceptional with 6 iOS versions, most iPhones up to this point only see 5*. Apps usually get a year or two grace before starting to fall out of compatibility, so 5 years yes probably, 7-10 maybe, though you might struggle with getting the latest versions of apps, and the battery longevity will also become a factor.

*the 6s will become the second if it gets iOS 14 as rumoured.

This is very amusing. Who actually cares if a phone lasts 7-10 years? Lol. Even more amusing on a tech enthusiast site.

Yes, I am sure some will crawl out of the woodwork telling me that they still use their iphone 4 on a daily basis or whatever, but in reality it’s all a load of posturing and postulating, especially given how US centric this site is, and the fact that you can pretty much have a current phone for the rest of your life for $30 a month.

 

[44267547]

This is very amusing. Who actually cares if a phone lasts 7-10 years? Lol. Even more amusing on a tech enthusiast site.

I don’t understand your negative attitude towards that member (And I’d also add you’re incorrect with your logic), don’t you think they made a good point in terms of how long the phone will actually last? In terms of a longevity breakdown of iOS support, they made a lot of good points, and why would you need to point out if somebody would care or not for 7 to 10 years of support. In terms of some consumers, they do care, because we’re living in a world where iPhones are not upgraded as often anymore due to the prices, Pending the market that you actually live in where phones are not affordable.

 

[freeagent]

If I were to guess, it would be until 4gb ram isn’t enough, and/or the A12 can’t drive the new features, like any other older phone that gets cut out of the iOS loop. Look back to the legendary 5S, it lived forever.

 

[Falhófnir]

This is very amusing. Who actually cares if a phone lasts 7-10 years? Lol. Even more amusing on a tech enthusiast site.

Now, now, no need to be snide. There's a whole forum dedicated to PowerPC macs and a community of members that discusses using them as daily drivers, so I'd say discussion of device and developer support is very much part of the 'tech enthusiast' agenda. The fact you could use an iPhone for 5-6-7 years (and the benefits and drawbacks thereof) is the point here more than that many people will do so.

Yes, I am sure some will crawl out of the woodwork telling me that they still use their iphone 4 on a daily basis or whatever, but in reality it’s all a load of posturing and postulating, especially given how US centric this site is, and the fact that you can pretty much have a current phone for the rest of your life for $30 a month.

Loads of people all over the world, including the US, will just hang onto their iPhones until they no longer function for what they want to do, for a myriad of individual reasons. For some price may be a factor, but for many more it will simply be that they don't like change, or the rigmarole of upgrading - backing up and restoring; or for non techies that their phone simply does what they want so why invest the time and expense of changing it for no tangible benefit?