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maverick786us

macrumors regular
May 30, 2012
243
74
Columbus, GA
For me iPhone 4(2010) to 6(2014). So 4 years.
iPhone 6s Plus was my first iPhone that I bought in 2016, I kept it in a brand new good condition (except for battery health), When I bought iPhone XS Max I continued using it as my secondary Phone, until bought iPhone 12 Pro Max in July 2021 That 6s Plus is still in my drawer. Its a vintage.
 

subjonas

macrumors 603
Feb 10, 2014
5,554
5,883
About 6 years—SE1 to SE3.

Hopefully I can top that. I only upgrade when my phone is irreparable, or if a new phone has a feature or collective set of features that I consider must-have. But that’s rare for me—the last must-have feature for me was Apple Pay (made me upgrade from 5S to SE1). And before that was Touch ID (4S to 5S). Since Apple Pay, I haven’t considered any new feature or set of features must-have. But that’s also largely because I have a severe aversion to big phones, which all current iPhones are now to me. That big Con has outweighed all the Pros thus far.
 
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Mikeske

macrumors 6502
Jan 14, 2012
439
330
Washington
iPhone 4 to the big dumpster fire iPhone 7. That iPhone 7 was so bad that I kept that only 7 months and traded it in for a iPhone 8.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,429
12,445
iPhone 7 (2016) to SE2 (2020) so 4 years.

I’m rocking the SE3 (2022) now and I have a feeling I’ll be keeping that even longer than the iPhone 7 unless Apple does something to reduce or eliminate PWM on their OLED displays.
 

jouster

macrumors 65816
Jan 21, 2002
1,473
633
Connecticut
Bought my iPhone XR new in October 2018 and I'm still using it. Was tempted to finally upgrade this year to an iPhone 15, but I think I'll wait to see if the XR is dropped from iOS 18 as I suspect it might be and then update in Fall of 2024 to an iPhone 16 Pro and any new generative AI they introduce.
Same:

Original -> 4s -> 6 Plus -> XR.

I had a flirtation with Windows phone in the middle of that. Don't judge me. Actually, the Nokia Lumia Icon was a pretty nice phone--excellent camera; smooth interface; beautiful screen for the time. And, unlike iPhones, Verizon was giving them away for nothing as hardly anyone wanted to buy them.

I agree that our XRs won't see iOS 18. So, a 16 or 16 Pro is in my future.
 
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seggy

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2016
373
259
I used to be an every two years type of person for each phone (I usually had anywhere between 3-4 at one time) until the pandemic completely interrupted the upgrade cycle of my 11 Pros. I still have them - Turns out if you turn into a hermit and only take calls thru Facetime on your iPads for three years there's actually no need to upgrade your phone.

I did consider the 15 Pro last year but I'm still not out and about anywhere near as often, and when being out and about I actually felt minimally inconvenienced - partly due to my phones mostly being used for phone things, not expecting to do everything on them, and also because despite being 4 years old at this point the batteries are still at 90%.

And now, I'm just thinking I might as well ride it out for the full 5 years and get 16 Pro's. I might even reduce to two phones (third phone is Android) and just go down to the one Pro.

Keeping a phone for 4-5 years is something I've never done until now, and I'm pleasantly surprised by how little of a problem it actually is - it's still totally usably fast. Definitely wouldn't have been the case e.g. ten years ago, but you can really feel how things have plateaued. So there's a very real chance I might also hang onto the 16 Pro for about the same time.
 

Zdigital2015

macrumors 601
Jul 14, 2015
4,023
5,386
East Coast, United States
Same:

Original -> 4s -> 6 Plus -> XR.

I had a flirtation with Windows phone in the middle of that. Don't judge me. Actually, the Nokia Lumia Icon was a pretty nice phone--excellent camera; smooth interface; beautiful screen for the time. And, unlike iPhones, Verizon was giving them away for nothing as hardly anyone wanted to buy them.

I agree that our XRs won't see iOS 18. So, a 16 or 16 Pro is in my future.
No judgment here. The Windows Phone system (OS) was just fine. I liked the tiles. It was a missed opportunity on Microsoft’s part (I blame Ballmer) as their lens was firmly planted in the desktop and server licensing revenue frame of mind back then and I think they couldn’t figure out how to sell a an Enterprise CAL for a phone and so Windows Phone became a pariah very quickly.

I severely doubt the XR will see iOS 18, but it’s possible. I had finally started to notice the lags in apps other than Safari. I think 5 years is pretty good. I will say that I love my new iPhone 15 Plus and my wife loves hers. If I get 5 years out of this 15 Plus, I’ll be a happy camper.
 
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Macbookey

macrumors member
Dec 15, 2023
38
107
Used to be on the “S” cycle from 3GS, 4S, 5S, and 6S+. After 5 years with an iPhone X, went to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Looking to spend 4-5 years with this one as well.
 
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