iPhone 6(S)/Plus What is the average lifespan of an iPhone?

[Tsepz]

I have had my trusty 6s since a day after its debut in 2015 and surprisingly, I haven't had to replace my battery should I expect problems other than a battery that will eventually deplete to 0% battery capacity?

Well apparently the average iPhone owner keeps their iPhone for 4 years now:
Analyst: Average iPhone upgrade cycle now lasts four years, up from three in 2018

Analyst: Average iPhone upgrade cycle now lasts four years, up from three in 2018 - 9to5Mac

Toni Sacconaghi from Bernstein, who says that the average iPhone upgrade time has increased to four years, up from three years in 2018.

9to5mac.com

I think this would coincide with how long people may be happy with their iPhone up until begins giving them issues and they really feel the need to upgrade.

I know many who still have iPhone 6s, 7 and 8, they simply don’t see the need to upgrade as these devices do all they need.

I doubt you will face any major issues outside of the battery aging, most other parts of a smartphone can keep going for many years, the only the other parts that may go bad is the screen along with the parts that move, so that means your Ring/Silent switch and your home button to.

 

[a-m-k]

I'm looking forward to the day I do upgrade. I am hoping to get at least a year from the purchase date more out of it. It's a little over five years old now. It's almost tripled my first iPhone. (the 5c)

 

[neoelectronaut]

This is rather subjective. My iPhone ownership is generally three to five years. My mother is using my previous iPhone, a iPhone 5c, which I purchased at launch in 2013.

 

[Nordichund]

My old 6s did a great job until late last year as the battery just became too unreliable, one minute it was at 80% and next it was under 20. I had hoped it would last until 5G was introduced.
I think 5-6 years is an acceptable life, but these phones are becoming so expensive, from an investment perspective I guess it depends just how profitable investing in one is for your individual particular needs.

I have the 11pro. I won't be upgrading this year, perhaps next depending just how necessary or not so necessary 5G will be. Currently, my plan is to buy a new phone in 2 years time. We'll see!

 

[Tapoma]

Well if you drop less then $70 on a new battery I bet you will feel like your 6s is a new phone! But if you just use it as a phone and minor uses, heck that thing will only become obsolete when telecoms stop supporting 4g and it becomes a wifi only device.

Wait what? 5G is barely up and running and I still sometimes even get 3G (or worse) if the 4G connection is patchy. Is 4G already being phased out in the near future?

I can attest to the new battery making a phone feel good as new though. I spent £20 for a new battery in my SE because after 2 years it was down to 75% battery health and would hold a charge for about 6 hours on standby, or 30-60 mins of use. After getting it replaced last year, my phone could last all day again or even longer. I was actually super close to upgrading to an 11 pro back then. The battery replacement saved me a lot of money!

 

[AjTee]

Exchanging my iPhone 8 this year. It is very slow for me after almost 3 years....

 

[1rottenapple]

Wait what? 5G is barely up and running and I still sometimes even get 3G (or worse) if the 4G connection is patchy. Is 4G already being phased out in the near future?

I can attest to the new battery making a phone feel good as new though. I spent £20 for a new battery in my SE because after 2 years it was down to 75% battery health and would hold a charge for about 6 hours on standby, or 30-60 mins of use. After getting it replaced last year, my phone could last all day again or even longer. I was actually super close to upgrading to an 11 pro back then. The battery replacement saved me a lot of money!

No I’m just theorizing about 4g getting replaced which is not coming anytime soon. OP iPhone will last for quite sometime maybe it’ll be useful as a phone until 4g service ends. Depending on the iPhone and how well it’s taken care it can last.

Source: The 3G Phase-Out Has Begun: What Your Businesses Should Do. ... However, all of this will soon change because major network service providers are beginning to shut down their support for 3G networks and devices. Verizon has already announced that it will end support for 3Gdevices on its network on

 

[Expos of 1969]

3 years seems to be a decent run.

 

[1rottenapple]

3 yrs lol do they spontaneously combust after that lol

 

[Expos of 1969]

3 yrs lol do they spontaneously combust after that lol

Well no but people often want something new after that time frame. The phone itself without the influence of human desire and greed will go on for some years beyond three.

 

[Boyd01]

Still using my 6s Plus, battery is just fine for my limited needs. It is on wifi at home most of the time and frankly gets very little use. Am considering eventually upgrading to a 12 Pro Max, but the 6s Plus really does just about all I need so there's no rush.

 

[MiamiBeach]

I had an iPhone 6s until about a year ago. Was still working great when I sold it although it did need one battery replacement over the time that I had it.

 

[1rottenapple]

The 6s is a work house of a phone. the SE 1st gen has the same processor and that’s still kicking with software updates. we have one at home and it’s still plenty fast for light talk.

 

[kukheart]

I'm on a 3 year cycle. Seems like that's a sweet spot for me. 6s to XR to whatever for next year. They can last longer if well maintained and maybe a new battery.

 

[MiniApple]

still rocking my launch day in Spring 2016 SE (1. Gen) with the original battery, which is down to 81% health, as my daily driver. So it's been 4.5 years, slightly above average it seems.

for me these are reasons to eventually upgrade:

• when they stop supporting the device with security updates. Was awesome to discover they still released them earlier this year for the 6/6s of my parents, who are now on a SE (2020).
• I'm envious of the wonderful cameras/photo capabilities of the newer iPhones. the SE shows it's age here.

the high prices and large sizes didn't make upgrading attractive to me so far.
the iPhone 12 Mini (5.4) is very tempting though, but I might to wait 1 more year to upgrade to the rumored 2021 version, if there is no power button TouchID on this one.

 

[Chief Oddball]

I’ve never had a hardware failure with an iPhone, other than battery, and I’ve had numerous iPhones including the original. I consider them to be very reliable devices. I’m currently still on a launch 6s Plus whose battery is going bad, despite iOS reporting 91% life...it will sometimes drop 60% in the span of 10 minutes while it’s just sitting there. I’m getting a 12 Pro Max this year so I’m just biding my time, but this 6s would still be perfectly fine to use if I did a battery replacement.

Despite that, I won’t keep an iPhone as a daily driver once it stops receiving iOS updates. At that point the app incompatibility and potential security vulnerabilities become a concern to me.

The only iPhone I couldn’t get rid of fast enough was the 6 Plus I had right before this. It was terribly slow and kept recycling apps on the background. Just didn’t have enough RAM at all.

 

[iZac]

I had an iPhone 5, whose power button failed after just under a year. Replaced under warranty, and the 2nd one's rear camera just stopped working after about 2 years. Replaced that with a day-one iPhone SE in 2016. It's been nearly perfect except I've dropped it so much that the front camera has started vacuuming up dust after one too many drops. Battery is also pretty rubbish after 4 1/2 years but the performance is still great.

 

[JUCJ85]

I have my old 6+ and 7+, and they work fine, that's what my Mom & Sister were using until I got them the XS's, my XS Max is still going great 2yrs later. Had a 6S+, but that thing had some issues, we took it to the Apple Store, cause it was saying to restore, tried everything, ended up being useless, only iPhone I've had that has had issues.

 

[kevink2]

Let me go ask my iPhone 3GS, my 4, my 4s, my 5 and my 6s+. I'll get back to you on that.

Still actively use those?

My 6 I bought, replaced battery at just under 2 years, is still in daily use by my Brother in Law. On the other hand, I traded in my X last December because the battery was showing replace in the settings, but the Apple Store couldn't open the phone to replace the battery.

 

[eyoungren]

Still actively use those?

My 6 I bought, replaced battery at just under 2 years, is still in daily use by my Brother in Law. On the other hand, I traded in my X last December because the battery was showing replace in the settings, but the Apple Store couldn't open the phone to replace the battery.

Actively? Yes, but as primary phones, no. Each one of my phones has a specific purpose though, so they do get used. My 6s+ was my primary up until May of last year. Now it's my secondary and the only one of these phones that has an active SIM in it.

 

[shadow puppet]

I had to look up when my iPhone 6 was manufactured. Can't believe it's now 6 years old and currently my main phone. But I freely admit I am looking forward to upgrading to the 6.1" iPhone 12.

 

[kevink2]

Actively? Yes, but as primary phones, no. Each one of my phones has a specific purpose though, so they do get used. My 6s+ was my primary up until May of last year. Now it's my secondary and the only one of these phones that has an active SIM in it.

A couple years ago before I impulse purchased an SE I got an old 3G out of storage and was going to use it for a PPU "Home phone" replacement phone. It was just too obsolete even for this usage.

I messed around with my older phones today. The 7+ was reactivated for my main backup number. The SE got my "home home" sim installed. My 6s is currently unused, but available in a pinch in case my sister or brother in law needs a phone on short notice.

 

[fezzzer]

Check out page 30 of this environmental document from Apple: https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2019.pdf

They are manufacturing devices to last as long as possible. This was released in the year of the XS, but the principles are the same. iOS 14 for example is supported on devices as old as the iPhone 6S (released in 2015) so they’re supporting the latest iOS for at least 5 years.

 

[eyoungren]

A couple years ago before I impulse purchased an SE I got an old 3G out of storage and was going to use it for a PPU "Home phone" replacement phone. It was just too obsolete even for this usage.

I messed around with my older phones today. The 7+ was reactivated for my main backup number. The SE got my "home home" sim installed. My 6s is currently unused, but available in a pinch in case my sister or brother in law needs a phone on short notice.

The major uses I have them for are streaming music. Even the 3GS I have can run an app that will stream music. With my Intel Macs and Airserver (and my PC too) I can send what's being streamed to any speakers connected to those Macs.

My iPhone 4 sits in a dock in the garage. My Mac-Mini in the garage is connected to a loudspeaker via Bluetooth. I can use the Mini for other things while the iPhone 4 is streaming music to the Mini, which is passing it to the loudspeaker via BT.

Additionally, all these devices have BT themselves, so connecting to my Beats or to any other Bluetooth speaker is also an option. That's ideal when working away as the computer I may be using isn't the one streaming the music. All of that keeps my primary phone to be used just as a phone.

That's just one example of how I'm using them.

 

[tranceking26]

In my experience the battery will need a swap at some point.

I always look after my iPhone's so everything else works great to this day. My 4 on iOS 6 works as well as it did when it was my main phone.