Old iPhone

This is one of those blogs I started about 2 months ago, and only got around to finishing off today! I’ve been running my own company since 2003 and had a pretty standard approach to replacing the ICT equipment I use or at least did until recently when I was still using a relatively old (for me) iPhone 7.

My approach had been pretty straight forward:

• Mobile phones replaced every 2 years
• Laptops replaced every 3 years
• Desktops replaced every 4 years
• Servers replaced every 5 years

The Desktop and Server rules were always fluid, but I pretty much replaced my mobile devices within a few months of them hitting 2 or 3 years of age.

For mobile phones that started with a couple of Nokia phones (an N70 and the Nokia Communicator) before I switched to using an iPhone with the 3GS. I replaced that with a 4S, 5, 6 and then 7 back in 2016.

Laptops started with a Toshiba (I forget the model, but it was big, blue and heavy!) and then a Sony Vaio, followed by 3 MacBook Airs (2008, late 2010 and 2013) and the MacBook from 2016 that I’m typing this on.

My current Desktop is well outside the rules, and is a 2011 27′ iMac and my Server was home-built in 2015 rocking a Intel Xeon processor and running FreeNAS (as you’d know if you’ve seen any of my other blogs!)

So what happened in 2018? Why didn’t I replace my iPhone 7? Simple. The iPhone X, or more specifically the price of the iPhone X and then a year later the XS. I couldn’t justify spending over £1000 on a mobile phone, and since my iPhone 7 has 256GB of storage that’s where things had got to with iPhone upgrades.

I’m also not a huge fan of large phones, and have never considered one of the Plus sized phones as they never felt comfortable to hold, even though the extra screen and battery life was tempting.

So the XS releases this year was going to cost £1149, which I wasn’t willing to pay. The XR looked like it might work at £899, but it’s just too big and more along the lines of a Plus model, even though the XS Plus is even bigger.

So what inspired this blog (a couple of months ago)? Well, I actually caved and decided to order a now 18-month-old iPhone X! Refurbished from Apple for £899, so the same price I paid for my iPhone 7 back in 2016. Still a lot of money for a phone, but somewhat more palatable that £1149!!

The iPhone 7 was handed down to my partner, and as Apple had replaced the battery last year, it’s still a nice upgrade on the 6 she was using. I still pick it up from time to time and love the size, weight and feel of the jet black design.

Her 6 (my old one) has been handed down to my daughter who is super excited as she was playing with my old 4 in the house. Whilst it still worked, it was starting to show its age, and the 6 is a massive upgrade. My Grandma still has and is using my old 5 daily!

You do have to hand it to Apple though. Their devices hold up well over time and you certainly get your monies worth from a longevity perspective.