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I've had an iPhone SE for about 2 years now and I dread the day that I will have to replace this phone. Is it possible to buy a couple more right now and just s

I've had an iPhone SE for about 2 years now and I dread the day that I will have to replace this phone. Is it possible to buy a couple more right now and just store them in a cool dry place for the next 5 - 10 years? Would the battery life, etc, still be good?

Nextgrid 8y ago
Third-party replacement batteries will most likely keep being produced for ages still.
jakobegger 8y ago
Lithium-Ion batteries degrade even without use. So the battery wouldn't be as good as new anymore. But a lot of factors affect battery degradation. State of charge is probably the easiest -- make sure that the battery is not full, and make sure they don't run empty either (check the charge every couple of months or so to make sure they don't get empty). I'm not sure what charge percentage and temperature is best for storing, but around 50% to 70% and a cool, but not freezing room is probably a good idea. I'd assume that the fridge is too cold, but I don't have any data to back that up.
unicornporn 8y ago
In 5-10 years your biggest problem would be no more OS updates and no security updates.
- SamuelAdams 8y ago
  Or app developers not updating their apps for smaller phones. When the minority of people cause the majority of the work, app devs tend to ship even if it's broken. Firefox is a great example: many sites are working great in Safari / Chrome, but are broken / not as nice when viewed in Firefox. Again, Firefox is used by considerably less people.
  - bunderbunder 8y ago
    It's not even that alone, it's app developers both dropping support for the old OS in new versions of their app, and then actively disabling old versions of their app. This was what ultimately did in my last iPhone. I kept it well past when iOS upgrades ended, and over time apps stopped working. At first it was stuff that's pretty easy to let go of. My mobile provider's app was the first to go, but I could still do everything I wanted through their website. Eventually it starts to be stuff that's sort of the whole reason you own a smartphone instead of a dumb phone.
system2 8y ago
I am certain Apple will continue selling SE or something similar. They sort of got the message from their users. There will be much better phones in 5-6 years, hopefully with amazing battery life.
- jonnytran 8y ago
  How do you know they got the message? There has been no indication of any major phone company making a phone in this form factor that even comes close. If there were, I'd love to know about it. I switched from Android to iOS just for the iPhone SE form factor. At the time, there was no other decent phone in its size. Three years later, the situation hasn't changed. As my SE ages, I'm wondering what I will ever use next. Why do you think things will change in 5 to 6 years? Is your optimism justified by anything?
  - read_if_gay_ 8y ago
    >How do you know they got the message? Well, it is back in stock after all.
    - jonnytran 8y ago
      But it's the same old hardware in the clearance section of their website. We want an updated version of the iPhone SE, the so-called SE2, with new internals. Not to mention, some promise that iOS updates will continue to be supported.
tim333 8y ago
I'm using a 6 year old iPhone 5. The batteries go but that's not a problem as they are easy to replace. The thing that is a problem is some new software won't work if you don't have a 64 bit processor. I can't catch Pokemon any more! Otherwise good. I wouldn't actually recommend storing a SE. Just repair your present one and if it croaks buy a good used on on eBay.

Nextgrid 8y ago

Third-party replacement batteries will most likely keep being produced for ages still.

jakobegger 8y ago

Lithium-Ion batteries degrade even without use. So the battery wouldn't be as good as new anymore. But a lot of factors affect battery degradation. State of charge is probably the easiest -- make sure that the battery is not full, and make sure they don't run empty either (check the charge every couple of months or so to make sure they don't get empty). I'm not sure what charge percentage and temperature is best for storing, but around 50% to 70% and a cool, but not freezing room is probably a good idea. I'd assume that the fridge is too cold, but I don't have any data to back that up.

unicornporn 8y ago

In 5-10 years your biggest problem would be no more OS updates and no security updates.

SamuelAdams 8y ago
Or app developers not updating their apps for smaller phones. When the minority of people cause the majority of the work, app devs tend to ship even if it's broken. Firefox is a great example: many sites are working great in Safari / Chrome, but are broken / not as nice when viewed in Firefox. Again, Firefox is used by considerably less people.
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  It's not even that alone, it's app developers both dropping support for the old OS in new versions of their app, and then actively disabling old versions of their app. This was what ultimately did in my last iPhone. I kept it well past when iOS upgrades ended, and over time apps stopped working. At first it was stuff that's pretty easy to let go of. My mobile provider's app was the first to go, but I could still do everything I wanted through their website. Eventually it starts to be stuff that's sort of the whole reason you own a smartphone instead of a dumb phone.

system2 8y ago

I am certain Apple will continue selling SE or something similar. They sort of got the message from their users. There will be much better phones in 5-6 years, hopefully with amazing battery life.

jonnytran 8y ago
How do you know they got the message? There has been no indication of any major phone company making a phone in this form factor that even comes close. If there were, I'd love to know about it. I switched from Android to iOS just for the iPhone SE form factor. At the time, there was no other decent phone in its size. Three years later, the situation hasn't changed. As my SE ages, I'm wondering what I will ever use next. Why do you think things will change in 5 to 6 years? Is your optimism justified by anything?
- read_if_gay_ 8y ago
  >How do you know they got the message? Well, it is back in stock after all.
  - jonnytran 8y ago
    But it's the same old hardware in the clearance section of their website. We want an updated version of the iPhone SE, the so-called SE2, with new internals. Not to mention, some promise that iOS updates will continue to be supported.

tim333 8y ago

I'm using a 6 year old iPhone 5. The batteries go but that's not a problem as they are easy to replace. The thing that is a problem is some new software won't work if you don't have a 64 bit processor. I can't catch Pokemon any more! Otherwise good. I wouldn't actually recommend storing a SE. Just repair your present one and if it croaks buy a good used on on eBay.