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> I have a 6 year old phone that was cheap when it was new, and it still runs 100% of what I use my phone for, and most people use their phones for, perfectly.

> I have a 6 year old phone that was cheap when it was new, and it still runs 100% of what I use my phone for, and most people use their phones for, perfectly. Just to be clear your suggesting that your 6 year old iPhone runs a suit of social media apps, full graphics games like Minecraft (or whatever the hell people play these days I don’t know), fitness apps, connects to the latest audio devices like Apple’s AirPods Pro (as an example), works with CarPlay/Android Auto, has wireless charging capability, can place 3D objects in a room to help you plan out a new design, and allows you to use payments features like tap to pay? Plus equivalent camera and video quality? Because if your phone doesn’t do all of those things and perform as well and have great battery life too, your 6 year old Android phone doesn’t really do what most people use their phones for today.

BlueTemplar 1y ago
> full graphics games like Minecraft Lol, this is a terrible example. Have you *seen* Minecraft ?!? (A game that came out 16 years ago and could already run on cheap hardware back then.) > or whatever the hell people play these days I don’t know Well, better, but then this will still be mostly simple 2D games like Candy Crush or Balatro : https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/balatro-review https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/balatro-review
xyzzyz 1y ago
I don’t know anyone who uses their phone to play full graphics games or use it to plan out interior design, and for everything else, a 6 year old iPhone can most definitely do all of that. I know, because I did all of these things on an iPhone 11 up until earlier this year, and I only replaced it because the charging port was damaged.
- lightedman 1y ago
  "I don’t know anyone who uses their phone to play full graphics games or use it to plan out interior design" I use mine to design mines so people underground don't get killed - way more intensive than interior decorating.
  - xyzzyz 1y ago
    Congrats man, but that's not really germane to the point, which is that a 6 year old iPhone adequately satisfies the needs of majority of the population.
simonklitj 1y ago
My almost 5 year old iPhone 12 does all of this. No issues, no pull towards upgrading except for USB-C.
- ta1243 1y ago
  Not sure why I'd want USB-C and then have to spend a fortune to replace all my existing charger leads with the highly unreliable USB-C ecosystem.
  - Fade_Dance 1y ago
    Frankly, you might as well. It's an inevitability that you'll have to do that. If you're talking about charging a phone, the usb-c ecosystem is literally never going to give you even a single instance of annoyance. If you're talking about lightning and laptop sized power delivery then, yes the cables need better labeling, but all of those cables are going to work for charging a phone.
    - ta1243 1y ago
      I have several USB-C chargers and cables, some of which work to charge my headphones, some of which don't. How they managed to convert the simplicity and reliability of 20 years of USB-A into this mess is anyones guess.
  - Spunkie 1y ago
    With USB-C you don't actually have to pay the apple tax on cords or chargers, so in no way should it "cost a fortune".
    - ta1243 1y ago
      I was in my local store on Friday looking for a new torch and had a quick browse of the chargers. USB-C cables were more expensive than lightning.
      - 1y ago
cardamomo 1y ago
I didn't think it matters if they are an average smartphone user. They are still representative of a person of smartphone users.
transcriptase 1y ago
An iPhone 11 does indeed do all of those things easily. The only thing it lacks is LiDAR, which I would argue very few people use intentionally and was introduced the following year anyway. Camera of course not going to be equivalent, but still takes stunning photos.
rocketvole 1y ago
I have an iPhone 8. It does literally everything you've listed, and the battery is cheap/easy to replace. My lg v30, with a battery replacement is about the same (albiet with a custom os since androids didn't get many years of updates back then)
- ericmay 1y ago
  Can you do tap-to-pay on iPhone 8? You can't play the latest games with the same performance and battery life on your iPhone 8 (if at all) as you can on the latest iPhone. You might not care about that but there are lots of people who do. Same with pictures. Do you have cinema mode on your iPhone 8? No you don't. For some that's a reason to upgrade - they really care about the features and quality of the camera. I don't see what the debate is here. This is very obvious and become more obvious and true the older the iPhone is.
gausswho 1y ago
I'd argue the that most people with phones use them largely for social apps, messengers, and the camera. Maybe social signaling.
dghlsakjg 1y ago
My 2019 iPhone 11 does all that just fine. I chose to replace the battery when it 80% of original capacity a few months ago.
ta1243 1y ago
Thinking about my previous iphones > Just to be clear your suggesting that your 6 year old iPhone runs a suit of social media apps No, I deleted them all - other than youtube (premium, no adverts). I used to have them 10 years ago though so a 10 year old phone would run them. > full graphics games like Minecraft (or whatever the hell people play these days I don’t know) I have a few games to pass the time in some cases, but a touchscreen is rubbish for proper gaming. Sadly some games I had (monkey island rings a bell) seem to have been removed. > fitness apps Alas I'm not particularly fit, however I do recall a fitness tracker on windows 3.1, so I imagine that the supercomputer in my pocket can keep track of my heart-rate with the right sensor. I am fairly sure these were all the rage when covid hit 5 years ago so it's a fair bet they'll work now. > connects to the latest audio devices like Apple’s AirPods Pro (as an example) Headphones? My 25 year old phone will do that. Bluetooth? I'm fairly sure my 3GS did that. Sadly modern phones don't do wired headphones any more, so have regressed on that metric. > works with CarPlay/Android Auto Yes, I had carplay in my 2016 car so any iphone since then will do carplay. > has wireless charging capability My 4 year old iphone does that, although I rarely use it. It came out 5 years ago. > can place 3D objects in a room to help you plan out a new design I have to admit I have never even considered doing that > and allows you to use payments features like tap to pay? Yes. It's face recognition so less convenient than the older phone it replaced which was a touch sensor and also did tap-to-pay, more like "double click, stare at phone, wait, then pay". Apple Pay came out over 10 years ago. > Plus equivalent camera and video quality? Equivalent to what? A decade ago Apple were doing big advertising spreads about how good iphones were. I assume phones released 4 years later were at least as good. Nothing on your list is a feature a phone from about 2016 didn't have, other than magnetic charging, and the 2020 era iphone 12 had that.
- ericmay 1y ago
  You're thinking about how you use your phone, not how most people use their phone. The reason people continue to upgrade their phones isn't always mindless consumerism. For example, when you write: > Headphones? My 25 year old phone will do that. Bluetooth? I'm fairly sure my 3GS did that. Sadly modern phones don't do wired headphones any more, so have regressed on that metric. You're already showing me how you don't understand what people are buying or why they are buying it. You're referencing wired headphones as if anyone besides a tiny group of people wants wired headphones anymore. People are buying AirPods and AirPods Pro - they want them connected to their Apple Watch so they can go for a run with them, and they want new health features that continue to be released for such devices. Reading these responses reminds me of the "inverse Reddit stock pics". If I were to take these responses seriously, and I don't because they are nonsense, Apple and others would be out of business tomorrow because any old Joe just wants to use their wired headphones and their 10 year old iPhone is JuST aS G00d. It's rubbish. Here's a good example haha: > Alas I'm not particularly fit, however I do recall a fitness tracker on windows 3.1 Yea man. That feature existed on Windows 3.1, ergo nobody should or would want to buy the next iPhone. Give me a break. Even so you yourself said you're not particularly fit. What makes you think you know the first thing about why people are buying new phones or new devices as it relates to fitness activities or apps?

BlueTemplar 1y ago

> full graphics games like Minecraft Lol, this is a terrible example. Have you *seen* Minecraft ?!? (A game that came out 16 years ago and could already run on cheap hardware back then.) > or whatever the hell people play these days I don’t know Well, better, but then this will still be mostly simple 2D games like Candy Crush or Balatro : https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/balatro-review https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/balatro-review

xyzzyz 1y ago

I don’t know anyone who uses their phone to play full graphics games or use it to plan out interior design, and for everything else, a 6 year old iPhone can most definitely do all of that. I know, because I did all of these things on an iPhone 11 up until earlier this year, and I only replaced it because the charging port was damaged.

lightedman 1y ago
"I don’t know anyone who uses their phone to play full graphics games or use it to plan out interior design" I use mine to design mines so people underground don't get killed - way more intensive than interior decorating.
- xyzzyz 1y ago
  Congrats man, but that's not really germane to the point, which is that a 6 year old iPhone adequately satisfies the needs of majority of the population.

simonklitj 1y ago

My almost 5 year old iPhone 12 does all of this. No issues, no pull towards upgrading except for USB-C.

ta1243 1y ago
Not sure why I'd want USB-C and then have to spend a fortune to replace all my existing charger leads with the highly unreliable USB-C ecosystem.
- Fade_Dance 1y ago
  Frankly, you might as well. It's an inevitability that you'll have to do that. If you're talking about charging a phone, the usb-c ecosystem is literally never going to give you even a single instance of annoyance. If you're talking about lightning and laptop sized power delivery then, yes the cables need better labeling, but all of those cables are going to work for charging a phone.
  - ta1243 1y ago
    I have several USB-C chargers and cables, some of which work to charge my headphones, some of which don't. How they managed to convert the simplicity and reliability of 20 years of USB-A into this mess is anyones guess.
- Spunkie 1y ago
  With USB-C you don't actually have to pay the apple tax on cords or chargers, so in no way should it "cost a fortune".
  - ta1243 1y ago
    I was in my local store on Friday looking for a new torch and had a quick browse of the chargers. USB-C cables were more expensive than lightning.
    - 1y ago

cardamomo 1y ago

I didn't think it matters if they are an average smartphone user. They are still representative of a person of smartphone users.

transcriptase 1y ago

An iPhone 11 does indeed do all of those things easily. The only thing it lacks is LiDAR, which I would argue very few people use intentionally and was introduced the following year anyway. Camera of course not going to be equivalent, but still takes stunning photos.

rocketvole 1y ago

I have an iPhone 8. It does literally everything you've listed, and the battery is cheap/easy to replace. My lg v30, with a battery replacement is about the same (albiet with a custom os since androids didn't get many years of updates back then)

ericmay 1y ago
Can you do tap-to-pay on iPhone 8? You can't play the latest games with the same performance and battery life on your iPhone 8 (if at all) as you can on the latest iPhone. You might not care about that but there are lots of people who do. Same with pictures. Do you have cinema mode on your iPhone 8? No you don't. For some that's a reason to upgrade - they really care about the features and quality of the camera. I don't see what the debate is here. This is very obvious and become more obvious and true the older the iPhone is.

gausswho 1y ago

I'd argue the that most people with phones use them largely for social apps, messengers, and the camera. Maybe social signaling.

dghlsakjg 1y ago

My 2019 iPhone 11 does all that just fine. I chose to replace the battery when it 80% of original capacity a few months ago.

ta1243 1y ago

Thinking about my previous iphones > Just to be clear your suggesting that your 6 year old iPhone runs a suit of social media apps No, I deleted them all - other than youtube (premium, no adverts). I used to have them 10 years ago though so a 10 year old phone would run them. > full graphics games like Minecraft (or whatever the hell people play these days I don’t know) I have a few games to pass the time in some cases, but a touchscreen is rubbish for proper gaming. Sadly some games I had (monkey island rings a bell) seem to have been removed. > fitness apps Alas I'm not particularly fit, however I do recall a fitness tracker on windows 3.1, so I imagine that the supercomputer in my pocket can keep track of my heart-rate with the right sensor. I am fairly sure these were all the rage when covid hit 5 years ago so it's a fair bet they'll work now. > connects to the latest audio devices like Apple’s AirPods Pro (as an example) Headphones? My 25 year old phone will do that. Bluetooth? I'm fairly sure my 3GS did that. Sadly modern phones don't do wired headphones any more, so have regressed on that metric. > works with CarPlay/Android Auto Yes, I had carplay in my 2016 car so any iphone since then will do carplay. > has wireless charging capability My 4 year old iphone does that, although I rarely use it. It came out 5 years ago. > can place 3D objects in a room to help you plan out a new design I have to admit I have never even considered doing that > and allows you to use payments features like tap to pay? Yes. It's face recognition so less convenient than the older phone it replaced which was a touch sensor and also did tap-to-pay, more like "double click, stare at phone, wait, then pay". Apple Pay came out over 10 years ago. > Plus equivalent camera and video quality? Equivalent to what? A decade ago Apple were doing big advertising spreads about how good iphones were. I assume phones released 4 years later were at least as good. Nothing on your list is a feature a phone from about 2016 didn't have, other than magnetic charging, and the 2020 era iphone 12 had that.

ericmay 1y ago
You're thinking about how you use your phone, not how most people use their phone. The reason people continue to upgrade their phones isn't always mindless consumerism. For example, when you write: > Headphones? My 25 year old phone will do that. Bluetooth? I'm fairly sure my 3GS did that. Sadly modern phones don't do wired headphones any more, so have regressed on that metric. You're already showing me how you don't understand what people are buying or why they are buying it. You're referencing wired headphones as if anyone besides a tiny group of people wants wired headphones anymore. People are buying AirPods and AirPods Pro - they want them connected to their Apple Watch so they can go for a run with them, and they want new health features that continue to be released for such devices. Reading these responses reminds me of the "inverse Reddit stock pics". If I were to take these responses seriously, and I don't because they are nonsense, Apple and others would be out of business tomorrow because any old Joe just wants to use their wired headphones and their 10 year old iPhone is JuST aS G00d. It's rubbish. Here's a good example haha: > Alas I'm not particularly fit, however I do recall a fitness tracker on windows 3.1 Yea man. That feature existed on Windows 3.1, ergo nobody should or would want to buy the next iPhone. Give me a break. Even so you yourself said you're not particularly fit. What makes you think you know the first thing about why people are buying new phones or new devices as it relates to fitness activities or apps?