I am hoping for some advice, since I’m preparing my final step to go all in on Apple which means switching from my “old” S7 Edge to an iPhone 11 (or 12) Pro.
At first I thought I’d definitely wait for the successor to the 11 Pro, especially as I was hoping for usb-c and potentially a no notch design. It doesn’t disturb me if these features won’t come. I was just thinking that if there is a chance it might as well be worth the wait.
Now I read up on the current rumors on macrumors and it seems it is unlikely that the notch will disappear completely (in the coming release). Also, mass production will probably be rather later in the year than sooner due to Corona…
Now my question is: am I missing something that would justify the wait?
Also, after a second thought it seems that it’s more sound to buy the latest cycle rather than the first (as often done with updating software, or macOS) and then sell and update once the successor has proven itself. My understanding is that iPhones pretty much keep their value, so the sell and upgrade strategy should be possible without “loosing” too much money.
I’d be interested if my reasoning makes sense, or if there is a more elegant/better way to look at it.
Thanks in advance for any insights or recommendations.
My rule is to only buy an iPhone on the release date, the day that orders open up, to maximize the amount of time I get to enjoy the latest and greatest model.
And don’t place any stock in rumors until about a month before the announcement. None whatsoever. They’re all likely to be rubbish until the weeks up to the event. And even then, take rumors with hefty grains of salt.
Two alternative strategies:
Buy the next oldest model, to enjoy a discount. When the iPhone 12 is announced, buy the iPhone 11.
Just buy when you’re ready to buy. Who cares if it’s the newest phone? It’s new to you.
thanks for your perspective. I’ve been thinking about it in the past few days.
That’s my general rule of thumb, too. I guess I did get a little carried away by the rumours. Thanks for reminding me of the salt.
I guess the real answer is that I’m growing impatient and now that I realised that I’ll go ahead and live my life until I either get impatient enough to buy the 11pro. In that case I’ll upgrade once the 12pro is ready to ship and see the upgrade price as a price tag for my impatience. The second scenario is that I will stay patient and just go with your mentioned rule of thumb.
Either way I’ll end up with shiny new tech that’s probably another universe compared to my now aging S7 Edge …especially considering the seamless interplay throughout the apple ecosystem.
Choose buy now or wait until the new models come out. Either is a valid choice, with obvious benefits and drawbacks.
Buy now and you only get the pleasure of owning the latest greatest model for a few months. If that kind of thing matters to you, then that’s a drawback to buying now.
Wait until later and you’re using the phone you no longer like for months. In a normal year, that would be four or five months. This year, could be long, based on rumors about supply chain issues.
I have a friend whose rule is he just buys when he needs to, regardless of Apple’s upgrade cycle, and he buys the second newest model. If he was buying today, he’d buy the XR rather than the 11.
Contrast that with my strategy, which is, as I said, to buy the newest phone, on the day it’s announced.
My friend’s strategy is more sensible, but mine is more fun. And, like MacSparky, Apple hardware is just about the only expensive luxury I have. That’s by choice — other than Apple gear, I just don’t care about a lot of fancy luxuries.
Personally, if I were in your situation I’d pick up one of the new iPhone SE’s while waiting for the 12 to come out – so you can get your iOS all sorted out the way you like it.
Outside of the time it takes to sell a phone online, it might only cost you around $175 after all is said and done, to effectively “rent” an iPhone for the rest of the year…
Or pick up a used XR, XS, X-whatever on Swappa and then sell that.
Tough choice. You’re asking at almost the worst time of the year.
I agree that buying and later selling a used iPhone is lowest risk if you need to replace your Edge, assuming you’re not hard on screens and you use a case.
I’ll also say that I like the 11 Pro so much more than the XS. I think it’s one of the tentpole iPhone releases. If you are good at staying content when new products come out then I think you’ll be happy with one for awhile.
Hi everyone and thanks a lot for your answers! I appreciate it.
Yes, a totally valid option. A few days ago I asked my girlfriend if she didn’t want to switch platforms, too: that way the sale would have stayed in the house.
So true…
I am pretty careful with my tech in general. In terms of phones Otterbox is my sensible default, even if I know there are cases conveying more style. And I am the kind of guy that cleans his girlfriends Macbook because I see its jealous look when I clean mine.
I think the most comfortable option for me is maybe a combination of sorts: go with the 11pro now, use it until after the 12 is out for a while and then upgrade once the current cycle completed its first 100 days or so. This way any potential issues with a newly released device could be sorted out. To be honest, I would hate nothing more to buy a 1200$+ phone and then have some sort of issues (as I had with my Macbook Pro keyboard resulting in changing the top case twice).
In terms of need to replace my Edge: well, it is not defect but pretty worn and since I switched from Todoist to Omnifocus and made some other changes I see it getting more “useless” every day.
…especially considering the seamless interplay throughout the apple ecosystem.
