I’m a person that keeps devices for many years. But now my iPhone XS Max is really half-dead. I decided to wait until now with upgrading, in order to get the latest device. So for about six months I used this zombie with a cracked display, constantly closing apps in the background, always on the brink of my 64 gb memory and a battery that forces me to plug in the phone as soon as I see a power plug.
Actually the incremental changes to the phones since the XS weren’t super interesting to me each of their own, so I was happy with this model for quite some time.
But now it’s showtime and I’m gonna get the Dynamic Island and the always on display and the action button and the really cool camera button and very much better cameras and more memory and a super fast chip and all that all at once.
I’m excited! I watched the event and of course I know it’s a lot of marketing and stuff, but I just decided to let them just brainwash me this time and then I’m gonna be reasonable and critical again for the next six years.
I was rocking an iPhone 8 Plus last year and boy did I enjoy last year’s event!
To be honest, I got a 15 Pro Max because I need a huge screen size but the “pro” features that were advertised last year… well, I’ve used none. I think I’ve read somewhere else that the Pro lines is beginning to become targeted towards video & creation professionals which I think makes sense.
But anyway don’t be afraid! Enjoy splurging! The great thing about changing phone every 5 years is that they are all formidable!
I think that’s a reasonable approach to iPhone ownership. Unless you earn a living with the latest camera phone, save your money. If you have the urge to do something with the $1000, put some into savings account and donate the rest to a charity of your choice.
I have a 13 Pro Max, and I’m skipping an upgrade again this year; I haven’t watched this year’s keynote and don’t plan to watch it. This will be the first time I haven’t watched an iPhone event since the first iPhone was released. My iPhone is in perfect shape. Besides, there are rumors that next year’s model will see a more significant redesign.
I only write short texts on my phone, up to three sentences, for a brief email or text message. While I’d like to have the AI features on the phone, I can wait until after AI is fully baked and rolled out next year. Most of my work is done on the iPad and Mac, both of which support Apple Intelligence.
Hmmm… I wonder if I’m becoming slightly jaded with Apple’s over-the-top hyperbole regarding new iPhones and other tech. I found myself resonating with The Atlantic’s recent article, where the author wrote:
Today, in a streamed presentation, Apple announced the latest version of the iPhone, along with upgrades to the AirPods and the Apple Watch. As has been the case since the start of the pandemic, the presentation took the form of a prerecorded showcase, with lots of camera movement and hyper-rehearsed delivery by Apple staff. Over 100 interminable minutes, Apple demonstrated both ordinary activities (email, photo management) and professional ones (filmmaking, audio recording) that will be facilitated by modest updates to what amount to basically the same devices the company has made and sold for a decade. “What a remarkable day of announcements,” CEO Tim Cook said in conclusion, but I struggle to believe that he meant it. This was, let us be honest, merely a day of announcement.
I will acknowledge that various changes and improvements to the product lineup are, in fact, on offer. What they are, exactly, is wearying to explain—the annual announcement has become so jargon-rich that my brain shuts down to protect itself.
My ambivalent feelings about Apple’s annual sales pitch is one reason why I haven’t bothered to watch the presentation about the new phone and watches.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m an Apple fan, as my check book will attest, but I sometimes feel like I’m being sold “Kool-aid.” 
Surely I’m not the only one who feels this way sometimes? Is this heresy for this forum? I hope not as I generally try to avoid heresy. 
They are good at finding big words for moderately big things.
I always have to laugh hard when they say stuff like: „This is our fastest chip EVER!“ „This is the best iPhone we EVER made.“
I really wait for them to say: „This is second best iPhone we EVER made, we really only like the 2019 model better!“
I remember vividly when Facetime was introduced and Steve Jobs said several times cheerfully: „you can use it ANYWHERE where‘s wifi“. As if anybody would expect the thing to work only on specific wifi’s. In reality this of course meant: sorry, it doesn’t work on mobile yet.
I watched part of it. I’m curious about “Apple Intelligence” but I heard a lot of comments that included words like “. . . to come”, “ . . . will be able” , “. . . is going to”.
So I’m “going to” wait another year to upgrade.
I‘m not super interested in the AI stuff, but was still disappointed because I‘m in Germany and it seems like most of it isn’t coming to us soon.
I agree. I have - on more than one occasion – got myself excited for a new feature or product. I then receive said product, check the 3 new features out, then never go back to them again. Even buying a new phone after 2 or 3 iterations (I am an every 2 year guy) you realize after 12 mins that it’s basically the same phone you just gave up, but now it zooms a little more and the battery lasts 20 mins longer. 95% of their list of features are just fluff that I never touch.
Case in point; I have a Series 9. When I saw the larger screen on the 10 (I’m a sucker for bigger screens), I seriously considered an upgrade. Then I saw that it could detect sleep apnea – I was pretty sure I was going to upgrade, but I knew I needed to sit on this for 24 hrs. I woke up today and realized the sleep apnea stuff is coming to older watches too, and the bigger screen would be something I’d notice for about half a day.
They’re good at the “you must get this” game.
Final thought – I have the Sony XM5 over ear headphones. They are great, and I also owned the XM3’s prior to that. I’ve always had an eye on the Airpods Pro but for the price, the additional weight, that “case”, and the fact the only upgrade is now to USB C…
As Cosmo Kramer would say – “surely you jest”.
Wow, that’s bigger than most iPads! 
Thanks for pointing this out! I have a 15 Pro Max and a Series 9, and I’ve been feeling a lot more wishful about the new watch than the new phone. But you know, in a year the new one will be even better. By then they might even have better battery life, which would really be a meaningful upgrade.
If you look at the product pages for the iPhone 16 series on Apple’s EU sites, they contain an entirely different copy and do not mention Apple Intelligence anywhere (it’s highlighted right away on the US product pages).
So, yeah, it’s not promising, and technically Apple don’t have to release it within this product cycle at all as they have not sold the phone to us based on being able to run AI. We’ll be paying for more expensive phone which lacks the flagship feature. Not great.
I’m going to take advantage of AT&T’s upgrade path to trade in my 13 Pro Max and my wife’s 12 for a 16 Pro Max for myself and a 16 Pro for my wife. Each phone gets a $1000 credit, so her phone will be free and mine will be $200. Yes, it (sort of) locks us in to AT&T for 3 more years, but we did the same thing 3 years ago and I don’t have any complaints.
He also said it’d be an open standard and that didn’t pan out
As someone who buys a new phone every year, I really don’t understand why anyone else does.
Most years I feel these presentations can just be a press release.
Love the quote!
20 characters
Ooops, that’s funny. I’ll correct.
I have a 15 Pro Max, was debating the 16 Pro Max last night. My wife and I usually hand my phone down to my in-laws, they never upgrade or are aware of updates. Honestly, if there was a to manage their devices for them, I would look into that. Last year when I upgraded to the 15 PM, we gave them our 11 Pro and Pro Max. I think iOS18 will still be supported on their phones. I could technically wait till next year.
I am debating of upgrading the watch. I am wearing a Series 4. The 10 looks good, but as mentioned earlier by @AppleGuy the “shine” wears off rather quick these days. (probably goes to the point of the constant need for new stimulation) But sleep apnea? My wife tells me she knows I have it simply by watching breathe/catch my breath when I sleep. LOL. Larger surface area of watch seems good. The only motivator upgrading is that watchOS 11 will not be supported on the Series 4. The watch is dead in the water from future updates.
My wife and I are using iPhone 13s and they’re fine but the kids are using 11s and they’re starting to show their age - batteries are suffering and one has a flaky screen (had to be replaced due to damage).
So we’re getting 16s and passing the 13s down. The only reason I can see getting the Pro is for the 5x optical zoom or a different color (but the phone goes in a case, so what’s it matter?), and I can live without that. The Pro model seems to be moving toward “you gotta really need it” territory at least for this rev.