I was just thinking how much easier it would be for me to upgrade to a new iPhone if the transfer process was easier and faster.
I know Apple has come a long with in making transfers super robust and straightforward but it still takes a bit of time to log in to all your services, download data, set up wallets, etc.
I’ve been eyeing the new iPhone 15 Pro and thinking of switching from my 14 now instead of waiting for the next year but I probably won’t do it just because I don’t feel like dealing with the hassle.
No, this does not influence my decision to buy a new phone. I only upgrade every 5 years or so. I end up just starting again as by that point I’ve installed loads of stuff I don’t use anymore.
I only upgrade when there is a compelling reason to do so, hence why I’m still on a 13 Pro. A new redesign, breakthrough features or end-of-life for the phone are the only reasons I’d upgrade. Recent generations have made me less likely to upgrade for a while if the trend continues. The new camera, materials and resized notch definitely don’t make me want to spend hundreds on a new phone!
I would say yes. My ageing iPhone 8+ is begging for a replacement and I am seriously reluctant to upgrade just because my latest iPad migration went bonkers and I had to manually install everything again, so I decided to wait for another year, we’ll see.
I tend to upgrade more than I need to because the camera upgrades are what drives me. And I like to get enough trade-in or sale value for my older phone as I can.
I think it really only takes me a couple of hours to transfer everything? And that’s doing most of it manually. Usually the only thing I transfer over is the eSIM.
i also look at this as an opportunity to clear stuff out that I don’t user. Generally I make a list of apps I’ll download again, and just set those up again. I can download anything I need later.
Granted, I don’t use my phone for much in the way of automation or services, so maybe it’s just easier for me because I”m just not tied into much. Or maybe I have a different threshold for how much to put into it. Does it take you more than a few hours to set everything up?
I don’t think the transfer process is that slow, and I migrate 256GB devices. It’s almost completely unattended, so the main issue would be if you needed to use your phone during that time.
Of all the factors that go into my decision about whether to upgrade or not, this isn’t even on the list.
I don’t know that it’s that painful, if it goes correctly? I did a new iPad yesterday, once it actually worked (problem and solution to Quick Start issue here), it took about 30 mins and I left it running while I did something else, just checking in on it occasionally.
The app that took the longest was DevonThink To Go (I use shallow sync), which took an additional 40 mins once the device was set up. DevonThink can’t be in the background whilst re-syncing data, so I just left it to do its thing.
All my other apps were fine (that I have noticed, so far).
I’ve not had to re-log into any services (NB. I have no banking apps on my iPad), and the only widget that needed me to open the app before it started running was my weather forecast, which didn’t know my location until I re-opened the app.
Apple Wallet transferred the actual card details from the old device to the new device automatically. Here in the UK Apple isn’t authorised to move the bank cards to a new device (for my bank at least), but Apple pulled over the new details and triggered the security alert from my bank so that I could receive a new verification code, so it only actually took a minute to sort.
All in all, the actual transfer when it worked was probably as easy as Apple can make it?
(Of course, because Quick Start has a stupid bug and wouldn’t work until I found the post on here about how to resolve it, I actually spent 1.5hours preceding that trying to get Quick Start to actually work… But you don’t have to suffer that fate because you have been forewarned!)
I spend enough years between upgrades anyway that the time it takes to transfer is immaterial. I only buy new tech when the old no longer is suitable or the new offers something I feel is important enough for the expense. Frankly the improvements between each year’s iPhones is marginal for my usage.
I did it for the brighness of the screen. My 12 was to the point of not being visbile enougb to work on outside. I need to take photos and notes as part of the work flow as I am auditing things in the field. I can see the screen in the bright sun and I have the action button set to open a draft note for dictation.
In May this year I moved from an iPhone 7 Plus to a iPhone 14 Plus. Yes, a “doubling up” on version numbers, but that a coincidence.
I did the move, I thought and still recall, satisfyingly quick in the Apple Store. Just put the two devices next to each other and followed the software’s instructions. Upon completing the transfer, handed over the iPhone 7 to the Apple Genius and then walked out of the store. It was not “instantaneous”, but I didn’t anticipate nor expect that. Quick enough.
The time required to transfer my data has no influence over my decision to upgrade my phone or not. As long as everything transfers correctly (which hasn’t been a problem through three upgrades), I don’t particularly care.
Hard to imagine it being any easier. Just switched from a 13 to a 15PM by putting the phones next to each other and waiting until it was done transferring everything, including my T-Mobile phone account. Took a little while because I chose hard wired transfer between phones, but my wife restored from an iCloud backup instead and it was much faster because apps finished downloading after the transfer was completed.
No, it would not deter me from buying a new phone. Last new iPhone 13 Pro I set up as new, but could just as easily restored it from an iCloud backup failing an easy transfer.