Don’t know when to say goodbye to your current iPhone and get a newer one? Maybe we can give you the nudge you need.
When you buy a new iPhone, you expect it to last—a high-quality phone should be useful for several years, at least. As times goes on, however, you may notice a few glitches here and there, but never give them a second thought. Why should you? Technology always comes with a few idiosyncrasies you take in stride.
While the issues on your iPhone may not be bothersome to you, they may indicate your device needs updating or replacing. How do you know when it’s time for a trade-in? Here are several major signs that it’s time for you to upgrade your iPhone to something better.
Battery Runs Down Quickly
The main reason for this is simple chemistry. Over time, the chemical components of your battery start to degrade, meaning they’ll hold less and less charge. After several hundred recharge “cycles” (roughly a year or two), the battery may have lost a fifth or more of its ability to hold a charge.
That’s why it’s important to avoid overnight charging to limit the number of unnecessary recharges.
Over time you will find yourself tethered to an outlet. Yes, there are actions you can take when your iPhone battery is draining in the hopes of extending the life of your mobile device. However, if your battery doesn’t hold its charge like it used to, but you still use it in the same way, save yourself the frustration and get a new iPhone ASAP.
You can’t get iOS updates any longer
Apple does a better job than any other phone maker of supporting old hardware with new versions of its operating system. iOS 15 is supported by iPhones going all the way back to the iPhone 6s (released in 2015). That’s six years old!
Even if you can live without the new features in the latest verison of iOS, you shouldn’t forego its security updates.
And Apple even put special effort into making iOS 15 run better on older devices that earlier versions of iOS. It’s a difference you can feel immediately.
If you can’t run iOS 15, it’s definitely time to upgrade. Not only are earlier versions of iOS missing important features, but there are critical security updates in every iOS release, too.
If you can’t upgrade to iOS 15, consider your old iPhone end-of-life and put it to pasture.
You’re embarrassed by your photos
When you bought your iPhone, you were amazed by the photos and videos you took. Now, every time you and your friend are taking photos of the same thing, you’re shocked by how good theirs looks and embarrassed by how bad yours looks.
iPhone cameras get better every year, and Apple’s always pushing the envelope. That doesn’t mean you have to get a new phone every year, but it does mean that the photos taken by an iPhone just three or four years old are going to look way worse than a new one.
Along with a new iPhone comes a better camera. Stop capturing grainy, low-resolution moments and start collecting crisp, clear, high-resolution memories.
You can’t find accessories for it anymore
You need a screen protector, but you can’t find one made for your iPhone model. It’s time for a new case, but the stores have only one or two to choose from. You were going to buy that car mount, but it’s made for iPhones of a different size, and yours doesn’t fit right.
Generally speaking, iPhones are so popular that you can find accessories for your particular model at major retailers for years. That’s definitely not true in the Android world; The collective Android market is huge, but no one model is popular enough to continue supporting for very long.
So if you can’t find accessories that fit or work with your iPhone, it’s definitely time to move on.
And if you have an iPhone with a 30-pin connector, you should have upgraded a few years ago.
You’re always out of storage space
You’ve tried everything. You store your photos and videos online. You have Optimize iPhone Storage enabled in the Photos section of the Settings app. You deleted all the apps you don’t really use. You’ve done everything you can to reduce Other storage.
Yet you still run out of space on your iPhone. You can’t download that app you want. You get a warning when you try to take photos. You get a warning when you try to update iOS.
You never want your iPhone storage to become completely full.
At some point, you have to face the facts—as operating systems and apps do more, they get bigger. As you take more photos, even the thumbnails and indices for them get bigger. The 16GB of space that was “just fine” when you bought your iPhone a few years ago now feels like trying to squeeze a fleet of SUVs into two-car garage.
You can’t upgrade your iPhone’s storage space. You can only get a new iPhone. And if storage limits are preventing you from using your iPhone the way you want to, maybe it’s time to consider that. You may not want to get the minimum storage space this time, for fear of being back in this boat again in a few years.
What’s the Best iPhone to Buy in 2022?
Now that you know whether you’re ready for a new iPhone, lets talk about the best iPhone to buy in 2022.
Best iPhone for most people
iPhone 14
In terms of upgrades, the iPhone 14 is expected to come with an in-display fingerprint sensor in 2022 alongside the Face ID unlocking feature. As per Kuo, the new models could retain the facial recognising TrueDepth Camera system for Face ID or not, or will have both the features to unlock the device.
Rumors Apple’s 2022 iPhone 14 will feature a notchless display with a hole-punch camera, A16 chip, flush rear cameras and more.
Best iPhone overall
iPhone 14 Pro
The iPhone 14 Pro is Apple’s smaller premium iPhone with a 6.1-inch screen size. It’s expected to have in-display fingerprint sensor and 48MP main camera on the back.
Some of the rumored upgrades in the camera department include a 48-megapixel lens on the pro models, a major jump from the usual 12MP. The pro models might also have 8K recording capabilities, an improvement from the current 4K limit on the iPhone 13 series.
Best iPhone value
iPhone 13
Out of the four phones in Apple’s iPhone 13 series, the regular 13’s spot is a bit overshadowed by its siblings. But if you look closely, you’ll realize it’s basically the iPhone 13 Pro with a $170 price cut. They have the same design, the same insanely fast A15 Bionic chip, the same 5G support, the same support for MagSafe charging, and the same selfie, wide and ultrawide cameras.
Best battery life
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 14 Pro Max, the top-end iPhone model of the 2022 series, is said to have the best battery ever.
According to DSCC’s Ross Young, the iPhone 14 Pro Max will have largest battery, boosting capacity and powering more features.