What's your iPhone Journey

[NanoSour]

After reading about Apples profit domination in the smartphone arena, I thought it would be interesting to hear about members iPhone history. Here's mine.

1) Jun/2007 - Purchased 1st Gen on release day (didn't stand in line went to Providence mall apple store at 7PM and there was no line)
2) Jun/2009 - Upgrade to iPhone 3GS
3) Jun/2010 - Upgrade to iPhone 4 * 2 (brought DW on board)

Was definitely a "power user" prior to ER in 2013, but now hardly use any data and switched from ATT to consumer cellular 3 years ago at considerable savings.

iPhone 4 is still going strong and is my primary phone even though it is stuck on iOS 7. Hoping to get 2 more years out of them.

 

[REWahoo]

I decided years ago not to take the trip so never set out on the journey.

 

[Running_Man]

Bought a used Iphone 5S a year ago for $99. Works fine for what I need

 

[Ronstar]

I don't remember the exact journey, but I think it was 1,3,5s. Still using my company 5s phone. Using a lot less data in retirement, and i make only a few calls a week.

 

[athena53]

Got a company-issued iPhone 4 when I changed jobs in 2012. (Big improvement over previous employer's Blackberry!) When I quit there 3 years ago I asked if I could keep the phone. Yes- for $500. (This was for an 18-month old phone and 5 had just been introduced.) Bozos. I told them to keep it and bought myself a shiny new 5s for $550.

I'm not wedded to the iPhone- have been able to live without whatever upgrades are on the newer ones and am not thrilled with iTunes at all- but will keep this till it's no longer functional and then make a decision on my next phone.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

2012 I picked up my first smartphone, a 4S. I had it somewhere between 1-3 years before trading it for a Samsung. That 4S screen was so, so tiny.

 

[braumeister]

Original iPhone, 2008
3GS, 2009
4S, 2011
5S, 2014
6S, 2016
7, 2017

Some of the upgrades were just because I like gadgets, others were "Oops!" moments. They do break, and I don't always get the extended warranty.

Shortest time to upgrade: 13 months.
Longest time to upgrade: 28 months

 

[travelover]

Might buy a used iPhone someday, currently have a used Android that is more than adequate for my needs. I'm impressed at how well my hand-me-down iPad2 works compared to a cheapy Nook tablet.

 

[euro]

megacorp let me keep my iphone 6 last Spring when I FIREd - expect this will last me for many years

 

[audreyh1]

Took us a while. I got an iPad as soon as they had released the version with the cell chip - was that in 2010 or 2011? - and have been through several, finally settling on an iPad mini vs. 3.

Quite a while after the first iPad, DH tired of the small numbers of his flip phone, took advantage of a Verizon discount offer and bought an iPhone 5. A couple of years later he upgraded to an iPhone 6 to move to T-mobile, and I took it over as I needed a smart phone for our European trips and could sub out the SIM, plus I got an Apple Watch in 2015 and needed the iPhone to talk to it. I finally switched over to T-mobile and to do that got an iPhone SE shortly after it was released.

I don't expect to upgrade for a long while. DH is thinking of the iPhone 8 - it will be a 3 year upgrade cycle for him then. 3 years is pretty typical for us upgrading our Apple gadgets.

 

[Marita40]

Bought my first ever cell phone, a used iphone 5, less than a year ago when I dropped my landline. No plans to ever upgrade. It works just fine, thank you.

 

[Which Roger]

I've never owned an Apple product.

 

[travelover]

.......... No plans to ever upgrade. It works just fine, thank you.

They have their ways. My iPod Touch and my iPad don't run any of the new apps, so little by little they are becoming obsolete.

 

[Meadbh]

I had a Blackberry Bold and was happy with it. In late 2011 I bought an iPad2, which was my first Apple product. When my cellphone contract expired in 2013, I was offered a free iPhone 5C with a new contract, and I took the offer because I was impressed with the user interface of my iPad and thought it would make sense to have two compatible devices. Meanwhile I had bought a MacBook Air2 in 2012. I shattered the screen of my iPad2 in 2015 and replaced it with an iPad Air2. In 2016 I was able to get a better deal on cellphone operating costs by changing companies and upgraded my iPhone (which was acting up after I had dropped it one too many times) to an iPhone 6. I chose that one because I specifically did not want a bigger phone, and I want to minimize data costs on my phone. I prefer a compact phone that fits in most pockets. If I want to do anything that requires a larger screen, I use my iPad, which fits nicely in most of my purses.

So, in summary, I have owned
- two iPhones
- two iPads
- one MacBook Air

While I was w*rking, I needed a PC to run several programs. In ER, a Mac meets my needs pretty well, except for one proprietary program that I would like to run, but which does not support Mac. But I use my iPad much more than I use my Mac.

 

[Fedup]

I bought my first iphone5s in 2012, then the there is problem with the power. I brought it in to Apple Store in 2016 and they gave us a new iPhone 5s for $79, the price of a new battery. My husband is using that. I have iPhone6 now. But I mostly use iPad Mini so I can read better. I will give the mini to my husband so he can read online stuff easier because the small iPhone 5s is very hard on his eyes. I will use the iPad Pro. We are never early adapters of anything. I want them to work out all the bugs first.

 

[explanade]

Original iPhone, 2008
3GS, 2009
4S, 2011
5S, 2014
6S, 2016
7, 2017

Some of the upgrades were just because I like gadgets, others were "Oops!" moments. They do break, and I don't always get the extended warranty.

Shortest time to upgrade: 13 months.
Longest time to upgrade: 28 months

I've had all of those except the 7.

Also had the 5 and the 6 and 6S Plus.

But all of the iPhones through 5S were provided by the job so I bought the 6 Plus and the 6S Plus, as I started to use the camera more with the optical image and then video stabilization on the 6S Plus so I upgraded that in a year.

When it first came out, you could do the calculation and figured out that it cost about $2100 over a 2-year period, when they were subsidizing.

Now, you pay on the installment plan and it's about the same, though you can go with some smaller regional carriers or go with Walmart Straightalk and save even more money.

 

[mpeirce]

I have them all. We fell into a 2 year upgrade cycle - DW would upgrade one year, I'd upgrade the next, rinse, repeat. Seemed like a decent way to keep up to date and not spend quite as much money as upgrading every year. And for years the carriers made it easy to upgrade every two years since that was their cycle.

Anyway, I keep them around. Here's a photo of my original iPhone and my 3GS still running. I just turned them on a few minutes ago and took this photo (with my iPhone 6S of course). They still run, though I can't say I actually use them. "iPhone 3GS" on the left, "iPhone" on the right.

Caveat, Apple gave me my original iPhone - everyone working their at the time got one for free. Nice of them.

 

[W2R]

Motorola flip phone
iPhone 2
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5S
LG Spree smartphone (2017)

I don't remember the dates for the iPhones, and I am too lazy to look them up. Basically, I bought each when it was almost new on the market, but not new enough to have to stand in line to get it.

I don't get as much use out of a smartphone as some people, because I am such a homebody and usually I am here at home, with my laptop computer right in front of me. With prices going up every year, it finally got to the point at which the price vastly exceeded the value I get from an iPhone.

I am perfectly happy with my LG Spree and (for me), I like it as well as or better than my iPhone.

$769.99 - Cost of iPhone 7+ through Verizon
$0.00 - Cost of LG Spree when switching providers to Cricket, meaning I have $769.99 to blow on silly, fun stuff from Amazon (see Amazon thread).

 

[bw5972]

Bought original iPhone on release day. (Had loaded up on Apple stock in the preceding months, avg split adjusted cost of $7 a share).

Have had:

3
3s
4s
5
6 (my current phone with grandfathered ATT unlimited data)

Also had original iPad and most of the iterations since. I have always been able to migration my grandfathered ATT Unlimited data plan to each (still at $29.99 a month).

 

[tulak]

iPhone 3GS, 4, 5s, and 6s.

Most likely will upgrade to the new iPhone this Fall.

I had a slight detour between the 3GS and iPhone 4. DW and I had Windows Phones for about 4 weeks. This was DW's 1st smart phone and my second after the 3GS. Terrible phone. DW especially hated it. I ended up selling them on craigslist for what we paid and had to jump through some hoops to get subsidized iPhone 4 as replacements.

 

[Dash man]

I don't remember the years, but I've had the iPhone 4S, 5S, 6S and now 7. The 6S was my only disappointment because of the battery. I love my iPhone 7. I also have a MacBook Pro, an iPad and Apple TV.

 

[hesperus]

I decided years ago not to take the trip so never set out on the journey.

Same here. Just don't want a computer in my pocket. Still use a flip.

 

[GravitySucks]

Had an iPod Touch so got an iPhone 4 as my first smartphone. It died and I couldn't get an answer from the Verizon store of what the real cost of an iPhone 6 is/was so bought a Moto G from Amazon for $150. Except for a scratched camera lens it's been a perfectly good replacement.
Not sure how Apple will justify their price premiums for much longer.

 

[Just_Steve]

Had a 4s now have a 6s and for now will stay with the 6s.
Been a macBook household since 2010. Still have one windows notebook that I have turned once since 2010.

 

[Out of Steam]

Got an new iPhone 5 in September 2013, had its battery changed once by Apple, and used it until it had problems in late 2016.

I swapped to an iPhone 5S my wife had stopped using when she got a new iPhone 7. Using that right now.

I restored the old iPhone 5 to factory settings a couple of weeks later to remove my personal data. It seems like it had a software problem and the phone is still useable.