Can I justify upgrading from my iPhone 7?

[Beebo Brink]

My iPhone works pretty well, except for not holding a charge very well anymore. I don't do much with it, to be honest, and my BFF was giving me (virtual) side-eye for not answering her text messages. I looked into directing my text messages to my computer, where I would actually see them, but it turns out my phone is too old to do that. Just as it was too old for the Merlin bird-ID app I tried to download a few weeks ago.

Bypassing those two apps seems like a weak excuse for an update to a newer model. Apple is up to iPhone 16 now, so that's admittedly a big gap, but is there anything else I'm missing that would be a more robust reason to let my iPhone 7 go?

 

[Kokoro Fasching]

ipx8 water proofing, ability to make a nice bomb with a nail, latest password manager in Roboform or Bitwarden. Sadly they did not include the laser cutter in the latest iPhone.

 

[Beebo Brink]

ipx8 water proofing, ability to make a nice bomb with a nail, latest password manager in Roboform or Bitwarden. Sadly they did not include the laser cutter in the latest iPhone.

I have no idea how much of this is a joke, so I'm just going to assume all of it is a poke in my eye.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

You likely can get a new battery without upgrading the whole phone to help it hold a charge. But I'd wonder if an iPhone 7 is a lot easier to hack than a newer model given your hardware is so out of date. Google says it's not still getting security updates, and that's a concern.

 

[Beebo Brink]

You likely can get a new battery without upgrading the whole phone to help it hold a charge. But I'd wonder if an iPhone 7 is a lot easier to hack than a newer model given your hardware is so out of date. Google says it's not still getting security updates, and that's a concern.

Perfect. I can now justify a new phone without guilt. Thanks!

 

[Veritable Quandry]

Yes. Between the degrading battery and the lack of security updates it is time to move on.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Yes. Between the degrading battery and the kack of security updates it is time to move on.

iPhone 16 comes with AI, which rubs me the wrong way. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 is still leagues better than my current model, so I can live without the cutting edge.

 

[Cristiano]

iPhone 16 comes with AI, which rubs me the wrong way. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 is still leagues better than my current model, so I can live without the cutting edge.

You can turn off Apple Intelligence features, just FYI..

 

[Beebo Brink]

You can turn off Apple Intelligence features, just FYI..

That's good to know. I'll have to look at what exactly it provides in a mobile phone setting that I can't use more easily (and with greater control) on my PC.

 

[Isabeau]

I just got the 14 plus (I couldn’t justify more $ for 15) but if you can, get the 15.
The bigger screen of Plus is so worth it, especially if you want to answer those texts with your bff without squinting…

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

My mum got one of those SE models that retains the button. My sister liked it so much she did too. My iPhone 11 replacement will probably be an up to date iPhone SE.

 

[Khamon]

Didn’t read all, so this may be said, but my experience with two (2) 7s is that it will degrade more quickly than sufficient adjustments can be made. When it no longer holds a charge over a reasonable time it is not worth trying to compensate.

 

[Kokoro Fasching]

I have no idea how much of this is a joke, so I'm just going to assume all of it is a poke in my eye.

Not all. The newer iphones are waterproof, down to about 30 feet. So you don't have to worry about accidentally drops in to water, rain, etc. The bomb part is that the lithium battery having a nail driven through it tends to be explosive.. but that is with any rechargeable device. The password manager is truly an important feature, being able to keep your passwords out of the hands of all the major players and safer.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Not all. The newer iphones are waterproof, down to about 30 feet. So you don't have to worry about accidentally drops in to water, rain, etc. The bomb part is that the lithium battery having a nail driven through it tends to be explosive.. but that is with any rechargeable device. The password manager is truly an important feature, being able to keep your passwords out of the hands of all the major players and safer.

Thanks for the decoding! lol I can't think of any reason I'd need password manager on my phone, since I don't use the browser, but it can't hurt, right?

 

[Cristiano]

Thanks for the decoding! lol I can't think of any reason I'd need password manager on my phone, since I don't use the browser, but it can't hurt, right?

It is not just for Safari - it works in a lot of apps as well, so if you use any accounts on it, it stores the passwords securely.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone! Pretty much anything would be a big upgrade from my outdated phone, but I ended up with the iPhone 15 as the best deal offered by my AT&T rep. They reviewed my phone plan, switched me over to a slightly cheaper plan, so that savings more than covered the added cost of the phone per month.

 

[Soen Eber]

My current android phone was $60 on sale, and it's fully functional in every respect necessary. You don't HAVE to go Apple.

 

[Beebo Brink]

My current android phone was $60 on sale, and it's fully functional in every respect necessary. You don't HAVE to go Apple.

Yeah, I've never warmed up to Android, probably just a matter of familiarity. I'm willing to pay more to lessen my learning curve.

 

[Free]

My current android phone was $60 on sale, and it's fully functional in every respect necessary. You don't HAVE to go Apple.

Even as a fellow Android user, I find your hutzpah amusing. You're not also a Linux desktop user spending time on Windows sites convincing them to switch, are you?

 

[Cristiano]

Even as a fellow Android user, I find your hutzpah amusing. You're not also a Linux desktop user spending time on Windows sites convincing them to switch, are you?

God, Linux people are relentless lol.