Is It Worth Switching to a Newer iPhone for Daily Use?

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avasinclair

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Hello,

I’ve been using an iPhone XS for the past few years, and while it’s still functional, I’ve started noticing some performance issues, particularly with app responsiveness and battery life. I'm debating whether to upgrade to a newer model or stick with my current device. I’ve also noticed that certain apps, like Scarlet app store, which I recently discovered from a external resource, don’t seem to run as smoothly as they might on newer devices. It’s made me wonder whether upgrading would enhance my overall experience with newer apps and features.:)

For those of you who’ve made the switch recently, do you feel the upgrade significantly improved your daily experience? Were there any specific features (like battery life, camera, or performance) that stood out? On the other hand, if you’re still using an older model, what tips do you have for keeping it in top shape?

I’d appreciate any insights to help me decide. Thanks!
 
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I am guessing it would be a significant upgrade as how many generations is it old. Cameras should be light years ahead as well
 
Vengance_01 said:
I am guessing it would be a significant upgrade as how many generations is it old. Cameras should be light years ahead as well
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Thanks for your input! That’s a good point about the cameras—they’ve definitely come a long way in recent years. Have you upgraded recently? If so, did you notice a big difference in everyday use, like battery life or performance? I’m especially curious if the upgrade feels worth it beyond just the specs on paper.
 
Battery life is the most important thing for me. It's a quality of life feature that is too good to ignore. That is the main reason to upgrade. Along with that most people (my wife for example) loves a telephoto lens on her S21 Ultra I bought her for her birthday a couple years ago and exclusively takes photos in portrait mode because of how good the bokeh looks on a telephoto lens as opposed to the basic wide general lens that is default on most cameras. Those 2 features are super nice to have in a phone. All other features are negligible imo because most people just do basic things on their phones unless you have some specific features you're looking for. Along with the longer lasting battery the charging time should be significantly fast/Shorter also. Some have 20w or even 45w charging. I would say this is a huge quality of life improvement too.
 
I went from a pixel 6 to a pixel 9 pro. about 3 years with the 6. main things I noticed the most is camera quality, better finger sensor, better thermals, and fresh battery. all quality of life things. I don't do intensive tasks on my phone and no gaming.
 
For me the big thing is security updates. The iPhone XS is going out of support next year, so if I had one I'd be looking for a replacement.

I tend to by substantially cheaper phones, so they only get a few years of updates. The most expensive one I've ever bought by a margin of 2-3 hundred bucks is the Pixel 7 I have now. That should be good for 5, but it's 2 now so if it goes another 6 months or a year and then the battery conks off I'll probably just replace it... especially if the 9a is out by then. I thought about a 6a last time but the stories about the finger print sensor scared me off. Hopefully the newer ones are better since the under-screen sensor on the 7 is still pretty annoying. They should have just left it on the back like on my old 3a. That sensor worked great and was easier to hit.

With a new phone the main thing I tend to notice is the web browser is a bit faster. The main thing I use my phone for aside from texting and calls is reading the news on the train on the way to the office, so I guess that's just what I pay attention too. At any rate it boils down to a better cpu. It's never night and day, but going all the way back to 2018 might be.
 
avasinclair said:
Hello,

I’ve been using an iPhone XS for the past few years, and while it’s still functional, I’ve started noticing some performance issues, particularly with app responsiveness and battery life. I'm debating whether to upgrade to a newer model or stick with my current device. I’ve also noticed that certain apps, like Scarlet app store, which I recently discovered from a external resource, don’t seem to run as smoothly as they might on newer devices. It’s made me wonder whether upgrading would enhance my overall experience with newer apps and features.:)

For those of you who’ve made the switch recently, do you feel the upgrade significantly improved your daily experience? Were there any specific features (like battery life, camera, or performance) that stood out? On the other hand, if you’re still using an older model, what tips do you have for keeping it in top shape?

I’d appreciate any insights to help me decide. Thanks!
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Let’s put it this way:

I noticed a significant improvement going from a 13 Pro to a 16 Pro, and I had an XS before all that. Admittedly I work the cameras hard and genuinely value the performance and screen updates.

Let’s say you upgrade to a regular iPhone 16. On top of a huge speed boost, you get much better cameras, a larger and higher quality display, likely more storage, the Dynamic Island (it’s more useful than I thought it might be), the Action and Camera Control buttons, MagSafe, USB-C… you get the idea.

And if you get the 16 Pro, there’s that still-larger 120Hz always-on display, more camera upgrades, and additional speedups.

As incremental as iPhone updates can be, you’re going to see so many changes that it’ll feel like a major overhaul.
 
I've an xs also, I'm going to look to upgrade late summer early fall. I'm thinking about iphone 12 or 13 pro or if the iphone air comes out in the fall of next year. To me if you have an xs, I say he needs to shoot for an 16 pro and not a regular 16. Regardless of the performance jump.
 
Aurelius said:
Let’s put it this way:

I noticed a significant improvement going from a 13 Pro to a 16 Pro, and I had an XS before all that. Admittedly I work the cameras hard and genuinely value the performance and screen updates.

Let’s say you upgrade to a regular iPhone 16. On top of a huge speed boost, you get much better cameras, a larger and higher quality display, likely more storage, the Dynamic Island (it’s more useful than I thought it might be), the Action and Camera Control buttons, MagSafe, USB-C… you get the idea.

And if you get the 16 Pro, there’s that still-larger 120Hz always-on display, more camera upgrades, and additional speedups.

As incremental as iPhone updates can be, you’re going to see so many changes that it’ll feel like a major overhaul.
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Your breakdown of features from the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro makes me realize just how much I’ve been missing out on over the years. The Dynamic Island and the MagSafe functionality are things I didn’t even consider but sound like great quality-of-life upgrades. I’m also wondering if newer hardware would improve how apps like the Scarlet iOS app store run, as I’ve noticed some performance issues on my XS. It would be great to have a smoother experience, especially with apps that seem to push the limits of my current device :)
 
xDiVolatilX said:
Battery life is the most important thing for me. It's a quality of life feature that is too good to ignore. That is the main reason to upgrade. Along with that most people (my wife for example) loves a telephoto lens on her S21 Ultra I bought her for her birthday a couple years ago and exclusively takes photos in portrait mode because of how good the bokeh looks on a telephoto lens as opposed to the basic wide general lens that is default on most cameras. Those 2 features are super nice to have in a phone. All other features are negligible imo because most people just do basic things on their phones unless you have some specific features you're looking for. Along with the longer lasting battery the charging time should be significantly fast/Shorter also. Some have 20w or even 45w charging. I would say this is a huge quality of life improvement too.
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I couldn’t agree more about battery life being a game-changer. My XS struggles to last through the day, even with a recent battery replacement. The faster charging on newer models would make my routine much smoother.
 
Geforcepat said:
I've an xs also, I'm going to look to upgrade late summer early fall. I'm thinking about iphone 12 or 13 pro or if the iphone air comes out in the fall of next year. To me if you have an xs, I say he needs to shoot for an 16 pro and not a regular 16. Regardless of the performance jump.
Click to expand...
your plan to aim for the Pro models makes sense—I’d like to future-proof my upgrade if possible, though I’ll have to weigh the cost difference.
 
The 11 pro was a huge upgrade in every way over the xs. So yeah.
 
Aurelius said:
Let’s put it this way:

I noticed a significant improvement going from a 13 Pro to a 16 Pro, and I had an XS before all that. Admittedly I work the cameras hard and genuinely value the performance and screen updates.

Let’s say you upgrade to a regular iPhone 16. On top of a huge speed boost, you get much better cameras, a larger and higher quality display, likely more storage, the Dynamic Island (it’s more useful than I thought it might be), the Action and Camera Control buttons, MagSafe, USB-C… you get the idea.

And if you get the 16 Pro, there’s that still-larger 120Hz always-on display, more camera upgrades, and additional speedups.

As incremental as iPhone updates can be, you’re going to see so many changes that it’ll feel like a major overhaul.
Click to expand...
Note, sure USB-C, but still USB2 speeds (cheap apple!) on the vanilla Iphone 16.
 
MrGuvernment said:
Note, sure USB-C, but still USB2 speeds (cheap apple!) on the vanilla Iphone 16.
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Vast majority of people getting the base model will never plug it in outside of charging or Carplay. If you need the bandwidth you're getting the pro model.
 
I upgraded my work phone from an Xr to 15 Pro Max and to be honest the battery life on the new one isn't really as amazing as I'd thought it would be in comparison but the general usability of it is a night and day difference. The Xr was extremely sluggish and even just switching apps was slow and cumbersome so I absolutely hated their gesture app switching but now at least it's usable. Regarding the battery, I use teams a lot on my new one which kills the battery, it was barely usable on the old one which is where the difference comes in since it didn't even really run on the old one lol.
 
D-EJ915 said:
I upgraded my work phone from an Xr to 15 Pro Max and to be honest the battery life on the new one isn't really as amazing as I'd thought it would be in comparison but the general usability of it is a night and day difference. The Xr was extremely sluggish and even just switching apps was slow and cumbersome so I absolutely hated their gesture app switching but now at least it's usable. Regarding the battery, I use teams a lot on my new one which kills the battery, it was barely usable on the old one which is where the difference comes in since it didn't even really run on the old one lol.
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The 15 pro was a bad battery year. The chip that year ran hot and chews through battery. The prior models and the 16 pro are far better.
 
I went from a XR to a 14 Pro Max and the difference in performance, the camera, the screen, and literally every other aspect of the phone is astronomically better. I have the 15 PM now because the time it takes to snap a RAW photo is instant as opposed to taking several seconds on the 14. It sounds stupid, but that was the main reason I upgraded from the 14. The battery life is also ridiculous on my 15 PM. I charge it every other day, despite using it all day long.

Some people have had issues with the battery, but I haven't. Both the 14 and 15 PM for me have both had insane battery life.
 
Mchart said:
The 15 pro was a bad battery year. The chip that year ran hot and chews through battery. The prior models and the 16 pro are far better.
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Ah good to know, for the past week about 45-60 min of work usage for me is 20-25% battery usage or so.
 
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I'd go for nothing older than 15 just for usb-c alone. Wish they abandoned lightning far sooner.
 
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