Future proof

[KingBuick]

I am debating wether or not to get the 10.5" iPad Pro or upgrade to the iPhone 7 Plus. I am in the AT&T Next Every Year plan. My upgrade date should be next month or the month after.

If I decide to keep the iPhone 7 until next year in August or September, will it last that long in terms of usability? I would update it to iOS 11 and hope that the battery won't act up like on the 6s and 5s that I had before (the battery percentage would randomly drop 20% from a full charge on the 6s and 30-40% on the 5s). I could replace the battery if this were to happen to my 7 either through  or a third party company in Washington, DC.

So far the 7 I have had been acting well since I got it at the end of September last year. No battery problems whatsoever and no bugs in the software.

 

[StraightlineBoy]

Batteries degrade over time, they have a limited number of cycles and then they're past their best. That's not an iPhone fault, it's a limitation of current technology. A smartphone gets lots of use and is therefore recharged often, so the battery will degrade a lot faster than the product will become obsolete. Sorry but by your iPhone 7 is about 2 years old, that will likely have battery problems too.

Do yourself a favour. Don't get rid of a perfectly good phone. Once the battery charge starts to fade, go to a local specialist and get a new battery put in. My iPhone 6 is approaching 3 years old and it's a perfectly good phone still. I got the battery swapped just before 2 years of use and then it was as good as new again. Cost about £50 / $50 to get it done. Depending what Apple announce this year I may even hang on to my iPhone 6 for another year, so an iPhone 7 will be plenty good enough through 2018

 

[KingBuick]

Batteries degrade over time, they have a limited number of cycles and then they're past their best. That's not an iPhone fault, it's a limitation of current technology. A smartphone gets lots of use and is therefore recharged often, so the battery will degrade a lot faster than the product will become obsolete. Sorry but by your iPhone 7 is about 2 years old, that will likely have battery problems too.

Do yourself a favour. Don't get rid of a perfectly good phone. Once the battery charge starts to fade, go to a local specialist and get a new battery put in. My iPhone 6 is approaching 3 years old and it's a perfectly good phone still. I got the battery swapped just before 2 years of use and then it was as good as new again. Cost about £50 / $50 to get it done. Depending what Apple announce this year I may even hang on to my iPhone 6 for another year, so an iPhone 7 will be plenty good enough through 2018

Thank you for the advice.

 

[TripleOne]

Short answer is yes.
iPhones are future proof for years from my experience. They perform just as good a few years later as the day you bought em.

But when it comes to batteries, they all have a maximum life cycle before they start losing some juice.

 

[KingBuick]

Short answer is yes.
iPhones are future proof for years from my experience. They perform just as good a few years later as the day you bought em.

But when it comes to batteries, they all have a maximum life cycle before they start losing some juice.

Thank you for the info.

 

[Premium1]

I am debating wether or not to get the 10.5" iPad Pro or upgrade to the iPhone 7 Plus. I am in the AT&T Next Every Year plan. My upgrade date should be next month or the month after.

If I decide to keep the iPhone 7 until next year in August or September, will it last that long in terms of usability? I would update it to iOS 11 and hope that the battery won't act up like on the 6s and 5s that I had before (the battery percentage would randomly drop 20% from a full charge on the 6s and 30-40% on the 5s). I could replace the battery if this were to happen to my 7 either through  or a third party company in Washington, DC.

So far the 7 I have had been acting well since I got it at the end of September last year. No battery problems whatsoever and no bugs in the software.

The 7 will be fine for another year. Batteries degrade over time, but if it is that bad you can always take it to apple to get the battery replaced.

 

[Eclipse2K]

Batteries degrade over time, they have a limited number of cycles and then they're past their best. That's not an iPhone fault, it's a limitation of current technology. A smartphone gets lots of use and is therefore recharged often, so the battery will degrade a lot faster than the product will become obsolete. Sorry but by your iPhone 7 is about 2 years old, that will likely have battery problems too.

Do yourself a favour. Don't get rid of a perfectly good phone. Once the battery charge starts to fade, go to a local specialist and get a new battery put in. My iPhone 6 is approaching 3 years old and it's a perfectly good phone still. I got the battery swapped just before 2 years of use and then it was as good as new again. Cost about £50 / $50 to get it done. Depending what Apple announce this year I may even hang on to my iPhone 6 for another year, so an iPhone 7 will be plenty good enough through 2018

I appreciate the advice. When I was using Android I felt like I needed new devices because they would become sluggish. I am currently using an iPhone 7 which I got in late November 2016 so it's still got plenty of life. I'm not getting an iPhone 8 because my phone runs fine but I am considering getting a new phone when the S models or whatever hits in 2018. But since iPhones don't seem to have any performance issues for years I may just find a shop that can put a new battery in.

Quick question though - when a phone is old do they still have OEM batteries to swap in or are these cheap Chinese knockoffs?

 

[StraightlineBoy]

I appreciate the advice. When I was using Android I felt like I needed new devices because they would become sluggish. I am currently using an iPhone 7 which I got in late November 2016 so it's still got plenty of life. I'm not getting an iPhone 8 because my phone runs fine but I am considering getting a new phone when the S models or whatever hits in 2018. But since iPhones don't seem to have any performance issues for years I may just find a shop that can put a new battery in.

Quick question though - when a phone is old do they still have OEM batteries to swap in or are these cheap Chinese knockoffs?

I got my battery replaced at a non Apple Store however they do specialise in iPhone repairs. I'd guess it's a knockoff but it's honestly been as good as new since the swap. The shop I used has been around a while so if they were putting in dodgy batteries then I guess it would have come out by now via social media. I used the same place before to fix a broken button on a 4S.

So in short as long as you're going to somewhere established that charges realistic money (i.e. Not crazy cheap) for the job and a warranty on their work then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Rob Phillips]

Quick question though - when a phone is old do they still have OEM batteries to swap in or are these cheap Chinese knockoffs?

Few third party repair shops use Apple OEM batteries, even for the latest version of the iPhone. If you go an Apple Store, on the other hand, they always use OEM batteries and generally keep a healthy stock going back several models. That being said, you’ll pay more at Apple than you will at a third party shop using a knockoff battery.

The battery in your iPhone is designed to retain 80% of its original capacity for 500 complete charge cycles. There are battery apps out there that claim to know how many complete cycles your particular device has undergone but I don’t personally trust them.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I appreciate the advice. When I was using Android I felt like I needed new devices because they would become sluggish. I am currently using an iPhone 7 which I got in late November 2016 so it's still got plenty of life. I'm not getting an iPhone 8 because my phone runs fine but I am considering getting a new phone when the S models or whatever hits in 2018. But since iPhones don't seem to have any performance issues for years I may just find a shop that can put a new battery in.

Quick question though - when a phone is old do they still have OEM batteries to swap in or are these cheap Chinese knockoffs?

We have a reputable repair shop here that offers off brand batteries. I haven't heard any complaints. They charge $25 for the battery and $25 for installation for a $50 total. Apple charges $80 for theirs installed. You will know when your battery is on its way out. Odd things start to happen. With my old iPhone 5, I would be at 88% charge, then take a photo (on cellular), and the % indicator would drop by 15% or more. The phone would shut off at 20%. You should get well over 500 charge cycles and the battery will still work fine at 70% life. You'll just have to charge it more often. While I haven't tested it in a while, I think my 6s Plus is below the 80% mark, but it works fine. I do have to charge it more often than I used to. But, yeah, just enjoy your phone.

 

[TripleOne]

We have a reputable repair shop here that offers off brand batteries. I haven't heard any complaints. They charge $25 for the battery and $25 for installation for a $50 total. Apple charges $80 for theirs installed. You will know when your battery is on its way out. Odd things start to happen. With my old iPhone 5, I would be at 88% charge, then take a photo (on cellular), and the % indicator would drop by 15% or more. The phone would shut off at 20%. You should get well over 500 charge cycles and the battery will still work fine at 70% life. You'll just have to charge it more often. While I haven't tested it in a while, I think my 6s Plus is below the 80% mark, but it works fine. I do have to charge it more often than I used to. But, yeah, just enjoy your phone.

I didn't know Apple could help install a new battery, do you know how long it takes for Apple to replace the battery?

I think my 6s Plus is below the 80% mark as well but it still last a whole day!

 

[Tartarus]

I didn't know Apple could help install a new battery, do you know how long it takes for Apple to replace the battery?

I think my 6s Plus is below the 80% mark as well but it still last a whole day!

They run diagnostics tests to determine the health of your battery. If the tests point to replacing, it takes them 45 minutes, give or take, to replace it. For heavy users, the point of replacement is somewhere between 23 and 26 months, for people that don’t charge their device as often that number changes upwards to at least 30 months.

 

[TripleOne]

They run diagnostics tests to determine the health of your battery. If the tests point to replacing, it takes them 45 minutes, give or take, to replace it. For heavy users, the point of replacement is somewhere between 23 and 26 months, for people that don’t charge their device as often that number changes upwards to at least 30 months.

Thank you!

 

[KingBuick]

It turns out I will be upgrading my phone as usual this fall instead of getting the iPad.

 

[Eclipse2K]

They run diagnostics tests to determine the health of your battery. If the tests point to replacing, it takes them 45 minutes, give or take, to replace it. For heavy users, the point of replacement is somewhere between 23 and 26 months, for people that don’t charge their device as often that number changes upwards to at least 30 months.

Good to know.

The iPhone may be the first phone I keep for many years since the Motorola Razr V3. Ever since I switched to Blackberry and Android I've switched phones a ton so the batteries never reached the point of failing. I'm a heavy user (barely use my laptop anymore) so I'll definitely need a replacement at about 2 years. No big deal though, just gotta be smart and not spend $1000 for an iPhone 8S or whatever they end up calling it and keep it cheap for $50-80.

 

[TripleOne]

It turns out I will be upgrading my phone as usual this fall instead of getting the iPad.

You'll love the 7 Plus!
May I know which color you're going to go for?

 

[KingBuick]

You'll love the 7 Plus!
May I know which color you're going to go for?

If I end up getting the 7 Plus it'll most likely be Black 128 GB. I was thinking about getting the Jet Black 128 GB but it'll get scratched easily even if I have it in a leather case. If I wait until later in the fall to upgrade then I'll get either the Edition, 7s Plus, or 7s in Black 128 GB.

 

[rumpelst]

I also had many Android phones and changed them often. Now I use classic Apple combo = iPhone se and iPad 9,7 pro over a year and it is great so maybe even two years is real.

 

[Eclipse2K]

I also had many Android phones and changed them often. Now I use classic Apple combo = iPhone se and iPad 9,7 pro over a year and it is great so maybe even two years is real.

That’s because Android devices begin to fee sluggish fairly quickly due to updates. iOS doesn’t seem to do that but it’s easier when you design both the hardware and software.

 

[TripleOne]

That’s because Android devices begin to fee sluggish fairly quickly due to updates. iOS doesn’t seem to do that but it’s easier when you design both the hardware and software.

That's why iOS performs well for a long period of time.
My Android devices tends to slow down after a couple of months.