When to replace your iPhone — Apple sets the timeline

In late December, Apple launched a new advertising campaign for its trade-in program. The program allows customers to trade in an old iPhone and pay the difference for a new one. In its promotional materials, Apple subtly suggests that the optimal smartphone upgrade cycle is about three years.

 iTechua reported this.

How often should you buy a new iPhone?

The campaign was actively promoted on social media, and a blogger named Nao_9615 shared screenshots of the banners on X.

The logic behind the trade-in process is straightforward: there is typically a three-year gap between "old" and "new" models. For instance, people are trading in iPhone 11 for 14 Pro, 12 for 15, 13 for 16 Pro, and 14 Pro for 17 Pro.

These pairs highlight the consistent release interval; for instance, the iPhone 11 was released in 2019, and the iPhone 14 Pro was released in 2022. Apple considers this "three-year" difference in trade-in communications.

Users' reactions in the comments were mixed. Some say the company plans upgrades every three to four years, while others would prefer to replace their devices every seven to ten years. Some say they upgrade yearly because they're afraid of losing money when selling their old device.

Apple has recently categorized the iPhone 11 Pro as a "vintage" device, making official repairs increasingly difficult to access. The updated list includes the Apple Watch Series 5 and several other models.

As we previously reported, Apple released urgent security patches to address two zero-day vulnerabilities that were already being exploited in targeted attacks. The company emphasized that these incidents were complex and targeted specific users, resembling espionage operations rather than mass hacks.