Does it matter? They made it easy to ROM and now my device gets to live on by the support of the community. That's how tech should be. We can't expect endless support from companies (it's just not realistic) but if they don't actively hinder you from owning your own device and making it somewhat modifiable, it adds a lot of life.

In the context of the iPhone XR mentioned by the post I replied to, that "official ROM" is nearly non-functional, is that really better in your opinion?

Honestly, the only thing I care about when it comes to what other people do regarding phone purchases, is that that they at the very fucking least use their old phone until it breaks and don't just go out and buy a new phone every two years because they want something new and shiny. People who do that low key disgust me.

That's every iPhone user....

Apple devices mostly aren‘t significantly more expensive than their counterparts by other manufacturers.

However, most of those offer cheaper alternatives that Apple doesn’t.

So, there are no Apple counterparts for what "other manufacturers" make.

Well, depends on the price point but below 500-600€, yea, Apple has nothing to offer. At or above that price point, there obviously are counterparts to Apple devices and vice versa.

The Iphone is a luxury commodity and like all luxury commodities it marketed for people with little sense and lots of money who are easily separated from the ladder with shiny trinkets. Before the Iphone there was the Rolex and the super-secret clothing designer brands only 1%er yuppies think they know about. Before that people ground up egyptian mummies for medicine/taste and bought expensive jar of nutmeg spice from halfway across the world imported via boat. These kind of people were always going to spend 2000$ on trinkets whether its a 2000$ pocket computer or a 800$ wrist watch is a difference in taste. The real question is why humanity can't shed this consumerist prone archetype what is it about people constantly wanting new shiny things that they don't need and for which the money can go to a better place? Why do modern consumerist not have the ability to tell corporations to fuck off? Why is it that after a quarter century of time to get used to the concept of a computer and an email people tantrum and shriek when their tappy button gets moved 2 inches to the left without knowing how to fix it? Why do we consider this an acceptable baseline for human intelligence and emotional volatility?

Yep!

- post made from my five year old iPhone 11 Pro

Funny you said that because one has 4GB ram and another has 3GB ram. Plus, my wife has a 64GB model and its almost full. Performance really took a nose dive. You must have a really low bar regarding performance.

Take a look at the video. Opening app takes awhile compared to XS and multitasking is shit. Opened up a camera and go back to another app, guess what? Refreshed.

Video

Video 2

Wouldn't that effectively end the used phone market, forcing everyone to pay for new?

Experiencing none of that on iPhone 11 Pro.

I think if anything, the 12 mini just had subpar tech due to size constraints. Sadly.

Yes. This is what im talking about. If only i can flash a lightweight os on my wife iphone and extend its life i would. Ultimately, it stuck on ios 18 with piss poor performance. Its a bad experience. Why should i contribute to another ewaste if i can help it.

I bought that one refurbed for one of my kids. I was definitely impressed. Small, fast, actual iOS version. Where is this magic phone from? Its not like the others.

I think ios 17 is just buggy on iphone 12 mini because i compared it side by side with my wife iPhone XR and hers is just fine when pulling the control centre.

Also, i think the sole problem is apple is throttling the 12 mini when it gets too warm. Its a fine phone but the battery is really bad. I have long upgraded to another phone but its just bad experience on my part. Thats all.

Not really. I know a few iPhone users who have kept their phones for a long time. The most impressive case was a guy who had had the same phone for 11 years and only had to buy a new one because an update fried the old one.

If phones were built to last and something you would only buy once every 10ish years, I think we would all be better for it. I also think buying a phone from new would mean something different than it does in today's consumer culture. It would be way cheaper longterm for everybody as well.

The used phone market only exists because of the current buy and throw away culture we live in.

True. If every iPhone user was a throwaway consumer, there wouldn't have been such an outrage over apple "updating" slowness and inefficiency into older devices.

I mean hey as long as it's not breathing and whistling!

Says all the iPhone users. Your phones are throttled by the manufacturers and you still defend them and buy their products. Not very smart consumers. Sorry.

So tired of the audience participation in these endless phone wars. Oh you have a smart phone? Dope! They’re cool and useful. Anyway

It does matter because for most people that phone became e-waste around 2020. Iphones released that year got major OS upgrades till 2022 and are still getting security updates.

I do wish Apple was forced to unlock the bootloader, but for 95% of users, their phones get significantly longer support than normal.