This week has seen us perform our bi-annual ritual of upgrading our phones and watches.
Honestly, I hate the process. I hate the impact of switching the software and all over. I hate dealing with Apple and the Apple Store. I hate dealing with FedEx who will almost surely lose at least one device.
I hate it all, yet I do it anyway because I’ve found that, when I don’t choose to upgrade every 2 years my devices make the choice for me. My iPhone 7+ had its modem die at just over 2 years. My iPhone 5S and Pixel 3XL both saw their screens die at about the same time. My Apple Watch Series 6 had the screen completely pop off.
Even before smart phones I replaced devices way too often, though then I was more accident prone than just having the devices fail. I still remember the Nokia I loved that fell out of an airplane when the door popped open during a steep turn (thankfully we were over a lake during the winter so there was no chance of it hurting anyone, even from the altitude we were at).
Folks joke about planned obsolescence, but for me it has never been a joke. Even my first MacBook Pro died literally 3 days after its Apple Care ran out.
The devices I rely on just don’t last.
So here I am, trading in devices that are working today in the hopes their trade in now saves me a few dollars before they can’t be traded in later and trying to make sure that I have the devices when I need them.
This time I replaced my iPhone 15 Pro Max with a 17 Pro Max and my Apple Watch Series 9 with an Ultra 3. We’ve made similar updates with Joy’s devices for the same reason and purchased Apple Care with all of it (something that has paid us back in spades over the years).
So here’s to a fresh, incremental upgrade to ensure I’ll have something that will work for at least the next two years. I’m actually a bit excited about the annual Apple Care subscriptions instead of just a 2-year purchase as maybe it will mean an extra year this cycle. We’ll see.