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Is it unethical to upgrade your iPhone?
The Week ^ | September 19, 2019 | Nevneet Alang

Posted on 09/19/2019 8:50:16 AM PDT by C19fan

There is always a bitter sort of irony in watching videos of the unveiling of a flashy new iPhone on your own scuffed and scratched years-old device. As reviews of the new iPhone 11 rolled in this week — and I watched them on my trusty iPhone SE from 2016 — I almost immediately started doing the math in my head to figure out if I could afford the shiny new phone.

But this year's parade of iPhone reviews was a bit different. Where most reviews have traditionally recommended readers upgrade every two years, The New York Times, for example, suggested most people with a 3- or 4-year-old phone hold off on buying a new one. This is a significant change in tone, and it's rooted in the iterative state of smartphone technology: These days, there just isn't much a brand new smartphone can do that your current smartphone can't. But this shift also presents an opportunity to reflect on our buying habits. Why did we ever think it was ok to upgrade devices that cost of hundreds of dollars every year or two? In this moment of increasing environmental awareness, is upgrading your phone unethical?

(Excerpt) Read more at theweek.com ...


TOPICS: Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: apple; environment; envirowhackos; handwringers; iphone
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To: MeganC

I think that I have that model, and it works great.

My wife has the next one and larger since she has a damaged hand from a long time ago hand injury.

I have a 3 year old Amazon tablet as a backup and for my Kindle. It replaced our expensive weather monitors that died every 2 years, and it stays connected 24/7 to a weather station 300 yards as a crow flies.

My main electronic tool is a 2 year old Acer Chromebook 15. I can text, email and pay bills and handle our finances with the Chromebook.

My wife has a 10 inch Acer Chromebook, when she wants something bigger and a key board.

All of the above is very reliable, and if new would cost less than a single new I Phone.


21 posted on 09/19/2019 9:26:18 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (The line that separates satire and Democrats and Stupidity has vanished. (thanks to jonascord)!)
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To: Yo-Yo; C19fan

I bought my first iPhone— an iPhone5– at launch in 2012. Unlike my previous phones, it always worked and I never had any battery issues. Had my wife not been given two new XRs as a 2018 Christmas gift from her employer, I’d still be typing this from it. I miss the HOME button but plan on staying with this one for at least the next five years.


22 posted on 09/19/2019 9:26:43 AM PDT by philled (If this creature is not stopped it could make its way to Novosibirsk!)
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To: C19fan

I go back to the early days of the PC revolution. Back then, the machine you wanted always cost about $3000 (in 1980s dollars!), and you really needed to upgrade about every 3 years.

Today you can get an awesome PC for $2000 that will last 4-5 years.

I figure a $1k smartphone that I make last 4 years is pretty cheap.


23 posted on 09/19/2019 9:27:50 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: T-Bird45
Maybe it wasn't that grammar checker but my Dragon NaturallySpeaking software that is the culprit. I don't know who the damn fool who proofread it was.


24 posted on 09/19/2019 9:31:04 AM PDT by nathanbedford (attack, repeat, attack! Bull Halsey)
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To: FreedomPoster

I still have my 2010 MacBook, I upgraded the hard drive and memory, and it still runs fast, the only drawback is I can no long upgrade the OS, but really, I don’t need it for much more than web browsing.


25 posted on 09/19/2019 9:31:33 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: MeganC
Why replace it just because a new model came out? If it still does the job then keep using it.

I'm in that camp. This post comes from an 8 year old AMD FX-8350 running Linux. Love this thing.

My current cellphone is a Samsung Galaxy S9. It replaced a six year old Motorola Droid phone. I plan on keeping this S9 as long as possible. As long as things work and do what I need them to do, I keep them. Why waste $$ just to keep up with the Jonses'?

26 posted on 09/19/2019 9:34:48 AM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: nathanbedford

“I don’t know who the damn fool who proofread it was.”

I’m sure you’ll give him a stern lecture in the shaving mirror tomorrow...;-)


27 posted on 09/19/2019 9:38:02 AM PDT by T-Bird45 (It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)
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To: dfwgator

I’ve got a Dell laptop down in the theater room that’s about that old, and that’s all I do with it. It was running too slow on Win 10 (yeah, letting it “upgrade” to that was a dumb move), so I put Linux Mint on it. It’s now fine for a web surfing machine again.


28 posted on 09/19/2019 9:38:52 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: C19fan
I don't know about the "unethical" comment but my wife and I have years old iPhone 5s. My wife's has had several problems and the repair shop had to do some gerryrigging to get it to work enough to use.

Mine is fine, except for a small crack in the screen that doesn't affect it's effectiveness.

But we've been told that Apple will drop i Phone 5s from their technical support and eventually we will have to buy upgraded ones.

We'll buy them refurbished and not brand new. They cost too much.

29 posted on 09/19/2019 9:44:07 AM PDT by HotHunt (Been there. Done that.)
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To: C19fan

My car is six years old.I expect to drive it for many more years.

My Harley is 27 years old. It is now officially an “Antique”. I expect to ride it until I die, preferably in that order.

My flip phone is always charged and ready for emergency call with speed dial to AAA. I can text on it too. What more do I need?

But here’s the kicker:

I post a thread on FR every day, using HTML, with colors, fonts, graphics, and format, with a ten-year old desktop Apple Computer with an OS10.6 operating system. I can watch videos, send and receive email, pay my bills online, browse the Internet, and make my own graphics. Why should I upgrade?

If it works, don’t try and fix it.

My Avuncular Luddite Lifestyle is no less productive than someone’s who has all the latest gadgets, and I am not filling up landfills with electronic scrap.

Oh...and my Harley takes $10.00 to fill the tank with Premium and I’m good to go 160 miles.

LOL!!!!


30 posted on 09/19/2019 9:52:44 AM PDT by left that other site (For America to have CONFIDENCE in our future, we must have PRIDE in our HISTORY... DJT)
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To: HotHunt

when you buy new now the payment remains the same. So i had an 8 on the payment plan and for $3 more, i now have a ten. Payments are done because it ties you to the company theoretically forever. I can have the latest phone because i am impulsive.

I reality I tread in ever 2 models. Even my high tech kids don’t do that often.

My phone is much smarter than I am, as you have already deduced.

Best wishes.


31 posted on 09/19/2019 9:52:58 AM PDT by morphing libertarian ( Use Comey's Report, Indict Hillary now; build Kate's wall. --- Proud Smelly Walmart Deplorable)
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To: C19fan

I’ve always had iPhones, my other stuff is Apple and has been since the 80’s. But, I don’t buy the latest, greatest thing I wait until it’s discounted so I’m always somewhere from a bit behind to way behind the curve. I use my iPhone until it stops working, then get the newest model that is reasonably priced through my cell phone provider. “Ethics” have nothing to do with it, practicality does. If I wanted to go out and blow money on a brand new iPhone every time a new model comes out, that is my prerogative and I resent some high muckety-muck attempting to dictate that.


32 posted on 09/19/2019 9:56:12 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: morphing libertarian

We buy ours outright, not on some payment plan.


33 posted on 09/19/2019 9:57:10 AM PDT by HotHunt (Been there. Done that.)
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To: MeganC

I have an S7.

With each update Samsung disables another feature.


34 posted on 09/19/2019 10:01:27 AM PDT by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
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To: HotHunt

I used my iPhone 5 for many years, it was a good solid phone that just worked, until it didn’t, plus I dropped it and badly cracked the screen. Not worth the repair bill. I got quite a few years out of it, though. The last year or so I started getting strange looks from people, some even asked me where I found such a small iPhone, lol. The larger screen on the 8 I have now is nice I guess, but I actually would prefer one that fits better in my pocket.


35 posted on 09/19/2019 10:01:43 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: C19fan

I’m perfectly happy with my iPhone 6S plus. It’s updated with the current software and does everything that I want it to do and probably almost all of the stuff that the new phone would do. I don’t need a camera with three eyeballs looking like a war of the worlds Martian.

I remember when I got the 6S plus I thought it was so big. Now it feels just right in the hand.


36 posted on 09/19/2019 10:02:57 AM PDT by Moonmad27
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To: C19fan; ~Kim4VRWC's~; 1234; 5thGenTexan; AbolishCSEU; Abundy; Action-America; acoulterfan; ...
The progressives are questioning whether upgrading your iPhone to iPhone 11 is unethical or not. . . If you can afford it, it’s not a question of ethics or even ecology or political correctness, it’s whether you want one or not. SHEESH! —PING!


The Ethics of iPhone 11 Upgrading?
PING!

If you want on or off the Apple/Mac/iOS Ping List, Freepmail me.

37 posted on 09/19/2019 10:25:45 AM PDT by Swordmaker (My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplaphobe bigot!)
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To: bk1000
Until he passed in 2018, a buddy was using an original iPhone. He refused to upgrade it even once. It seemed to work fine for his use.

My original iPhone (2007) was handed down through my family, with its original battery which was still adequately working for eight years, until it was finally retired after being used as the equivalent of an iPod touch (no cellular phone connection - WIFI connection only for kids games) by my then five year old granddaughter. At that time that original battery would still take an 80% charge which would last about ten hours.

38 posted on 09/19/2019 10:33:15 AM PDT by Swordmaker (My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplaphobe bigot!)
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To: nathanbedford
Hey, do you commit the sin of taking flow restricters out of your showerheads? Big Sis in the next Democrat admin will send inspectors to put them back in - and charge you a fine!
39 posted on 09/19/2019 10:36:53 AM PDT by The Westerner (Protect the most vulnerable: get the government out of medicine, education and our forests.)
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To: glorgau

I have an 8 plus. I like the 8 because it still has the home button and the print reader. Facial recognition is not for me.


40 posted on 09/19/2019 10:45:12 AM PDT by IndispensableDestiny
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