Smartphones have never been so expensive. As prices steadily climbed north of $1,000 (with some notable resistance), the global economy crashed. You want some shiny new technology to replace an old but failing device, but you just can’t afford it.
The thing is, you don’t have to. Although companies may stop making new stocks, it’s worth getting what was once the novelty. This value has continued to grow in recent years as the gap between generations narrows to non-existence and even regression in some cases. Buying older products has now gone from being a cost-saving measure to a smart decision if you play your cards right.
The old thing is now the cheap thing
That said, cost savings are still a great reason to buy older products. Take the Google Pixel 6 as an example. If you look closely at refurbished specialty stores like Back Market, MusicMagpie, or even the Amazon Renewed store, you’ll find it cheaper than the Pixel 6a’s asking price. The Pixel 6 may have its issues, but it’s a superior device to the Pixel 6a. The same applies to all other mainstream manufacturers.
Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro and 13 Pro can also be found for less than the iPhone 13 and 14. Unless there are constraints like weight, color preference, or even aesthetics (which we’ll get to shortly), it is often better to buy old. things. Even excluding the obnoxious fake bounty of holiday season deals, fishing all year round can save you up to $300 for a product that does just as well as the novelty!
The old thing is now the right thing
Once upon a time, old things were bad things. Buy a phone that was released just a few months ago, and you could be stepping back in time like you were rushed through an episode of Doctor Who. Smartphone design was going to change rapidly, and advancements in screen technology, cameras, batteries, and even software came at the pace of one of those wildly unrealistic family car movies.
In contrast, modern phones are relatively boring. After nearly a decade of covering tech, I can probably write press releases for the next major smartphones right now, and only have to iron out minor details. It’s not that manufacturers have gotten so lazy that they need an LED slap kick in the ass; it’s that manufacturers have gotten so good at making these phones that we don’t even have a reason to covet the new one anymore.
My colleague Andy Boxall wrote it in a warning not to upgrade your phone this year. I turn it into an adage not to pick up the last phone if you are. Over the past year, I’ve used nearly every version of iPhone released over the past four years, and they’ve all looked remarkably similar.
The phone makers themselves don’t see any problem with its old stuff. The new iPad is powered by the Apple A14 Bionic processor. It’s the same chip you’ll find in the 2020 iPhone 12. Apple says its 2020 chips are so good they count as new in 2022. With the Pixel 6a, Google is saying the same for the premiere Tensor chip. generation.
The old thing gives you more options
There’s something else that a glance through any storefront that offers a mix of device generations reveals: an abundance of choice at a variety of price points. Take something as deceptively simple as color. Let’s say you like the Kinda Coral colorway of the Pixel 6. You’ve finally saved enough and you have $600 just to burn a hole in your pocket to buy the new phone. There is only one thing; it does not come in the color you want. You can suck it up and buy the new thing – the Pixel 7 – for $600. Or you could buy the old one for $500 or less, which would save you money and give you what you wanted. There is much more here than color.
The iPhone 14 Plus provides another ready example. You can pick up this shiny new thing for $1,000 or pick up the older iPhone 13 Pro Max. Or the 12 Pro Max. Or the 11 Pro Max if you want a mid-size iPhone with a triple camera layout. Sure, Apple iPhones officially come in three sizes, but there are as many as six if you’re willing to open your mind. Apple itself has discovered that many people opt for this option.
Do you find that the cameras of the iPhone 13 and 14 overprocess your images? The old one is still good. Does the new Pixel camera bring down one of your favorite lenses? The old one is good.
Looking at the market today, you don’t need to buy the new thing anymore to get great technology experience. Especially now, older things have a much longer lifespan. Things a little old will last much, much longer than before. Phones bought in the last year or so running iOS and Android could see support periods of up to well into a decade, and the hardware increments are so small that you’re almost certainly not missing much- thing.
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