When is it time to upgrade your phone? I’ll tell you why you should right now, in one minute.
The biggest mistake I made buying a new phone
When Apple, Samsung or Google announce a new smartphone, it’s big news. The latest iPhone, Pixel or Galaxy phones are status symbols in their own right. Though there are more manufacturers, these are among the most popular in the U.S.
Not long ago, companies like Nokia, LG, Blackberry and Motorola were churning out phones that sold quite well. Some went on to become the bestselling phones of all time. Remember the Motorola Razr? Kim had one in hot pink! Tap or click here for 10 of the most iconic phones we miss.
I recently purchased a brand new phone, but even before then, I realized I had made a big blunder with my last one. Keep reading so you don’t make this costly mistake.
Here’s the backstory
In late 2019, I went to replace my iPhone X. It was a great phone, but I was ready for an upgrade. I wanted an iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage — the latest and greatest from Apple.
The salesperson asked if I would consider leasing the phone. He said I could pay a low monthly fee, which would stay about the same if I upgraded to a new phone the following year.
It sounded like a good idea! I signed an agreement for a lease and kept my old iPhone X to give to a friend.
We all know what happened in 2020. The pandemic hit, and there was too much going on for me to go through the trouble of getting a new phone. In 2021, I moved out of my apartment, delaying things further.
When Apple announced the iPhone 14 at its Far Out event this year, I watched it live while covering the story for Komando.com. The new phone features excited me enough that I ordered the 14 Pro Max with 1 TB of memory from Apple’s website a few days later. And I paid the full price upfront to own it.
Why didn’t I consider a lease? Well, I did the math to figure out how much I had paid for my 11 Pro Max from the day I got it until the present. And yikes, my monthly payments totaled more than the original $1,099 price I would have paid to buy it outright.
When my new 14 Pro Max arrived, I took it to T-Mobile so I could turn in my old phone. Had I purchased my iPhone 11 Pro Max, I could’ve kept it or traded it for some money. Instead, the store took it back, and I had nothing to show for it.
Apple Pay vs. Samsung Pay vs. Google Pay: Which is better?
Technology has replaced a lot of things we used to take for granted, like landline phones, typewriters, and paper maps. But a lot of people are still carrying around something that tech companies would like to consign to history: wallets. Most of us now have access to an alternative to an old-fashioned wallet. The big three options for mobile payment systems are Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. They all turn your smartphone (or certain smartwatches) into a mobile wallet, letting you pay for purchases without having to fish out a credit card or cash.
📸 Shutter up! For real? The latest Apple leak shows the iPhone 16 has a dual vertical-stacked camera. Looks a lot like the camera from the iPhone X. The LED flash is on the side, no longer in the main camera bump. Rumored colors? Blue, teal, pink, black and white. I so want a pink iPhone!
Apple has a full slate of new gadgets this fall
For the last few years, fall has always been Apple’s biggest season. Of course, this is the time when the new iPhones are announced and the excitement during this time of year is understandable. But will the last quarter of the year be any different? Here are all the new and exciting gadgets we are expecting from Apple this fall.
Black dot of death' is crashing iMessage, there's only one way to fix it
The truth behind Apple's iPhone sales
Open/download audioBehind the lagging iPhone X sales
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
iPhone X - How to pay as little as possible
Open/download audioYou can get the new iPhone X for less than $999, but there is a catch
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The iPhone X release
Open/download audioTrying to buy an iPhone X today? Follow these tips
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is Apple's FaceID a powerful mass spying tool?
Facial recognition is about to change the way we access our phones, but is it actually safe? If you’re concerned about government surveillance, you need to read this. There may be more behind the iPhone X’s FaceID feature than originally meets the eye.
Apple iPhone X raises privacy concerns
Open/download audioThe new facial recognition on the iPhone raises many questions
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices