Which iPhone to buy?

[AeroMagnus]

Alright so long story short my iphone 8 is dying big time. Not necessarily slow or buggy or anything but the time has come to updgrade.
My main complaint is battery, i have to charge it three times a day if I even want to think about using it after lunch. 67% by 9am and it's not like I'm gaming or watching tiktoks.

So for some context:

I can afford up to the new 14 pro max 128gb (I don't need more storage tbh) but its not available yet.

Also i dont take a lot of photos but I want to start doing it more or w/e

 

All prices are pre-tax:
Right now the 13 pro max is the same price as the 14 pro max (1250), mostly cause the 14 isnt available in my country as i mentioned, it launches on the 30th at the earliest

The 13 pro is 1100

The 13 is around 900ish

The 12 is 800ish

12 mini is 650

13 mini is 800

 

This is what ive scouted online but I'm open to other suggestions, maybe going to look for older models in store if suggested. 

 

Other things to consider:

i might get a 10% discount on those prices, might

Can't apply for a carrier plan cause they suck

Not buying used or ebay, or any online really, said store has in-store pickup

As I said i want battery and a bit of camera action, I know the 13 pro has pro motion but I think i can live without it 

Not considering an android, had enough of ads in the slide down menu, forced apps, corrupted photos etc.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts I hope i didnt sound like a choosing beggar lol 

 

[johnt]

which one do you want?

[AeroMagnus]

15 minutes ago, johnt said:

which one do you want?

I was eyeing the 13 pro max cause of the battery but I don’t know if it’s overkill

[johnt]

19 minutes ago, AeroMagnus said:

I was eyeing the 13 pro max cause of the battery but I don’t know if it’s overkill

I use low power mode on my 12 pro max and I can get 2 full days of use before charging. It’s helped keep my battery in a better state since I bought it two years ago. I don’t think it’s overkill at all. The pro phones are worth it in my opinion. They are very well made products. Yes they are expensive though. They all are really. 

[Zando_]

27 minutes ago, johnt said:

I use low power mode on my 12 pro max and I can get 2 full days of use before charging. It’s helped keep my battery in a better state since I bought it two years ago. I don’t think it’s overkill at all. The pro phones are worth it in my opinion. They are very well made products. Yes they are expensive though. They all are really. 

13 Pro Max here, only go low power mode when it drops below 20%, still manage a good day and 1/2ish usually, with 8-13 hours screen on time. It is a noticeable jump from my 11 Pro Max, never had the 12 so I don't have a direct comparison to that. +1 on the Pros all being very good phones though, especially the 11s and up (when they started throwing in properly chunky batteries, which means it'll last longer before becoming so worn out its unusable, older phones with the smaller batteries had this happen sooner). The 13 Pros also brought the 120Hz screen... which doesn't actually do anything, just makes things feel a lot snappier/smoother. I don't care about high refresh on monitors as I'm already interfacing through a mouse/keeb or controller anyways, but it does feel very nice on a touchscreen.

[johnt]

37 minutes ago, Zando_ said:

only go low power mode when it drops below 20%

I honestly felt the 12PM worked very similar to normal mode when I enabled low power. It stopped some of the bg processes and syncing with the cloud. It would save everything for when I plugged it in. The performance of these devices are very impressive! It's sad that new IOS really kill the overall performance and battery life. I have an iPad from 2016 that I've never updated the software, and it is so snappy and the battery still lasts forever. That's really one way to keep your phone running at peak performance for even longer... never update more than one IOS cycle.

[Bombastinator]

Hmm…. If it’s just the battery they’re what? $50? Let’s call that the start point.  Do you need a good camera?  Do you want the magnet thing? Think of it as features.  What features do you want and what changes were made that you like?  I sort of miss the hardware button from my 7+. The 8 still has that.   Also how long does apple say it will support which version?  Iirc the 6s is still supported.  If there’s only 2 years left on the 8 or something it’s effectively a cheapo android phone.  For $50. (Or whatever a new battery costs)   If they haven’t even announced a sunset though it’s good until you break it?  I had a 7+ and only got a new phone because it apparently had that sound bug and I never got it fixed (doh!) and the warranty thing timed out on it so it would have needed a new motherboard, so I got a 13 pro max which is apparently a big iPhone 14 now it seems. I got no real use for the fancy camera though, and the lack of button flat out bugs me.  Plus I had a mophie sled and car charger for the thing so it was basically an 8 anyway.  When I got the 13 pro max I had to get a whole new magnetic car charger/holder thing which I have to say doesn’t work quite as well as the mophie did. 

Edited September 23, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Imbadatnames]

What I would say it be wary of weight. I have the 13 PM and it’s very heavy and it doesn’t really fit anywhere, like in the car for example there’s nowhere I can really put it. I’d probably just get a regular pro from now on. 

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Imbadatnames said:

What I would say it be wary of weight. I have the 13 PM and it’s very heavy and it doesn’t really fit anywhere, like in the car for example there’s nowhere I can really put it. I’d probably just get a regular pro from now on. 

I’m a big fan of the magnet system in general.  Apple’s version isn’t as good as mophie’s but it still kicks butt. Those magnet charger car phone holders are really handy.  You just kind of throw your phone at the plate and it sticks, squares itself, and charges.  (Well with the apple one you actually have to place it.  Like I said, Not as good) I’ve got a 13 pro max and I don’t have a real problem.  I like cargo pants though and I’ve got the magnetic car thing.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Imbadatnames]

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I’m a big fan of the magnet system in general.  Apple’s version isn’t as good as mophie’s but it still kicks butt. Those magnet charger car phone holders are really handy.  You just kind of throw your phone at the plate and it sticks, squares itself, and charges.  (Well with the apple one you actually have to place it.  Like I said, Not as good) I’ve got a 13 pro max and I don’t have a real problem.  I like cargo pants though and I’ve got the magnetic car thing.

My car has weird shaped vents and stuff doesn’t really stick to the dash, I’ve tried suction and adhesive mounts and they fall off. 
 

I have no issue with it in pockets it just doesn’t fit in the car and the weight is a factor if you’re coming from literally everything else that isn’t a 12 or 13 pro max 

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Imbadatnames said:

My car has weird shaped vents and stuff doesn’t really stick to the dash, I’ve tried suction and adhesive mounts and they fall off. 
 

I have no issue with it in pockets it just doesn’t fit in the car and the weight is a factor if you’re coming from literally everything else that isn’t a 12 or 13 pro max 

Iirc mine is attached to a vent.  I’ve had good vent attachments and bad ones.  Suction cups do seem to be worthless.  I’ve considered a rear view mirror plate.  Those actually glue to the glass.  The trick with those is you have to have an absolutely unbending thing though.  You glue this metal slug to the glass and then attach to the slug.  Do you have a cup holder?  I’ve seen ones that sit in a cup holder with a goose neck.  They are actually the nicest but it costs a cup holder.  I’ve also seen ones that are a gooseneck from the cigarette lighter, but they tend to suck.  One rather hardcore option is to go to a junkyard and look for an identical vehicle with an intact interior.  Find a facia plate that is the same as yours and you can just drill into it.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Imbadatnames said:

My car has weird shaped vents and stuff doesn’t really stick to the dash, I’ve tried suction and adhesive mounts and they fall off. 
 

I have no issue with it in pockets it just doesn’t fit in the car and the weight is a factor if you’re coming from literally everything else that isn’t a 12 or 13 pro max 

I’m curious about which car now.  With make and model I should be able to find a pic on the internet.  I might be able to think of something

[Imbadatnames]

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

I’m curious about which car now.  With make and model I should be able to find a pic on the internet.  I might be able to think of something

Had a mini where th vents are circular and convex, now have a Ford where the vents aren’t really vertical enough to mount anything to 

[NoWaterCooling007]

15 hours ago, AeroMagnus said:

Alright so long story short my iphone 8 is dying big time. Not necessarily slow or buggy or anything but the time has come to updgrade.
My main complaint is battery, i have to charge it three times a day if I even want to think about using it after lunch. 67% by 9am and it's not like I'm gaming or watching tiktoks.

So for some context:

I can afford up to the new 14 pro max 128gb (I don't need more storage tbh) but its not available yet.

Also i dont take a lot of photos but I want to start doing it more or w/e

 

All prices are pre-tax:
Right now the 13 pro max is the same price as the 14 pro max (1250), mostly cause the 14 isnt available in my country as i mentioned, it launches on the 30th at the earliest

The 13 pro is 1100

The 13 is around 900ish

The 12 is 800ish

12 mini is 650

13 mini is 800

 

This is what ive scouted online but I'm open to other suggestions, maybe going to look for older models in store if suggested. 

 

Other things to consider:

i might get a 10% discount on those prices, might

Can't apply for a carrier plan cause they suck

Not buying used or ebay, or any online really, said store has in-store pickup

As I said i want battery and a bit of camera action, I know the 13 pro has pro motion but I think i can live without it 

Not considering an android, had enough of ads in the slide down menu, forced apps, corrupted photos etc.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts I hope i didnt sound like a choosing beggar lol 

 

I am surprised your iPhone 8 is still holding up. That thing is holding up for 5 years! Coming to your question. Can you wait a bit longer? Else will recommend the 13 or 13 Pro. Max is too big and expensive. I got wrist pain after using the 11 Pro Max. LOL. 

Regarding battery life, I am waiting for the iPhone 14 Plus which launches next month. It has the larger screen and bigger battery without the "Pro" price tag.

[Bombastinator]

12 minutes ago, NoWaterCooling007 said:

I am surprised your iPhone 8 is still holding up. That thing is holding up for 5 years! Coming to your question. Can you wait a bit longer? Else will recommend the 13 or 13 Pro. Max is too big and expensive. I got wrist pain after using the 11 Pro Max. LOL. 

Regarding battery life, I am waiting for the iPhone 14 Plus which launches next month. It has the larger screen and bigger battery without the "Pro" price tag.

I remember hearing good things about the 12 mini.  Had the same power as the big phones but cost less. Or something. Me if I had an 8 that was still in good shape I’d replace the battery, laugh like a maniac, and keep going.  I’m a cheap bastard though.

[AeroMagnus]

21 hours ago, Zando_ said:

13 Pro Max here, only go low power mode when it drops below 20%, still manage a good day and 1/2ish usually, with 8-13 hours screen on time. It is a noticeable jump from my 11 Pro Max, never had the 12 so I don't have a direct comparison to that. +1 on the Pros all being very good phones though, especially the 11s and up (when they started throwing in properly chunky batteries, which means it'll last longer before becoming so worn out its unusable, older phones with the smaller batteries had this happen sooner). The 13 Pros also brought the 120Hz screen... which doesn't actually do anything, just makes things feel a lot snappier/smoother. I don't care about high refresh on monitors as I'm already interfacing through a mouse/keeb or controller anyways, but it does feel very nice on a touchscreen.

I've heard the variable refresh rate helps it save battery cause it can drop down to 10Hz but dunno how much of a gimmick that is since it has no AOD

 

20 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Hmm…. If it’s just the battery they’re what? $50? Let’s call that the start point.  Do you need a good camera?  Do you want the magnet thing? Think of it as features.  What features do you want and what changes were made that you like?  I sort of miss the hardware button from my 7+. The 8 still has that.   Also how long does apple say it will support which version?  Iirc the 6s is still supported.  If there’s only 2 years left on the 8 or something it’s effectively a cheapo android phone.  For $50. (Or whatever a new battery costs)   If they haven’t even announced a sunset though it’s good until you break it?  I had a 7+ and only got a new phone because it apparently had that sound bug and I never got it fixed (doh!) and the warranty thing timed out on it so it would have needed a new motherboard, so I got a 13 pro max which is apparently a big iPhone 14 now it seems. I got no real use for the fancy camera though, and the lack of button flat out bugs me.  Plus I had a mophie sled and car charger for the thing so it was basically an 8 anyway.  When I got the 13 pro max I had to get a whole new magnetic car charger/holder thing which I have to say doesn’t work quite as well as the mophie did. 

The battery is only at 80%, so its not like dying dying but its certainly not enought for my daily life, especially my job since I'm always walking, on site, taking pictures, answering emails, etc. Basically can't sit at my desk and charge it since even if it was new it would last me maybe an hour more?

 

 

7 hours ago, NoWaterCooling007 said:

I am surprised your iPhone 8 is still holding up. That thing is holding up for 5 years! Coming to your question. Can you wait a bit longer? Else will recommend the 13 or 13 Pro. Max is too big and expensive. I got wrist pain after using the 11 Pro Max. LOL. 

Regarding battery life, I am waiting for the iPhone 14 Plus which launches next month. It has the larger screen and bigger battery without the "Pro" price tag.

While yes I could wait I'm:

1- the kind of idiot whose money burns hole in my pockets and escapes into the backrooms, never to be seen again (mostly "treat yo self" foodstuff)

2- After asking a couple of irl friends, one with an iP11 and the other with the iP11PM i think I'll look for a 12PM or so, don't feel like paying full price tbh since I also need airpods for the gym cause the dongle keeps breaking

 

Thank y'all for your suggestions, I'm still open to them though so feel free to express your viewpoints

 

Edit: after a bit of extra research I've found that iP11's have better battery life than 12's, is that true?

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, AeroMagnus said:

I've heard the variable refresh rate helps it save battery cause it can drop down to 10Hz but dunno how much of a gimmick that is since it has no AOD

 

The battery is only at 80%, so its not like dying dying but its certainly not enought for my daily life, especially my job since I'm always walking, on site, taking pictures, answering emails, etc. Basically can't sit at my desk and charge it since even if it was new it would last me maybe an hour more?

 

 

While yes I could wait I'm:

1- the kind of idiot whose money burns hole in my pockets and escapes into the backrooms, never to be seen again (mostly "treat yo self" foodstuff)

2- After asking a couple of irl friends, one with an iP11 and the other with the iP11PM i think I'll look for a 12PM or so, don't feel like paying full price tbh since I also need airpods for the gym cause the dongle keeps breaking

 

Thank y'all for your suggestions, I'm still open to them though so feel free to express your viewpoints

 

Edit: after a bit of extra research I've found that iP11's have better battery life than 12's, is that true?

It’s a five year old LiPo battery discharged daily.  80% doesn’t mean it’s ok.  It just means it’s unlikely to be actively dangerous.  
 

LiPo batteries have a shorter lifespan than other kinds of rechargable batteries.  It’s an older chemistry.  I’ve got INRs (a different kind of lithium battery.  Much newer chemistry) in my ecig. The best ones that can be gotten.  They’re good for maybe two years. If I’m lucky.  It’s gotten better over the years.  The ones around in 2008 didn’t last one year. I’ve got a box of used up INR batteries  waiting to be recycled.  (There’s I think one dead fresh LifPod battery in there I bought by mistake) They’re all likely above 80%. They were too annoying to use though.
 

 Batteries act a bit like balloons.  They have a higher voltage and drop to a lower voltage.  Sort of a deflation. Mine start around 4.2v and when they hit about 3.5v (it varies a bit by what mod they are put in the lowest I’ve heard of is 3v) they don’t work anymore. They are rated as 3.7v batteries.
 

 80% of 4.2 is 3.3something.  Call it 3.4.  If your battery was my ecig battery it wouldn’t work at all.  If a lithium battery goes below 2.5v it can’t be recharged at all and becomes very dangerous. You can’t safely discharge lithium batteries all the way.  It’s how they work.  If apple is calling 80% “good” they’re lying.  They already got sued once over that. This is why they say that electric car batteries still have most of their power remaining when they are retired.  They do. Your battery needs to be retired.  Sounds like it’s the only thing wrong with the phone though. 

Edited September 24, 2022 by Bombastinator
My sentence structure is horrible and autocorrect is my nemisis

[Bombastinator]

14 hours ago, Imbadatnames said:

Had a mini where th vents are circular and convex, now have a Ford where the vents aren’t really vertical enough to mount anything to 

Ah a mini. I used to own one of those.  Don’t buy the ones with CVT transmissions in the US btw.  The euro ones are fine but the US ones are junk. Yeah, that would be hard.  I can’t remember what I did in mine. The plastic fascia over that strut under the dash maybe?  Can’t remember.  I got it in though.  Still sorta miss that car.  Amazingly roomy on the inside.  You wouldn’t think so to look at them but they’re great.  I wanted an electric though and the electric mini just didn’t have the range I needed.  I learned once they have the longest doors of any car sold in America since the 70’s. Might have something to do with it.

 

ooh! I remember..  I had one with the in dash map (another piece of junk btw) and the speedo and tach were on pods on the steering column.  There was a flat space.  I just set the thing sideways on that.  I had an android phone back then with no magnets but I did get the wireless charger fold thing. I just set a qi puck there and it worked great. Also meant I didn’t have to use that stupid map thing.

 

thinking about it the way to go would probably be to affix it to the steering column where it doesn’t get in the way of your hands.  Better placement for the map anyway.

 

gah you said you have a ford now.  I’ve got a leaf with horizontal vents.  There was one that worked fine in it.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Zando_]

54 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

80% doesn’t mean it’s ok.

Lot of words based off an incorrect assumption, that just means it's at 80% of the factory capacity. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_loss. It's specifically "a phenomenon observed in rechargeable battery usage where the amount of charge a battery can deliver at the rated voltage decreases with use." By definition it is still operating at the rated voltage.

58 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

They already got sued once over that.

They got sued over throttling phones without notifying the user, not over anything with the batteries themselves.

 

2 hours ago, AeroMagnus said:

I've heard the variable refresh rate helps it save battery cause it can drop down to 10Hz but dunno how much of a gimmick that is since it has no AOD

Not sure how much that helps or not, I have no way of monitoring what Hz it runs. Most of the improvement is from a more efficient SoC and larger battery.

[Bombastinator]

43 minutes ago, Zando_ said:

Lot of words based off an incorrect assumption, that just means it's at 80% of the factory capacity. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_loss. It's specifically "a phenomenon observed in rechargeable battery usage where the amount of charge a battery can deliver at the rated voltage decreases with use." By definition it is still operating at the rated voltage.

They got sued over throttling phones without notifying the user, not over anything with the batteries themselves.

 

Not sure how much that helps or not, I have no way of monitoring what Hz it runs. Most of the improvement is from a more efficient SoC and larger battery.

That seems to be what I said though I phrased it differently.  I guarantee you though that you can’t discharge the things all the way down safely.  

Li-ion is a bunch of different chemistries. The one used in phone and most other electronics batteries is LiPo which is lithium polymer. Lithium polymer was one of the  early chemistries and so far one of the most energy dense.  It’s also cheap.  It’s got problems though.  One of which is that it doesn’t last as long as other chemistries.  For a full list I invite you to google some more. They’re also used in remote control cars and airplanes.
 

for a thing on LiPos I can suggest this one:

https://www.rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide/

His numbers are a little different.  He’s talking about functional usability in devices though.  
 

let’s go with the math you mentioned though: 12.4 to 24.1% about an eighth to about a quarter. That’s all it takes to drop below the functioning voltage. And he’s doing between 1 and 3 cycles per day.  Assuming one per day 500 cycles is around a year and a half.  For the average li-ion. Not the average LiPo.  Leads me to suspect that apple is putting pretty good batteries in their products.  His phone is still working, though he has to charge it 3 times a day so it’s probably a lot closer to the 12.4 than the 24.1
 

 Most research on batteries has been towards safer systems (because lithium is well..lithium) and more charge cycles. They’re getting pretty good.  Flaming explosion incidents have gotten a lot rarer and I’m getting maybe 2 years out of my batteries. I usually do more than one cycle a day though.  I smoke too much.
 

for a full rundown of all that there is a series of videos on YouTube by a guy called batterymooch entitled “minding your mahs”. There’s a bunch of them. I’ve supported the guy on patreon for several years now which is how I know about it. 

Edited September 24, 2022 by Bombastinator

[Imbadatnames]

2 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Ah a mini. I used to own one of those.  Don’t buy the ones with CVT transmissions in the US btw.  The euro ones are fine but the US ones are junk. Yeah, that would be hard.  I can’t remember what I did in mine. The plastic fascia over that strut under the dash maybe?  Can’t remember.  I got it in though.  Still sorta miss that car.  Amazingly roomy on the inside.  You wouldn’t think so to look at them but they’re great.  I wanted an electric though and the electric mini just didn’t have the range I needed.  I learned once they have the longest doors of any car sold in America since the 70’s. Might have something to do with it.

 

ooh! I remember..  I had one with the in dash map (another piece of junk btw) and the speedo and tach were on pods on the steering column.  There was a flat space.  I just set the thing sideways on that.  I had an android phone back then with no magnets but I did get the wireless charger fold thing. I just set a qi puck there and it worked great. Also meant I didn’t have to use that stupid map thing.

 

thinking about it the way to go would probably be to affix it to the steering column where it doesn’t get in the way of your hands.  Better placement for the map anyway.

 

gah you said you have a ford now.  I’ve got a leaf with horizontal vents.  There was one that worked fine in it.

Mini was great tbh, was sad when someone wrote it off. The electric range is kinda pathetic, 150 miles and it won’t do that. Hybrid countryman isn’t too bad though. 
 

Tbh I’ve hacked nav onto the Ford now, might put in Sync 3 when I have time do don’t really need to mount a phone as such.