One of the few things you can count on is that Apple will release a new iPhone every year, a new and improved model than the one you just bought. By the time the new appears, they are already classifying the old as outdated and dysfunctional. So contrary to popular belief, they don’t put that iOS 10 update on their iPhone 5s to make it better. “Planned obsolescence” is the term that many people use to describe Apple’s decision to send problematic updates to all previous models to cause problems with batteries, applications not opening, connectivity and other problems. These updates will make your phone slower and, with enough updates to an older model, outdated.

There is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to take four to five years out of your iPhone before upgrading to another. They are well-built, quality phones made to last. However, these upgrades can reduce service life by as much as two to three years. Therefore, anyone with a functional phone below the iPhone 7 should simply ignore these prompts; ideally you should have iOS 8 or 9 for iPhone 5 and 6 series. The software that comes with your phone works perfectly fine already.

Also remember that once you update, you won’t be able to roll it back. There are many ways Apple will try to force you to update. One of those tactics is that sometimes your phone will ask for the passcode, but you will write in fine print that doing so will automatically update the phone sometime early in the morning. Below, an even smaller button to opt out of this automatic update is the only way around it. Another means, even more difficult to avoid, is that developers will update popular applications such as Facebook and Snapchat to be compatible with the newer iOS, creating a disparity between their operating system and that of the application. To continue using it, you will most likely need to update your system. Wait as long as you can and then stop using the app or upgrade, but be informed about your choice.

The bottom line is that if you upgrade an older model, you can basically turn it into a paperweight. The battery and charging port can be repaired, as can other things, but repair shops can only do so much with an updated phone because many times, the phone will simply fall short on new batteries or chargers. Be aware of what you are doing with your phone and also consider the impact of buying a new and barely changed phone every year.

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