The signs to understand if the iPhone needs to be changed Subscribe to the Fastweb Digital Magazine newsletter Thank you for subscribing!

It cannot be denied that technology, every year, gives us the opportunity to purchase new smartphone models that are considerably more powerful and advanced than those of the previous year. This also applies, and perhaps above all, to Apple's iPhones, which are always presented around mid-September, making the model of just a year earlier seem obsolete from one day to the next.

But the money is not infinite (at least for most people) and every old iPhone becomes a very difficult electronic waste to dispose of. We must therefore ask ourselves if, when and why the iPhone should be changed, regardless of the new model just released or the one that will be released in a few months.

Here are some considerations to make before deciding to buy a new Apple phone.

When to change the iPhone of course

Let's start with the borderline cases, those in which it is certainly a good choice to change iPhone. For sure it is good to change iPhone if the one we have does not work properly: problems with the screen, battery that no longer charges, serious problems with the microphone or the speakers are all excellent reasons to change the phone.

Certainly, before changing it, it is advisable to get a quote in an Apple authorized center for a possible replacement or repair of components that do not work well. But, given Apple's commercial policy which provides for quite high costs for repairs, a serious breakdown almost always leads the user to change phones.

Another case in which there is little doubt is when we need a specific function that does not exist on our model, but in the following ones, yes. If we have, for example, an iPhone 11 and we absolutely need the 5G connection, then we have to buy a later model because iPhone 11 is the latest iPhone with only 4G.

Similar speech if, for work, we are forced to use applications that make massive use of augmented reality, then it is almost certain that we will need one of the most interesting features of the most recent iPhones: the LiDAR.

Or, if we have a very old iPhone and we have to use an app that only works with the latest iOS versions, we will be forced to change it. But not only that: if our iPhone no longer receives iOS updates (which also include security updates) it is good to change it as soon as possible to continue using the phone in complete safety. Otherwise we would expose ourselves to serious risks of a hacker attack or penetration of a malware into the device.

When it is not mandatory to change iPhone

In all the cases listed above, and there would also be several others, we have no choice: we must necessarily change the iPhone with a more recent model, if not with the latest one. In many other cases, however, we can take our time and think about whether it is really worth it.

Let's start with the system updates already mentioned: every time Apple updates iOS it not only inserts new functions, but makes the phone more secure. Apple guarantees four major iOS updates and five years of security updates per iPhone generation, so if our model still has many years of free updates ahead of you, it's a good idea to think about it a lot before changing it. If, on the contrary, we have a year or so left, then it's time to start thinking about a new phone.

Another case in which it is not mandatory to change phones is when the battery is still in good condition. Starting from the iPhone 6 and from iOS 11.3 it is possible to know with certainty the health of the battery of our iPhone by going to Settings> Battery> Battery Status. We will be shown the maximum percentage of battery that can be recharged (compared to when the battery was new).

It is a very easy to read parameter, which tells us with a number in what state of health the battery is: if the maximum charge it can reach is less than 70%, then it means that we can start thinking about a replacement. battery, or the whole phone.

Another factor to consider is the quality (and health) of the camera. The photographic sector is one of those that make the greatest leaps forward in terms of quality and functionality with each new generation. Starting with the Apple A13 Bionic SoC of the iPhone 11 of 2019, then, Apple has introduced a considerable dose of artificial intelligence in the post production of the photos (the so-called "computational photography").

If our camera is no longer keeping up with the times and we are tired of taking low quality photos (compared to those of new models), then let's think about changing iPhones. Same thing even if the photos are no longer beautiful due to scratches or indelible stains on the protective glass of the camera.

Finally, the performance factor must be considered. All phones slow down a lot over time. IPhones too. But all phones can be speeded up quite a lot with the right moves. IPhones too.

The first, perhaps most important, way to rejuvenate an iPhone is to free up storage space by moving as much data as possible to your iCloud account. A second way is to uninstall any apps that we don't use frequently (or don't use at all).

Then you have to update the operating system to the latest version available and disable animations and transparencies, which are nice to look at but impact performance, by going to General> Accessibility. Finally, a drastic but always effective choice, to give sprint back to a slow iPhone it is useful from time to time to restore the device to factory settings by going to Settings> General> Reset> Initialize content and settings.