The iPhone has been a tremendously successful product for Apple since its launch in 2007 and had managed to sell more than 100 million units in the iPhone's first four years itself. Having complete control over the hardware and software, allowing both to operate in synergy was one of Apple’s primary advantages in the iPhone design. Although there are plenty of reasons for the popularity of iPhones, we will discuss the most important ones.
The physical design of the iPhone was unique and differed significantly from other smartphones in the market at the time of launch. The front of the iPhone has a single physical button along with a touch-sensitive screen that lets the user access all of the iPhone's functions. The iPhone's excellent design has contributed immensely to its success, prompting other manufacturers to copy the design. The single button of iPhones still continues in their latest model, 14 years after too.
Apple closely guards their source code with the highest security which makes it harder for hackers to find security flaws. Apple stays ahead of the competition since they use a technique called sandboxing so that every app runs in its own walled-off space (a "sandbox") where it can't really interact with other apps or with the operating system, beyond a certain threshold. Even if an app did have a virus or a malicious code in it, that attack couldn't get outside of the sandbox and do more damage to the entire system. Besides, iPhone prevents any third-party apps to be installed, unlike Android.
Apple has a very closed circuit since they design their own custom chips that are optimized to power their own custom hardware, which runs its own custom OS. Unlike other smartphones, which uses chipset manufactured by different companies, Apple has full ownership and control over the hardware, software, and chipsets included in their products.
Though the iPhone is one of the greatest inventions of our time, it is essentially an electronic device that will deteriorate over time due to its constant usage. And once they start having issues, the users are given the choice of repair or replacement. iPhone repairs Adelaide recommends looking out for these signs in your iPhone to understand that it is past its use-by date.
Swiftly draining battery charge
Recurring performance issues
Lack of storage space
Unsupported by the latest iOS update
Apple has admitted to the inevitable deterioration of battery performance over time. A battery not holding its charge for less than a few hours is the first obvious sign that all is not well with your iPhone. You can have iPhone repairs South Australia replace it for a reasonable charge, or you can even buy a cheap replacement kit and do it yourself.
Not only do the ageing batteries become the only culprit in rapid power-downs, but other faults in your handset can also drain the battery quickly. Overcharging the battery can lead to a lower life expectancy. Even replacing the battery will not solve the problem as it may have to be done in a year again.
Another strong indication that your iPhone is past its prime is the glitchy performance and an obvious slow down in basic functions. It could be a software malfunction or a one-off system issue that can be put right with a factory reset. In other cases, your iPhone could have a virus, although that is rare. But resetting to factory settings multiple times is not a viable option for many.
Unlike Android devices which has an expandable memory option with an SD card, there is no way to expand the memory of an iPhone. You will probably only have 16GB storage at most if you have a standard model iPhone 6 or earlier. In this age of Apps, having 16GB is not enough at all.
You could try things like getting rid of old apps you no longer used, cleaning out obsolete junk folders and folders, or even archiving your video and photo collection to the Apple Cloud. But it will always feel like a handicap in this age and time.
Apple keeps systematically phases out support for older iPhone models while updating and improving iOS. This may not be planned obsolescence but is mainly driven by the fact that the specifications of older phones are not suitable for the bigger, newer operating systems.
With the latest iOS 15 update, it is rumoured that Apple does not plan to release a version of iOS 15 compatible with iPhone 6S & earlier. Even though you can keep running your iPhone on older versions of iOS, the latest security updates, software support, and guaranteed functionality may not be available making the iPhone susceptible to hackers.
These are a few red flags to indicate when you need to consider a newer model of iPhone. However, do not make a decision on your own and consult with iPhone repairs Adelaide who is an expert in identifying the issue and can provide an affordable solution to your iPhone shortcomings.