About seven months ago, I bought a refurbished iPhone 11 — in yellow! It’s great, but I’ve already replaced it. Last week, I downsized and upgraded to iPhone 12 mini — in blue. It’s both less and more phone. The thing is, I wasn’t even planning or wanting to switch. So why did I do this after just a few months?
Well, it just kind of worked out this way.
You see, Apple’s recent WWDC announced the upcoming versions of iPhone software. With each new generation of iPhone, the lineup cuts off certain older models. So this September, Apple’s phones from 2017 will no longer be supported and won’t get the latest software. That means my oldest son’s iPhone 8 Plus will basically become obsolete despite being functional. To be fair, it’ll be six-years old; it’s battery health isn’t great anymore.
My family happens to use Apple’s family subscription bundle and its parental controls (Screen Time). Because of this, I ensure my kids’ iPhones stay supported, not breaking the setup. And it means we avoid unnecessary feature disparity. Who likes getting an unsupported emoji text that appears as a blank box?
So typically, my wife and I buy refurbished or renewed iPhones. We get like-new devices in great shape, saving a bunch of money too. Our phones are perpetually three years, on average, behind the times. But they’re still excellent thanks to Apple’s hardware quality. And when we upgrade, our older teens get our previous models, which have a couple years of shelf-life left in them. That said, my oldest son’s iPhone was already five years old when I handed it down to him late last year.
So one day this week, I told my son that I want him to get a newer iPhone in the next few months, maybe in the Fall. I added that he could buy my iPhone 11 for a fair yet low price — a family discount! That way, he’d get the best deal around. And the phone would be truly his, not mine that he gets to use exclusively as his.
Well, that sounded great to him; he was eager to upgrade. In fact, that night, he asked me if I had settled on the exact selling price so he could buy it as soon as possible. I hadn’t. I really wasn’t ready to switch phones so soon, but I decided we could go ahead and get started.
The next morning, I bought the next cheapest model of iPhone upgrade, going from 11 to 12 mini. I didn’t choose the mini just because it costs less than the regular 12. I wanted the smaller phone!
Let me recommend Amazon Renewed. I’ve ordered iPhones this way before and have had great results. Once again, in two days after ordering from a reputable third-party seller via Amazon Renewed, my iPhone 12 mini arrived in excellent condition. And for a nearly three-year old phone, it has a respectable 86% battery health. There are no scratches or dents to the body; there’s only a few tiny scuff marks on the metal banded edge, which aren’t noticeable. The software is unlocked and in perfect working order.
I love the “tiny” size of the mini! The only real trade-off is the shorter battery life, but it’s easy enough to manage. And my son will soon be enjoying his new iPhone 11.
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