I spent $1,242.17 on the iPhone 16 Pro last November.

The iPhone 17 Pro has dropped, and I’ve been hovering over the order button for days.

I realized something that’s going to sound crazy coming from a tech YouTuber

That realization made me question everything i’ve been doing for the past decade.

I was stuck in the yearly upgrade cycle for years.

Hanging onto the marketing from Apple and hype online from social media, just like YouTube.

iPhone 12 to 13 pro max to 14 pro, this is when I started to question what I was doing. Not only financially but the features introduced by Apple were less and less desirable.

It took spending over $5,000 on iPhones before the reality sunk in.

Before that I did the same thing with Android devices, new samsung or google phone every, single year.

For the first time in a decade I kept a phone longer than the one year mark.

This video is available ad-free right here on Substack! You can always watch the ad supported version for free on YouTube, linked at the bottom of this post.

Here’s what had me beginning to question my financial decisions.

But how would my tech YouTube channel survive if I wasn’t always reviewing the latest and greatest phone?

The feature stack on the latest iPhones has come at a disappointing pace. Apple is rarely first at anything, that is certainly still true, but a lot of the best features over the past 5 years have come via software updates and not physical hardware.

From iPhone 12 to 13 Pro Max I gained, ProMotion, which I never noticed, a telephoto camera, that I never used, a slightly faster chip, while never having performance issues and the main reason I got it was for better battery life and a bigger display…

From 13 pro max I decided I didn’t want to lug around the giant phone anymore and wanted to go back to the smaller form factor.

The 14 Pro introduced dynamic island, always on display, a slightly faster chip, roughly the same battery life as the pro max phone, and a 48MP main camera, which I did often use.

Other than that it was basically the same phone. Still all running the same software, getting the same updates.

Then looking at the 15 pro, same battery life, slightly faster chip and…apple log and they changed from stainless steel to titanium. I actually do like the design better, but hard to put a price tag on that.

The lack of substantial features helped keep me from buying into the hype. I still watched every video and read all kinds of articles about the new iPhone though.

I fought through the urge to buy it many times. My mindset began to shift.

When the 16 Pro was announced, my 14 Pro battery was severely degraded, I was dealing with carpal tunnel and the lighter, easier to hold 16 pro design was of interest to me.

Plus looking at the specs, I get that amazing titanium design, a new camera control button, 2 generations faster chip, better battery life, a 48MP wide camera in addition to the main camera, a 5x telephoto lens, Apple Intelligence, Apple Log AND USB-C.

The spec sheet started to make a little more sense.

I could point to almost all of those features, looking at you camera control, and explain how they would help my workflow and improve my experience of using the phone day to day.

What if that is the reframe that we needed? The iPhone is not a status symbol, no one cares more about what iPhone you have, than you do.

If you looked at it like a business investment. Not an investment that will grow or make money over time, because it certainly is not that either.

More like a tool that you need. If you are a photographer, the latest camera features might be something that you’d utilize every day.

If you do professional video with the iPhone, you’d want Apple Log 2 and the latest video features of the 17 Pro.

But professionals don’t upgrade their gear every year. A photographer might keep the same camera and lenses for a decade before upgrading.

Despite the people who just say “write it off” a business expense carries more scrutiny. You can tie a monetary benefit to the tool that you use to make a living.

You’d calculate a payoff period for the time it saves of additional revenue it could generate before going out and spending thousands of dollars on a piece of technology, every. single. year.

Over 5 years I’d spent thousands of dollars. Could I point to some way that these devices made my life thousands of dollars better? Absolutely not.

People often feel bad after buying new phones because their brains trick them into thinking they need the latest one, even when their old phone works perfectly fine.

Your current phone is probably good enough, and keeping it longer will save you money and help you feel better about your choices.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. I am part of the problem.

There are a ton of eyeballs on YouTube and social media. Brands send free gear and want sponsored posts, even without that, many YouTubers are buying gear out of their own pocket to review, get a video out as soon as possible to strike while the fire is hot.

This marketing cycle creates artificial urgency. Titles like, “do this before buying”, “best iPhone in years”, etc drive clicks and millions of eyeballs to videos about the latest product.

You watch one of those and you will be inundated with every single other iPhone review video on YouTube until you are sick of watching them and maybe have already bought the damn thing.

The treadmill continues.

Without fail, every fall, apple will hold an iPhone event and invite people to apple park. The show is content in and of itself, every new feature, first hands on impressions from the worlds most influential tech voices.

It’s a cheat code for YouTube. You want some quick views and a video to perform well, pick out one of Apple’s premium products to review. I happen to love this stuff, but it still blows my mind every time.

Before you decide you “need” the new iPhone based on glowing YouTube reviews, remember: you’re watching content that exists because it’s profitable for both the creator and Apple, released on a timeline Apple controls, featuring a product Apple selected specific people to receive.

That doesn’t make every review dishonest, but it does mean you should question whether your desire for an upgrade is really yours—or if it’s been manufactured by a multi-billion dollar marketing machine that’s very, very good at its job.

No one needs to upgrade every year, but Apple’s constant development cycle ensures that no matter what phone you are coming from in years past, there is something new for you.

So when should you upgrade?

I think the 2-3 year cycle seems to make the most sense at this point, which is why it seems like there is never ending demand for the upcoming phones every year.

Apple isn’t targeting the person with last years device, though they benefit from the tech heads that want to be on the bleeding edge, buying them and posting their thoughts online for the world to see.

For them it is free marketing.

12 to 15 made a ton of sense

I did 14 to 16 and a lot of people online argued that was ridiculous, even this is more reasonable than buying a new phone every year

15 to 16, 16 to 17 doesn’t really make sense financially or from a feature perspective.

Some other practical tips:

Reconsider if:

Extend your upgrade cycle to 3-4 years

Focus on your future

Optimize what you have

A year ago I would have pre-ordered the iPhone 17 Pro as soon as I could.

The freedom of breaking the cycle, financial freedom weighed higher than love for tech and ability to “review”

My challenge to you is, before you upgrade anything tech related ask yourself one question.

What problem does this actually solve?

If you can’t answer that simple question, You don’t need the new iPhone.

You can check out my full video for free on YouTube!