what is the cheapest way to get a new iPhone 16e

[FrugalSaver]

I have ridden my last iphone for 4 years.  Time for a new one.  Currently on spectrum paying $40 / month.

Any suggestions?  shopping around this weekend.

Thanks

[FrugalSaver]

looks like mint mobile with 16e 256GB you have to buy a year plan at $15 / month (up to 35GB data before throttle) and can use mobile wifi calling internationally

so then use it for 4 years.  reduce spectrum bill from $40 to $15 per month.  hurdle rate is 28 months.  then get another 20 months out of the phone (4 years total target) and bank another $500 to then do it all over again.

Thoughts?  Any better ideas (for an iphone 16e)?

[FrugalSaver]

i guess i could also see if any refurbished stuff on swappa

[fuzzy math]

Use a rewards portal like rakuten (or whatever you use)... see what service companies are offering the best deals and compare that against service fees

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

Any suggestions?  shopping around this weekend.

What's wrong with your 4-year old iPhone?

Apple's software support windows are far longer than 4 years.  Is it on the latest iOS and still getting updates?  If so, there's no reason to replace it.

Is the battery life suffering after 4 years?  Check battery health, and if it's below 80% or so, replace the battery.  They're not hard to do, or local shops will do it affordably enough if you don't have and won't develop the skills.

The cheapest option is to not replace it, and fix what's wrong, if it's having problems.

[FrugalSaver]

Any suggestions?  shopping around this weekend.

What's wrong with your 4-year old iPhone?

Apple's software support windows are far longer than 4 years.  Is it on the latest iOS and still getting updates?  If so, there's no reason to replace it.

Is the battery life suffering after 4 years?  Check battery health, and if it's below 80% or so, replace the battery.  They're not hard to do, or local shops will do it affordably enough if you don't have and won't develop the skills.

The cheapest option is to not replace it, and fix what's wrong, if it's having problems.

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Any suggestions on that problem?

[daverobev]

Just clean out the clutter. Plug it in to itunes and do a backup - if that doesn't do much (it does some level of self-cleansing when plugged in I believe), do a backup - reset - restore from backup.

Get into the habit of closing tabs, closing programs you're not using, etc.

[aloevera1]

4 years is really not that long for an iphone. Unless there is some damage to it I would not replace it just yet. Your new iphone 16 will also be old in 4 years lol.

I support the factory reset option as well as unloading garbage. Removing extra apps might help as some of them run background processes.

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Probably.  Or stop doing that human-toxic crap on a phone and use a laptop for it, where it can't reach out and grab your attention at any random moment.

As others have noted, back up your stuff, do a factory reset, and only install what you need, see if that fixes it.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Your career is social media marketing or something of the sort, evidently?  Gross, but I guess if it's a work expense...  doesn't sound like it, though.

[beee]

in case you decide to buy it, watch first 2 minutes of this video:
TLDR - there're better options than 16e
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF4vZxbSmjo&ab_channel=MarquesBrownlee

[FrugalSaver]

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Probably.  Or stop doing that human-toxic crap on a phone and use a laptop for it, where it can't reach out and grab your attention at any random moment.

As others have noted, back up your stuff, do a factory reset, and only install what you need, see if that fixes it.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Your career is social media marketing or something of the sort, evidently?  Gross, but I guess if it's a work expense...  doesn't sound like it, though.

I retired from my career in 2020. Man, calling someone’s career gross you dont even know what they do a little inappropriate. I don’t work in social media though, don’t watch porn, but appreciate the comment lol

[sonofsven]

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Probably.  Or stop doing that human-toxic crap on a phone and use a laptop for it, where it can't reach out and grab your attention at any random moment.

As others have noted, back up your stuff, do a factory reset, and only install what you need, see if that fixes it.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Your career is social media marketing or something of the sort, evidently?  Gross, but I guess if it's a work expense...  doesn't sound like it, though.

Get over yourself already.