Sweet spot for an iPhone
Author
Discussion

omniflow

Original Poster:

3,865 posts

181 months

Saturday 26th September 2020
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I think I need to help my youngest daughter replace her iPhone 6S. She's just started University, and she's much happier with a phone than a laptop for day to day living.

She needs a bigger screen and more storage as a priority, and more speed as a secondary requirement.

Where is the sweet spot on these things - 10? 11? 12? S? X? GTi? GSX? Whatever?

It will be SIM free, and it needs to be an iPhone - she will not cope with any transition to Android. Personally, I struggle with anything Apple, which is why I'm looking for some guidance on here.

No specific budget, but I'd prefer not to spend £1,000 unless there's a compelling reason. Anyone who has a child who has started University this year will know how difficult things are - so please no negative comments.

thebraketester

15,822 posts

168 months

Saturday 26th September 2020
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I would say either the 11 or Xr.

DoctorX

8,266 posts

197 months

Saturday 26th September 2020
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IPhone SE is much like she has now but with the latest internals. Not bad value. For something a little bigger, they still do the XR for £629 which is a decent phone.

anonymous-user

84 months

Saturday 26th September 2020
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I have just moved mine from 6Ss to 8s. Same size screen but faster and better battery life. They are very happy.

Zigster

2,004 posts

174 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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I agree XR or 11 are good bets.
Don’t forget if you buy from Apple they tend to give good trade-in prices on the old phone which lessens the financial pain a little.

parabolica

7,018 posts

214 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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SE is the default cheapest most economical to buy but I went with an XR and never regretted it.

oldcynic

2,166 posts

191 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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Depends on budget but refurbished 8 plus looks good value, although prices for refurbished kit from Cex jumped during lockdown. Keep watching Apple’s own refurbished outlet because their stock changes regularly, and the iPad I bought from there earlier this year might as well have been new - I found the same with an ipad from Cex last year which was immaculate until I got my hands on it.

hotchy

4,830 posts

156 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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Just get her the latest. Shes studied hard, got to uni so give her a treat. If it ends up like scotland she'll be locked in her room with police patrolling the uni halls making sure nobody leaves so will need all the entertainment she can get.

oldcynic

2,166 posts

191 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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Have you thought about an iPad mini? If she’s likely to be confined for a lot of this year and will most likely have WiFi connection across the campus it’s a great compromise between phone and laptop in a pretty small package. Make sure she’s got iCloud storage which allows everything to be shared between phone and tablet, then work out what phone she wants/needs later.
It’s not just about saving money either - the iPad may be better suited to her needs.

funinhounslow

2,013 posts

172 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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Is it possible to hang on for a few weeks? The iPhone 12 will soon be announced and it would be worth seeing what that brings to the table. It is also possible that current models may be discounted.

The 6s can run iOS 14 so it really would be worth delaying a purchase if at all possible.

ETA worth a read before buying anything now...

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-12/

Edited by funinhounslow on Sunday 27th September 12:30

21TonyK

13,367 posts

239 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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Make sure whatever you buy, you insure it for accidental damage and loss!

paulrockliffe

16,623 posts

257 months

Sunday 27th September 2020
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oldcynic said:
Have you thought about an iPad mini? If she’s likely to be confined for a lot of this year and will most likely have WiFi connection across the campus it’s a great compromise between phone and laptop in a pretty small package. Make sure she’s got iCloud storage which allows everything to be shared between phone and tablet, then work out what phone she wants/needs later.
It’s not just about saving money either - the iPad may be better suited to her needs.
I was going to say the same. Having barely left the house for 6 months and having basically used my phone for nothing out of the house but a couple of Google Maps trips in that time, my next 'upgrade' will be a new tablet and keep the phone for a couple more years.

I wouldn't go for a Mini sized tablet though, they're not that much bigger than the biggest phone screens, so might as well go for the 10" option as you'll need a phone regardless.

I'm not really a fan of Laptops either, they're always either too big to carry around and use, or too small to use properly. But there's a lot to be said for a proper PC still.

Longtime Lurker

188 posts

113 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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I recently got my iPhone 11 on Three through USWITCH cheaper than i could have bought it Sim free and that includes unlimited calls and texts and 100gb of Data.

nikaiyo2

5,973 posts

225 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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They have 256GB X on the refurb store for £699... or 64GB XS Max for £799.

alorotom

12,788 posts

217 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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Ive had my 11 coming up to 1yr now and the Mrs has a XR ... both great phones and perform really well

omniflow

Original Poster:

3,865 posts

181 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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Thanks for all the input. Based on the first batch of replies I started to investigate the iPhone 11, and worked out that a new one is due in 3 weeks, so a short wait is in order.

Regarding the tablet, she's already got an Asus 13" Zenbook which weighs practically nothing and (in my opinion) is dead easy to use. The problem is she missed a massive amount of school (most of years 7 - 10) and as a result she doesn't have much IT confidence. I suspect a tablet would have the same reaction, purely because it isn't a phone. I am working on improving her laptop skills, but it's going to be mostly tutorials over Zoom (providing she can find the icon). I think the phone will work better as a personal organiser device, which is what she needs.

Once the new iPhone is out, then comes the fun part of working out the most cost effective way to acquire one.

oldcynic

2,166 posts

191 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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The biggest reason for suggesting an iPad is the common platform and shared data - if she gets on well with her iPhone she’ll love it. Make sure she’s got iCloud data to keep everything automatically backed up.
I’m doing a masters at the moment and work across 2 iPads and my desktop PC using iCloud for all my data storage which is also synchronised to my PC - so if someone steals all my devices i just need to sign in to retrieve my work - and lectures downloaded to my PC appear on my iPads.

Ellb123

117 posts

109 months

Monday 28th September 2020
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omniflow said:
Once the new iPhone is out, then comes the fun part of working out the most cost effective way to acquire one.
She'll get quite a good student discount from apple, and they offer the best trade in prices too.