I switched to a 4-year-old iPhone and cured myself of the upgrade bug

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In summary:

Macworld’s author tested switching from an iPhone 17 Pro Max to a four-year-old iPhone 13 Pro Max to evaluate upgrade necessity.
The experiment revealed that smartphone upgrades are now incremental, with older flagship models like the iPhone 13 Pro Max remaining highly capable for daily use.
Key findings show the 2021 model’s cameras, 120Hz display, and performance are still excellent, though USB-C and Dynamic Island features are missed.

Every September, Apple convinces millions of people that their current iPhone suddenly feels old. There’s always a new camera feature, a faster chip, a longer battery life, or some AI-powered trick designed to create that familiar feeling: maybe it’s time to upgrade.

This year, I decided to test something. Rather than moving forward, I went backwards. I swapped my iPhone 17 Pro Max for an iPhone 13 Pro Max as my main phone. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to see how much I would actually miss. And the answer surprised me.

After weeks using a four-year-old iPhone, I realized something uncomfortable for Apple’s upgrade cycle: modern iPhones have become so good that the differences barely matter for most people anymore. Sure, I missed a few things. But not nearly enough to make me desperate to go back.

The iPhone downgrade that didn’t feel like one

Before switching, I expected the iPhone 13 Pro Max to feel outdated. After all, we’re talking about a phone released in 2021. It still has a notch, and it uses Lightning instead of USB-C. There’s no Dynamic Island or Camera Control, not even Apple Intelligence.

But as I stared using it, it became clear that this is still a modern and quite capable smartphone.

Yes, it’s not as fast or powerful as my iPhone 17 Pro Max. But the speed seems fast enough that it doesn’t bother me most of the day. Apps don’t take much longer to open, and the animations seem smooth, probably because this was…

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