It was the year 2018 when the iPhone XR was presented, and in October 2023, this phone turns 5 years old. While 5 years is nothing in many ways, for technology it can be a lifetime. So if you have an iPhone XR, you are probably wondering until when will it be a valid device to be able to use it as the main phone.
The iPhone XR and its use after five years
The vast majority of people change their mobile phone every two or three years at most, for various reasons: one of them is usability and the things they can do with their phones after a while. But Apple seems to no longer remember what planned obsolescence is, since the iPhone is one of the mobile phones with the longest useful life, officially, on the market.
The iPhone XR went on sale in 2018, with the iOS 12 system. Currently, in 2023, you are using iOS 16, which already accumulates four years of official system updates. If we take into account that Apple usually has its iPhone updated for around 5, and even 6 years, the iPhone XR could go up to iOS 17 or iOS 18 without problems. So if you are worried that you will not be able to continue updating your phone anymore, you can rest easy with this information.
The iPhone operating system, although it is one of its greatest strengths, is not 100% everything, since here we enter the field of use that you are going to give it. Is it an iPhone to take photos, videos and create content in a professional way? Do you use it to send messages, use applications that do not require a lot of power and take photos or videos from time to time? Even if the iPhone XR stops updating in a few years, if your use is not demanding, you will be able to continue using the functions you already have without any problem, in an average period of time.
The second golden age of the iPhone XR
Taking care of an iPhone is one of the fundamental pillars to extend its useful life. It is not the same to have a phone, after 5 years, in perfect condition, with a pristine screen and rear glass, a reasonable battery capacity (which does not drop below 80%) and the physical buttons that work correctly, than not having a iPhone with broken screen, battery drained below 79%, and buttons failing.
If our iPhone XR is well cared for, despite the fact that it stops updating in a few years, it can be equally valid for us, since aesthetically we will have a phone in very good condition. Although the design of the iPhone XR is from 2017, and current iPhones already have flat edges and more screen, It is not a phone that does not look very old or outdated at all. If the iPhone XR that we have is in good physical condition, and continues to perform in most of the activities that we do with it, but we feel that it is no longer up to our needs, it can have a second life. And we do not mean, only, that you sell the device.
Although it is no longer your main phone, it can have a very good second life as a music player or as a video game console. Despite the fact that they do not require a SIM to work (per se to activate for the first time), the iPhone XR is compatible with the entire ecosystem of Apple services, so it can become our default media player, since it will continue performing excellently in those fields. So yes, your iPhone XR has juice left for a while, and it will only depend on your uses and needs, to continue having it as your main phone.
