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This is the launch day for the iPhone XS and XS Max. And if it sounds a little muted compared to the iPhone's launch days, it's maybe because Apple makes it easier and easier to keep your phone old by three years – even if he does not sell this phone anymore.
As I wrote last week, I was on the market for an XS. But I was torn apart: I am one of those who believe that the iPhone 6S is Apple's latest true iPhone. I do not want to swap my built-in headphone jack for a life in which I have to carry a Lightning-aux-Aux dongle just in case.
And yes, the fanboys, before you start: I already use Bluetooth headphones! I simply appreciate the ability to plug in a set of wired boxes – the same option I can get on my latest iPad Pro and on a state-of-the-art MacBook. Answer this, iPhone owners without jack: When you jump in a friend's car for a long ride, you want to play music, and all they have is a auxiliary cord, what are you doing? I hope you remembered your dongle and that you do not need to charge your phone at the same time!
Yet, during a hot moment, I felt compelled to give in to my early adept and get the latest news. My 6S is often emptied quickly, which has forced me to carry an external battery at any time or to live in low power mode. Maybe I was unreasonable. Maybe I could learn to live with dongles.
Maybe I could even learn to live with FaceID, although it still seems like a useless and insecure feature. I sent a message to an old friend who loves his iPhone X: What is the percentage of times that FaceID fails to open the phone, because of the wearing of sunglasses or a hat or the room too dark? Oh, just 35% of the time, he felt. My TouchID always works 100% of the time. Hmmm.
Maybe I could switch to the iPhone 8 from last year, the latest Apple model to use TouchID. But what an uninteresting option it seemed. Spend $ 549, get a phone with half the capacity of my 128GB 6S (Apple does not offer a 128GB version of the 8), and of course, enter Dongle-land.
Well, I figured I could at least prepare for my 6S exchange by taking advantage of Apple's battery replacement program (which the company offers until the end of the year). For some reason, I discovered on the Apple Store that my out-of-warranty phone was qualified for a free upgrade of the battery; I did not even need to lose $ 29.
The only drawback: there was a small crack in the corner of the screen. Apple will not upgrade the battery unless it has a blank screen, lest it be broken by removing the back. The Apple store offered a screen replacement for $ 149. Other stores charged $ 109. The exchange value of an iPhone 6S is about 100 dollars. Once again, I hesitated, feeling pushed to the last thing.
But then I found a store that did a third-party screen replacement for $ 65. It seemed impossible to distinguish from the original. Apple does not usually repair your phone if it has third-party components, but it makes an exception for screens. The Apple store has been replacing the battery in minutes. Suddenly, the phone that limped, emptied quickly, seemed new.
My 6S feels like a new life.
This has been helped in large part by the upgrade to iOS 12. Apple is touting that the latest iOS will run an older phone faster, and I am here to tell you that they are absolutely right. My 6S feels like a new life. If it is not brand new, it certainly feels like less than a year old. Sufficient for me.
It seems odd that a trillion dollar company known to make you want to do things at the last hour makes it so easy not to upgrade your phone for three years. But Apple seems to be making a new commitment to sustainability.
Lisa Jackson, a former EPA executive and now vice president of environmental, political and social initiatives at Apple, took a good part of the iPhone XS launch last week to talk about it. All Apple offices and data centers are now powered by 100% renewable energy. The phones are made with components that are more recyclable than ever before.
Jackson has not talked about this, but the biggest thing you can do for the environment as an iPhone client is not to buy a new iPhone. Very discreetly, Apple has made this possible, even for the first enthusiastic users like me.
I do not know how it works, financially, in the long run. Perhaps my continued use of the 6S is actually subsidized by people who do not mind the effective decommissioning of FaceID, people who must have the brightest, gold-plated last thing, people who do not fear dongles.
All I can say for the moment, is something I have never said before: thank you Apple, for not having made me evolve.
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