i'd expect a minimum of 4-5 years without issues

Ages. I sold my iPhone 5 (Sept 2012) to a mate who isn't the most careful person in the world, he uses it all the time, thats almost 5 years. I wont be surprised if it goes another 2 or 3

3 years before you start thinking... geez, it's not as fast as it used to be...

 Googlefu says three years is what Apple expects. https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/iphone-life-expectancy/

if its purely a hardware issue at no fault of yours then anything under 3 years for a premium device is taking the piss. But in saying that things can go wrong and i'd expect the retailer or manufacturer to recognize this.

Brumfondl:

 

 Googlefu says three years is what Apple expects. https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/iphone-life-expectancy/

 

 

 

That's owner data. I.e. 3 years is what owners do. I think the OP wanted a true lifespan? As in how long will it work for before failing

I'd be happy with 3 years from my iPhone 7 Plus.

We have an iPhone 5 that the kids use as an iPod Touch and it's still going fine except the battery needs to be replaced.

It's over 4 years old.

Not this again... Can we leave it to rest with the other thread?

2-3 years as quoted by Apple themselves. Locked...

As a guide, I would look at how long Apple provide iOS updates for the product. They seem to provide updates for anywhere between 3-5 years, which I think is a good guide. I have had an ipad replaced by apple that was close on 4 years old without any hassle at all, although that was due to the screen developing bright patches, which appears to have been a manufacturing defect which other people had also encountered.

michaelmurfy:

 

Not this again... Can we leave it to rest with the other thread?

 

2-3 years as quoted by Apple themselves. Locked...

 

Oh come on, quoting Apple's figures as though they ought to be definitive is just silly. You think they don't have a vested interest in downplaying the numbers? For a start, one can quite plausibly argue that a person focused on environmental sustainability and fair rate of "return" on the purchase would agree that the number ought to take some account of the actual usage rate of the individual device concerned.

I replace mine every two years but would like them to last for three or four years as I want to give one of my old ones to a cash-strapped friend to use for another year or two beyond my own two years of use. 

Note that the above is purely my personal expectation and I am not necessarily in disagreement with others who have quoted different figures. 

dejadeadnz:

 

 

 

Oh come on, quoting Apple's figures as though they ought to be definitive is just silly. You think they don't have a vested interest in downplaying the numbers? For a start, one can quite plausibly argue that a person focused on environmental sustainability and fair rate of "return" on the purchase would agree that the number ought to take some account of the actual usage rate of the individual device concerned.

I fully agree - my sister for example has an iPhone 5S she bought on day one still working however it is bugging out a bit now.

What I am talking about is the average time for a phone - I used to work for Spark back when they still had 1 year warranties. The average "time to replacement due to death" was around 2 years back then. Phones have become water resistant etc but when you factor things like software updates you're not looking at too much longer than 3 years.

If your phone is not getting software updates it is technically still working however you should really stop using it as a main device from a security standpoint (which people don't do anyway). They're designed in this way to basically expire but there are companies I can think of that are worse than Apple in this regard with mobile devices. There is also a tonne of marketing put in the mix to make you think you need the latest and greatest. It is cringe-worthy seeing people still use iPhone 4's with iOS 6 (because they don't "like" the newer iOS) when there are some rather serious security exploits out for them now however I've had phones that have run for years with a custom rom to bring them up to the latest Android version. In-fact I have a Motorola Atrix 2 I was using until very recently as a backup device (however it is terrible to use).

Anyway, I'll leave this here. I still think 2 years is an acceptable lifetime for a mobile device (after seeing first-hand what some mobile devices go through on a day to day basis with some people and factoring in technology advances). If you've got a device that lasts longer than great! However, if it suddenly dies there is normally a reason for it doing so. Trust me in saying I have seen some crap over the years, heard a multitude of customers say "but I've never dropped it" when there is clearly impact damage and furthermore the classic "it has never been wet" when there is literally water still behind the battery. I'll never forget those people who would hand me a phone, complain that it isn't fit for purpose and proceed to explain they dropped it in the toilet and demand a replacement. Honestly, heard every excuse and I am glad to have gotten out of retail those years ago.

This is likely why I am so dark about this subject (and coupled with a long day at work and a few beers) - I want to publicly apologize and admit I was wrong before. Anyway, moving on.