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

Macworld 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 The iPhone downgrade that didn’t feel like one Before switching, I expected the iPhone 13 Pro Max to feel outdated.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