Apple drops a new iPhone every September, and like clockwork, I start thinking about upgrading. This year, though, I ran the numbers. Trade-in values are never great, and the latest Pro Max would run me north of $1,200. For what exactly? A camera that's a bit sharper and a processor that's incrementally faster.

During the 2010s, when I was an Android fanboy, I would buy a new phone nearly every year. Those upgrades actually mattered—you could feel the speed boost, the screen looked noticeably better, and the new features changed how you used the thing. Now we're basically at the ceiling. My iPhone 16 Pro Max handles everything I throw at it, and honestly, the iPhone 17 Pro Max wouldn't feel any different in day-to-day use (sure, the back looks cooler, though).

I decided to refresh what I

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