Stephen Lam/Reuters
Up until Wednesday, I had a plan: I would use my iPhone 6S until it died.
That phone and I have been through a lot together. I cracked the screen on it while falling up a set of stairs, I got it repaired by Apple - an effort that ultimately broke it more - and in the end, I was given a refurbished version with a screen that wasn't quite attached properly. Most days I have to wipe away a bit of black adhesive that leaks around the edges.
All of this is to say, it's not a great phone, but it's my phone - and it has a headphone jack, something you can't say for the current batch of iPhone models.
I value a headphone jack more than most features that have come to smartphones in the last few years, like wireless charging or an OLED display. Plus, Apple's new phones over the last two years haven't really thrilled me. Sure, they've been gorgeous, but they haven't been that big of an upgrade over previous versions. Even the camera hasn't been enticing enough to spend the money on a new phone.
But when Apple unveiled the iPhone XR at its annual hardware event on Wednesday, everything changed - all of a sudden, I was marking my calendar for October 19, when the new phone is available to preorder. It'll start at $750; lower than the $999 price of the higher-end iPhone XS.
Here are 4 reasons why I'm ready to give up my trusty iPhone 6S for the iPhone XR.