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But I've been retired just over 5 years and my iPhone is indispensable, I can't imagine life without it. We travel extensively, now have two homes, and my iPhone is my anchor. During the process of moving into our new 2nd home, there have been extended periods that I was in one house and dh in the other, hundreds of miles apart. Facebook and texting have kept us connected, organized, and sane.
My iPhone is my camera, journal, address/phone book, calendar, timer, alarm clock, weather reporter, news reporter, compass, email, map, picture album, recipe book, ebook reader, audiobook player, music player, shopping list, memo keeper, daily reminder, access to daily spiritual reading, fitness record, medical and prescription records holder, internet access, home thermostat control, TV remote control, emergency alert system, method of reporting and tracking power outages, coupon and rewards holder, bill payer, banking tool, receipts holder, calculator, tracker of UPS and FedEx deliveries, .... and so much more. So yeah, it's worth it.
Yes definitely! snapdragon1 - Most of the chips in phones are "Qualcomm Snapdragon chips! You have a providential name. Get a smartphone with the upcoming Snapdragon 835 chip coming out in a month or two, and you'll be set for the next few years!
Have an iPhone 5 and will probably not upgrade. Somehow, I lucked out and got the only model Apple ever made that will work on both GSM and CDMA networks. And since I got it from the Apple store, it is unlocked. What this means is that I can use whatever carrier I desire, and when I visit Europe, all I need to do is purchase a sim card in the airport and I'll have coverage.
"Smartphones" are nothing more than miniature computers with telephone capability. For me, it is useful to have many programs, (oops, I mean "apps"), at my fingertips. If you are not a computer geek, like I am, then you probably don't need a 'smartphone'. A less complicated one will do fine.
Have an iPhone 5 and will probably not upgrade. Somehow, I lucked out and got the only model Apple ever made that will work on both GSM and CDMA networks. And since I got it from the Apple store, it is unlocked. What this means is that I can use whatever carrier I desire, and when I visit Europe, all I need to do is purchase a sim card in the airport and I'll have coverage.
"Smartphones" are nothing more than miniature computers with telephone capability. For me, it is useful to have many programs, (oops, I mean "apps"), at my fingertips. If you are not a computer geek, like I am, then you probably don't need a 'smartphone'. A less complicated one will do fine.
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Excellent Info! If you do want to upgrade to a newer iPhone, go for a Verizon model! It has the most LTE bands. The AT&T and T-mobile models sometimes lack the CDMA radio components. But CDMA is slowly being phased out by Verizon. When 5G is standardized, CDMA will be DOA!
I have an iPhone 7 and have had a smart phone since well before I retired. I'm not even going to try and describe all the things I can do with it. When my flight was cancelled on Monday morning, I received a notification from Alaska Airlines. I was able to immediately get to the ticket counter and get booked on another flight without waiting in line. Everyone else got to wait in line. When the second flight was delayed, I got another notification that my connecting flight was cancelled. That allowed me to make the decision to cancel my trip for that day. Since I needed a rental car, I was able to use my phone to book on line through USAA, which covers my rental for loss of use. Not to mention I get to keep my wife informed through text messages, since it was night time and she was asleep. That's just one example of how a smart phone was able to let me deal with a bad morning. Another use for my phone is remote deposit. When I get a check, I take a picture of the front and back and it's deposited into whichever account I want it in. No need for a trip to the bank. If there's something you want to do or follow or keep track of, there's an app for it. Going back to the old ways of doing things would make life much more difficult.
I'm not a techie but I do have a smart phone and am going to buy another one pretty soon. (The old one is so old that it's not even supported anymore or else I'd keep it.) Mainly it's so that I can always have a camera with me and so that if I'm waiting somewhere, like a dr's office, I have something to read and I can keep in touch with people. It also makes a good alarm clock and I keep it on my night stand because it's like having a mini computer--so if you wake up in the middle of the night and want to look something up--you can!
I don't use it as a phone very much. I don't know if I'll do any complicated stuff on the new phone but I am so hooked. When you travel overseas you pretty much need a smart phone or else you have to buy maps for your GPS. I got lost last time in England with a paper map--we go off the beaten path and they don't allow big road signs to tell you where the rest stops or motels are. We were always running into a grocery store to ask the clerks to look up motels for us on their smart phones. Sort of stressful.
What they said...can't imagine getting along without it, though there is a part of me that wants to chuck it in the river. I may someday. I keep thinking more and more about going totally off the grid.
- camera
- map with GPS
- phone
- email
- text messaging
- alarm clock
- calculator
- pedometer
- video games
- idle reading
- hotel booking apps
- research on the fly (where is nearest pizza?)
etc. could go on and on
You don't need to spend $400, $500, $600 etc. so don't let cost be a barrier.
One thing that is priceless is setting up all my financial stuff banks accounts, investments, credit cards, etc. so I get a text with any activity. I go to the ATM a text pops up telling me someone withdrew $200 at whatever location. I charge something to credit card a text tells me. Even to log into my bank or investment accounts it sends a text with a code that I have to enter. All that makes it a lot harder to do anything with my money without me knowing immediately.
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You have a providential name. Get a smartphone with the upcoming Snapdragon 835 chip coming out in a month or two, and you'll be set for the next few years! 
