When Is a Device Too Old? Phones, Computers and the Planet

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Two questions I keep getting: "Is my iPhone 12 ready for the bin?" and "My computer is seven years old – is it useless now?" The honest short answer to both is usually no. What decides whether a device is too old is rarely the chip inside. It is mostly two things: whether it still gets security updates, and whether the battery (or some other part that wears) is worn out. The first one is a real deadline. The second one is usually a repair.

And there is a third question behind the first two, which people ask less often: what does a new device cost the planet before we even switch it on? The answer surprised me, and it changed how I think about "upgrading".

Three Kinds of "Old"

• Worn out. The battery lasts half a day, the fan is loud, a hinge or a port is loose, the old hard disk is slow. These are parts, and most of them can be replaced.
• Unsupported. The manufacturer stops sending security updates. The device works exactly as yesterday, but every new hole that is found stays open. For anything online – e-mail, banking, a browser – this is the real end.
• Too slow for what you do. A new app or game wants more memory or a newer chip. This one depends completely on you: for e-mail, documents and video calls, a computer from 2019 is usually plenty; for video editing or new games it may not be.

A device can be old in one sense and fine in the other two. The trick is to find out which one you actually have.

How Long Devices Really Get Updates

One important detail: the years are almost always counted from the day the model was launched (or, under the new EU rule, from the end of sales), not from the day you bought it. More about that in Is New Really New?

So: the iPhone 12 and the Seven-Year-Old Computer

Is an iPhone 12 for the bin? No. In October 2026 it runs the newest iOS and gets all security updates. What it doesn't get are Apple's newest AI features – Apple Intelligence needs an iPhone 15 Pro or newer – and its battery is probably worn: iPhones before 2023 were designed to keep 80% of their capacity after 500 full cycles, which a phone used every day can reach in roughly two years. A new battery makes it feel almost new for a fraction of the price of a new phone. The real deadline will come when Apple drops it from a new iOS. Apple doesn't announce that in advance, but based on the past I would expect it in the next one to two years, and then it's still fine for a while on the last version – as long as the security fixes keep coming.

Is a seven-year-old computer useless? A computer from 2019 most likely has an Intel 8th or 9th generation or a Ryzen 3000 processor – and those are supported by Windows 11. Cheaper models sometimes still had older chips, so check it with PC Health Check. If it's slow, the cause is almost always an old hard disk (HDD) or too little memory, not the processor: an SSD and more RAM usually cost a fraction of a new computer and make a bigger difference than most new models. Laptops add one more question – the battery, which is a part you can usually replace. A seven-year-old Intel Mac is the harder case, because most of them no longer get the newest macOS. For those, and for any Windows computer that fails the check, Linux is a real option.

What Wears Out and What Doesn't

• Batteries wear with every cycle and with heat. Apple says its iPhones before 2023 keep 80% after 500 cycles, the iPhone 15 after 1,000; the EU now requires 800 for new models. A battery is the cheapest way to add years to a phone or laptop. A swollen battery (the screen or back lifting) is dangerous – stop using and charging the device and have the battery replaced.
• Moving parts – hard disks, fans, hinges, buttons and ports – wear mechanically. A fan with dust and dried thermal paste makes a computer loud, hot and slow; cleaning it is often a ten-minute job.
• Screens and glass break more often than they wear. Spare parts for new phones in the EU must now be available for 7 years.
• Chips, memory and SSDs rarely fail in normal home use. A processor that worked for seven years will very likely work for seven more. What changes around it is the software.

Is New Really New?

Not always – and this is the part that surprised me most:

• The clock started before you bought it. Updates count from the launch of the model. A Pixel 8 bought "new" in late 2026 has already used three of its seven years. A cheap phone that was launched two years ago and still sits on the shelf may have only a year of updates left on the day you buy it. Always check the launch year, not only the price.
• Batteries age on the shelf. Lithium-ion batteries lose capacity slowly even when they are not used, especially when stored warm or fully charged. A device that waited a long time in a warehouse is new, but not fresh.
• "New" can be last year's design. Many new models have almost the same chip and camera as the previous one. A one-year-old flagship (new old stock or refurbished) is often better than this year's cheap model – and has more years of updates left.
• Cheap new laptops can be a trap. A new laptop with a weak processor, 8 GB of soldered memory and slow storage can be slower than a five-year-old business laptop with an SSD – and it can't be upgraded.

A helpful tool: phones and tablets sold in the EU since June 2025 carry the energy label with grades for repairability, durability and battery endurance, and a QR code to the EU product database (EPREL). It's worth a look before you buy.

The Environmental Side

This is the number that changed my mind. According to Apple's own environmental report, an iPhone 16 (128 GB) causes about 56 kg of CO₂-equivalent over its life – and 80% of that is production, before you switch it on. Three years of charging are only 18%. For laptops the split is closer to half and half, according to Dell's laptop analysis, with the motherboard and the display as the biggest parts. In other words: a more energy-efficient new phone never pays back its production. Using the old one longer does.

• Longer use. Smartphones in the EU are used for about three years on average; using all of them one year longer would save more than 2 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent, according to a study for the European Environmental Bureau.
• Refurbished instead of new. The French environment agency ADEME calculated in 2022 that each year of using a refurbished device instead of a new one avoids about 25 kg of CO₂-equivalent for a smartphone, 27 kg for a laptop and 20 kg for a tablet – and 77 to 127 kg of raw materials that don't have to be dug out of the ground.
• E-waste. The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 counted 62 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2022, and only 22.3% of it was documented as properly collected and recycled. Europeans produce the most per person (17.6 kg) and recycle the most (42.8%). By 2030 the total is expected to reach 82 million tonnes.

So the order is simple: the greenest device is the one you already have. The second greenest is a used or refurbished one. A new one is the right choice when the other two don't work – and then it's worth choosing one that will last.

When to Buy Used Instead of New

Your rights in Slovenia. When you buy from a company, consumer law applies: the seller is responsible for defects that show up within two years of delivery, and for used goods the period can be shortened by agreement – but not below one year (rules in force since 26 January 2023). When you buy from a private person on a classifieds site, you mostly rely on trust and on your own checks (Example 3). The EU right-to-repair directive, which countries had to put into law by 31 July 2026, adds another year to the legal guarantee when you choose repair instead of a replacement, and covers phones and tablets among other products – check how Slovenia has implemented it.

Second Life, and the End

• Keep using it, differently. An old computer with Linux (Reviving an Old Computer), a small home server (Constructing a Cloud), a phone as a music player, a camera, a navigation device in the car or a remote for the smart home. Without e-mail and banking, missing updates matter much less.
• Give it on or sell it – after a backup, signing out of all accounts and a factory reset. On a phone, remove it from Find My / Find My Device first, or the next owner can't use it.
• Recycle it properly. When you buy a new device, the shop must take the old one of the same type back free of charge, and shops with at least 400 m² of electronics must take very small devices (under 25 cm) even without a purchase. Never in the household bin – batteries in waste trucks cause fires.

Examples

Example 1: How Long Will My Device Get Updates?

1. iPhone: Settings → General → About shows the model name. Settings → General → Software Update shows whether you're on the newest iOS. If you can't install the newest version any more, you're on borrowed time.
2. Android: in Settings, search for "security update" or "security patch". If the date there is many months old and no update comes, the phone is probably out of support. The manufacturer's website lists the support period for its models.
3. Windows: press Win + R, type winver – you see the version. Run PC Health Check to see whether Windows 11 is possible. On Windows 10, check Settings → Update & Security for the extended security updates.
4. Mac: Apple menu → About This Mac shows the model and macOS version; Software Update shows whether a newer macOS is offered.

Example 2: How Worn Is the Battery?

iPhone: Settings → Battery → Battery Health shows the maximum capacity. Below about 80%, a replacement is worth thinking about.

Windows laptop: open the command prompt and run:

powercfg /batteryreport

It writes an HTML report to the current folder. Compare Design capacity with Full charge capacity – that's the health – and look at the Cycle count.

Mac: hold Option, click the Apple menu → System Information → Power, and look at Cycle Count and Condition. Linux:

upower -i $(upower -e | grep -i bat)

Example 3: Checklist for a Used Phone

1. Model and launch year – how many years of updates are left? (Example 1.)
2. Battery health on the spot (Example 2), and charge it for a few minutes with your own charger.
3. Signed out and unlocked: the previous owner's account removed and Find My / Find My Device off. A phone that is still linked to somebody's account is a brick – or stolen.
4. Repairs: on an iPhone 12 or newer, Settings → General → About shows Parts and Service History for the battery, display, cameras and main board, if anything was replaced. Unknown parts are not always bad, but they should be cheaper.
5. Test everything: calls, both cameras, microphone, speaker, Wi-Fi, charging port, buttons, Face ID or fingerprint, the screen on a white and a black picture.
6. Not locked to a mobile operator, and a receipt or at least a written statement from the seller. From a company, you also get the legal guarantee.

Example 4: Checklist for a Used Laptop

1. Processor generation – Intel 8th generation or Ryzen 2000 or newer if you want Windows 11; older is fine for Linux.
2. SSD, not HDD, and at least 8 GB of RAM – better 16 GB. Check whether the memory can be added or is soldered.
3. Battery report (Example 2), and whether a new battery is available for the model.
4. No BIOS password or company management left on it – ex-business laptops are great value, but they must be released from the company's systems.
5. Hinges, keyboard, ports and screen – look for cracks and dead pixels, try every key and every port.
6. A clean install. Whatever you buy, install the system fresh before you use it for anything personal.

A Few More Thoughts

"Old" is a strange word for electronics. A seven-year-old car is middle-aged; a seven-year-old phone is treated like a fossil. Most of the difference is not physics but software support and marketing – and both are slowly changing, with longer update promises from some manufacturers and the new EU rules that force the rest.

My rule now: as long as a device gets security updates and does what I need, it stays. When the battery is worn, I change the battery. When updates stop, I find it a second job without banking and e-mail, or put Linux on it. And when I really need something new, I look at refurbished first and at the launch year before the price. The device I don't buy is the one with the smallest footprint.