How Old Are Your Various Devices?

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Here's a fun little question today — how old are your various devices? Do you try to make things last really long — or do you like to have the latest version?

I definitely tend to be the “make it last” kind of person, but I've been surprised by not one but TWO people commenting on how old my iPhone is. (I got it in 2021! But it is a 12 mini, so maybe that's why.) It's on my list to get a new one because I know the cameras are so much better in newer ones, and this one is getting a bit annoying with weird lags.

One thing I've started doing is naming devices in a specific way for the name you see on Bluetooth devices: I try to include the initials of the person who primarily uses it, the year purchased, the model number, the location of the device if it's tethered somewhere. the year of the device (or model number) in the name that you see on your Bluetooth devices. We've had so many iPads over the years, whether for me or the kids, that it can confusing on the Find My iPhone app if two are in operation at the same time. Meanwhile, some things (like Fire Sticks, grrr) seem to all show up on lists regardless of whether they're still in use or not.

Here's my list, readers — what are yours?

iPhone – bought 2021 (12mini) (so I've named it “KVG iPhone 8.21”)

iPad – bought Jan. 2022. My iPad is relatively old but I barely use it these days.

Air Pods – Bought 2020? Maybe? They were a gift for my husband, who never used them, and after a few years I stole them.

Apple Watch – Series 7, didn't note when I bought it

Kindle – bought 2020, not sure what version (Paperwhite I believe)

Laptop – bought ~2020? HP 14 Laptop 11th Gen Intel Core i5.

Desktop – my dad is handy with computers so he's always built my desktops for me and we swap out graphics cards and so forth as needed. I did a major update to almost everything in September 2024.

Printer – I just got a new printer (Brother laser) last year if I remember correctly. The Canon color printer I had before that was only a few years old but it stopped accepting the ink containers I had refilled so it annoyed me.

Monitors – I'm going to need a new one soon; I have no idea how old the two are that I use regularly. We seem to have a surplus of monitors around Casa Griffin and will occasionally take one with us if we travel or like when we wanted to set up the walking treadmill.

Other computer bits – I just got a new mouse last year (which reminds me that I never properly set it up, I think I can assign specific tasks to buttons). My split ergonomic keyboard was purchased in 2018 and I'm going to need a new one soon, I suspect, because some of the keys are getting loose. (Or lse or loooooooooooooose as my keyboard would prefer to say.)

Label maker – My label maker is so old that I probably paid at most $30 for it 10+ years ago. I'm always surprised to see that newer recommended label makers are closer to $100.

Fire sticks – At one point I thought these were incredibly useful and we had several, which we presumably still have… somewhere. Against my better judgment I bought a newer 4K one about 9 months ago to see if we make an older TV more useful to us.

Alexa/Echo devices – We still have the one in our kitchen that we use often, and my son likes to use one to listen to music, but everything else we've unplugged. We haven't bought a new one in at least 8 years.

Smart bulbs and outlets – I wish I had a better way for naming these because I have no idea how old things are it seems like the Alexa and SmartThings apps both remember everything that we, at any point, used. I generally try to label based on where it's going to be placed, but sometimes we've moved things around. I'm not sure any of the ones have burnt out in the 10+ years we've had them.

Readers, over to you — are you a gadget girl where you prefer to have the newest model? Do you try to replace things on a regular basis, or do you try to use things to the end of their life?

(What do you do with older devices you're not using anymore? I remember one friend had a display of all of his old Macs — I joked at the time that it looked like a museum display; I think at this point there are literal museum displays like this.)

Stock photo via Stencil.