# Apple iPhone 706 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple iPhone and 882 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 13 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 7 years (107 owners). **Verdict:** Recommended for strong security, a protective walled garden and tightly integrated hardware and software, though critics dislike the lock-down and bugs that never get fixed. ## Why people recommend it - Strong security (7 comments): "The iPhone is still more secure than graphene, otherwise it wouldn’t be the only device that NATO approves carrying around information related to them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49057965)) "Many people benefit from Apple's closed system. Especially when you look at the malware and viruses that don't exist, because it's so protected." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50216766)) "iPhones are probably the most secure off the shelf phones you can buy, but based on leaked documents it's clearly inferior real-world security" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49058207)) - Polished hardware-software integration (6 comments): "Whatever tricks they pulled to make the keyboard work like magic speak to the execution of the smartphone that Apple excelled at." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49444373)) "Apple controls an integrated hardware/software experience, which makes it less likely that private information is being leaked" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46839435)) "the awesome hardware and software optimizations for that hardware that make video recording fast and web browsing even faster" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46560952)) - Walled garden protects users (5 comments): "Better in my opinion, because they never pretended to value freedom, and have a sense of ownership over their customers that is sometimes protective." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50216200)) "Many people benefit from Apple's closed system. Especially when you look at the malware and viruses that don't exist, because it's so protected." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50216766)) "My Aunt Millie's iPhone is secure against herself because she can't install random garbage off the Internet and is in a walled garden." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50220402)) - Pioneering design that shaped smartphones (6 comments): "the first iPhone simply not having the brand name of the carrier plastered on the front like every other cell phone felt so nice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49864825)) "None of which would have existed without his original design and all of which remain relatively close to that original design." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48278048)) "the broader consumer market fully embraced it and it single-handedly drove an entirely new generation of consumer electronics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47070575)) ## What people warn about - Locked down, no unapproved software (5 comments): "It locks down devices like ransomware, permanently restricting functionality of web browsers, messaging apps, and other apps until the user submits to age verification." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49836170)) "now we all have what could be General Purpose Computers in our pockets that just refuse to run any software that The System doesn't want us to have" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49377224)) "the nature of a locked bootloader that prevents any third-party software from being loaded / installed without getting an approval from Apple" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47370153)) - Persistent bugs and UI annoyances (6 comments): "There are only minor technical rough edges: for example an iPhone's user emoji reaction sometimes (not always?) shows up as separate text" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47008651)) "I judge it to be more secure yet I'm constantly fighting the same bugs and misfeatures that seem to never get fixed/improved." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46949011)) "And occasionally I press hard enough with my thumb that the finger on the perpendicular side of the phone presses the volume up button and whoops I have taken a screen shot instead." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49342998)) - Overrated user experience (2 comments): "I could list endlessly the issue with iPhones and Macbooks, but they're _just_ more convenient enough to have to use them over alternatives." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49037323)) "Apple and Tesla are two companies that somehow have a widespread reputation for great UX that I think are absolutely atrocious in that area." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48025468)) - Encourages social media addiction (2 comments): "I appreciate the battery life, camera and general stability but I hate the new addictions to social media it has caused." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46164623)) "very flashy, very overhyped, adds a bit of convenience to people's lives but also likely to measurably damage people's brains in the long run" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46742690)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Fairphone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fairphone.md): 168 recommend - [Apple iPhone Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17-pro.md): 144 recommend - [iPhone 13 mini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13-mini.md): 141 recommend - [Jolla Phone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jolla-phone.md): 88 recommend - [iPhone SE](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-se.md): 84 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+iPhone+17&tag=YOURTAG-20) (affiliate link) - [Official site](https://www.apple.com/iphone/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Apple iPhone", https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).