Not surprising. I used to update every 2 years but my last couple have had a 3 or 4 year gap.
As it should be really. These can be very expensive devices that only make sense if you get a decent life out of them.
Vodafone Finds Brits Keep Mobile Phones for 4 Years Instead of 2
Submitted 1 year ago by fne8w2ah@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
Achird@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
li10@feddit.uk 1 year ago
I just don’t see the point of upgrading every two years, and even if I did I’m buying used at this point.
I’m on iPhone and despite all the fanatics creaming their pants over each release, very little actually seems to change.
I know a guy with a 6 year old phone, and when he listed off the features it made me realise how little things have changed since it was released.
aeternum@kbin.social 1 year ago
yup. they might upgrade the camera, but i mean, who cares? iOS gets updates a LOT longer than android, and so what is the point of upgrading?
giant_smeeg@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Similar with android. I had a pixel 5 and loved it, the pixel 6 pro came out and I was dragged in (higher res screen, 120hz etc etc). Then the pixel 7 pro came out and I bought that too (mainly for signal improvements).
Looking back, my pixel 5 did/does everything these do. I’ve decided my next upgrades will be whenever the below happens:
- Phone broken
- No more updates
- Feature I need, and I mean need (it would be hard for a phone to come out to do this)
I don’t need some random AI features/camera improvments. 99% of my phone use is podcasts, browsing the internet and any phone from the last 5 years will do that nicely still.
waz@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Reading this on iPhone X
6xpipe_@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I have an iPhone 8 and see no reason to update in the near future.
penguin@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
When smartphones first took off, each new one was a large upgrade. But each passing year sees new phones being more and more iterative. There’s hardly any difference at all anymore between individual years.
I’m at the point now where I keep my phones until they break or stop getting security updates.
6xpipe_@lemmy.world 1 year ago
When smartphones first took off, each new one was a large upgrade
And they were subsidized by the cell phone company, so they only cost $200 (In many places in the US, at least).
FriendlyBeagleDog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 year ago
I could understand upgrading so frequently at the advent of mainstream smartphones, where two years of progress actually did represent a significant user experience improvement - but the intergenerational improvements for most people’s day-to-day use have been marginal for quite some time now.
OscarRobin@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah my semi-techie friend still has an S9+ from over 5 years ago and honestly he isn’t really missing anything beyond a few iterative improvements.
dukeGR4@monyet.cc 1 year ago
S9+ from over 5 years ago
he’s been missing out on 3 years + of security updates kek
*cries in Samsung
agent_flounder@lemmy.one 1 year ago
If the batteries were easily replaceable, and the software didn’t continually get bloated, and companies kept issuing security patches, sure.
I kept my last desktop system for 10 years. Actually I still have it and it performs sort of ok (I was running Mint the whole time). But I upgraded and the performance improvement was actually worth the considerable cost. I’ve gotten similar life out of my other desktops and laptops over the years.
I think at least 5 years or preferably 10 is reasonable for smart phones.
NuPNuA@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Unless you’re doing very specialist stuff, phone tech peaked a while back for the average user who’s only going to do some web browsing, social media, listen to some tunes or watchbsome funny videos. All the little incremental changes aren’t groundbreaking for that use case.
Until foldables are both reliable and cheaper, phones have stagnated in terms of visably appealing features.
SeaOtter@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Not sure I agree that phone tech has peaked a couple years ago for the average user. What technology peaked years ago?
Camera? Efficient processors? Display panels? Biometrics? Batteries? Cellular/Wi-Fi modems? I cannot think of a single technology (I am on iPhone 14 Pro) that is not at least marginally better than a year or two ago, and pretty meaningful improvement from ~5 years ago.
The rate of technological improvement has slowed or plateaued, but there is a pretty reasonable argument that current flagship technologies are the “peak”, even for average user, if only incrementally. I agree that this plateau, coupled with upgrade cost, is making it a harder choice to decide to upgrade for average user.
nudl@lemm.ee 1 year ago
If anything if you just go with “got good enough for the average user years ago”, that works.
I’m on a cat s62 pro with a 5 year old Snapdragon 660, and, while it shows its age, it functions just fine and will for the next few years.
stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Cameras are mostly software improvements these days. I argue displays have gotten worse with the drop from QHD to 1080p. Many think that the back fingerprint readers are better than the under screen of facial ones. 5G is mostly pointless. All while costs have increased greatly. A phone today doesn’t better meet my use cases than the phone I had 6 years ago and in many ways is worse (lower res screen, no headphone jack, inflated prices).
WagesOf@artemis.camp 1 year ago
You're on apple, they certainly haven't had a user noticeable change for the last 6 years.
For me on android the last "must have" was variable refresh up to 120hz. I'll probably even do a battery upgrade on my s21 when it can't last a full day rather than hit an s25.
The only blocker I've hit with is yuzu on android, which kind of just doesn't work at all still.
nomadjoanne@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yup. Price per flop or whatever is cheaper than ever but after a certain point it doesnt matter. Also I don’t do specialist stuff on my phone. I do it on my desktop rig that can actually run arbitrary code I give it.
I do have a few friends with money who just need that latest 50 megapixel phone camera or that 4k phone screen. But I don’t much care.
Doherz@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Not surprising when flagship devices have more than doubled in price in over the last decade.
That and the fact that many modern devices feel like compromised devices with purposeful downgrades despite the huge cost increase.
phi1997@kbin.social 1 year ago
I want a cell phone with a headphone jack, physical navigation buttons, and a rectangular screen like they used to make. At this point, I'll have to go with a flip phone if I want all of those features.
BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Regarding flagship models: I found that previous years flagship or current mid-range with similar specs (I use gsmarena to compare) is a good compromise between speed and lifespan, and always go for more memory, today’s android uses about 20gb so 128gb must be absolute minimum if you plan to have a few apps installed.
BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I only replace mine because the batteries are crapping out. Usually it’s 3-4 years.
SupraMario@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Just get a the battery replaced. With the new rule for the EU forcing companies to make the phones with user replaceable batteries, it’ll be even easier.
BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I thought about it last time but the whole thing where I’m not getting OS updates anymore make me anxious. I’m not sure that’s actually a problem though.
gapbetweenus@feddit.de 1 year ago
When my scree is so broken I can’t use it anymore.
obinice@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’ve had my tablet for 9 years, and I’d have had my phone for 4 years now had it not become faulty.
Devices have reached a point that they just don’t need upgrading often, unless you’re using them for video games or something cutting edge.
And of course, they’re super expensive now too, and we’re living in the worst cost of living crisis of our generation, struggling to pay for food. Of course we’re not going to waste money replacing something that works fine 🤦♀️
feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world 1 year ago
What do you mean “instead of”? I always heard it was a three year product lifecycle anyway, which is already annoyingly often.
shinjiikarus@mylem.eu 1 year ago
That is going to be a problem for apple, better make the next iPhone’s battery be I replaceable and self destruct after 2 years.
Oisteink@feddit.nl 1 year ago
I’ve been using iPhones since iPhone 4. So far I’ve had the iphone4, iPhone 7+ and iPhone 13max.
All my phones have been replaced upon end of updates. I think you mix android and iPhone here - I know nobody under 70 that manage to keep an android over 2 yearsAlto@kbin.social 1 year ago
And pretty much everyone in my family has used our android phones for 4+ years for as long as I can remember.
It's almost as if anecdotes are worthless!
Infinitus@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Low end devices normally last less than high end ones. It’s easy to forget that, as all iPhones were designed as high end, that phones can still be made out of cheap plastic and cost 200 bucks. Any android device in the sane price range as the iPhone will last at least as long.
shinjiikarus@mylem.eu 1 year ago
Oh sorry, this wasn’t an iOS-vs-Android dig, all the android manufacturers are constantly near bankruptcy, but apple has shareholders who are expecting growth, they will be hurt the most by consumers holding their on to their phones longer. (Samsung is reporting over 90% profit shrinkage, the Chinese brands are probably just PLA plants to capture as much communication as possible worldwide without a profit motive to begin with)
appel@whiskers.bim.boats 1 year ago
My dad is still using my old OnePlus one from 2014. Works fine for him. Using lineage OS. I know it doesn’t get security updates but he’s not stupid and doesn’t use it for anything security critical anyway.
mrvictory1@lemmy.world 1 year ago
wiki.lineageos.org/devices/walleye/ Pixel 2, released 6 years ago, supports the current Android version via LineageOS.
MaXsteri@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m way under 70, and I’m using an S10e I brought in 2019. So four years.
Updates stopped coming in March. But I’ve no plans to replace the phone yet. Since this one works fine, and very few phones released since have the features that matter to me.
LazyBane@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I kept my old Sony Xperia right up until I could feel a bulge on the back of it, lol.
c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t upgrade until the thermal runaway takes my device from me!!! Lol
UsernameIsTooLon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t upgrade until my phone decomposes lol
QuazarOmega@lemy.lol 1 year ago
Isn’t that due to a potentially hazardous swollen battery though? It’s best to replace it before that stuff happens
LazyBane@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah I’ve already got a new phone.
xePBMg9@lemmynsfw.com 1 year ago
Devices are prohibitively expensive these days. The marginal gains from improved tech is also not used to benefit the end user. Devices are not working for the one that pays for it. If only they would release a flagship device with unlocked boot loader, open drivers and a pledge to support it for 10 years. I would buy that. Otherwise I see no need to upgrade.
Alto@kbin.social 1 year ago
It's less that the improvements are marginal (modern flagships are significantly more powerful than 4 years ago for example), it's just that 90% of people have absolutely no use for most of that increased power. The most intensive thing most people do on their phone is watch media.
nomadjoanne@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I know a lot of young men who, if they have money, just have to have those extra gigaflops and that 4k 90hz phone screen.
Then 95% of the time they browse the web and use it for twitter, etc… 🙄
Darkhoof@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Not surprising. For most people smartphone reached a point where replacing every two years is pointless. My phone is also 4 years this year, still holds his battery and works flawlessly.
criticon@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
I’ve been upgrading every two years because usually they have some promo for trade ins (Samsung) so I’m getting a new battery and warranty (and slight improvement of camera) for about $200
Aasikki@sopuli.xyz 1 year ago
Only just replaced my close to 4 years old OnePlus 7 Pro, because it just bricked out of the blue. Would have happily used it for a couple more years. Practically the only improvements on my Pixel 7 Pro, compared to the OnePlus, are battery life and the cameras (especially since I was running Pixel experience on it anyways).
r00ty@kbin.life 1 year ago
I think it is mainly battery life which drives upgrades now. Unless you really want the best camera. It's the only thing that seems to improve for the last few iterations.
Aasikki@sopuli.xyz 1 year ago
Everything else is pretty much perfected at this point, but batteries and tiny cameras are hard to perfect. Still have to wait more than two years to see any meaningful improvements in either of those.
revs@feddit.uk 1 year ago
I’ve started to upgrade when iOS updates stop. As the cost of devices goes up, I just keep them longer so the cost per year is about the same.
CountVon@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
I haven’t had an iOS device in ages, but Apple does seem to offer pretty decent support timespans for their phone hardware. Looks like it’s 6-7 years of support after the release date, which is respectable compared to the rest of the industry.
On the Android side, my phone stopped getting updates after 4 years, which feels too short to me. Not having access to Android 12+ wasn’t causing me any problems but I didn’t want to wait for some future bug, limitation or security flaw to emerge. I switched to LineageOS (just last night actually) to keep it going for another few years.
o_oli@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah I mean the processing power and general hardware just got to a point where nobody really needs more. In fact my 4 year old phone has the same amount of RAM and similar processor to my new one lol. Unless you’re cutting edge 3D gaming it’s not needed to have anything more.
I upgraded only because of battery life, higher Hz screen, newer android version, and to get a wide angle lens. Now I have those even its like…what next? Camera quality is all I ever need, screen Hz is perfect. I’m not sure what will make me upgrade next time but if I replace battery down the line and use a third party OS then maybe it’ll go even longer!
TimeSquirrel@kbin.social 1 year ago
I noticed the same trend for PCs in the last 15 years too. In the late 80s and throughout the 90s, things were advancing at a blistering pace. At the start of 1990, a common configuration was maybe a 20Mhz CPU and 16 MEGAbytes of RAM, and by then end of the decade, we broke the 1Ghz barrier and were putting 512-1GB of memory into our machines.
Yet now, I'm still playing recently released 3D games on a first generation quad core i7 from 2009 just fine (as long as nothing starts spewing too many particles).
Tippon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’ve noticed that a lot of the reasons to upgrade now are artificial. My wife dug out an old PC to use two monitors recently, but still does the same tasks that she was doing a decade ago. The computer is ridiculously slow though because of ‘updates’.
Bog standard things like checking her emails and opening Word slow the computer for nothing. Even bare Windows runs slowly because of the graphics enhancements.
r00ty@kbin.life 1 year ago
When I looked at the S22 as a potential upgrade to the S20 I have now. It is basically a better camera but no SD card slot (yes they do huge capacities, but boy do you pay for it). So, actually a downgrade for me. Couple that with the fact my battery is still good. Keeping it until at least the S24 now.
hubobes@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I will buy a new phone when my phone actually dies, broken screens and old batteries can be replaced.
aeternum@kbin.social 1 year ago
I'm on an iphone 11 (or is it a 10?) and it still gets updates.
tony@lemmy.hoyle.me.uk 1 year ago
Well the networks will try to tie people in for 36/48 months so… they kind of asked for it.
NuPNuA@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I’ve been sin only for a while, didn’t realise it had jumped up from the average 24 months in the UK now.
zerbey@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Jokes on them, last phone I bought from them was in 1999. Still have it somewhere. Haven’t used it since 2000 or so of course.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Had mine since October 2017. Huawei Honor 9. Getting a bit shit now, random power offs below 25%, slow as balls, the usual.
A lot of that is likely just web bloat.
Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg 1 year ago
Pixel “a” Phones are basically the continuation of the (formerly midrange) Nexus. Though Fairphone is entering the US market.
fubbernuckin@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I would buy a fairphone in a heartbeat if it had a headphone jack.
I know lots of people find they can get away without it but i use mine literally every day and i much prefer it over navigating menus to use Bluetooth.
Stinkywinks@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’ve had my moto x4 for 8 years and it’s still kicking strong. If it ever dies, I’m getting another.
Blizzard@lemmy.zip 1 year ago
Those damn Brits, how dare they?! Buy more, more often!
infix@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Still rocking my iphone X! Upgrade may be in order this September as the battery lasts about an hour and the screen is cracked, but damn good run.
WagesOf@artemis.camp 1 year ago
I think the most popular phone in the last ten years is an IPhone 5 w a broken screen.
alxhghs@programming.dev 1 year ago
Not as old but I have an iPhone 11 and I just replaced the battery. Feels good as new
infix@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah I went to thr Apple Store to do that, and they said they couldn’t replace the battery without charging me €300 for a new screen, so I declined
brewery@feddit.uk 1 year ago
I bought a new phone after having the old one for 3 years and as a treat to myself. It was an S22 Ultra. I regret buying it as the improvements are very minor compared to my old phone, and definitely not worth the massive hike in cost.
The camera is better but tbh, I barely notice it as its mostly a few photos for memories. I’m not printing them on canvas or anything so no point really having such high quality photos. Will definitely hold onto this one for as long as i can
Ataraxia@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I had a crappy honor 5x which had a fake camera and a bunch of fake features, also it had some Spyware on it that caused me to have to report fraudulent charges on my bank account and eventually the battery got spicy. Got a s20 ultra at launch and actually love this thing. It’ll last me a few years more.
Leeps@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I like mine, but that camera is so stuttery. Do you have the snapdragon variant?
jivandabeast@lemmy.browntown.dev 1 year ago
About to enter the same boat, I have the Note 20 Ultra and its on the eve of losing security update support. Don’t necessarily want to upgrade but i feel like i don’t have a choice.
Going to look at something like the Nothing Phone 2, it’s not nearly as expensive as the S23 Ultra (which is my direct upgrade path) but is plenty fast enough and has at least some interesting quirks and features.
Tbh, i could get a used digital camera + a mid range android phone and probably out perform the flagship Samsung.
NUMPTY37K@lemmy.world 1 year ago
My Samsung s22 has sooo many bugs compared to my old pixel phone Def not worth it Samsung software has really gone downhill
r00ty@kbin.life 1 year ago
I generally upgrade every 4 years too these days, at least the last few times and for the next upgrade. Let's see if I can remember my whole phone list.
Motorola M301
Ericcson 628 or 688 I don't remember which (or whatever the modified name was on one2one back then)
Nokia 8100/8146 (you know, the ACTUAL matrix phone)
Gifted Nokia 3110 or 3210 (8100 broke down)
Nokia 6100/6126
Sony Ericson T68i
Sony Z1010 (my first phone with a camera, spoiler alert, it was terrible)
iPhone 3GS
Samsung Galaxy S2
Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
Samsung Galaxy S20+ (current)Wonder if I missed any that were that forgetful?
Generally an upgrade outside of 4 years was because there was a feature I particularly wanted or needed. On early phones this was quite often (think SMS support, WAP, EFR, GPRS). But then contracts were generally for 1 year so it didn't matter too much. Later phones it's been 3G/4G/5G/Wifi calling etc that generall drove upgrades.
ladel@feddit.uk 1 year ago
As everyone says, not surprising, and also it’s been predicted for years that the upgrade cycle for phones would become similar to that for laptops as the market matured.
Chickerino@feddit.nl 1 year ago
ive only upgraded from my 2014 shit phone in 2021, and i plan to do the same with this one for as long as i can
hornedfiend@sopuli.xyz 1 year ago
i used to buy a new one every 2 years or so,but after switching to pixel 6 and graphene os, I think I will replace it once it’s no longer supported.
mojo@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Hey, exact same boat that I’m in, except with a pixel 6a running GrapheneOS
mrvictory1@lemmy.world 1 year ago
4 years? How cute.
ODuffer@lemmy.world 1 year ago
You’ll have to prise my 4a 5G out of my cold dead hands…
TimeSquirrel@kbin.social 1 year ago
Meanwhile, here I am with a Galaxy S8 from 2017, doing just fine. Only bad thing is some stuff burned into the screen from overuse of some apps in the past coughs reddit coughs.
Zed@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I bought a second hand pixel 6a a couple weeks ago, my previous phone was the OnePlus 3, lasted me 5 years and at the time of purchase it was already a two years old second hand, bought them for basically the same price, 200€.
appel@whiskers.bim.boats 1 year ago
Smartphone CEOs dumbfounded when no one wants to buy their $1999 xPhone Z-Flip 4d-folding hextuple AI 8k camera with Bionic 10Ghz chip including real neurons
InvertedParallax@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Which is ironically the same as the $1999 xPhone 24 Pro Max XXL Z-Flip 4d-folding hextuple AI 8k camera with Bionic 10Ghz chip including real neurons from last year.
senicar@social.cyb3r.dog 1 year ago
Nah, the 25 has a stylus. The 24 didn’t. The 26 won’t either.
Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Thats gonna be my next phone! Guaranteed!