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I used to have iphone or samsung on contract, and would upgrade every 4 years when the phone could no longer handle new apps well and the battery life got too bad.
Switched recently to SIM only contract and bought a sony; am interested to see how long this one lasts.
only when I inevitably drop it in water and it won't boot anymore, except for when rice magically makes it boot again
when its clearly on the stretcher ill upgrade, otherwise im still happy with my s9+
Current phones 6 years old. I’ll upgrade this year and hope to get a similar length of time out of it. Phones are made of minerals likely mined in the DR congo using child labour. I cannot in good conscience support that industry more.
I’m upgrading because my phone is getting really slow, overheating frequently and will likely not receive a software update this year.
Since I switched from iPhone to Android I've been getting a new phone every year. Even tried a Flip. You can sometimes get good deals as a Google Fi customer.
TL;DR: I've got a pile of not-that-old phones I should probably donate.
Donate some my way lol
Every 2-3 years I'd say. I kept my previous phone, a Samsung Galaxy A50, until its contract ran out and sold it afterwards (didn't really like it that much tbh). I plan on using my Pixel 6 Pro for as long as possible, though.
Whenever it breaks, really.
I've had this phone I pretty much got for free since 2016 I believe (2 for 1 offer), and even though battery has gotten pretty weak recently, it works quite well as long as I don't watch videos.
When I stop getting security patches or can't salvage it after a drop. Replaced a screen on my galaxy s20 it cost me $300 but it turns out the replace everything but the motherboard and the cameras. I was pretty pissed about that because it was needlessly waist full and it cost me more.
When it breaks + the replacement cost as much as the phone costs (I generally buy secondhand)
Usually around 2-3 years. That's usually around when my current phone stops receiving software updates and by then I can find a good deal on an outgoing model.
For instance I upgraded to a Pixel 7 Pro when the 8 came out. I sold my 6 Pro for a decent amount and my total cost of upgrading was something like 300 bucks which was worth it to me to not have to worry about it for another few years.
How's the 7 pro compare to the 6 pro? I have the 6 pro and am very happy with it so far.
It's not a huge upgrade, tbh. The camera is nicer but I mostly did it for the security updates.
Thanks for the reply. It does seem to be a pretty incremental upgrade from what I've read. I've been really happy with my 6 Pro so I'll probably continue to run it for a while.
I feel that the lifetime of phones is heavily dependant on their make. Huawai lasted me 1 year before it became a chore to use. My oneplus phones have both served me well, lasting some 5 years. The first one was replaced as the screen gave up, but my op7 still going strong with no notable performance or battery issues (only thing being that the company has started installing ads).
The oneplus phones did also cost about twice as much as my huawai phone, so that is to be considered.
When the last phone breaks
Every 2-3 years, because of contract length.
However, the last time I upgraded to my current phone was 2018.
When they stop getting software updates or i find a newer one really cheap.
Around four years.
Usually once a year maybe once every two years. All my work stuff is tied to my phone from email and IM to expense reports and slack. Need it to run well or I am stuck in slow mode
upgraded from my iphone 8 in 2 or so years because my carrier basically gave me a free phone, and i plan to run this one into the ground. next i want to get the fairphone so that i can repair it myself
Usually it's when I start feeling bored with my current phone, but there has to be a new phone out there that I'm interested in, unless something breaks like the charging port, but generally when I'm bored of the one I got.
Used to be a yearly guy. Then I moved out and yeah, suddenly that wasn't a thing anymore. Got into a decent habit of only upgrading every two years, and now I try to make the phones last me three years if possible.
Never. My phone is a single piece of unmoving steel and ceramic with three buttons and a switch on the side. This is definitely not a device designed for upgrading.
Whenever someone else gives me their old one. I let the updates happen automatically if that's what you're asking though.
i still use a 'dumb' phone. it gets replaced when it physically breaks to the point it's falling apart. i'm on my sixth one in 22 years. two of those were used on a second line i no longer have.
Whenever I find a deal I can take advantage of by leveraging the old devices worth.
I have a 5 year old Xiaomi 9, the only issue is that the battery doesn't hold power anymore. Need roughly 4 charges/day and I believe it's bloated because when I leave it to charge for too long the screen would bump up a bit.
Only changed it late last year when company handed me a xiaomi 13.
Usually when it gets to the point the camera app takes too many seconds to open, although for my last phone it didn't like going for a swim. Now the backlight only works if the phone is warm. New LCD on order.
About three years I guess normally.
