We upgrade either because our phones died, or we have maximized our phone’s features.
While dealing with a plethora of mobile phone releases these past few months, this thought came to my mind: With the fast pace of new models coming out, how long do smartphones last with us before we replace them with a new model?
Just a quick context: Of all the smartphones I owned in previous years, the Samsung Galaxy S3 lasted with me the most, using it daily for more than three years before replacing it with a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. Unfortunately, my Z3 Compact did not last as long as my Galaxy S3, as it started experiencing display sensor issues after owning it for more than a year.
I honestly miss those days of me owning the Galaxy S3.
Many factors are considered in terms of a phone’s longevity; those include battery life, build quality, and software updates. But if you look at a study in the United States, 30% people wait for more than two years before upgrading their devices. The study makes sense, as most postpaid plans have a two-year contract.
These graphs from Business Insider confirm the trend of people waiting it out before upgrading their smartphones in recent years.
That’s even if most smartphone manufacturers are shifting to a one year product year (and for some, a 7 month product cycle like what Sony did with its Xperia Z series), and that there are more handset choices out in the market. What’s the cause for this trend? As CNBC’s Todd Haselton would put it:
Sure, new smartphones offer fancy new camera options, fingerprint readers, iris scanners and gorgeous displays that lure your eyes right back to the device. None of those are real reasons to upgrade a phone though, at least not unless you’re a geek like me who just likes having the newest phone on the block.
Considering the many new features introduced in smartphones, like the recent dual camera trend and the rise of near-bezel less phones, the question still remains: how do these fancy new tech are relevant to our daily lives? Do we really need to have the latest tech on our smartphones at all times? If you ask the majority of smartphone users, what’s important is that these devices can help us improve our daily lives.
While a lot of us are waiting for the release of iPhone 8, I think I’ll be holding on to my 9-month old iPhone SE, which is technically a dated smartphone but still a reliable one, for now.
How about you? How long does it take before you decide to upgrade your smartphone? Let us know in the comments section below!
Source: Business Insider, Emarketer
