What's the point of buying new phones every years?

Other than your carrier give it for free or cheap, I don’t really see the reason why should you buy new phone. I’ve been using Redmi Note 9 for past 3 years and recently got my had on Poco F5. I don’t see the point of my ‘upgrade’. I sold it and come back to my Note 9. Gaming? Most of them are p2w or microtransaction garbage or just gimped version of its PC/Console counterpart. I mean, $400 still get you PS4, TV and Switch if you don’t mind buying used. At least here where I live. Storage? Dude, newer phone wont even let you have SD Card. Features? Well, all I see is newer phones take more features than it adds. Headphone jack, more ads, and repairability are to name a few. Battery? Just replace them. However, my Note 9 still get through day with one 80% charge in the dawn. Which takes 1 hour.

I am genuinely curious why newer phone always selling like hot cakes. Since there’s virtually no difference between 4gb of RAM and 12gb of RAM, or 12mp camera and 100mp camera on phone.

Deez,

I have never upgraded every year, I used to every two years, then three. Now I’ve had my iPhone 11 for almost four years, and I’m planning to keep it for 5. It will probably still get new OS updates for another 1 year after that (total of 6).

There is no reason to update your phone every year.

Prasaedonium,

I upgraded twice from Redmi note 7 to Redmi note 9 to poco X4, only reason I updated was because my siblings lost their phones and I saw it as an opportunity to try a newer version of something I liked.

I don’t think I’ll upgrade unless the new phone also has an IR blaster and headphone jack. The IR blaster is so incredibly convenient

K0W4LSK1,

Planned obsolescence wiki link

_haha_oh_wow_,
@_haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works avatar

IDK, I always buy used phones and pretty much use them until they either die or are no longer usable because they were abandoned by the manufacturer for too long. I haven’t had a new phone in probably close to a decade now. The last new phone I bought was an Xperia Z3 Compact.

TheL321,

Many people upgrade every year because of perceived obsolescence.

GentlemenPreferBongs,

It’s turned into the car stereo thing. In 2002, I wanted a rainbow vomit colored faceplate, CD-R and MP3 support, CD carousel in the trunk, a USB port, steering wheel remote

Now I just want bluetooth, an aux in and a volume button.

Until phones merge with a steamdeck or something, there isn’t much to look forwards to anymore.

My phone from 2014 pretty much did everything my current phone can. Certainly nothing worth spending hundreds of dollars on if you have a working cell.

onionbaggage,

I just use my phone until it either breaks or can’t do what I want it to do.

Since having kids they break more often.

Brochetudo,

I can’t see why you can’t see the difference. I’ve been swapping every few years from the lowest tier phone that’s recently come out and each change feels like night and day each and every time. Perhaps you should stop buying overpriced phones?

Kleysley,

Buying cheaper phones for the purpose of feeling the need to upgrade them sooner doesnt really make sende though, does it?

Brochetudo, (edited )

I have had three phones in the span of ten years. All of them were gifted to me via the line provider. I don’t know what you are talking about, mate,

azuth,

Well, there are some arguments pro buying cheaper phones.

  1. You have the option to upgrade, you are not obliged. Even if you finance the more expensive phone you are still committed for more. You have more options.
  2. Batteries do naturally degrade over time. No matter how expensive or good your phone is.
  3. Accidents happen some will not be covered by warranty but I also do not see more expensive phones having more than 2 years warranty which is the minimum.
  4. If you do chose to upgrade you have more phones, that means a backup or a free phone for a member of your family.
Brahm1nmam,

Point 4 is more important than some may think, you can dial 911 without an active SIM. For this reason alone I have old phones in all my gloveboxes.

Plus a couple years ago my folks were floating the river and their dry bag somehow stopped being I dry bag, I don’t remember the story cause I wasn’t there. But, when they got home, I was able to set them up with passable phones while the ones they ordered online came in the mail.

Kleysley,

Well these are some really good points! I didnt think about batteries degrading but as far as I know, the more expensive phones tend to have larger batteries which will still get you through a day without charging…

Talking about accidents, I dont think the warranty replaces accidents where you are at fault (?). My phones (cheap or expensive) always had a case and tempered glass on them and I have yet to damage any of them but I get your point, expensive phones have to last for longer. I personally worry more about how long I am going to get security updates though…

  1. Completely agree with you on this one.
AtheistAndroid,

Status symbol. That, and many people are horrible with their devices. They drop them and scratch them, crack the screen, chip them.

They abuse them and load them with tons of apps. Fill up the phone with videos and photos. The battery holds less of a charge because many people use their phones as computers and will constantly be cycling it dead 3 times a day or more.

Apps update and use more resources and space. They could just clean up their phone, do a reset, and have a case for protection but choose not to and just buy a new one.

It’s stupid I agree

zikk_transport2,

Unpopular opinion: everyone focuses on productivity, then on features. Literally zero consideration for performance. Also lack of customization. I can flash Linux, hackintosh or any other random OS on any laptop I buy, but not on smartphone…

Kind of sucks that my Cat S62 Pro smartphone suck ass with it’s slowness and lags and I can blame Cat as a manufacturer for that, but lack of standards (so I can flash generic OS onto it simply sucks).

So I am forced to buy new phone every 1-2 years because it gets slow… 🤷

Oh wait! Batteries are not replaceable! USB-C port is also incresibly hard to change!

B16_BR0TH3R,

There’s lots of focus on performance from vendors like Apple, Samsung and others operating in the same space. Cat phones, however, are known for having crappy perfomance due to the cheap CPUs they use.

MajorMajormajormajor,

Have you thought about flashing a custom rom on your phone, or getting a phone that supports custom roms if you don’t have one already?

I have an old samsung galaxy s5 still running LineageOS and while a little slow it’s still usable as a backup in case my current phone shits the bed.

The process is fairly straightforward, and if you’ve installed linux on a laptop you can install LOS on a phone.

mojo,

This is why I exclusively stick to Pixels. Honestly don’t really care about the hardware, it’s okay. But it’s the only phone that lets you flash it and reflash it with a custom key so you can have verified boot on a custom OS.

Android is a tricky situation, there’s very few phones that actually allow you to unlock the bootloader, and only Pixels can do it securely. Samsungs are basically a no go unless it’s an older phone that has gotten cracked open. Like Samsung S5 old.

So ironically Google phones are by far the best to degoogle your phone lol, and they actually go above and beyond to let you do so. Even the new Pixel fold and tablets support this. I personally recommend GrapeheneOS or CalyxOS for these devices, both are really good.

I choose my custom OS first and then pick the actual physical phone second. For me, I value software over hardware, but obviously that’s important too.

Phreak,

I normally upgrade every two years when my contract runs out. It’s cheaper than what I’d be for for an unlimited 5g sim only deal.

Plus this time I want away from my Fold!

Knightfall,
@Knightfall@lemmy.ca avatar

In Canada, for years, you were almost a fool for not upgrading your device every two years. The “regular” plans we all had involved a 2-yr contract in which time your phone would be paid off. But after that term was up, the monthly bill remained exactly the same. It was stupid, but a lot of Canadians just said, “Welp. Might as well upgrade then.” Then the CRTC here stepped up and told the big three carriers here to knock it off.

I had a Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ that I held onto for three and a half years. That was the longest I’d ever kept a smartphone. It was going strong too. Alas, I found out security updates were knocked down to quarterly from monthly. And after this year, it would receive nothing more. I reluctantly looked into the Galaxy S23 Ultra as a replacement and thanks to a good deal, I have that phone now. It’s an amazing device too and I hope it carries me for another 3+ years.

iamdisillusioned,

Same in the US. You’d pretty much just pay tax and could get a free phone every two years. Since that ended, I had a S7 for 4 years then only upgraded to a S9+ for a bigger screen. Every new phone I’ve ever had has been an upgrade and for the first time there’s almost no way to upgrade. I know I’m in the minority but I want an SD card slot and headphone jack; I use them all the time.

Kelsenellenelvial,

I used to do that about 10-15 years ago. I think the subsidies got to be not as good around the same time that phone prices rose sharply. Whereas you might have previously paid $200, and gotten a $500 subsidy for a $700 MSRP phone, now that $500 off a $1000+ MSRP doesn’t seem like as good a deal. I think they also widened the pricing gap between the prepaid and post paid plans, and/or started offering “discounts” for BYOD plans. Seems like the last couple upgrades the cheapest option for me now is to just buy the phone outright and then find a cheap plan.

For anyone in Saskatchewan, check out LUM mobile. It’s a Sasktel run MVNO that actually has a unique pricing structure that’s pretty competitive.

jjjalljs,

I buy a new phone when my current one breaks. So like every five years.

Lots of people are bad with money or don’t prioritize the same things I do. I try not to worry about this. I worry about other unimportant shit like why do people roll for stats in DND 5e.

Hexarei,
@Hexarei@programming.dev avatar

why do people roll for stats in DND 5e.

Because having a wizard with 6 CON, a chronic disease, and a built in death wish is funny as hell

Selmafudd,

I’m the same, use the phone until it refuses to function any longer then jump on a Chinese site and get the cheapest pos with a decent camera and then once it arrives watch a yt video on how to change the language to English

TheGod,

In the early 10s Smartphones evolved quickly and it was worth it to upgrade every 2nd year or even every year.

This changed when the tech stagnated. But smartphone was much cheaper in the early days so financially it probably isnt much different if you are buying flagships later now.

FrankTheHealer,

Vanity, marketing and buying shit unnecessarily.

I have a Fairphone 3 that I got in January 2020. Its a great device. I want to using it daily for between 5 to 10 years. And I have no doubt it will do that.

Meanwhile my brother has bought 3 Samsung devices in that time. And each one still works fine. He doesn’t need a new phone each time but he will still insist on it.

cyberpunk007,

How’s the camera on this phone? Really the only thing I care about, next to battery life

FrankTheHealer,

The camera on the Fairphone 3 is only okay. But there is an upgraded camera module you can buy from Fairphone.

I’m not much of a photographer so it doesn’t bother me. But if you take a lot of pictures, it’s something to keep in mind.

Solemn,

There was a couple years where I could trade in last year’s Samsung for like $100 below the cost of the new phone, and they’d give me $250 in accessories with that. It was honestly just the cheapest option for a bit.

bfr0,

Absolutely this. I’m cheap AF and continued to do this, but Samsung has stopped these incentives so now I’m “stuck” on my s21 ultra.

I use quotes because it’s an awesome phone and 2 years later it’s still crushing everything I throw at it so I have no qualms with hanging onto it.

Solemn,

Yeah, after they stopped I decided to try a Pixel for the fun of it. So far I hate it. Debating between trying Apple now that they’re being forced to use USB C, or just going back to Samsung next year…

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