I don't buy new anymore. I buy used phones and keep them until even basic functionality is kaput. Got this S9+ used in 2020. Still going strong.
I dread the day I have to buy another phone - I am not looking forward to built-in AI bullshit and permanent nagware, and I'm not smart enough to set up GrapheneOS or other such custom stuff like that.
iPhone 4 (used) -> Xiaomi Mi4c (new) -> Xiaomi Mi9SE (new) -> Google Pixel 5 (used) -> Fairphone 5 (new)
I think thats my list. Got the iPhone in 2012 or 13 from a friend. Im planning to keep the Fairphone at least until 2033 (thats how long they guarantee security updates right now) so thats around 4 yrs/phone in total, more like 3yrs until now. I used every one of those pretty much until their last breath, I even opened up two of them to replace the battery.
About every 4-5 years, depending on how the old one is lasting. Typically, itβs battery life that frustrates me enough to go shopping. I have an iPhone 17 now, and this will most likely be my last apple. Prices are beyond justification
I use a phone till it stops working. Usually get 3-4 years out of it. I usually will buy a refurbished "flagship" phone from the previous year or two. I like a big screen and lots of memory. I'm currently using a pixel 9pro xl. It's fine. I like the idea of using graphene, but haven't yet summoned the energy to do it.
About every 5 years. Also weird to hear that about Apple fans. Everyone I know with an iPhone uses it until they canβt anymore or it stops getting updates. Maybe we Europeans use our phones longer or something.
I don't understand why people would upgrade their phone every year. It's so wasteful, and there's barely any changes from year to year. Most of the larger upgrades these days are in software rather than hardware.
I currently have a refurbished Pixel 8 (chosen because it's the oldest phone recommended by GrapheneOS). I got it less than a year ago when my previous phone (a refurbished Pixel 7) started having screen problems. I got that one a few years before, when my refurbished Pixel 6 fell out of my pocket in a parking lot and got driven over by a car.
If it weren't for breakages and Graphene system requirements (for security features, not performance), I'd probably still be using the Pixel 6, if not some phone I had even before that. It's been at least half a decade or so since the last time I felt like upgrading because my phone wasn't good enough.
I buy a new one when my current one is having so many problems it's hard to ignore. I didn't get a smartphone till 2020. Before then it was cheap pay-as-you-go phones. That phone was a moto g power and I had it till last year when it was getting to be too slow and the screen shattered when dropping it on my way out of work. I got a pixel 10 since my phone plan gave a massive discount on it.
Once every 2 or 3 years back when I was buying the stinky cheap ones. My current Pixel, however, is approaching 5 years strong. No good reason to buy a new one at this point, maybe until the GrapheneOS Motorola comes out since I don't do anything computationally intensive on my phone.
At least 4 years. The only exception will be when the Motorola+GrapheneOS phone launches next year, which will be replacing the phone I bought this year
I think I have you all beat. I'm still rocking an iPhone 6S Plus released in 2015. The latest update was for iOS 15.8.8 on May 11, 2026.
I use them until they're literally too broken to be worth fighting with anymore. Only then do I buy another one.
Four years. I'll typically buy a new phone, but an older model. I've still managed to always have a headphone jack!
When my old one dies. Currently only on my 2nd smartphone.
4-5 years with a battery replacement at year 2-3 for a refresh. Now I'm trying to hold out for the new Motorola/graphene os phone
4-5 years
every 5 years, which imo is even too often. the reason is usually a combo of os slowdown/battery life/lack of storage which really is a little ridiculous. f capitalism!
My good friend gets a new phone as part of their plan every 4 years, so they give me their old phone and I give my old phone to my partner. Haven't bought a phone in over 12 years, but I guess you could say I change phones every 4 years.
5 years for the last one, hopefully much longer with this one.
Last one was an iPhone 13, but the battery was shot. I wanted to get out of bit techs grasp, so I gave that phone away and bought a Fairphone 6 and put e/os on it.
Until it is entirely unusable. My last phone I had for years after it stopped being supported, it would hardly charge, the screen was totally shattered, and I was still using it up until it bricked itself. I'll probably see if I can convert my current GOS phone into a Linux phone after GOS stops supporting it, for security reasons to use a supported OS, but I want to minimise my contribution to e-waste.
About 5 years. I don't care much about the canera. I went from a note 20 Ultra to getting a red magic 11 pro late last year. It has pretty bad cameras but everything else is awesome and the battery will probably be what will eventually make me upgrade again. Just seeing how long it will last and how hard a time it will be to get a hold of a replacement battery. I know how to repair and work on phones and electronics, so doing repairs and getting to the battery isn't much of a challenge for myself, but getting batteries that aren't utter trash is a lot harder.
New phone? I only ever buy used.
I stopped buying new phones when I started running GrapheneOS on my phone. I bought a used pixel 8 thinking it would be supported by Google for 8 years. Needless to say I greatly underestimated Google doing evil things and not being absolute obstinate weasels on abiding by the GPL. Currently looking for options on running a cheap Linux phone to weigh what to swap to in the future.
I kept my last phone maybe 5 years. I replaced it because my bank's app no longer supported the old Android version and the mfg no longer provided updates.
I replaced it with a !LineageOS@lemmy.ml device because I decided not getting updates was a deal breaker.
Every 5 years. For next year, I want to buy a custom Android (GrapheneOS - Motorola, or Degogled Android/Ubuntu Touch - Volla, or Fairphone with /e/ os), I will see.
Longtime Apple fanboy here, I bought an SE in 2014, upgraded to the XS in 2018, and the 16 pro in 2024, so once every ~5 years or so. Couldnβt imagine buying a new phone more frequently than that.
Iβve had my iPhone 11 for 7 years. I have no strong desire for a new one either. I just need to replace the battery on this one and it should be good a for a few more years.
As long as possible.
Either it dies, or the battery does and there's no longer replacements available; or, the manufacturer stops updating it and a there's no support for a third party OS.
Until the security updates stop coming out from the manufacturer
Until death does us apart. On avg. that's 4 years and generally the first failure it's their battery life
I recieved my first phone in 2003 and as far as I can remember, I have owned 8 phones from 2003 to 2026.
I owned 4 phones from the ages of 14 to 19 From 20 to 30 I owned 3 phones. In my 30s I have so far only owned 1 phone. On average that means I have replaced my phones every 2.8 years.
Three of my phones were used phones I either bought from friends or got for cheap at phone stores because they had been display models.
My first phone was a nokia 3510i and I replaced it with a Sony Ericsson phone around 2005 because I wanted a camera phone and it was no longer cool to own one of the old school Nokia phones.
My next one was a bronze colored Sony Ericsson dumbphone and I think I got it in 2007. It fell into a river. We managed to save it, but it was never the same. I forget if I got it new or if this was a display model.
The one I got after that one was a purple phone, similarish to the bronze one. We are still in dumbphone land and I'm pretty sure it was 2008. I think it was one of my friends' old phones and I bought it from her because she felt sorry for me that my "river phone" was acting up.
The one after this one was in 2011 when I got my first smartphone. Xperia Ray, I think it was called. It lasted me 4 years and then fell out of my pocket when I ran across the road and it died a horrific death on asphalt.
I got myself a used dumbphone in order to stay in contact with people, but it genuinely sucked. It had been a display model at a store and it was dirt cheap and barely worked. This phone only lasted me some months before my temper could no longer handle it being so shit at everything. I don't even remember, what it looked like.
I finally bit the bullet and splurged on a smartphone. My first Andriod. I think it was called something-something "Edge". Broke easily. Couldn't handle shit. Definitely the weakest phone I ever had, productionwise. Somehow, it lasted me 7 years. Maybe out of stubbornness because I fucking hate spending money and if something has cost me more than a thousand in my country's currency, it better survive, bitch. One day, it simply just went black after two years of barely working.
The one I have now is also an Andriod. Got in 2022 and it was apparently a dated model when I bought it, but to me it was insanely futuristic compared to my other phones. The best thing about it is that I have dropped this bitch on nearly every type of hard surface you can think of, and it's barely got a scratch. I don't buy phone cases for my phones because I hate phone cases. I think this might be the best phone I have had since my Nokia 3510i. This thing takes every hit life gives it and it doesn't even flinch. The battery is still pretty good as well. I hope it will last me until 2032 at the earliest.
Every phone I buy for the rest of my life will only be replaced when I have no choice. I hate spending money and I increasingly hate modern phones.
My next phone will more than likely be a Fairphone.
Every other day! I just can't help myself! A new model is released and the hype machine starts up; updates are released to downgrade performance on older models--I just wag my tail non-stop! It's so exciting! Those flashy lights and colours! Ooooo! This money belongs in their wallets and everyone's going to get a hold them! And I tell myself pathetic lies: oh, the battery can't be replaced... if only it had screws... it's way too hard to heart up glue and put a new battery in. Besides--all my friends are going into debt too! Plus those new features: it can make phone calls and text! Look! E-mail access too!
Apple fanboys, buy a new phone every year when the new one comes out
The 'new phone every year' types are usually on a contract with their carrier where they get the latest model every x amount of months/years. Most aren't buying it outright
I keep my phones for 5-7 years. Generally once it stops receiving security updates I'll get a new one
at the moment i use iphones have for several years. I buy a new phone when the old one isn't supported or when it is going so slow that it's borderline painful to use it. it ususally is no longer supported by that time .
Used to buy one every two years or so, either to upgrade or they had failed in some way. Used to spend $1000+ on them too, which is ridiculous looking back with how often they broke.
Had a $2000 phone stop charging and they refused to service it without a huge fee and shipping it oversees. (Asus for anyone wondering. I've fully gone off the brand since then. Very overpriced with terrible customer service.)
I was waiting for a call back after a job interview so I went and bought whatever cheap phone I could get and ended up with an oppo. That was in 2019 and it's still going perfectly fine. Phones haven't innovated at all since then and with how much they cost I kind of just don't care to upgrade.
Somewhere between 3 & 4 years. Typically something has to go wrong with my current one.
About 5 years unless i lose it in the ocean. Which has happened twice in the last decade
Had my last smartphone, Honor 20, for 6 years, it didn't get any safety updates for the last 3.. Bought a refurbished iPhone 2 years ago, I will either use that until the safety updates stop or until I ragequit myself out of the modern society. Whichever happens sooner, following the ID laws and all.
But my main phone is a dumb Nokia I found from the trash. I don't see it breaking and they do sell aftermarket batteries still, so no issues. Can call mom and so on.
I only buy crappy ones, so usually every 2-3 years, but this Samsung a06 is making me think I should buy a new phone after only 1 year because it's pretty bad!
When the old one is no longer suitable for use as a primary phone:
When I developed for Android: every two or three years or so:
At that point I changed jobs and had to pay for my own phone. Also, became a parent.
So... I never felt like I needed to chase new features after I stopped working with android development, and really, the wild development rush pretty much stopped, but I kept changing phones because I kept breaking them all of a sudden.
The thing about rich people is that they don't care about making responsible choices. $1000 is throwaway money to them when they have a $60,000 leased car and go to disney twice a year.
i haven't bought a new phone for decade+.
daily driver is a 2013 phone. i do have newer phones i got from family members that stopped using them, but to me they're less comfortable than my old phone. gonna keep it till it breaks for Y2038 hits
I own my Fairphone 4 for a bit over 4 years already. Bought a new battery once and some screen protectors. It's still doing great and I don't understand why I would need a new one any time soon.
I'm on my 18th phone in 29 years.
I worked in app development for half that time, so there was a strong incentive to be on the latest if there were any new innovations to support.
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