Smartphone CEOs dumbfounded when no one wants to buy their $1999 xPhone 25 Pro Max XXL Z-Flip 4d-folding hextuple AI 8k camera with Bionic 10Ghz chip including real neurons
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.
Nah, the 25 has a stylus. The 24 didn't. The 26 won't either.
You'll have to get the 26+ PRO ULTRA for $2699 if you want the stylus back.
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.
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 actually changed since it was released.
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.
Once you've got web browsers and website-equivalent mobile apps performing well, software keyboards which keep up with your typing, high-definition video playback working without dropped frames, graphics processing sufficient to render whatever your game of choice is for the train journey to work, batteries which last a day of moderate to intense use, and screen resolutions so high that you can't differentiate the pixels even by pressing your eyeball to the glass - that covers most people's media consumption for the form factor, and there's not much else to offer after that.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I only replace mine because the batteries are crapping out. Usually it's 3-4 years.
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.
i use electronics until they're unusable. my last phone lasted 6 years, my laptop lasted 11 years. i don't have a tv or anything else.
No TV. How do you watch coronation Street and EastEnders?
On his smart-kettle, obviously.
That is going to be a problem for apple, better make the next iPhone’s battery be unreplaceable and self destruct after 2 years.
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 years
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!
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. (And, for context, I'm writing this from an iPhone 11)
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)
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 🤦♀️
I kept my old Sony Xperia right up until I could feel a bulge on the back of it, lol.
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.
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!
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.
I don’t see any reason in 2023 to replace my iPhone 12
I will buy a new phone when my phone actually dies, broken screens and old batteries can be replaced. And iOS gets updates for like forever.
Well the networks will try to tie people in for 36/48 months so... they kind of asked for it.
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.
I've had my moto x4 for 8 years and it's still kicking strong. If it ever dies, I'm getting another.
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 and inevitable battery death.
So what are the better mid-range phones these days? I'd rather have as little non-uninstallable crapware as possible.
Pixel "a" Phones are basically the continuation of the (formerly midrange) Nexus. Though Fairphone is entering the US market, they look like they'd be a solid choice.
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.
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.
Wonder if I missed any that were that forgettable?
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 generally drove upgrades.
Those damn Brits, how dare they?! Buy more, more often!
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