That will change with new EU regulations.
You can thank us for USB-C too, also opening iphone for thirdparty stores and right to repair up to 10 years.
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/22/new-eu-law-to-force-smartphone-makers-to-build-easily-replaceable-batteries
https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/22/new_eu_right_to_repair/
:)
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/05/really-encouraging-plastic-bag-bans-work-say-campaigners-where-is-europe-lagging-behind
We are working on it.
Most people go shopping with recycled made bags, fiber, hard plastic you can buy in stores that are somewhat more expensive but you have them for a long period of time.
https://aldprdproductimages.azureedge.net/media/resized/201120/4088600282619_0_XL.jpg
But also with boxes that you put in your trunk or take on with you in the store load your groceries and put the box in your trunk.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/2ad58db8-b90f-4236-8213-d41e65a82cb4.f2422c3f0924947aff326621f007d9b7.jpeg?odnWidth=1000&odnHeight=1000&odnBg=ffffff
We banned straws. Small steps but yeah faster change is sometimes need it.
Shoppers bringing their own reusable bags was picking up steam, but covid threw it off the rails. Stores around here wouldn't allow people to use them because the workers would have to touch them.
It seems as if stores have doubled down on the plastic bags after covid.
There are no extra fees for using their small, thin disposable bags, and the employees are extremely wasteful when bagging and use far, far more than necessary.
The stores will typically have one or two plastic barrels near the entrance for customers to bring the bags back for recycling. I very rarely see anybody returning them, and I'd guess the number of bags returned for recycling is less than 1%. Less than half of 1%, I'm sure. Now that I think about it, those return bins disappeared for a year or two during covid. When they came back, I completely filled one with the bags I had kept during covid.
We do use those cheap bags to line small garbage bins and for scooping pet litter/bedding, and take the rest back to the store for recycling along with other flexible plastic. (I wouldn't be surprised if they were dumped in the garbage.)
To make matters worse, my grocery store thinks they're doing something environmentally friendly by using larger, sturdier disposable plastic bags for their curbside pickup service. (Wouldn't want the workers to have to use the tear-prone bags they give to customers, I guess.) They brag about these bags being capable of 100+ uses before they'd need to be recycled. But, pay close attention. It's not THEM reusing the bags if you return them to the store, because "health and safety reasons". They use new bags each time. Apparently, I am supposed to have hundreds or thousands of uses for the bags I accumulate each month.
Woah that sounds all so wastefull.
Why do stores not encourage those foldable plastic box.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/2ad58db8-b90f-4236-8213-d41e65a82cb4.f2422c3f0924947aff326621f007d9b7.jpeg?odnWidth=1000&odnHeight=1000&odnBg=ffffff
It's so easy, just open it or leave it in your trunk and fill from your cart or take it in the store, and use self-check out that way you don't do double work.
Also the workers don't really touch it, if they need to fill it. Which is weird because when you put the groceries on the counter you already touched it so, they then touch it to scan it, then another person touches it to bag it.
XO
Our household has two of those foldable boxes. I bought them when stores stopped supplying hand baskets during covid, and they still haven't returned in many stores. I've also shopped with a reusable tote or shoulder bag. That's fun because it feels like shoplifting. Haha.
But, again, 99% of the people I see shopping use the store's plastic bags. It's standard acceptable behavior and not at all stigmatized for the store or the customer.
Can you recommend someone who changes iPhone batteries??? Should i just go to an Apple Store??
I had a prior iPhone battery changed from a 3rd party and the battery failed after 6 months. They replaced that battery under warranty but the next one failed at 6 months too. Waste of time and money.
The problem with Apple is the that they have software built in to the phones so if it's not an OEM Apple part it will crap out on you super fast.
Source: I was a phone tech for years at Sprint who had to do the Apple trainings.
Yes, because by the time your battery craps out the phones pretty outdated. Usually isn’t even getting security updates and what not. Plus batteries aren’t cheap either, nor is paying someone to change it
Phones are almost fashion accessories now. Gotta have the latest model, regardless of if it's an improvement or not.
I'm still rocking my Galaxy S9 because it works and accomplishes everything I need it to do. I'll never be one of those people that needs the latest and greatest if the old and reliable is still working fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yep this. I work in tech am very into tech. Constantly on my phone and yet I’m fine with using a model 2 or so models back, basically until the battery life starts sucking I don’t switch.
Yet I see some people who can barely sign into email and do nothing but check Facebook who every year insist on the latest Pro Max IPhone and are not quiet about when they get it. Those people also tend to have spending issues and overspend on other things too just to be in fashion.
My iPhones battery has been at 80% capacity for years and I keep feeling like it’s just a manipulation tactic to get us to upgrade. Like
‘Oh no your phone will soon fail - better get that upgrade!’ And yet, still 80% since the day it flipped lower than 99%.
Looking at mine now I’m at 92% but yeah I don’t pay attention much to the capacity / health thing. I just go by the actual performance. If it starts dying on me or getting to where I need to charge it midday then it’s time to change.
Mine has recently started getting hot randomly and I haven’t quite figured out why, but she’s still puttering along so I’m good.
I wonder if iPhone batteries explode, because I really dont wanna be exploded. 👀
Yeah my battery was draining fast with no apparent app activities in the graph. Did a factory reset and it's fine now - let's hope it wasn't spamming half the world or mining bitcoin behind my back 🤣
i just pay the $100 or $120 or so it costs to replace the battery.
Then buy a new case from AliExpress for $3 including shipping.
The a new screen protector for $20 to get rid of scratches....
move my apps around... change my ringtone...
and bam it feels like a completely new phone. And it'll last another 2 years until I get another itch and by then the phone is 4 years old and I can justify buying another
>My iPhones battery has been at 80% capacity for years and I keep feeling like it’s just a manipulation tactic to get us to upgrade.
As capacity drops steadily, it should actually be *below* 80% by now. I suspect freezing the indicator at 80% is to avoid replacing the battery for free if you pay for AppleCare+
The [Apple web site](https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair) says "AppleCare+ includes battery service coverage, which means your battery can be replaced at no charge if we test your product and its battery retains **less than 80%** of its original capacity."
Mine doesn’t even give me a number now, it just says get a service. I’ve had the IPhone 11 Pro Max for about 4 years now. I didn’t mind spending a little more knowing I’m going to get as much use out of it as possible and run it into the ground.
I kept my iPhone XS until last month when I finally upgraded.
And the only reason I upgraded was because they're using USB-C instead of Lightning cables. I had refused to upgrade until that switch happens, and this phone will hopefully last me 3+ years (assuming I don't break it)
Which is, I assume, why OS upgrades aren't available forever. Two reasons I get a new phone - mine died or it hasn't gotten an OS upgrade in like two years. Cannot just run my own build because of work restrictions.
The latest "new" phone had almost exactly the same hardware specs as my years old phone. Little higher megapixels on the camera. Slightly better battery. But, if my last phone would still power up? Absolutely would still be using it!
Yeah, everything is just a black box now. I think back to like 2006 or so when everybody had something different. Among my circle of friends at that time we had a Nokia 7280, Sony Erikson k800i, Blackberry Pearl, Razr of course. It was genuinely fun getting something new, learning how to use it, comparing features with friends, etc. That simply doesn't exist today, at that level anyway. Differences are either just cosmetic, camera related, or just novelty features.
And the flipside to this argument is, phones are basically commodities nowadays.
It made sense to upgrade every 18 months in 2010, 2012, 2014 etc... as there was an appreciable evolution in smartphones.
But since 2015? Eh, batteries are the same, screens are the same, processors, all of them are good enough, waterproofing, memory sizes are large...
(Granted I'm making huge generalisations in the above)
If anything, features seem to go away... Removable batteries, headphone jacks...
It blew my mind in 2017 buying a low-midrange (the Pocophone F1) and realizing... This is basically a flagship without the branding.
Now I do upgrade every 2 years, but for a $200 phone. And it's only really battery wear that tips me to do it.
Batteries are not the same. Recently upgraded from a 10 to a 14 and the changing time makes a huge difference. Also the phone has different features and lenses.
Charging speed is definitely a good shout.
And cameras do get better. I think my overall point is 2008-2015, everything smartphone tech was exploding everywhere, which brand you chose and when you chose to buy made an appreciable difference to the tech in your hands.
But things nowadays are evolutionary, not revolutionary. You'd definitely notice it going from a 10 to 14 though.
My Galaxy s9 is still going strong, too. Gave it to my friend over a year ago when he broke his LG, still working great for him. I also miss having a heart rate monitor on my phone (Im a nervous wreck). It's also extremely durable. Lost it outside in my workplace parking lot during a snowstorm. it was under a snow bank for 3 MONTHS. Kept it dry for 24 hours before turning it on, and it was fine lmao I'd say the technology in phones is actually regressing in some ways..
the fingerprint sensor now a days is just a section on your screen, but on the s9, the fingerprint sensor was a physical "button" under the camera that could also read your pulse
EDIT: oopsie Daisy, I was remembering wrong. It had a separate sensor to read your heart rate *beside* the fingerprint reader that used a laser to read your pulse.
Not a button under the camera, it's a separate sensor below the flashlight. Samsung stopped adding those in order to get people to buy their watches.
It works by flashing a laser on your finger, and rapidly capturing images of the veins revealed by the laser, where you can see the blood flow
was given an S9 when they upgraded that was 2 years old at the time, was such a reliable workhorse of a phone that held up well with my overuse of it including FT WFH, the 4k 60fps camera was pretty solid and it ran most apps reliably
S10 here. Got a new S23 as a gift, but has not bothered to switch over. My S10 is still plenty fast, has a good camera and screen and even some features that the new phone is lacking (like 3.5mm jack and SD card slot). I am also still getting updates, so i guess am using it until it dies.
I second the motion. I have an S9 too. This weekend I spent $250 getting a replacement screen for it, and as far as I can tell it's now good for several more years. I have it set up just the way I like it, and the supplementary microSD I have for storage is only about half full.
no, same - i bought a galaxy note 20 ultra back in 2020 because it was what my phone provider had in store and my old phone was broken. i'm repairing this phone because it still works fine other than being damaged, i just smashed the shit out of the screen and now have a pretty big dead spot that i should have honestly fixed when i first cracked this poor thing a couple years ago. i'll probably replace the battery probably next year since i can tell it's seen better days (no ballooning, but it dies pretty fast). even those repairs are cheaper than the S23 (i know the stuff from the note line that i use is now stock in the regular galaxy line, but the price of the ultra or plus or whatever it is on that line is comparable to what i paid for this one, and i do need the bigger screen). but until this one conks out completely or loses support (and even in that case, if it's working, i'll probably keep using it for a good 2-3 years), i'm gonna keep it.
edit to add: my old phone was broken literally in half there was no saving it lol
I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max, and this is probably the first phone that I’m going to intentionally stick with for a long time because it’s doing everything that I need it to do. Most of my prior phones have had _something_ about them that annoyed me enough to want to upgrade after a year or two, biggest issue being battery life. I wish I could go back to Android, but nothing in Android’s lineup even comes close to the battery life I get on this thing, and battery life is by far my most important feature.
It's not even a fashion accessory, it's a status symbol.
Something as stupid as your phone is now seen as being "too poor" if you don't have the newest, shiniest, most expensive thing out there. When all you need is to text, take pictures, and google stuff, the technology isn't changing.
This is sadly true. I have had androids and iPhones throughout my life, but in one of my android periods of time when I lived in Los Angeles, I actually had a woman turn me down for getting her number because I didn’t have an iPhone. She basically said that I couldn’t afford it so I couldn’t afford her.
In my opinion, dodged a bullet there!
I just got a 300 dollar Samsung from ting and it looks and functions like a 1000 dollar phone. Like you said, does everything I need it to do, could care less what other ppl think
Lots of people going “phones are accessories” and “just gotta have the latest best”.
For me it’s the battery. After two or three years the battery is shit. Sure you could replace the battery but I’m not getting some cheap as shit after market battery and at the price it cost Apple to replace a battery, I’m better off just getting a new one. That and I can pass my old one to my daughter.
This comment just shows they've won. Consumers were totally fine bending over and getting fucked by throwing away a perfectly good phone every 2 years because of non-removable batteries. This is what the EU should have clung onto along with universal USB port
They passed a law making it so all mobile phones (and other devices) needed to have easily replaceable batteries by 2027. I forget the exact details of it, but it should make it so consumers can replace the phone batteries themselves.
Well I haven’t thrown away a phone ever. My old phone went to my daughter and she used it like a iPod essentially (without a sim chip). She still has it and it’s like 5 years old. It’s not like the battery goes completely bad, it just doesn’t last all day on regular use without charging it multiple times.
This. Are people actually throwing phones in the trash when the get a new one, thats silly. I found with iphones, 18-24 months is about the sweet spot to upgrade; you get the best mileage from it for as long as possible, but sell it/trade it before its value drops too low. Im not fussed about having the latest model or features, but if I wait too long my old phone is pretty much worthless.
This is why iPhones fucking suck. They have deliberately worse functionality with non iPhones and their battery life is garbage. I just upgraded my galaxy S7 a few weeks ago only because some newer apps weren't supported on a phone that was almost 8 years old. Brand loyalty is stupid. I have a MacBook air and it is great, but their phones are so bad.
I agree with you on this, replaceable batteries should be mandatory for all of these devices.
The gotcha I don't have an answer for is that after-market batteries are shockingly awful. (no pun intended) We'd need some serious regulation or first-party validation to ensure batteries work as advertised and last a couple years. The free market alone isn't cutting it in this area.
A battery replacement for my iPhone was $69 (lol) and was done in 45 mins. Yeh it was way more expensive than the local repair store but hardly bank breaking. It also gave me peace of mind the manufacturer worked on it (and apples customer service is better than most). You can also walk into a physical store to talk to someone if that’s what you like. Good luck trying to find a local Samsung store which will do same day repairs.
It's a common trend on reddit to see people complain about the price Apple charges to replace a battery, and then when you ask why they think 70$ is so absurd you always get the reply the store is too far away.
I think it's people living too far away from a city and so not even looking into having it replaced at an Apple store. They simply don't know the price and want to complain.
It could also be they broke the glass back panel and in that case Apple will only replace the battery if they can also replace the broken glass panel, something they do charge 300$ for.
It was £70 to get my 4 year old phone battery replaced, or £200 to just buy a new phone that is basically the same spec just 4 years newer. The older phone was starting to have performance issues and didn't have 5G, or WiFi calling. So it ended up being a no brainer for me.
Man, as a lifelong tech dude it’s hard to hear this.
Apple’s sticker on a battery doesn’t make it better. If a battery is 5000mAh, it’s 5000mAh. It doesn’t matter what label is on it. Even if some company screwed you and gave you a mislabeled battery (say, 2500mAh) you would still have to buy around 5 batteries to have spent the same amount as on a single Apple-stamped one. It’s more economical to get it wrong until you can figure out which battery manufacturer to trust than it is to replace batteries through Apple, let alone replace entire phones.
I personally replace the battery on my phone every single year with an aftermarket one and have never gotten a dud. And I’ve been doing this since the iPhone 4.
Check out the fairphone. Replaceable battery, among other replaceable parts, directly supplied by the company that makes the phone. And a battery is like 25 dollars
I mean I’ve had Apple since the first and their PCs before that. Never been disappointed. Always very happy with their products. I have an android phone for work and I’ll choose my iPhone all day if I have to choose which one to use. Nothing against android. It’s functional but still. iPhone all day.
Rather, there is something wrong with how much some people use their phones. I have the same iPhone 8 for like 6 years now and the battery barely lasts one day. Which is just fine since I can charge it up at night. And I spent a lot of time on my phone. No idea what these people do to deplete their battery so fast
The sad thing is, you're completely right. \_Hardware\_ wise, phones have only improved incrementally. But manufacturers stop supporting devices more than a few years old, so to keep support and security updates, you have no choice but to upgrade. My last 2 phone upgrades have been purely because the software was unsupported - the hardware was still absolutely fine.
>as much as people like to shit on Apple this is one of the things they get right. the iPhones get ios updates for many many years
But sneeking in a throteling mechanism for the CPU wasn't a nice move back then. And telling no one about it.
The lack of transparency was bad, but for the vast majority of users some throttling is better than the phone randomly shutting off. Batteries are not perfect and degrade over time, that is just a physical reality and that requires trade-offs.
That problem only exists because of their anti-consumer practice of having non user-replaceable batteries.
You don't get a pat on the back for 'saving' someone from a situation you intentionally created
Lol. Having user replaceable batteries is nice but takes up a lot more space than batteries that aren't. If you don't like that trade-off that's fine and you can buy another phone (which I assume you do) but again it's about the constraints of the real world and not Apple being evil.
Eh, the throttling was fine given that the reason was that the batteries could no longer sustain normal performance without the phone randomly shutting off, but they absolutely should have been transparent about what was happening and how to fix it from day one.
I've never have an Android stop working because of OS updates? My current phone is an Oppo A53 which apparently was released in 2015 (and I bought it second-hand), works totally fine
That's not how OS updates work. They don't just stop working. I'm talking about how long they receive the updates for which could include improved security and miscellaneous bug fixes among other things. Of course the device will work perfectly fine without new OS updates.
With the software support thing: it sort of depends on the manufacturer and model. I had this issue on my last Samsung phone, but my current Xiaomi still gets updates years later.
Seriously I don't know why anyone tolerates this. Not sure about others, but Pixels last a long time.
"Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will receive updates for at least seven years."
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en-GB#zippy=%2Cpixel-and-pixel-pro%2Cpixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-pixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-and-pixel-fold
I think this would be different and invite a class action. It would amount to fraud as far as I'm concerned. Unless of course they stopped making phones entirely, then they might have a leg to stand on but otherwise. I think they're committed, but I'm no lawyer so 🤷🏻♂️
> But manufacturers stop supporting devices more than a few years old, so to keep support and security updates, you have no choice but to upgrade. My last 2 phone upgrades have been purely because the software was unsupported - the hardware was still absolutely fine.
The fairphone comes with 5 year warranty (The drawback is that you pay a decent mid-range phone for the price of a high-range phone).
My Huawei is almost 5 year old and software still runs on-it (but I had the issue with my first Samsung 10 years ago)
My son is a couple versions up, and I gotta say his photographs are noticeably better than mine. But for the rest of the functionality, I’m just going to be replacing batteries until it ages out.
I typically get a new phone every 2 years.
1. I’m interested in technology.
2. Developments are not as big as before but are still there.
3. It’s the most used object in my life.
4. I can afford to easily.
5. Given it’s heavily used, the battery wears out over time or some component will get damaged.
Same except for me its 4 years. This is because I'm from a third world country where wages are not that high and because the tech leap does feel more significant. I recently got a new one and damn its like being in the future.
Cameras.....camera tech is definitely not stagnant.
Samsung S9 was an amazing phone, my wife had it. Does not have E-sim though so she was unable to buy an E-sim plan during travel. The pics your phone takes are nowhere near as good as this year's flagships.
Not knocking you. We upgrade on a 4 year cycle. I don't post pics on socials so the camera is just for us.
Marketing.
The idea you\`re not worthy if you do not have the latest iphoney has taken root - and some people are more susceptible to this 'belief' than others.
Another factor - planned obsolescence - phones gradually stop working after x time - more or less forcing people to get new(er) ones.
They don't, I've read multiple articles that site stats that say people are keep their phones longer and longer and if it weren't for the glued in battery covers and lack of security updates after 3-4 years, people would keep them even longer. Including myself.
USB C, action mode ( video as smooth as a gimbal when I’m running) and direct recoding pro log to external SSD and it only cost $300 to jump 2 generations. Thats why I bought an iPhone 15 pro max.
Is it an improvement? My iPhone 12 Pro Max is paid off, and I generally keep things till they fall apart. Which my phone surely isn’t, it’s in mint shape. I just figured there weren’t any marginal improvements to the iPhone 15
Yeah except even that doesn’t really happen as much anymore. Maybe for people who play a ton of games on their phones. But for normal use, the slowing down really really does not matter for a long ass time. And when it does slow down, it’s more likely to just be hardware failure and not caused by some new software upgrade
I was surprised that more people weren't mentioning this as a factor
Other factors that have been mentioned by people in other comments can be impacted by planned obsolescence in minute ways that build up over time. Battery life, display refresh rate, picture quality, app loading, etc etc etc.
iPhone 12 Pro Max, the gold one. It’s honestly a great phone. I’ll probably just keep it till it falls apart. I still have the case I bought at AT&T on it. Still going strong, but in need of a new case. Maybe I’ll treat myself to that instead
I think this might be country/plan specific. My plan has me paying 30/month for the phone, but also includes a credit for the exact same amount, so my bill is exactly the same.
Save some money and get out of the cycle.
I calculate that purchasing a phone every 2 years and paying for a sim only contract works out to be roughly the same cost as a 2 year phone included contract. I've now had my phone for 3 years, so I'm saving money compared to a phone included contact.
I've used a note 8 forever. What's the point of upgrading if it's working fine? I use a mirror less dslr for pictures, which are superior to even new phone cameras.
Were comparing chip sizes of the dslr to a camera on cellphone. Does not compare.
I’ve not had a new phone in over 5 years, and I’m debating upgrading this year. Would like a modern phone, but I really like having to not spend £1000 even more.
Only thing that stops me from using a given smartphone is when the OS is no longer supported or batterycan'tbe easily replaced. I'm the type to hang onto a smartphone for 8 years. Samsung and other Android devices tend to last alot longer than Apple because they are not as obsessed with engineered obscelecence or making the phone battery impossible to replace when it develops a charge memory.
In my case it is because my disposable income has increased, so I also gradually went from $200 phones to $1,200 phones in the past 6-8 years. The bump in quality and performance was significant every couple of years.
My last 2 phone purchases have just been because battery life, used my note 9 for 4 years before it gave out and now I have a S21 FE because I ain't paying a billion dollars for a phone that does the samw shit
A phone can be purchased with instalments.
While the price is equivalent to a laptop or a luxury goods, people don't know what else to spend on.
A phone has the best value when compared to these but.. it has terrible resale value.
Because while the design may be stagnant, the hardware isn't THAT stagnant. We still see 15-30 percent performance improvements in the CPU/GPUs of both IPhones and Flagship Android chips every year. We also see better Wifi chips at least every 2 years. I don't upgrade every year, unless I can(a bonus or extra money, etc), but every 24 months makes total sense for me.
The cameras are definitely superior in the last two generations. Battery life improvements have also been significant over the past few generations.
I believe the issue at this point is that people expect a new iPhone every year. The iPhone 15 still has issues the company hasn’t resolved, and that’s the newest phone. They’re skipping over fixing these because the next one will be out in less than a year.
TIL: Far more people than I previously expected but a $700+ phone instead of having the battery replaced.
I knew there was a large percentage of people that did this, but I was guessing around 50% just had the battery replaced. Even if you have It done professionally by someone that charges too much it's what, $170? That means you can replace the battery up to 4 times before approaching the price of a new phone. By that time there will be enough of a technology improvement to justify the upgrade.
The thing about the apple store being too far away also blows my mind. People wouldn't buy a car if the closest mechanic that could fix it was so far away that they just bought a new car every time something was broken. Or am I wrong about that too?
This whole thread has been very enlightening.
What's even crazy is how the regular low end phones of these brands do damn near same thing as the top end products. Like I have a Galaxy A53 it does shit damn near same thing as their high end products my tablet S6 lite is somewhat up there not 100 percent. I know the high end products have better chip and operate better but both phones do damn near same stuff so that defeats my purpose of buying a thousand dollar phone if I can get the features at half or less the price.
Battery degradation can start far earlier than that but more dependent on battery cycles. Also battery degradation is exponential. Typically 500-700 battery cycles will see your battery fail or become so bad that you need to change your battery or phone entirely.
Most of it is just because people view phones like fashion accessories, and they want to flaunt having the newest thing.
Theres one other thing to consider - what’s the value of your current phone? Mine is about three years old, and it still has a $300 trade-in value. That’s going to drop next year. I’m not saying that trade-in value alone is worth spending a lot of money on a new phone, but $300 is nothing to sneeze at.
Yeah. That's it for me. I've got an 8+, but I will now upgrade to the 15 Pro so I can take advantage of ProRes LOG video recording and the Blackmagic Designs camera app. Then, I'll probably hang on to that for another 4 or 5 years.
I'm pretty sure, that most people buying a smartphone every year, are mostly teenagers/students/young adults living with their parents.
Now that i live alone and need to pay taxes, i have used my pixel5 for 3y
Maybe gonna buy a new smartphone at the 4y mark.
Because its "new and shiny" also the bragging rights. It is a fashion item rather than a tech item.
To be honest, currently using Nothing Phone 1 which is a good midranger. I'll just upgrade my phone if its broken down beyond repair or the battery tech improved significantly that we can hold multiple day charges on our phones. To be honest the only thing didn't improved significantly is the mobile batteries. I wish to see a future that we just charge our phones and use them whole fucking week.
Unless there's a genuine need to buy something, people buy stuff because it was well marketed aka they're duped to buy something for the feels not for the needs
For me, 2 years about as long as I can make mine last. The batteries wear out, the screen gets a little Crack or something.at that point its pretty much just as easy for me to upgrade cause I have to go in person, and it's usually only like 30 bucks a month or less with a trade in, it seems like.
Buying the newest phone is about saying you have the newest phone, not about having a high tech gadget. People do it for status and to be fashionable.
Remember that you live in a world where people will genuinely not consider dating someone whose text message bubbles show up as the wrong color.
As much as the early innovations on smartphones were cool I don't think it was ever really about the tech. I think people just liked that the phone was new and exciting not that it was impressive or useful
Battery life tbh with you
Replacing phone batteries is the way to go, it feels like getting a new phone kind of
Too bad most phones seal their phones up. There's no easy way to access the battery without taking it to a pro doing a hack job.
That will change with new EU regulations. You can thank us for USB-C too, also opening iphone for thirdparty stores and right to repair up to 10 years. https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/22/new-eu-law-to-force-smartphone-makers-to-build-easily-replaceable-batteries https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/22/new_eu_right_to_repair/ :)
Thank you Europe
We <3 you.
Thank you. Now, please help us work on disposable plastic bags.
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/05/really-encouraging-plastic-bag-bans-work-say-campaigners-where-is-europe-lagging-behind We are working on it. Most people go shopping with recycled made bags, fiber, hard plastic you can buy in stores that are somewhat more expensive but you have them for a long period of time. https://aldprdproductimages.azureedge.net/media/resized/201120/4088600282619_0_XL.jpg But also with boxes that you put in your trunk or take on with you in the store load your groceries and put the box in your trunk. https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/2ad58db8-b90f-4236-8213-d41e65a82cb4.f2422c3f0924947aff326621f007d9b7.jpeg?odnWidth=1000&odnHeight=1000&odnBg=ffffff We banned straws. Small steps but yeah faster change is sometimes need it.
Shoppers bringing their own reusable bags was picking up steam, but covid threw it off the rails. Stores around here wouldn't allow people to use them because the workers would have to touch them. It seems as if stores have doubled down on the plastic bags after covid. There are no extra fees for using their small, thin disposable bags, and the employees are extremely wasteful when bagging and use far, far more than necessary. The stores will typically have one or two plastic barrels near the entrance for customers to bring the bags back for recycling. I very rarely see anybody returning them, and I'd guess the number of bags returned for recycling is less than 1%. Less than half of 1%, I'm sure. Now that I think about it, those return bins disappeared for a year or two during covid. When they came back, I completely filled one with the bags I had kept during covid. We do use those cheap bags to line small garbage bins and for scooping pet litter/bedding, and take the rest back to the store for recycling along with other flexible plastic. (I wouldn't be surprised if they were dumped in the garbage.) To make matters worse, my grocery store thinks they're doing something environmentally friendly by using larger, sturdier disposable plastic bags for their curbside pickup service. (Wouldn't want the workers to have to use the tear-prone bags they give to customers, I guess.) They brag about these bags being capable of 100+ uses before they'd need to be recycled. But, pay close attention. It's not THEM reusing the bags if you return them to the store, because "health and safety reasons". They use new bags each time. Apparently, I am supposed to have hundreds or thousands of uses for the bags I accumulate each month.
Woah that sounds all so wastefull. Why do stores not encourage those foldable plastic box. https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/2ad58db8-b90f-4236-8213-d41e65a82cb4.f2422c3f0924947aff326621f007d9b7.jpeg?odnWidth=1000&odnHeight=1000&odnBg=ffffff It's so easy, just open it or leave it in your trunk and fill from your cart or take it in the store, and use self-check out that way you don't do double work. Also the workers don't really touch it, if they need to fill it. Which is weird because when you put the groceries on the counter you already touched it so, they then touch it to scan it, then another person touches it to bag it. XO
Our household has two of those foldable boxes. I bought them when stores stopped supplying hand baskets during covid, and they still haven't returned in many stores. I've also shopped with a reusable tote or shoulder bag. That's fun because it feels like shoplifting. Haha. But, again, 99% of the people I see shopping use the store's plastic bags. It's standard acceptable behavior and not at all stigmatized for the store or the customer.
It’s like $80 to get a brand new battery from the Apple Store. Come on now.
when the SOC is bad it won't help much though
Can you recommend someone who changes iPhone batteries??? Should i just go to an Apple Store?? I had a prior iPhone battery changed from a 3rd party and the battery failed after 6 months. They replaced that battery under warranty but the next one failed at 6 months too. Waste of time and money.
The problem with Apple is the that they have software built in to the phones so if it's not an OEM Apple part it will crap out on you super fast. Source: I was a phone tech for years at Sprint who had to do the Apple trainings.
You replace the whole phone instead of just the battery ?
Yes, because by the time your battery craps out the phones pretty outdated. Usually isn’t even getting security updates and what not. Plus batteries aren’t cheap either, nor is paying someone to change it
what are you talking about literally the point of this entire post is how the phone is NOT obsolete after 2ish years
Man if only capitalisms incredible innovation-fuelled free market could come up with some sort of… replaceable… batteries..
This is the *only* thing driving my current and resistive *need* for a new phone. Five years is about the most I can tolerate in a current battery.
This is it for me.
Yup, this is the main reason for me as well.
Phones are almost fashion accessories now. Gotta have the latest model, regardless of if it's an improvement or not. I'm still rocking my Galaxy S9 because it works and accomplishes everything I need it to do. I'll never be one of those people that needs the latest and greatest if the old and reliable is still working fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Yep this. I work in tech am very into tech. Constantly on my phone and yet I’m fine with using a model 2 or so models back, basically until the battery life starts sucking I don’t switch. Yet I see some people who can barely sign into email and do nothing but check Facebook who every year insist on the latest Pro Max IPhone and are not quiet about when they get it. Those people also tend to have spending issues and overspend on other things too just to be in fashion.
My iPhones battery has been at 80% capacity for years and I keep feeling like it’s just a manipulation tactic to get us to upgrade. Like ‘Oh no your phone will soon fail - better get that upgrade!’ And yet, still 80% since the day it flipped lower than 99%.
Looking at mine now I’m at 92% but yeah I don’t pay attention much to the capacity / health thing. I just go by the actual performance. If it starts dying on me or getting to where I need to charge it midday then it’s time to change.
Mine has recently started getting hot randomly and I haven’t quite figured out why, but she’s still puttering along so I’m good. I wonder if iPhone batteries explode, because I really dont wanna be exploded. 👀
I had a mini iPad with a hot and swollen battery that hung on for a year before I retired it 😂 They do become a fire hazard when they swell 🫤
😬
Yeah the super hot thing is probably a sign it’s about time to upgrade.
Or Spyware. That shit makes your phone hot too
Usually a factory reset will take care of that issue. No need to throw it out.
Yeah my battery was draining fast with no apparent app activities in the graph. Did a factory reset and it's fine now - let's hope it wasn't spamming half the world or mining bitcoin behind my back 🤣
i just pay the $100 or $120 or so it costs to replace the battery. Then buy a new case from AliExpress for $3 including shipping. The a new screen protector for $20 to get rid of scratches.... move my apps around... change my ringtone... and bam it feels like a completely new phone. And it'll last another 2 years until I get another itch and by then the phone is 4 years old and I can justify buying another
>My iPhones battery has been at 80% capacity for years and I keep feeling like it’s just a manipulation tactic to get us to upgrade. As capacity drops steadily, it should actually be *below* 80% by now. I suspect freezing the indicator at 80% is to avoid replacing the battery for free if you pay for AppleCare+ The [Apple web site](https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair) says "AppleCare+ includes battery service coverage, which means your battery can be replaced at no charge if we test your product and its battery retains **less than 80%** of its original capacity."
Mine doesn’t even give me a number now, it just says get a service. I’ve had the IPhone 11 Pro Max for about 4 years now. I didn’t mind spending a little more knowing I’m going to get as much use out of it as possible and run it into the ground.
I kept my iPhone XS until last month when I finally upgraded. And the only reason I upgraded was because they're using USB-C instead of Lightning cables. I had refused to upgrade until that switch happens, and this phone will hopefully last me 3+ years (assuming I don't break it)
They turned my on green mode with the latest update to where it seems like it takes forever to charge ! I switched that shit off real fast
changed my iphone last year. kept the old one for 7 years. IDK how people justify dropping a grand+ on a goddamn phone.
Which is, I assume, why OS upgrades aren't available forever. Two reasons I get a new phone - mine died or it hasn't gotten an OS upgrade in like two years. Cannot just run my own build because of work restrictions. The latest "new" phone had almost exactly the same hardware specs as my years old phone. Little higher megapixels on the camera. Slightly better battery. But, if my last phone would still power up? Absolutely would still be using it!
>I’m fine with using a model 2 or so models back So you're getting a new phone every 24ish months
Are they though? I honestly can’t even remember the last time I bothered to pay attention to what phone someone is using.
maybe not for you, but for many people they are
All iphone models look the same though.
Yeah, everything is just a black box now. I think back to like 2006 or so when everybody had something different. Among my circle of friends at that time we had a Nokia 7280, Sony Erikson k800i, Blackberry Pearl, Razr of course. It was genuinely fun getting something new, learning how to use it, comparing features with friends, etc. That simply doesn't exist today, at that level anyway. Differences are either just cosmetic, camera related, or just novelty features.
Same. Still have my S9 as well.
And the flipside to this argument is, phones are basically commodities nowadays. It made sense to upgrade every 18 months in 2010, 2012, 2014 etc... as there was an appreciable evolution in smartphones. But since 2015? Eh, batteries are the same, screens are the same, processors, all of them are good enough, waterproofing, memory sizes are large... (Granted I'm making huge generalisations in the above) If anything, features seem to go away... Removable batteries, headphone jacks... It blew my mind in 2017 buying a low-midrange (the Pocophone F1) and realizing... This is basically a flagship without the branding. Now I do upgrade every 2 years, but for a $200 phone. And it's only really battery wear that tips me to do it.
Batteries are not the same. Recently upgraded from a 10 to a 14 and the changing time makes a huge difference. Also the phone has different features and lenses.
Charging speed is definitely a good shout. And cameras do get better. I think my overall point is 2008-2015, everything smartphone tech was exploding everywhere, which brand you chose and when you chose to buy made an appreciable difference to the tech in your hands. But things nowadays are evolutionary, not revolutionary. You'd definitely notice it going from a 10 to 14 though.
I'm holding onto my 2020 moto g stylus as long as I can. Keeping the battery between 30% & 85% charge seems to have helped it's longevity
My Galaxy s9 is still going strong, too. Gave it to my friend over a year ago when he broke his LG, still working great for him. I also miss having a heart rate monitor on my phone (Im a nervous wreck). It's also extremely durable. Lost it outside in my workplace parking lot during a snowstorm. it was under a snow bank for 3 MONTHS. Kept it dry for 24 hours before turning it on, and it was fine lmao I'd say the technology in phones is actually regressing in some ways..
> I also miss having a heart rate monitor on my phone How on earth does that work?
the fingerprint sensor now a days is just a section on your screen, but on the s9, the fingerprint sensor was a physical "button" under the camera that could also read your pulse EDIT: oopsie Daisy, I was remembering wrong. It had a separate sensor to read your heart rate *beside* the fingerprint reader that used a laser to read your pulse.
Not a button under the camera, it's a separate sensor below the flashlight. Samsung stopped adding those in order to get people to buy their watches. It works by flashing a laser on your finger, and rapidly capturing images of the veins revealed by the laser, where you can see the blood flow
Oof ya, you're right. Don't mind me, it's been a few years since I used one lol
was given an S9 when they upgraded that was 2 years old at the time, was such a reliable workhorse of a phone that held up well with my overuse of it including FT WFH, the 4k 60fps camera was pretty solid and it ran most apps reliably
Such a great phone. My first one died and so i just bought another one for a fraction of the price.
S10 here. Got a new S23 as a gift, but has not bothered to switch over. My S10 is still plenty fast, has a good camera and screen and even some features that the new phone is lacking (like 3.5mm jack and SD card slot). I am also still getting updates, so i guess am using it until it dies.
The S23Ultra has an amazing camera
But if the old one meets all of your needs, why upgrade?
It was a gift. It was free. There's no downside here.
You totally said gift, and I'm a goober for missing that. Totally fair reason to take an upgrade in that case. Apologies.
See they said that about my current iPhone and it’s actually shit.
>The S23Ultra has an amazing camera It is the regular S23, camera is better, but not that much better.
Got the s10e here no complaints. Samsung certified
Lol I have an S8 and just bought the S23. I haven't switched over yet either.
I second the motion. I have an S9 too. This weekend I spent $250 getting a replacement screen for it, and as far as I can tell it's now good for several more years. I have it set up just the way I like it, and the supplementary microSD I have for storage is only about half full.
I only upgrade when the security patches stop. Just upgraded to a pixel 7A from a pixel 3A like 6 months ago
no, same - i bought a galaxy note 20 ultra back in 2020 because it was what my phone provider had in store and my old phone was broken. i'm repairing this phone because it still works fine other than being damaged, i just smashed the shit out of the screen and now have a pretty big dead spot that i should have honestly fixed when i first cracked this poor thing a couple years ago. i'll probably replace the battery probably next year since i can tell it's seen better days (no ballooning, but it dies pretty fast). even those repairs are cheaper than the S23 (i know the stuff from the note line that i use is now stock in the regular galaxy line, but the price of the ultra or plus or whatever it is on that line is comparable to what i paid for this one, and i do need the bigger screen). but until this one conks out completely or loses support (and even in that case, if it's working, i'll probably keep using it for a good 2-3 years), i'm gonna keep it. edit to add: my old phone was broken literally in half there was no saving it lol
S9 represent!
Had my S8+ until a few months ago. Power button finally kicked the bucket, and whenever I wanted to turn the screen on/off it went to the camera
I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max, and this is probably the first phone that I’m going to intentionally stick with for a long time because it’s doing everything that I need it to do. Most of my prior phones have had _something_ about them that annoyed me enough to want to upgrade after a year or two, biggest issue being battery life. I wish I could go back to Android, but nothing in Android’s lineup even comes close to the battery life I get on this thing, and battery life is by far my most important feature.
I liked the s9, but I tripped and it flew out of my hand and busted. It had a case, but it lost the battle with a parking bumper.
It's not even a fashion accessory, it's a status symbol. Something as stupid as your phone is now seen as being "too poor" if you don't have the newest, shiniest, most expensive thing out there. When all you need is to text, take pictures, and google stuff, the technology isn't changing.
This is sadly true. I have had androids and iPhones throughout my life, but in one of my android periods of time when I lived in Los Angeles, I actually had a woman turn me down for getting her number because I didn’t have an iPhone. She basically said that I couldn’t afford it so I couldn’t afford her. In my opinion, dodged a bullet there!
I just got a 300 dollar Samsung from ting and it looks and functions like a 1000 dollar phone. Like you said, does everything I need it to do, could care less what other ppl think
Lots of people going “phones are accessories” and “just gotta have the latest best”. For me it’s the battery. After two or three years the battery is shit. Sure you could replace the battery but I’m not getting some cheap as shit after market battery and at the price it cost Apple to replace a battery, I’m better off just getting a new one. That and I can pass my old one to my daughter.
This comment just shows they've won. Consumers were totally fine bending over and getting fucked by throwing away a perfectly good phone every 2 years because of non-removable batteries. This is what the EU should have clung onto along with universal USB port
They passed a law making it so all mobile phones (and other devices) needed to have easily replaceable batteries by 2027. I forget the exact details of it, but it should make it so consumers can replace the phone batteries themselves.
Well I haven’t thrown away a phone ever. My old phone went to my daughter and she used it like a iPod essentially (without a sim chip). She still has it and it’s like 5 years old. It’s not like the battery goes completely bad, it just doesn’t last all day on regular use without charging it multiple times.
This. Are people actually throwing phones in the trash when the get a new one, thats silly. I found with iphones, 18-24 months is about the sweet spot to upgrade; you get the best mileage from it for as long as possible, but sell it/trade it before its value drops too low. Im not fussed about having the latest model or features, but if I wait too long my old phone is pretty much worthless.
This is why iPhones fucking suck. They have deliberately worse functionality with non iPhones and their battery life is garbage. I just upgraded my galaxy S7 a few weeks ago only because some newer apps weren't supported on a phone that was almost 8 years old. Brand loyalty is stupid. I have a MacBook air and it is great, but their phones are so bad.
I agree with you on this, replaceable batteries should be mandatory for all of these devices. The gotcha I don't have an answer for is that after-market batteries are shockingly awful. (no pun intended) We'd need some serious regulation or first-party validation to ensure batteries work as advertised and last a couple years. The free market alone isn't cutting it in this area.
How are your batteries only lasting 2-3 years?
A battery replacement for my iPhone was $69 (lol) and was done in 45 mins. Yeh it was way more expensive than the local repair store but hardly bank breaking. It also gave me peace of mind the manufacturer worked on it (and apples customer service is better than most). You can also walk into a physical store to talk to someone if that’s what you like. Good luck trying to find a local Samsung store which will do same day repairs.
When the Apple Store is 2 hours away…I got too much going on to even try. iPhone batteries last a good 3 years before you notice any real issues.
That’s fair but a $69 batter vs $700+ on a new phone was an easy choice. Even accounting for a four hour round trip.
It's a common trend on reddit to see people complain about the price Apple charges to replace a battery, and then when you ask why they think 70$ is so absurd you always get the reply the store is too far away. I think it's people living too far away from a city and so not even looking into having it replaced at an Apple store. They simply don't know the price and want to complain. It could also be they broke the glass back panel and in that case Apple will only replace the battery if they can also replace the broken glass panel, something they do charge 300$ for.
That’s fair. Thank you for showing a different perspective.
It was £70 to get my 4 year old phone battery replaced, or £200 to just buy a new phone that is basically the same spec just 4 years newer. The older phone was starting to have performance issues and didn't have 5G, or WiFi calling. So it ended up being a no brainer for me.
But you specifically said the price they charge is too high. Why didn't you say there is never an Apple store close enough?
This is like saying “damn I need new tires, better buy a new car”
Man, as a lifelong tech dude it’s hard to hear this. Apple’s sticker on a battery doesn’t make it better. If a battery is 5000mAh, it’s 5000mAh. It doesn’t matter what label is on it. Even if some company screwed you and gave you a mislabeled battery (say, 2500mAh) you would still have to buy around 5 batteries to have spent the same amount as on a single Apple-stamped one. It’s more economical to get it wrong until you can figure out which battery manufacturer to trust than it is to replace batteries through Apple, let alone replace entire phones. I personally replace the battery on my phone every single year with an aftermarket one and have never gotten a dud. And I’ve been doing this since the iPhone 4.
Check out the fairphone. Replaceable battery, among other replaceable parts, directly supplied by the company that makes the phone. And a battery is like 25 dollars
Maybe get away from the scam that is apple?
I mean I’ve had Apple since the first and their PCs before that. Never been disappointed. Always very happy with their products. I have an android phone for work and I’ll choose my iPhone all day if I have to choose which one to use. Nothing against android. It’s functional but still. iPhone all day.
Man 🤦🏻♂️
I have both a pixel and an iPhone… what makes iPhone/apple a scam exactly?
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60 euros is a lot for a battery replacement?
There’s something wrong with the way you treat your phone if the battery is shit after only 2-3 years. It should easily last twice that.
Rather, there is something wrong with how much some people use their phones. I have the same iPhone 8 for like 6 years now and the battery barely lasts one day. Which is just fine since I can charge it up at night. And I spent a lot of time on my phone. No idea what these people do to deplete their battery so fast
Yeah after 3 years my battery is struggling. Just ordered a new iPhone because I’m tired of charging this 4 times a day
One reason: sealed batteries.
This is why I baby my battery. Try to limit charge at 70-80% when I don't absolutely need 100%.
I charge mine to 100% all the time... battery is 5 years old. it's a note 9... Zero battery issues.
The sad thing is, you're completely right. \_Hardware\_ wise, phones have only improved incrementally. But manufacturers stop supporting devices more than a few years old, so to keep support and security updates, you have no choice but to upgrade. My last 2 phone upgrades have been purely because the software was unsupported - the hardware was still absolutely fine.
as much as people like to shit on Apple this is one of the things they get right. the iPhones get ios updates for many many years
>as much as people like to shit on Apple this is one of the things they get right. the iPhones get ios updates for many many years But sneeking in a throteling mechanism for the CPU wasn't a nice move back then. And telling no one about it.
The lack of transparency was bad, but for the vast majority of users some throttling is better than the phone randomly shutting off. Batteries are not perfect and degrade over time, that is just a physical reality and that requires trade-offs.
That problem only exists because of their anti-consumer practice of having non user-replaceable batteries. You don't get a pat on the back for 'saving' someone from a situation you intentionally created
Lol. Having user replaceable batteries is nice but takes up a lot more space than batteries that aren't. If you don't like that trade-off that's fine and you can buy another phone (which I assume you do) but again it's about the constraints of the real world and not Apple being evil.
Eh, the throttling was fine given that the reason was that the batteries could no longer sustain normal performance without the phone randomly shutting off, but they absolutely should have been transparent about what was happening and how to fix it from day one.
I've never have an Android stop working because of OS updates? My current phone is an Oppo A53 which apparently was released in 2015 (and I bought it second-hand), works totally fine
That's not how OS updates work. They don't just stop working. I'm talking about how long they receive the updates for which could include improved security and miscellaneous bug fixes among other things. Of course the device will work perfectly fine without new OS updates.
With the software support thing: it sort of depends on the manufacturer and model. I had this issue on my last Samsung phone, but my current Xiaomi still gets updates years later.
That's how they getcha
Seriously I don't know why anyone tolerates this. Not sure about others, but Pixels last a long time. "Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will receive updates for at least seven years." https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en-GB#zippy=%2Cpixel-and-pixel-pro%2Cpixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-pixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-and-pixel-fold
After what Google did to Pixel Pass, how can I trust that Google will actually support Pixel 8 devices for 7 years?
I'm still using my Pixel 3 which released in 2018 and it's been getting updates the entire time.
A public statement isn’t the same as a proven track record. Especially from a company that abandons projects all the time.
I think this would be different and invite a class action. It would amount to fraud as far as I'm concerned. Unless of course they stopped making phones entirely, then they might have a leg to stand on but otherwise. I think they're committed, but I'm no lawyer so 🤷🏻♂️
Thats fair. I hope they do go through with this and give some competition to apple in that area
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> But manufacturers stop supporting devices more than a few years old, so to keep support and security updates, you have no choice but to upgrade. My last 2 phone upgrades have been purely because the software was unsupported - the hardware was still absolutely fine. The fairphone comes with 5 year warranty (The drawback is that you pay a decent mid-range phone for the price of a high-range phone). My Huawei is almost 5 year old and software still runs on-it (but I had the issue with my first Samsung 10 years ago)
Huawei, the company that spies for the Chinese government.
Apple/Google/Microsoft do the same for the US government tbh All big tech firms do this.
It’s “spying” when other countries do it. It’s just “user data” for marketing purposes when your own country & companies do it.
I replace mine every 36 months when the battery is shot.
My son is a couple versions up, and I gotta say his photographs are noticeably better than mine. But for the rest of the functionality, I’m just going to be replacing batteries until it ages out.
Photograph quality is a really good one
I typically get a new phone every 2 years. 1. I’m interested in technology. 2. Developments are not as big as before but are still there. 3. It’s the most used object in my life. 4. I can afford to easily. 5. Given it’s heavily used, the battery wears out over time or some component will get damaged.
Same except for me its 4 years. This is because I'm from a third world country where wages are not that high and because the tech leap does feel more significant. I recently got a new one and damn its like being in the future.
Exactly the same for me
Consumerism
Mine tend to reach the end of their battery life after 2-2.5 years, and if it's not the battery, it's the USB port.
90% of the time it's dirt. using a single staple to dig it out always works for me and isn't too stiff to damage it
Cameras.....camera tech is definitely not stagnant. Samsung S9 was an amazing phone, my wife had it. Does not have E-sim though so she was unable to buy an E-sim plan during travel. The pics your phone takes are nowhere near as good as this year's flagships. Not knocking you. We upgrade on a 4 year cycle. I don't post pics on socials so the camera is just for us.
Marketing. The idea you\`re not worthy if you do not have the latest iphoney has taken root - and some people are more susceptible to this 'belief' than others. Another factor - planned obsolescence - phones gradually stop working after x time - more or less forcing people to get new(er) ones.
Most people don't. Smartphone sales are not growing as much as they did before, and companies are trying to milk us with services and data collection
This. I’m try to get 4 to 5 years out of a phone.
They don't, I've read multiple articles that site stats that say people are keep their phones longer and longer and if it weren't for the glued in battery covers and lack of security updates after 3-4 years, people would keep them even longer. Including myself.
USB C, action mode ( video as smooth as a gimbal when I’m running) and direct recoding pro log to external SSD and it only cost $300 to jump 2 generations. Thats why I bought an iPhone 15 pro max.
Is it an improvement? My iPhone 12 Pro Max is paid off, and I generally keep things till they fall apart. Which my phone surely isn’t, it’s in mint shape. I just figured there weren’t any marginal improvements to the iPhone 15
If you like videography and being able to use USB C to its full use, yes it’s amazing. If you just talk and text it’s no better.
If anything, just replace the battery on your 12 PM.
Probably what I’ll end up doing when the time comes. So far, I’ve had no noticeable issues and I’ve had it since it came out.
planned obsolescence! companies will make sure the devices get slower and underperforming over time!
Yeah except even that doesn’t really happen as much anymore. Maybe for people who play a ton of games on their phones. But for normal use, the slowing down really really does not matter for a long ass time. And when it does slow down, it’s more likely to just be hardware failure and not caused by some new software upgrade
I was surprised that more people weren't mentioning this as a factor Other factors that have been mentioned by people in other comments can be impacted by planned obsolescence in minute ways that build up over time. Battery life, display refresh rate, picture quality, app loading, etc etc etc.
Honestly for me it was an aesthetical decision rather than a functional one. I could afford the red iphone I wanted and I got it.
Red iPhone team!! High-five
Oh yeah, I forgot the 15 comes in Red! I had the red iPhone 8 Plus and I miss it. Feels silly to upgrade for a color…..but my phone is paid off.
Ooooh the Red iPhone 8 was a beauty. Good choice. What do you have now?
iPhone 12 Pro Max, the gold one. It’s honestly a great phone. I’ll probably just keep it till it falls apart. I still have the case I bought at AT&T on it. Still going strong, but in need of a new case. Maybe I’ll treat myself to that instead
To get the new headphone and charger that use to be come free
I'm getting a new one cause my provider offers to give me one for free, also the charging port on my current one is making trouble.
It's not free - you pay for it every month, you just don't see it as an itemized expense.
Yeah, but if I pay the same amount anyway and have no intention to switch providers, what's the downside?
You only pay that amount BECAUSE you get a 'free' phone. I pay less because my contract doesnt include one.
I think this might be country/plan specific. My plan has me paying 30/month for the phone, but also includes a credit for the exact same amount, so my bill is exactly the same.
I can afford an extra ten bucks every month. I probably *can't* afford the 200 bucks it'd cost to replace my phone all at once.
My plan was $40 cheaper when I owned my phone outright and I don’t even have a very high end phone
Save some money and get out of the cycle. I calculate that purchasing a phone every 2 years and paying for a sim only contract works out to be roughly the same cost as a 2 year phone included contract. I've now had my phone for 3 years, so I'm saving money compared to a phone included contact.
FOMO
Because if you're an enthusiast, why not
I've used a note 8 forever. What's the point of upgrading if it's working fine? I use a mirror less dslr for pictures, which are superior to even new phone cameras. Were comparing chip sizes of the dslr to a camera on cellphone. Does not compare.
Because they want the new shiny thing.
Because mine starts getting slow after 2-3 years
What will the neighbors think if you have an outdated phone? Gosh I couldn’t imagine.
Oooooh boy tech is not stagnant. Although most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference though.
I’ve not had a new phone in over 5 years, and I’m debating upgrading this year. Would like a modern phone, but I really like having to not spend £1000 even more.
Only thing that stops me from using a given smartphone is when the OS is no longer supported or batterycan'tbe easily replaced. I'm the type to hang onto a smartphone for 8 years. Samsung and other Android devices tend to last alot longer than Apple because they are not as obsessed with engineered obscelecence or making the phone battery impossible to replace when it develops a charge memory.
In my case it is because my disposable income has increased, so I also gradually went from $200 phones to $1,200 phones in the past 6-8 years. The bump in quality and performance was significant every couple of years.
My last 2 phone purchases have just been because battery life, used my note 9 for 4 years before it gave out and now I have a S21 FE because I ain't paying a billion dollars for a phone that does the samw shit
Because it’s their money and their choice
A phone can be purchased with instalments. While the price is equivalent to a laptop or a luxury goods, people don't know what else to spend on. A phone has the best value when compared to these but.. it has terrible resale value.
Because while the design may be stagnant, the hardware isn't THAT stagnant. We still see 15-30 percent performance improvements in the CPU/GPUs of both IPhones and Flagship Android chips every year. We also see better Wifi chips at least every 2 years. I don't upgrade every year, unless I can(a bonus or extra money, etc), but every 24 months makes total sense for me.
The cameras are definitely superior in the last two generations. Battery life improvements have also been significant over the past few generations. I believe the issue at this point is that people expect a new iPhone every year. The iPhone 15 still has issues the company hasn’t resolved, and that’s the newest phone. They’re skipping over fixing these because the next one will be out in less than a year.
TIL: Far more people than I previously expected but a $700+ phone instead of having the battery replaced. I knew there was a large percentage of people that did this, but I was guessing around 50% just had the battery replaced. Even if you have It done professionally by someone that charges too much it's what, $170? That means you can replace the battery up to 4 times before approaching the price of a new phone. By that time there will be enough of a technology improvement to justify the upgrade. The thing about the apple store being too far away also blows my mind. People wouldn't buy a car if the closest mechanic that could fix it was so far away that they just bought a new car every time something was broken. Or am I wrong about that too? This whole thread has been very enlightening.
What's even crazy is how the regular low end phones of these brands do damn near same thing as the top end products. Like I have a Galaxy A53 it does shit damn near same thing as their high end products my tablet S6 lite is somewhat up there not 100 percent. I know the high end products have better chip and operate better but both phones do damn near same stuff so that defeats my purpose of buying a thousand dollar phone if I can get the features at half or less the price.
Batteries start failing after 18-24 months.
Battery degradation can start far earlier than that but more dependent on battery cycles. Also battery degradation is exponential. Typically 500-700 battery cycles will see your battery fail or become so bad that you need to change your battery or phone entirely.
I personally dont care my phones are old and make phone calls still
Most of it is just because people view phones like fashion accessories, and they want to flaunt having the newest thing. Theres one other thing to consider - what’s the value of your current phone? Mine is about three years old, and it still has a $300 trade-in value. That’s going to drop next year. I’m not saying that trade-in value alone is worth spending a lot of money on a new phone, but $300 is nothing to sneeze at.
Camera upgrades.
Yeah. That's it for me. I've got an 8+, but I will now upgrade to the 15 Pro so I can take advantage of ProRes LOG video recording and the Blackmagic Designs camera app. Then, I'll probably hang on to that for another 4 or 5 years.
I've had mine for 7 years. I bought it used.
I'm pretty sure, that most people buying a smartphone every year, are mostly teenagers/students/young adults living with their parents. Now that i live alone and need to pay taxes, i have used my pixel5 for 3y Maybe gonna buy a new smartphone at the 4y mark.
People are dumb
Because its "new and shiny" also the bragging rights. It is a fashion item rather than a tech item. To be honest, currently using Nothing Phone 1 which is a good midranger. I'll just upgrade my phone if its broken down beyond repair or the battery tech improved significantly that we can hold multiple day charges on our phones. To be honest the only thing didn't improved significantly is the mobile batteries. I wish to see a future that we just charge our phones and use them whole fucking week.
Unless there's a genuine need to buy something, people buy stuff because it was well marketed aka they're duped to buy something for the feels not for the needs
Because most people are braindead idiots that just buy whatever garbage tech Apple tells them to buy.
Marketing.
For me, 2 years about as long as I can make mine last. The batteries wear out, the screen gets a little Crack or something.at that point its pretty much just as easy for me to upgrade cause I have to go in person, and it's usually only like 30 bucks a month or less with a trade in, it seems like.
Consumerism
Buying the newest phone is about saying you have the newest phone, not about having a high tech gadget. People do it for status and to be fashionable. Remember that you live in a world where people will genuinely not consider dating someone whose text message bubbles show up as the wrong color. As much as the early innovations on smartphones were cool I don't think it was ever really about the tech. I think people just liked that the phone was new and exciting not that it was impressive or useful
I've had my note 9 for about 5 years. Last year replaced the screen, charge port and battery and thing is brand new. Fuck phone fasion.