Replacement cycle for smartphone
 

Apple has a new iPhone. Samsung has a new Galaxy. Are you going out and getting them? Or are you happy to buy a one year old model? A two year old model? Three?

I'm just curious how far or how close smartphones are from becoming a "mature product", meaning you usually don't buy a new one until the old one is several years old or no longer works. Think dishwashers.

I used to get a new phone every year, then changed to every two years, handing the old phones down to the kids. I've got a iPhone 6, if I get a 7 that'll still be a two year cycle, if I wait for the next one that'll be a three year cycle. PCs used to be on a three year cycle, now I think the industry is on a 4-5 year cycle.

I was just reminiscing the other day about how a $20 landline phone used to last 10 years or more.

Personally, we upgrade to the latest iPhone every other year. Wife gets the new iPhone and I get the S model a year later. She's skipping the 7, however, and sticking with her 5 Plus, which she loves. I like the improved cameras each year.

Speaking of cameras Mike. Any Irish pic's to share with us boys?

I'll pick a few and post up in the Irish thread.

Probably a good thing that she skipped the 7, they are having a massive recall for battery fire issues.

The upgrades from one model to the next are too incremental to be worth doing. I skip every other "S" generation. Currently on the 6S+; I'll wait until the 8S probably before I consider another upgrade. By then mine will be 3-4 years old and I'll have gotten my mileage out of it.

Yup, no reason to upgrade for me. I have a "6" and will stick with it for some time.

Perhaps it's time to dump the Apple stocks well. Doesn't seem to be too much excitement in the pipeline.

We generally cycle through the phones only when one breaks or we have a "free" upgrade.

For the average user, the state of personal computing devices is very mature and change has become as much a human factors, interface problem than advances in the underlying technology.

I speak at Unmanned Systems/Aerospace Conferences all the time and I always underscore the advances in supporting technologies that have enabled the rise of commercial drone usage. Smart Phones are very much a part of that revolution.

I think you're confusing the iPhone 7 with the Samsung Note 7, which is being recalled due to battery fire/explosion. Latest news is that Samsung may remotely deactivate the recalled Note 7s that are not returned after a certain date - that's what the company has said in France, anyway.

I've been doing every other year for the last little bit. I'm a Samsung guy. Went from GS3 to GS5 to GS7 (recently). By the time 2 years rolls around it's time.

I think now that the two major carriers are making you pay for your phone in full you will see people keeping them longer, and phone makers bringing out their new phones more slowly, unless they drop the pricing significantly.

happy to stop upgrading if there is a clear money saving alternative.

Back when AT&T was the ONLY source of phones, and we HAD to lease them, and could not even own the phone equipment the phones were 100% solid and 99% reliable. I only had one landline phone quit working and all I had to do was go to the AT&T office and they handed me a new one with no questions asked. In those days it was illegal to hook a computer modem into the network on a home line. Everyone did and there were no issues for our 300 baud manual dial modems that cost $600 and more.

AT&T was broken up, and then reformed itself back from the baby bells.

Now we have more choices for companies than one can imagine. I like my iPhone but have no burning desire to go get the newest phone. I have a iPhone 6S. I have not seen one feature on the new phones that would make me want to spend the money to get it. I usually go two to three models before I upgrade.

I am still enjoying my Samsung Galaxy S6, which to date, has been completely trouble free. I also have an iPhone 6S that work recently issued me, and I'll be keeping that as well. These are still nice devices, and I'm just not convinced I need an "upgrade" at this time.

I can attest to how solid they are. My brother hit me in the nose with the family phone when I was 4 years old. I still have the scar.
My iPhone 5s is doing just fine. I don't see any reason to replace it any time soon.
As for the in-phone camera, I find it useful but it doesn't need to be any better. I use it at Lowes and the hardware store to take pictures of the URLs of bolts and such so the cashier doesn't have to look them up. I can never remember the part number of the oil filter on my mower and you can't see it when it's installed. I stuck the iPhone down between the motor and the frame and blasted away with the phone. Finally got a good picture of number. Very helpful. But I have mixed feelings about phone cameras. . I get annoyed at public functions where so many people are holding phones up taking video, especially if I'm standing behind them.

I had a single flip phone for something like a dozen years before inheriting my girlfriend's iPhone 4S a year ago, so I'm inclined to say you can keep things a while :)

I think they are basically a commodity at this point for me. Im keeping mine until the battery life degrades substantially. My current phone is 3 years old and fine.

I also whill not be buying top of the line devices and will not be baited into a financing a phone with a "free" upgrade at this point. My wife needed a new phone recently and we bought a Motorola moto X for 300$ on amazon. Its fine. Im sure the better 700$ phones have some advantages but it seems 100% servicible to her / us.


Also I like headphone jacks :)

My iphone5 was getting wonky so I upgraded to the 6 last year and got it for free. My 5 has found new life with my daughter and a sim card. But it is still wonky. I'll upgrade when the 6 gets wonky. At 64 yrs old new technology leaves me "meh".

We are all still running Apple 5S phones. My daughter sat on hers and broke the screen which we had replaced in the Apple store same day service. The folks there were befuddled why we didn't 'upgrade' to latest model. Until a phone goes totally TU we are staying put. I cannot identify a single function that newer phones offer that I/we need. If a upgrade is required it will be a used phone 1-2 years old for ~$150/200.

The 5S is still a decent phone. If you run many apps you will indeed enjoy the speed of the newer phones. I was using a friends iPhone 5S this weekend and it does seem small compared to my 6S. I have the regular 6S the giant one. I think it is the perfect size.

I'm lusting for a new 64GB Moto G4 Plus. I always buy our phones on the cheap.