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.

I'm a retired geezer who has absolutely no use for a smart phone. I did buy a base trac phone to make calls with. This simply because there aren't any pay phones these days. I buy $100 worth of minutes annually, never use them all. I call it my $8.33 per month plan.

Seriously, I feel sorry for people so addicted to their phones...

You would be surprised, Paul, at the uses you do have for a smart phone you just aren't aware of.

My phone gives me a freedom of maneuver and insight impossible for a business owner 15 years ago. I am not addicted to it, I appreciate it. I also turn my phone off before I go to bed. Anyone I care about still has my land line number.

Manage technology, don't let it manage you.

I have a feeling the 5s will become the G50 Carrera of smartphones. It's an iconic brand, does everything it ought to do reliably, it's issues are well known by now, the models that followed don't offer enough new to the basic concept to be worth changing.

Also another Apple iphone 5s user here. The 4s would take forever to upload updates. Also the fitbit app slowed it down and battery needed to be charged too frequently.

The 5s is not much more expensive per month. I text my daughter in Ireland on the unlimited texting plan. Flat fee per month. I use it for phone calls, fitbit app, the weather, emails etc. No point in getting an iphone 6/s. They were wanting a $1000 can a few months ago for one. :)

Every 2 years for me. 4.5,6 and now a 7+ has been pre-ordered.

+1. I purchased one smartphone from ATT (iPhone 3GS) so far. The rest are from local Craigs list.

You have a point. My kids and even my wife are totally addicted to social media and news. I have none of that on my phone. Beyond basic phone OS functions the only apps I have installed on mine are Pandora, Paypal, Uber, Waze, and Zillow. Built in GPS, particularly Waze, has proven invaluable for me as I travel often between SD and Santa Barbara and most trips are updated in route due to traffic patterns. Awesome.


I'm going to need a ton more innovation, or hardware failure, to be convinced of an upgrade.

With smartphone repair easily available now, I'm finding the life of these phones can be extended a lot. $80 to replace battery, $100 for a screen. No longer do my kids get new phones when they break theirs.

I only buy when my old one breaks.

2010 was my first smartphone. It was a Motorola Atrix that I only got because it was free, and was given to all employees at that company. It broke in 2013 so I got an iPhone 4s, which broke this year, so I got an SE.

I still have my 5S, 64bit, and very little use (was my company phone for the bed biz, and not good Sprint coverage in Naples ) keep as a backup, but my daily phone is a Galaxy 5S, with a Zerolemon battery. Too damn cheap to buy a new phone, even waited till they offered the $95 upgrade before getting it.
The iPhone is the only phone bought when it came out, my former partner had the business buy all new phones when we switched services, he and I got the fully loaded ones (he chose em)
When sprint offeres me another deal where a new phone is the same cost as replacing the battery, if my battery is going bad, I might upgrade again.

I agree that upgrading has slowed, partly because of the phones but also because the payment options / plans have changed. How in the world the phone companies let that happen is beyond me. You'd think they had enough influence on the carriers to lobby to continue "free" upgrades and have the cost of the phone hidden in the monthly fee.

Personally, the only reason I need to upgrade soon is the fact that my old eyes will enjoy the larger screens available. I would like the 7 plus because it is water tight, but not sure if it will be a big advantage compared to the deal you'll get next spring on a 6S plus ...

G

I wonder about that too.

$700 iPhone - $200 upgrade fee = $500 cost to carrier. $500 / 24 mo = $20/mo. Seems ATT could charge $20/ mo more if they still offered phone upgrades.

Suppose the carrier doesn't sell, but leases the phone to the customer for 2 years. Can the carrier then take the depreciation? Depreciation on all the iPhones sold each year in the US would be something like $40BN. Or like $15BN of tax deductions.

Bought my daughter a new phone for her year overseas, she chose an iPhone SE because it is small, looks just like the 5S, and cheaper. Basically the same internals as the 6S in a 5 size package.

By the way, Apple probably can't believe it's luck. Right when you launch the iPhone 7, Samsung has to recall its Galaxy Note 7, which it rushed to get out before the new iPhone. Its Christmas in Cupertino.

The SE is the best bang for the buck hands down and would be my choice if I didn't want a larger screen.

No kidding on the Samsung - that is a nightmare to happen at launch. Doesn't speak well for their quality control. It sure isn't turning me on to a Samsung ...

G

Both my wife and I have had Bluetooth issues. Not sure why. Mine started off fine, but recently (past couple of months) has been dropping the connections, until a reboot. I've been considering upgrading to a 7 to regain the micro-SD card and the water proofing.

A note on waterproofing. My IP68 Gear S stopped working after a swim. I suspect that the SIM card area was not quite sealed. The newer phones do not have replaceable SIM cards.

I don't think any of these smartphones are waterproof enough for swimming, regardless of what IP rating they claim.

Smartwatch: Samsung Galaxy Gear S

iphones are amazing but this was the bomb....http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1473792699.jpg

^^^I actually have one of those! Obviously not active, but I should dig it out just for grins!

Or the top of the line cell phone for $50.

I always buy last years model, price is always knocked down while everyone clamors for the latest/greatest, plus that gives them a year to work the bugs out.

We try to hold on to out phones for around two years (presuming I don't forget it in my pocket and it goes through the wash... yes I know the rice trick but it doesn't always work).

Seeing as we are now paying $300-$600 for a phone it seems prudent to try to get as much life out of them as possible.

I'm still using a Galaxy S3 and see absolutely no reason to "upgrade".
It was a replacement for my Blackberry 890, which was a replacement for my LG flip-phone.

And I still have a Western Electric 2500 series connected to my land line. Best damn desk phone ever made.