Asklemmy

I used to get a new one every two years. Back then the changes were big enough to make it worthwhile. Nowadays there is not much to get from a new phone other than the hardware keeping up with the software and an improved camera.

I'd say, as with any device, keep it until it annoys you or doesn't get any more security updates.

My iPhone 11 from 2019 starts to feel laggy and the touch screen is not responding as well anymore. Battery health is still over 90% but due to higher energy demand of the newer OSs and apps I often still need to juice up during the day. So this year I'm finally going to get the new model but I'll keep the 11 as a webcam.

I do it because it might fill the terrifying emptiness inside me for a moment or two. Looking forward to trading my Z Fold 4 in for a Z Fold 5 soon!

Only reason I see is because of phones breaking. My current Mi 10T Lite was great for the first two years, then it started getting annoying. I can no longer use Wallpaper Engine because of a stupid system update, notifications started getting stuck, sometimes it has other minor annoyances. The hardware is still fine, there's no reason this phone shouldn't work, but it doesn't. Xiaomi clearly wants me to go buy another phone.

So I did. Just not from them. My Fairphone should be arriving any day now. My friend already got hers, and she got me super excited for it.

I have a Note 10+

With the way it's measuring up today for performance and battery life, if it were going to keep getting OS updates and security updates it'd keep being a great phone for another couple of years yet.

...And compared to some I know, I'm updating frequently.

I really do wish they'd squeeze another 1-2 OS updates into it's life-span. But at this rate I'll still be replacing it with whatever its up-to-date peer is in another year or so...

...and re-purposing this one - it's still awesome (awesomer if it allowed root without losing updates and pay-services)

There's an actual reason for me, which is still not good enough of a reason for me to actually buy a new phone even if the old one is still working. Emulation! My Snapdragon 888 is good enough for 3DS, PS3 and Wii and all this stuff, but it can't keep up with the current develpments in Switch emulation. That's why I'm already looking forward to my next phone (as soon as my current one doesn't work anymore)

i upgraded from a samsung galaxy S9+ to a S21

Reason?

better battery. the old was too poor to last more than half a day.

the apps are the same, and honestly apart from the ultrawide camera, the pictures look so identical i cant really tell them apart.

i did notice a slight improvement in loading times of a game, but.. its 2 second difference. nothing major. and also the new screen is a bit brighter, but the resolution is lower.

i miss my S9+. it was great.

My S21 is 2 years old now, and still holding strong. It'll probably be replaced in 2025 or something. It'll all depend on the battery. but i live in EU, so i may be holding on till we see the EU law with replacable batteries come into effect. then i can use the same phone for even longer. spend my money on more interesting things, like graphics cards and mechanical keyboards.

Sorry for hijacking this thread, how do you like the Poco F5? It's currently on my radar

I use my phones until the battery life is too degraded to be practical and the phone is too damaged to have the batt6replaced. My Samsung A71 is about 3 years old. Some months ago I noticed the battery was pillowing. Since it was still holding charge for more than a day, the guy at a repair shop (where I took it to get a new battery) just punched a pinprick to deflate it, and it's still going strong.

I usually break my phone within 12-18 months because they're so damn cheaply made. Why so much glass?

If I could go back to a Treo600 I would do it in a hot second, that was a great phone. I had it for years, it was mostly plastic that I beat up quite a bit, but they use gsm bands that aren't supported anymore.

I had to wait 6 years untill someone released a device that's atleast in some aspects better than the one I already had. If I were forced to switch every year I'd hate most of them.

Switched from LG V20 to Galaxy XCover 6Pro

Every year no.... Every two maybe, most stop receiving updates after the 2 years, except for some brands and maybe top models...

Nowadays it's slightly better as usually there is a couple more years of security updates but that's it.

Of course if there is scene and you can get some custom ROM like lineage or similar it is slightly better.... But honestly most phones nowadays are locked down.