I have a Galaxy S10e, purchased the day it launched, 6 March 2019. Today, March 25 2024, it is 5 years old.

My phone is in good physical shape and running fine. The battery isn't quite what it used to be, but it loads web pages and apps well, the UI is responsive, I look at new phones and there's not a single thing there I want. When my previous phone, an S4 Mini, was this old (yes I had an S4 Mini in service for 5 years) it was getting kind of slow, there were apps in the app store that wouldn't run, I had replaced the battery...I still wasn't really looking forward to upgrading. My S10e is...fine. If it kept getting updates, I'd gladly keep it in service.

What's more, I look out at what they're advertising on phones now and I'm like "don't need that. Actively don't want that. Want to not have that. Okay the anti-glare coating would be nice. Don't need AI. Don't need titanium. I don't game on my phone..."

I'm still rocking a Galaxy S9+ with no intent of upgrading. I don't even know what phone I would go with if I did need another.

and then they break it and decide the cost of a repair isn't worth it

Yep, that was me with my previous phone, which I did indeed have for over 5 years.

But there's another major factor to it.

I use Android phones, which get official software updates for only a couple years (3 years for the most part). This includes security updates.

So when I got my current one it was one of only two I even considered, because only those two manufacturers promised 5 years of (security) updates at the time.

It has gotten better though, but except for Fairphone they're still all very hard or impossible to repair.

Every single phone upgrade since 2012 was because the battery would get so bad, it lasts less than an hour.

And before someone goes, "Ah try ifixit", the cost of the replacement parts was as much or more than just getting another used phone from like swappa. I've done the financial math countless times.

I miss buying batteries for like $20 and watching the phone become new again.

I as well. At the very least, we need some fucking differences in the market. Every phone doesn't have to be the same. Imagine the car market if all we could buy were Chrysler 300s. It looks sleek and nice but will crap out on you in a couple years and doesn't really fit in well with your career as a general contractor. When it dies, you have to go buy another one and start the cycle over.

That's why I'm eyeing to get a Fairphone as soon as my current phone breaks

My Fairphone does, and I have already purchased a batter for 35 euros, which I keep in my drawer. The phone is now just over 3 years old, probably in a year or so I will replace it. I am aiming for at least 6-7 years lifespan.

I'm still bitter about USB mass storage being removed for only MTP. MTP sucks, any time I use it for more than a few small files it always ends up dying partway through.

That's why I stick with Android 12, all my banking apps work just fine with magisk's DenyList. Heard that's getting tricky on 13 or 14.

And I absolutely need root to add system-wide adblocking and security features like Ice Box and Storage Isolation.

Buying a new replacement totally is upgrading though.

That's why it's so rare to find phones with easily changeable batteries as most phones are like new if you just replace that.

Personally, although the terms have become increasingly blurred over the years, I refer to changing to a new version of software (including an OS, and both ideally with some improvements) as updating it rather than upgrading.

I reserve upgrade more for changes of hardware with some form of improvement over its predecessor. I'd suspect I may not be alone in this, but I dunno how common it may be. When switching to a mix of both, I simply say I'm getting a new [insert specific device depending on which].

Although I'd hesitate to call many new phones an all-around upgrade when they're either removing features (headphone jack/expandable storage) or getting more cumbersome to hold (can you even call some modern phones a handset anymore?).

You can just buy a used phone too. An older pro is going to be better than the new A. Same price too.

Counterpoint: my eyes are not what they used to be 20 years ago and 6,5...7" screens hit the sweet spot for useability. Especially since bezels are super thin these days so a 6,7" phone today is barely larger in total dimensions than a 5,5" phone 6 or 7 years ago.

Pixel 4a checking in. 🙂

This. Had to replace my trusted s10e. Picked the smallest I could get, which was an s23. It's too big.

But it's got lidar so you can jack off hands-free by gesturing a jerking motion!

I did that but lost my headphones jack with connected built in quad DAC, a reliable fingerprint reader mounted on the back of the phone, and front facing camera that wasn't crammed under my screen causing an annoying dead spot...

Apple is also super good with software updates on old hardware.

Except for that time they deliberately slowed down older phones with software updates so people would buy new phones.

I feel it's time to upgrade when the latest and greatest just released again.

/s