How often do you get a new phone?

[Silverfly]

I'm thinking of getting a new phone for my birthday, and was just interested to know how often you would generally expect to get a new phone? Old one is working OK but the battery is starting to drain quite quickly.

Current phone is over 4 years old.
Wasn't the latest model when I bought it but it was brand new.
I'll replace it when it stops working (I suspect fairly soon)

My current phone is 4 and a half years old. I hope it keeps going until December when it will be 5 and I will replace it.

Every couple of years, the old isn't discarded though, I give them to family/friends.

Thanks all, interesting to read the range of replies.

I buy mine outright when the battery starts to need a lot of charging or it gets a bit laggy. Usually every 2-3 years. Then the great family hand me down starts! Two preteen DDs.

DH isn't interested in phones and has a really old one of mine too, but he barely uses it.

I think the I phone 5 must be one of the sturdiest phones I still use mine after 9 years as well.

My phone was the first phone I had new! I got it in 2016 and it will be no longer supported after the next os update. I’m thinking of changing it for that, battery and mainly because I’d like a better camera. I’m having trouble justifying it to myself though. DD can have it for music once I do upgrade.

When I break mine (once) or when it stops working properly - the battery draining would count as not working properly for me if its not lasting the day, because it's not really fit for purpose, but not if it just needs charging every night.

Every 2 years

Usual every 3-5 years. I find that at some point in that time frame, the battery stops holding charge for long enough to be practical, or other things go wrong. I only change when it needs it, not just for an upgrade. So wish the batteries could be changed.

I only change my phone when my current one is no longer fit for purpose.

I buy outright and use SIM only deals; I tend to do three years but really not keen on current phone so switching after a year

I used to get one every 2 years but this one is now 3 and I'm not looking to change it.

The phone I'm typing is is 4 years old and still works fine but if it had broken after a year I'd have had to get a new one.

The world seems to be split into those who treat a phone like any other item in their life and replace it when it's not fit for purpose and those for whom it's either a status symbol/have enough money to not mind about paying more than they need/get brainwashed into thinking you have to keep getting a new phone when your contract ends etc

Neither type of person is likely to change to being the other type so as long as everyone's happy with thier choice it's up to them imo

I buy outright and have a SIM only contract with the intention of keeping the handset as long as possible. In my experience though (probably because I don't buy top end handsets to start with) they don't last longer than 3 years. Last time I got a new phone it was because there simply wasn't enough storage on my old handset because all the apps had become so big and I couldn't put them on the sd card. I only had about 6 on there!

3-5 years.

@Equimum if it’s an iPhone, the battery can be changed.

I have an iPhone 8+ I’ve had for 2.5 years. I’m going to replace the battery once I can get to an Apple store (£49 for this type of phone) & hopefully it’ll last another couple of years.

I generally replace every 2-3 years (buy new, outright) but I’m trying to make it last longer to be less wasteful.

Every 3/4 years. Once it gets really slow and all the maintenance cleans don't make any difference.

I’ve only had 3 phones in my life! The throwaway attitude makes me despair, as does the apparent manufacturer’s built-in obsolescence.

Every two years usually but this time my phone is fine and I have got a sim only deal with more data and less than half rhe price I was paying on contract. We are expecting a 3rd baby and I will be going on maternity leave soon so the saving will get used elsewhere. I intend on treating myself though as soon as I go back to work.

Usually every two to three years, but my last few have been really cheap crappy low end smart phones that ran out of storage after about half a dozen apps.

But I did manage to sell all of them for at least 50% of what I paid for them so not creating waste electronics.

I now have a slightly better Motorola that's showing no signs of running out of steam at 18 months old, so I'll probably keep this until it breaks and get a newer Motorola at that time. I have no desire to change it before I really need to because I find the switching everything over and setting up the new phone such a bore.

@YanTanTethera123

I’ve only had 3 phones in my life! The throwaway attitude makes me despair, as does the apparent manufacturer’s built-in obsolescence.

I don't think anyone is throwing their old phones away. The majority pass them down the family or sell them on. That's not a 'throw away' attitude.

I have Apples. I get the latest model available and aim to keep them for the 5 years until they’re no longer supported, replacing battery:screen along the way if necessary (although one battery replacement on my last phone bricked it and they gave me a replacement).

If you do replace the battery make sure it's a properly rated one. I've heard horror stories of house fires caused by counterfeit batteries bought unsuspectingly from amazon/ebay etc as the Chinese sellers on there aren't bothered about outright lying about what certifications their products have.

I try to get an extra year or so after my contract is up to feel like I've got my money's worth. This phone is currently 1.5 years old because I got it replaced through insurance but should technically be 2.5 years old.

Thinking about using this one for another year or so then going back to an iPhone. Currently have a much cheaper tariff which is nice.