How long do you keep your phone before buying a new one? It is based on this article that especially Apple fanboys, buy a new phone every year when the new one comes out.
Samsung note ➡️ iPhone 6 ➡️ iPhone 10 ➡️ Pixel 8 ➡️ Pixel 11
all of my phones except for the newest have been hand-me-downs from my dad or sister. Also I planned on continuing to use my pixel 8 a lot longer but we’re forced to switch phone companies after 20 years and got ones as a signup bonus
I think I have you all beat. I’m still rocking an iPhone 6S Plus released in 2015. The latest update was for iOS 15.8.8 on May 11, 2026.
genuinely impressive given how lots of apps (and increasingly more of them, but afaik messaging apps generally still fall behind?) seem to require iOS 16 or later nowadays
I had the non-plus. The battery went poof on me and cracked the phone wide open.
About every 5 years. Also weird to hear that about Apple fans. Everyone I know with an iPhone uses it until they can’t anymore or it stops getting updates. Maybe we Europeans use our phones longer or something.
Apple fanboys, buy a new phone every year when the new one comes out
The ‘new phone every year’ types are usually on a contract with their carrier where they get the latest model every x amount of months/years. Most aren’t buying it outright
I keep my phones for 5-7 years. Generally once it stops receiving security updates I’ll get a new one
When my old one dies. Currently only on my 2nd smartphone.
I buy a new one when my current one is having so many problems it’s hard to ignore. I didn’t get a smartphone till 2020. Before then it was cheap pay-as-you-go phones. That phone was a moto g power and I had it till last year when it was getting to be too slow and the screen shattered when dropping it on my way out of work. I got a pixel 10 since my phone plan gave a massive discount on it.
Once every 2 or 3 years back when I was buying the stinky cheap ones. My current Pixel, however, is approaching 5 years strong. No good reason to buy a new one at this point, maybe until the GrapheneOS Motorola comes out since I don’t do anything computationally intensive on my phone.
I avoid it as much as possible.
The current phone I am using to type this right now is someone’s old phone that they graciously gifted to me when they went and got a new one.
Not going to spend lots of money on tech that is going to be called old in a year.
I use them until they’re literally too broken to be worth fighting with anymore. Only then do I buy another one.
only right answer imo /lighthearted
Every 5 years. For next year, I want to buy a custom Android (GrapheneOS - Motorola, or Degogled Android/Ubuntu Touch - Volla, or Fairphone with /e/ os), I will see.
every 5 years, which imo is even too often. the reason is usually a combo of os slowdown/battery life/lack of storage which really is a little ridiculous. f capitalism!
Four years. I’ll typically buy a new phone, but an older model. I’ve still managed to always have a headphone jack!
This is what I do. Last flagship iPhone I bought new when it came out was the 6S and ever since I’ve stuck to doing what you do (no headphone jack though!). I’ve gone from 6S > SE2 > 13 Mini > 17 Base Model
I use my wife’s old phone when she changes, which is roughly every 5 years or so. Chinese brand, excellent quality, running some fork of Android (couldn’t tell you which).
Until it is entirely unusable. My last phone I had for years after it stopped being supported, it would hardly charge, the screen was totally shattered, and I was still using it up until it bricked itself. I’ll probably see if I can convert my current GOS phone into a Linux phone after GOS stops supporting it, for security reasons to use a supported OS, but I want to minimise my contribution to e-waste.
Every 4 to 6 years; using Iphone.
Usually wait for some reason to change, which is almost always unrelated to features on new phones. Either the phone breaks, gets lost or there is something specific I want which my phone doesn’t have. Plan to get a new one this year to get a bigger screen, otherwise would have kept the existing one which works perfectly fine, does everything I need and is going on 6 years without any issues.
