How long do you keep your phone?

[cluelessgenius]

i dont plan on replacing my phone on a regular bases. i keep it until i feel like i need a performance upgrade but as long as it does all the things i need it to i dont go out looking for cool new features or something. most of them are gimmicks anyway.

just recently i switched from my lg v30 to now my lg g8s for no other reason than that the stupid repair center thats partnered with lg around here say theyre waiting for parts and cant continue without them. so my v30 is out for repairs now for over a month and i thought fuck it ill just get something new and sell the v30 if and when it comes back at some point in the future. 

also not that it has anything to do with anything but working with the g8s right now i gotta say the performance upgrade is cool and all but the extra weight and thickness and just general bulk is hardly worth it and i thinking maybe when my v30 comes back at some point ill justgo back to it and sell the g8s. i dont need the newest phone i need one that works for me.

[NineEyeRon]

2 hours ago, minibois said:

My current phone is 3 years old and I have little to no reason to upgrade. I would if I played games or took pictures on my phone.. But I don't.

 

My iPhone 7 plays games brilliantly, do you have an Android phone?

[WereCatf]

My phone is 3 years old at the moment and I am going to have to replace my phone next year at some point and that's simply because OnePlus will stop providing security-updates for it at the end of 2019. If they continued to provide those updates, I wouldn't have any reason to get a new phone, since it keeps on chugging along just fine and provides all the features I need.

 

The poll doesn't have the option for "when my current phone stops being supported" and none of the options available fit, so I am not going to vote.

[minibois]

1 minute ago, NineEyeRon said:

My iPhone 7 plays games brilliantly, do you have an Android phone?

Yes.

My phone is also the same age as your phone and cost less than half of the iPhone 7 (at the time of launch for both).

 

What I mean by 'games' is 3D games, not 2D crap. But I don't play free 2D crap on my phone, so in my head I don't even count that.

Stuff like GameBoy Advance emulation plays fine, which is the most I would ever play..

[WereCatf]

4 minutes ago, Grand Admiral Thrawn said:

LineageOS

LineageOS is okayish and certainly an acceptable way of keeping old phones going -- I use it myself on my old LG G2 and G3. Alas, can't use it for my OnePlus since you lose Widevine when you install it, which means e.g. Netflix and the likes will be limited to 480p, which isn't a tradeoff I wish to make.

[Levent]

Depends on how shitty my phone OEM is. LG and Samsung are the OEMs that usually give their non flagship phones 1 major update then forget about it completely. Dont waste your money on a LG or non flagship samsung phone. If there is a significant aftermarket development for the device, you dont really care about OEM updates.

(which was the case with my S4 Mini, that device was shipped with 4.1 got a 4.2.2 and 4.4 update, and there has been a constant stream of flawless android 5,6,7,8,9 and 10 ports for that phone (Thanks to arco68), LG G4 was the worst phone I ever owned. LG straight up fucked this phone. It only got 6.0 while other 808 and 810 chips got 7.0 and even 8.0) 

 

Anyways currently using a Mi A3 that I got a week ago and I dont plan on changing this phone until the last security update is 6 months old. (So 4 years it is)

[Mark Kaine]

Usually between 5 and 6 years. 

 

Sent from my Xperia Z3 "compact"  ~

 

 

 

 

[D.U.F.F.]

I only have a phone at home (Huawei F617). Need to wipe dust and check if the phone still works. I haven't used it for months. I don't change my phone often because it is difficult to find a phone that is "stupid" enough

[Radioactive Snowman]

2 minutes ago, D.U.F.F. said:

I only have a phone at home (Huawei F617). Need to wipe dust and check if the phone still works. I haven't used it for months. I don't change my phone often because it is difficult to find a phone that is "stupid" enough

Nokia 3310 was revived not too long ago, the king of dumb phones

[D.U.F.F.]

2 minutes ago, Radioactive Snowman said:

Nokia 3310 was revived not too long ago, the king of dumb phones

It also has a camera, data connections and everything else that is unnecessary shit and it's is NOKIA

[WereCatf]

Just now, D.U.F.F. said:

and it's is NOKIA

What's wrong with Nokia?

[D.U.F.F.]

2 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

What's wrong with Nokia?

The only functional product that says NOKIA is rain boots.

[WereCatf]

Just now, D.U.F.F. said:

The only functional product that says NOKIA is rain boots.

I see. I guess I'll just roll my eyes and move on.

[PianoPlayer88Key]

Not nearly as long as I'd like.   And, overall, I'm spending WAAAYYY too much per year on phones, for the capabilities / specs they have.

 

• 2019-Q3: Google Pixel 3a - $400 (current phone)
• 2017-Q1: Moto G4 Play - $100 (no current security updates, GPS not working, etc)
• 2016-Q1: LG G4 - $350 (bootloop but fixed, no security updates, etc)
• 2013-Q2: Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G - (good deal on LG G4, still works but no more updates)
• 2008-Q4: T-Mobile G1 - (display / phone died.  This one did last longer than all my previous phones, combined)
• Moto Ming A1200 (forget what happened, but it was also time for Android)
• Moto MPx220 (may have no longer charged via cable?)
• Moto V300 (dropped camera on screen with phone open, destroying screen, camera survived)
• Moto V188 (forgot what happened but something died on it)

 

I for sure want a full-desktop operating system on my next phone, with true multitasking, freely arrangeable and sizeable windows, virtualization, ability to upgrade the OS myself (and be able to upgrade to modern OS's with security updates as long as desktop PCs can be upgraded - I hear some modern versions of Linux will run on a 386 or 486), etc.

[DesolationGod]

every few years or when it starts to get too slow, last one i had for like 3 years. 

[Mark Kaine]

7 minutes ago, DesolationGod said:

every few years or when it starts to get too slow, last one i had for like 3 years. 

This is what always gets me,  my phone is as fast as on the first day,  what are you guys doing with your phones that makes them slower? 

 

Note: my phone is now 6 years old... 

 

My previous phone a Xperia Z1 is also still as fast as on the first day,  the memory is almost full and the battery only holds charge for 10 minutes or so, hence I can't use it anymore... But slower.  How? 

 

That's not how tech works usually. 

[Musty]

Usually until it breaks and the cost of repairing it outweighs the value of the phone.

 

My OnePlus 6 is going strong a year and a half in, and i can't see replacing it any time soon unless there is a big leap in technology or it starts to slow down.

 

 

[Musty]

6 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

This is what always gets me,  my phone is as fast as on the first day,  what are you guys doing with your phones that makes them slower? 

 

Note: my phone is now 6 years old... 

 

My previous phone a Xperia Z1 is also still as fast as on the first day,  the memory is almost full and the battery only holds charge for 10 minutes or so, hence I can't use it anymore... But slower.  How? 

 

That's not how tech works usually. 

Updates generally, with the effect of resource use creep.

 

As more modern phones come out with better resources (RAM, CPUs), applications have a tendency to use more of them. If you keep everything up to date then eventually your phone isn't up to spec to deal with the demands being placed on it.

 

I do feel like this is much less of a problem at the moment because their haven't been major leaps in phone performance in recent years, more just incremental improvements.

[Mark Kaine]

33 minutes ago, MustyStag said:

Updates generally, with the effect of resource use creep.

Oh I can see that   just don't update = problem solved though.  

 

And honestly my phone *is* fast, I don't even know it's a quad core with I think 2GB, not too shabby!  And I agree,  performance or feature progression is nearly non existent in the mobile sector. 

 

I don't think I'll ever buy a phone with "finger print sensor" for example, that's just an all kinds of dumb feature imo - completely unneeded and a potential security risk also,  but people seem to think they somehow need this.  Why?  A pin lock is just as secure if not more secure... 

 

And it's just one more thing that can break, really just all kinds of dumb from a practical perspective.  

 

Imo, of course!  

[Kilrah]

Typing a PIN 50x or more a day gets old VERY fast.

[Mark Kaine]

2 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

Typing a PIN 50x or more a day gets old VERY fast.

I can't really relate because I type my pin only every 6 months or so... 

 

I have my phone always with me and no one touches it without me seeing it. 

 

But if I wanted it "more secure" I could surely type a pin, takes,  2 seconds?  

 

 

PS: I do understand the implication though, I just think it would be super annoying to me, altho I suppose you can turn it off. 

 

It's still a thing that can potentially break and lock me out of my phone which is why it's a 100%  no deal for me.  

 

*sent from my Xperia Z3 "compact"

[Founders]

7 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

Oh I can see that   just don't update = problem solved though.  

 

And honestly my phone *is* fast, I don't even know it's a quad core with I think 2GB, not too shabby!  And I agree,  performance or feature progression is nearly non existent in the mobile sector. 

 

I don't think I'll ever buy a phone with "finger print sensor" for example, that's just an all kinds of dumb feature imo - completely unneeded and a potential security risk also,  but people seem to think they somehow need this.  Why?  A pin lock is just as secure if not more secure... 

 

And it's just one more thing that can break, really just all kinds of dumb from a practical perspective.  

 

Imo, of course!  

You're concerned with the security risks of authenticating with your finger print but you won't update your phone with critical security updates? That makes perfect sense... Performance and feature progression is very existent in the mobile sector so I'm not sure what gives you that impression. They don't make leaps and bounds year to year but compare models 3-5 years apart and the improvements are substantial.  

 

7 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

I can't really relate because I type my pin only every 6 months or so... 

 

I have my phone always with me and no one touches it without me seeing it. 

 

But if I wanted it "more secure" I could surely type a pin, takes,  2 seconds?  

 

 

PS: I do understand the implication though, I just think it would be super annoying to me, altho I suppose you can turn it off. 

 

It's still a thing that can potentially break and lock me out of my phone which is why it's a 100%  no deal for me.  

 

*sent from my Xperia Z3 "compact"

I really hope you don't store anything on your phone that you deem to be important or sensitive. 

[Musty]

I don't really use iPhones, but they are useful as a point of comparison. Just on the basics of CPU and RAM, in the space of five years (iPhone 6 vs iPhone 11) they have gone from:

 

CPU: A8 (1.4GHz dual core) to an A13 (6-cores with two "high-speed" that claim to boost to 2.65GHz)

RAM: 1Gb to 4Gb

 

That is a pretty decent boost in available performance for developers to take advantage of (or to let them loosen their optimisation standards  I'm not always sure which is the case but the result is the same).

 

And the necessity of security updates is an important point. I'd much rather risk having a fingerprint detector on my phone, where someone still needs to have physical access to my phone to do anything, then leave known security flaws unpatched. Not that I ever use my fingerprint detector (the position of it is too awkward on the OnePlus 6).

[amdorintel]

phones in japan are ahead in tech then us in north america

thats what i hear anywayzzz

[Rubycon]

Whenever a new one comes out.  Mostly Samsung and Apple phones.  Tried some others and just feel they're not quite up to the giants.  Some are close and better buys for the money.  Just like wine and food, everyone has their own thing.  Typically I get 2-3 phones a year.