Why replace your phone every year, if it gets up to 7 years of software updates?

If you replace your phone every year because you believe you are buying a better device, I have an island on Mars to sell you.

Apple iPhones get a minimum of 5 years of software updates. Google’s newer Pixel devices get up to 7 years, and the same goes The more recent crop of Samsung phones get up to 7 years. Nothing smartphones get 3 years of Android updates. So, why exactly are people replacing their smartphone every year?

It doesn’t make sense to me. The whole idea of software support is that mobile users should be comfortable using their devices years after their release dates. But it appears that people really do prefer to replace their smartphones every year. At least, a highly vocal, visible demography of users, at the least. What is really interesting is that it is this very vocal demography that advocates and agitates the most for years of software support.

The paradox is interesting to see. People advocate for a benefit, then totally make buying decisions that ignore that very benefit. That is really wild.

Someone will say newer hardware is why they do it. That isn’t a satisfactory answer to me. Why? Have you compared the differences in hardware with each yearly release? Have you compared the hardware of iPhone 15 to that of iPhone 14, and that of Samsung Galaxy S24 to Samsung Galaxy S23? If you haven’t, you should.

I have, and I can tell you, straight up, that the differences are marginal. Nothing groundbreaking. Nothing that moves the needle significantly. The phone brands print a number of buzz words to market the newer releases, but if you look at the specs and features, you are spending $1,000 or $500 or $250 every year in essentially the same phone. At least this is true for most phones released two years apart. Most of the time, it isn’t until the 3rd year that the hardware difference makes any sense.

You could put an iPhone 12 and an iPhone 15 in a photoshoot, and you would be disappointed to find out that you have to pixel peep and squint to notice any difference in the photo results. The same is true for performance, battery life, and other features. Do you really replace your phone because of a 10% improvement in performance – a performance difference that makes zero difference in your every day usage of the device?

If you are one of the few honest individuals around, you might admit that you replace your phone every year to keep up with the Joneses. Only a very few individuals will be that honest. And if that is what you want to do, that’s fine. I imagine that there is some validity in that. But if you replace your phone every year because you believe you are buying a better device, I have an island on Mars to sell you.

Your premium flagship smartphone will remain powerful and up-to-date for years after it was released. For example, my Lumia 950 was a better camera phone than the flagships from Samsung, Apple, and other brands for two years after its release in 2015. What would be the point of replacing it in that period?

Your Apple iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 run the exact same apps and services that the iPhone 15 does. Why replace the former with the latter? Skip the 15. Maybe skip the 16. And should you skip the iPhone 17, I assure you that you wouldn’t be missing much either. As a matter of fact, if you are like most smartphone users, you do not use most of the processing power and features of your device. So, why replace your phone every 12 months?

As a gadget reviewer, I enjoy the privilege of having multiple devices pass through my hands every year, and so I get to indulge myself and switch phones often – sometimes multiple times each year. But I am clear in my head about it: if my job did not require it and make it easy, I wouldn’t catch me, dead or alive, replacing my smartphone every year. I’d use each one for the lifetime of available software support and only when support ends, or the phone dies, would I replace it.

Yes, I would replace my phone every three (3) to seven (7) years, depending on the software support policy of the brand in question. My last car was purchased brand new and it saw 11 years of usage before I sold it. My shoes last for years of usage. The same goes for TV, fridge, and pretty much everything else. Why would I want to switch my phone every single year?

Ask yourself the same. Perhaps you replace your phone every year only because marketing buzz words are messing with your head. They are likely messing with your finances, too.