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

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.

10 years ago , been using hand me downs since

5-6 years at least

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.

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).

I keep using it as much as I can. Currently iPhone 16 that I don’t see upgrading it before the iPhone 21.

Before that, iPhone X.

So, moreless every 5 years.

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Last I heard, that was consistently 20% across Android and Apple.

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.

I spent a little more to get the upgraded newest model of the android phone I'm currently typing this on, released in January 2021 and received by me in March. I had to replace my previous phone because the battery started to fail and it was failing behind in Android versions, meaning some newer apps could no longer be installed and some older apps could no longer be updated. Current phone still going strong, no signs of being any slower than it was originally. Mostly have used wireless charging and battery protection schemes in the OS, so USB port still works well and charges just fine either way. I feel like phones hit a performance plateau a few years ago and I see no reason for an "upgrade". If my current phone needs to be replaced, I fully expect to be forced to pay more for less given the costs of memory these days. Previously I'd been basically forced to upgrade every 2 years because I always bought the contract special "free" phone and updates stopped or the battery pillowed.

I want to do now, I have mine since 2019 and still working but im tired of android

When my old one dies. Currently only on my 2nd smartphone.

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.

I used to change every 2 years. First, it was included in my mobile plan and each was really better than the previous one. Then, I took a plan without mobile. I bought one, I lost it after two years. I bought a really old second-hand one, it broke after two years and it was not updated anymore, so I changed. I bought a very old one that was not updated after two years. It was frustrating, so I bought a new one four years ago. I plan to keep it as long as possible now they are updated longer.

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.

Had my last smartphone, Honor 20, for 6 years, it didn't get any safety updates for the last 3.. Bought a refurbished iPhone 2 years ago, I will either use that until the safety updates stop or until I ragequit myself out of the modern society. Whichever happens sooner, following the ID laws and all.

But my main phone is a dumb Nokia I found from the trash. I don't see it breaking and they do sell aftermarket batteries still, so no issues. Can call mom and so on.

I use them until they're literally too broken to be worth fighting with anymore. Only then do I buy another one.

Still using my OP8T (kebab) from 2020. 6 years strong with LineageOS.

I'll wait till I leave the USA to swap to a new phone, just one more year...

I've had my current phone for about 5 years and am thinking of getting a new one this fall.

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 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.

When it dies or becomes obsolete (~5 years)

I think it's a tech fanboys rather than Apple fanboys that change it every year : one can observe the same modus operandi for Samsung.

Most Apple users will keep their device for a while, just as most android users. Those that change tend to value peer recognition above eveything else and having the latest gadget is a way to achieve that goal.

Four years. I'll typically buy a new phone, but an older model. I've still managed to always have a headphone jack!

About 5 years. I don't care much about the canera. I went from a note 20 Ultra to getting a red magic 11 pro late last year. It has pretty bad cameras but everything else is awesome and the battery will probably be what will eventually make me upgrade again. Just seeing how long it will last and how hard a time it will be to get a hold of a replacement battery. I know how to repair and work on phones and electronics, so doing repairs and getting to the battery isn't much of a challenge for myself, but getting batteries that aren't utter trash is a lot harder.

Until the security updates stop coming out from the manufacturer

About every 4-5 years, depending on how the old one is lasting. Typically, it’s battery life that frustrates me enough to go shopping. I have an iPhone 17 now, and this will most likely be my last apple. Prices are beyond justification

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.

Currently every 3 years for me. Normally it’s once the new models have enough added hardware features like better cameras, better microphones for video recording etc

It hasn’t been because my phone has been slow for many years because they’re at the point of being powerful even considering years of age.

I’ve only met one person who upgrades each year simply because a new phone is released yet myself and many others have iPhones.

My good friend gets a new phone as part of their plan every 4 years, so they give me their old phone and I give my old phone to my partner. Haven't bought a phone in over 12 years, but I guess you could say I change phones every 4 years.

About every 4 years.

I kept my last phone maybe 5 years. I replaced it because my bank's app no longer supported the old Android version and the mfg no longer provided updates.

I replaced it with a !LineageOS@lemmy.ml device because I decided not getting updates was a deal breaker.

i strategically bought a cheap s20 for ~80$ to wait some time for the market to be better. ~6 months later i bought a waay better phone, for a good price&quality.
the s20 had a huge black spot of broken pixels.
i still use it (its in my packpack RN). decent for extra storage or even LLM(slm). but the screen is flickering so i need to get the screen replaced ..etc

I use a phone till it stops working. Usually get 3-4 years out of it. I usually will buy a refurbished "flagship" phone from the previous year or two. I like a big screen and lots of memory. I'm currently using a pixel 9pro xl. It's fine. I like the idea of using graphene, but haven't yet summoned the energy to do it.

I don't understand why people would upgrade their phone every year. It's so wasteful, and there's barely any changes from year to year. Most of the larger upgrades these days are in software rather than hardware.

I’ve had my iPhone 11 for 7 years. I have no strong desire for a new one either. I just need to replace the battery on this one and it should be good a for a few more years.

5 years for the last one, hopefully much longer with this one.

Last one was an iPhone 13, but the battery was shot. I wanted to get out of bit techs grasp, so I gave that phone away and bought a Fairphone 6 and put e/os on it.