Anyone else finding it harder and harder to upgrade their mobile phone?

[spudbynight]

I used to upgrade my phone on a regular basis every 12 months. At the moment though I have an iPhone 7 Plus and am on my 3rd year with it. I'm out of contract soon and I will probably take another 12 month sim only deal. In fact, I am happy to keep this phone until I stop getting updates for it.

This isn't a question about iPhones, but about phones in general. I've moved between Android and Apple over the last few years (I even had spells with Windows phones devices)

I've never felt so unimpressed with mobile phone development as I do now. The entire industry just seems to be playing things safe. I can't think of a single compelling new feature in any new phone that I need. What also compounds this problem for me is the increase in price of new phones. I don't mind spending more money if there is a compelling value argument. The thing is when faced with the choice between sim only at £20 per month or £65 or so for the latest handsets, I struggle to see any reason to pay the extra.

 

[Rroff]

Still on my Note 4 here - not a single meaningful innovation since for me except USB-C, curved/bevelled, notched or edge displays do nothing for me and too many move towards removing 3.5mm socket, removing sd card slot and/or non-removable battery.

Struggling to find anything that makes me actually want to part with my money.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Similar situation with the XS Max.

Ive always swung between iOS and Android, and have always preferred Android (well, stock android), but lately, nothing has come out that makes me want to switch/upgrade.

Before this device, I had a Pixel 2XL, and while it was good, I had so many issues with it. The 3XL didn’t interest me, with a large notch but no Face ID to justify it.

My XS Max has been great - borderline problemless and the gesture based navigation is leagues ahead of any competition, in the way it works and is implemented. It’s the first iPhone to really convince me of staying with iOS, so much so I got an Apple Watch and an iPad.

I hate curved displays with a passion, hence every Samsung flagship is out of the question for me. As are new OnePlus flagships.

The iPhone isn’t perfect, but as a package, it does everything well enough to keep me happy

 

[Squink]

I find it harder to upgrade but it's because if I'm spending £1000, I expect a device that works exactly how I want it to work. It means I end up focusing on the issues that otherwise wouldn't be too important to me (e.g. camera good but not as good as phone X, wrong type of fingerprint reader, battery that is good enough but not great etc). In the end, I keep waiting, but it's not because I'm looking for a once-in-a-generation innovation to make me want to change phones.

 

[benparker]

I tend to get new phones every year but wait a few months for prices to drop.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

My iPhone 7 will replaced with the cheapest available iPhone when it dies just to retain iCloud access.

 

[Cromulent]

I'm still rocking my OnePlus 6. The only reason I'm buying a new phone is because I need one for business and I'm getting the cheapest one I can that has NFC and a fingerprint sensor and is dual SIM.

 

[Scam]

Very hard because I want a phone that'll actually fit in my jeans pocket (so less than 6" tall) and with a headphone jack too. And vanilla Android.

I certainly wouldn't be buying Apple shares. We've hit peak phone, better resolution means nothing on a handhel device, Dolby Atmos? Lol pull the other one. All people need now is better batteries...

 

[Grimley]

Very hard because I want a phone that'll actually fit in my jeans pocket (so less than 6" tall) and with a headphone jack too. And vanilla Android.

Pixel 4A.

I've found that when I was looking for a new phone in the last couple of months that:

The chinese phone manufacturers are making inroads over here & in Europe. The choice of models that they are releasing beggars belief, new models are released almost weekly.
Example of this is the Xiaomi Poco X3. Cost just £200 yet it has features on a phone almost double the price. Phones are getting bigger for the sake of the battery, people want their phone to charge quickly & last a while. I bought a Realme 6 last month, it lasts 2 days on a charge & charges from 15% to full in under an hour, near enough plain android though there are adverts here & there, but not enough to bug me. It does irk me though this phone was only released in April & is been superseded already.

 

[spudbynight]

Pretty much the only thing I want to see in phones now is longer battery life.

 

[Steeps]

I'd still be using my Nokia 930 if whatsapp hadn't been removed. After 5 years of service not a scratch on its screen, fits in the hand perfectly, (not a tablet), good clear oled screen, headphone socket, wireless charging, never felt slow, camera shutter button. I "upgraded" to a P20 pro and apart from the camera I don't feel like I've upgraded at all. I've lost more features than I've gained and now looking at the phone market it's not getting any better. I'd rather have a smaller screen and a thicker device to take a bigger battery.

 

[keenan]

I'm a big fan of Xiaomi phones and ever since buying the Redmi Note 3 Pro in 2016 I decided to never ever get a contract or a flagship phone again.

I set a budget of £200 and upgrade every 2 years. That along with a £10/month SIM only expense works wonders on a budget..

 

[Charlie Bravo]

I also used to upgrade every 12 months and then 18 months when 18 month contracts became the norm.

I've currently got a OnePlus 6T but the majority of handsets released since, haven't been good enough to tempt me.

I can't stand curved screens and have little interest in under screen fingerprint readers. They simply don't work as well as those on the rear of the handset.

The ever increasing megapixel figures also fail to impress. I wish they'd just stick a larger sensor in there but there we go.

 

[Squink]

I can't stand curved screens and have little interest in under screen fingerprint readers. They simply don't work as well as those on the rear of the handset.

I was running a OP 8 Pro (optical in screen fingerprint reader) alongside an iPhone 6S (TouchID) recently and I honestly didn't notice any difference in either speed, reliability, or how prone either were to failure because of hot/sweaty fingers.

Unlike the ultrasonic fingerprint reader in Samsung phones, which was, for me, absolutely awful.

 

[Nexus18]

Yup, literally the only things newer phones have over my gs8 is better camera (mainly for low light conditions), near bezel free screens (not like GS 8 has huge bezels though) and latest software updates (joke that the gs 8 didn't get one ui 2.5 given the gs 9 did....)

 

[biron_w]

The thing that puts me off buying a phone is the hole punch camera. It just looks awful. I know people complained about The Notch but they never bothered me and I think a punch hole looks way worse. I've just got a Poco F2 Pro and I absolutely love pop up cameras. So until we get under-screen cameras I'll wait til I get a new phone.

 

[FishLicker]

Agree with you OP. As someone who was once a well known serial phone swapper, I find it amazing that I am still using a phone from 2017 (Pixel 2 XL), and having waited YET again for a decent replacement from the Pixel line, Google goes ahead and offers a midrange device that ultimately barely moves the game on at all. Although everyone is getting all moist for it, because it’s not £1,000. But it is STILL £600! Thats a lot of money for most people especially in todays uncertain times.

Advantages of the Pixel 5 over the 2 XL:-

8Gb of RAM - Yes, it looks like a great spec bump on paper, but honestly, I’ve not had an issue with the amount of RAM on the 2 XL
128Gb Storage - Again, a nice bump up, but I don’t use the 64Gb I have now, after all Google encourages streaming, which is what I do. 128 isn’t enough to go fully offline either.
90Hz Screen - More of a nice to have than anything essential. The bump in image quality is more worthwhile (if it delivers)
Wireless charging - Now I do miss this from my Samsung, but it can essentially be added to the 2 XL for £10
Bigger battery - Seemingly now a secondary concern since I don’t often leave the house now

On top of that, some things you could argue are a downgrade:-

1080P screen is less dense than that of the QHD on the 2XL
No front firing speakers
Less premium build and design

And a few things that really should have amounted to more:-

Camera - probably the biggest disappointment, again. The Ultrawide lens isn’t as wide as it should be. No telephoto. Selfie cam narrower FOV for the second year in a row. Same sensor again.
Biometrics - I’d argue they’ve gone forwards then back again, understandable in current times, but still, no innovation. It works, but the lack of ANY FaceID unlock is disappointing
Headphone jack - they could have gone and bucked the trend, but nope, opportunity missed

And its not just the Pixel:-

iPhone - sticks to the same design year after year, no 90Hz+ screen, very expensive, still uses lightning port, iOS is still more restrictive than Android
Galaxy S20/Note 20 - Beast of a phone, but here they are yet again handicapped by a sub-par SOC which is unacceptable when its the same price as the Snapdragon (£££££)
OnePlus - Competitive hardware but again seem to come with compromises, and the OS is going away from stock more towards Samsung/LG

I could go on, but yes, it’s safe to say I agree with you. There seems to be little incentive whatsoever to replace a phone that is coming up to 3 years old and will probably keep for a fourth. The funny thing is, we can probably all say what we want out of a phone but nobody seems able to deliver it.

 

[Randomface74]

Still using S6. Refuse to buy a phone with a hole in the screen and no headphone jack.

 

[Scam]

I set a budget of £200 and upgrade every 2 years. That along with a £10/month SIM only expense works wonders on a budget..

Same, although I don't set a budget and just aim for what seems reasonable at the time. Currently got a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite which is awesome. Android One all the way... £10 Giffgaff, job done. I can't imagine why anyone would want a phone contract nowadays. It seems so old fashioned for 2020.

 

[Squink]

I can't imagine why anyone would want a phone contract nowadays.

And somehow EE have been allowed to increase their in-contract prices by CPI PLUS 3.9%, as opposed to the usual CPI increase (which is in itself a load of ********). Imagine buying in Feb and having your contact price shoved up by 6 or 7% a month later, with another similar rise to follow 12 months after that.