You are an enabler!
I prefer to think of
@jamezr as “a comforting presence” lol. Actually I’m serious. I was over on the main part of the board and a couple of forum members made it known they think people who upgrade phones annually are “parasites”. But thinking as highly of Jamezr as I do, as well as my other fellow “phone hobbyists” here, I don’t feel quite as phone-shamed as I otherwise might. I feel I’m in unique and good company!
But it’s hard knowing some folks out there think annual upgraders somehow strip the earth of her rare metals and cause landfills to be filled and workers to be exploited. And that’s what they think of people who upgrade ONE phone annually. Since I got my S7/S7 Edge, I have been annually upgrading Apples and Samsungs and just added Pixel to the mix. I don’t want to know what that makes me to the MR community. I’m a smartphone Jezebel, I guess.
Well anyway, most of my phones stay in the family and only a handful have gone back to Apple, which we know recycles that which can not be refurbished and resold. So I’m not filling landfills immediately. When all of the family members who want my old phones don’t want or need them and I don’t need to trade for a discount or keep some for VR, I have found several local battered women’s shelters that will take any I have to spare. Still, I do feel oddly uncomfortable on MR sometimes talking about my smart phones because I did amass a small herd of them in the last three years.
Fortunately, I seem to have reached an odd plateau. My 8 Plus is all I want and need of an iOS device and will be staying with me. I have zero interest in upgrading to the new Apple notched life paradigm, and if I do want something different for awhile, I will just take my husband’s X. And he’s not looking to upgrade anymore, either. But his X display is crap so I won’t blame him if he does.
I’d love a Pixel 3 but I think they’re still not going to have it all pulled together this year. They just got their HTC team together. I’ve got a 2 year warranty on an amazing phone that manages to capture what my eyes see in person and make things look even more clear. It has front facing speakers! I won’t need to upgrade that. Lol, but if they put the headphone jack back on, I’m giving the Pixel 2 to the daughter who called dibs on it!
That leaves the S9+. If I get that, I get to the same place with Samsung as I am with Apple and my 8 Plus (and SE), I’ll have what I wanted a Samsung phone to be.
Just keep me away from The Essential 2 phone.
