Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Other How long do you keep your phone?

How long do you generally keep a phone?

  • Total voters
    419
eyoungren said:
This was my shortest upgrade to date. 1 year 9 months. Pixel 3a XL to iPhone 11 Pro Max. Delivered yesterday.

View attachment 1736110View attachment 1736111
Click to expand...
Wow you're back to an iPhone! With the hump! I never thought I'd see the day. :) Glad you're back on Apple. The 11 Pro Max was a great great phone. I should have kept it but Apple's advertising and iUP makes it too easy to part with my hard earned $. That said, I am more set than ever to keep what I have for a few years before thinking of upgrading.

I usually kept my phones 2 years but got in the bad habit of upgrading yearly after the X.

Folks like yourself are good motivation for those of us that could be saving so much more $.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eyoungren
bingeciren said:
Started with 3GS in 2008, then 4, 6 and now X in 13 years. So, 13years / 4 phones = 3.25. A little over 3 years on the average it seems.

However I hung on to my 4 and 6 for 4 years. 3GS was the shortest lived phone I had, Also it appears that my X will be 4 years old before I consider replacing with a 13.

So, if we discount the short lived 3GS, 4 years seems to be the norm for me.
Click to expand...
I think the 3GS was later than 2008.
 
BigMcGuire said:
Wow you're back to an iPhone! With the hump! I never thought I'd see the day. :) Glad you're back on Apple. The 11 Pro Max was a great great phone. I should have kept it but Apple's advertising and iUP makes it too easy to part with my hard earned $. That said, I am more set than ever to keep what I have for a few years before thinking of upgrading.

I usually kept my phones 2 years but got in the bad habit of upgrading yearly after the X.

Folks like yourself are good motivation for those of us that could be saving so much more $.
Click to expand...
Technically, I could have remained on my 6s+. It's still functioning just fine and I use it when I go out on bike rides. But I wanted to move up. While I am still not a fan of the fugly camera bump, it would seem that the 11 has diminished just how far out the bump comes.

At least I tell myself that. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
Still have my 256 XS. Battery still great. Had for 2 years. Still owe 350 on it. I wanted a 12 but trying to be fiscally responsible with my Apple purchases.(Quite a feat for me). Thinking of getting a 5s and telling everyone it’s the new 12 mini.
I have a 11 from work and it’s way to big for me. Like the camera tho. Maybe at this point I’ll be looking for a 13
 
  • Like
Reactions: Devyn89 and MacLappy
My Mobile Handsets History since I got my first phone in December 2000:



  1. Siemens C25
  2. Siemens C35
  3. Samsung N620
  4. Motorola Razr V3
  5. Sony Ericsson T610
  6. Sony Ericsson K700
  7. Sony Ericsson K750
  8. Sony Ericsson P990
  9. Nokia N95
  10. Nokia N85
  11. iPhone 3G
  12. HTC Desire
  13. HTC Inspire
  14. Samsung S3
  15. Samsung S4
  16. Oneplus One
  17. Samsung S6 Edge
  18. iPhone 6s Plus
  19. Samsung S7 Edge
  20. iPhone 7 Plus
  21. iPhone X
  22. Samsung Note8
  23. Pixel 3 XL
  24. iPhone XS Max
  25. iPhone 12 got it december 2020. So 25 handsets in 20 years.
 
  • Like
  • Wow
Reactions: dk001 and BigMcGuire
Adnanw said:
My Mobile Handsets History since I got my first phone in December 2000:



  1. Siemens C25
  2. Siemens C35
  3. Samsung N620
  4. Motorola Razr V3
  5. Sony Ericsson T610
  6. Sony Ericsson K700
  7. Sony Ericsson K750
  8. Sony Ericsson P990
  9. Nokia N95
  10. Nokia N85
  11. iPhone 3G
  12. HTC Desire
  13. HTC Inspire
  14. Samsung S3
  15. Samsung S4
  16. Oneplus One
  17. Samsung S6 Edge
  18. iPhone 6s Plus
  19. Samsung S7 Edge
  20. iPhone 7 Plus
  21. iPhone X
  22. Samsung Note8
  23. Pixel 3 XL
  24. iPhone XS Max
  25. iPhone 12 got it december 2020. So 25 handsets in 20 years.
Click to expand...
Wow, I'm surprised you remember them all. I've not had that many, buit I don't think I can list out all the ones I had. My first was a Nokia 3210.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dk001
Quackington said:
Wow, I'm surprised you remember them all. I've not had that many, buit I don't think I can list out all the ones I had. My first was a Nokia 3210.
Click to expand...
I have always kept list of handsets I have been using since 2009 which I have been updating. i recalled all the handset I used before 2009 which was not that difficult. Each and every handset I bought , I backed Up all the pictures I have taken since when they have cameras in them in my PC hard drive with respected model number as folder name. So it was easy to check the back up folder list since Sony Ericsson T610 which one was my first camera handset. Before that handset , I only had 4 handset to remember.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Quackington and BigMcGuire
Quackington said:
I know people will point out security issues, but I feel like a good way to keep your iPhone lasting longer and feeling snappy is not to upgrade to the latest iOS after the phone is perhaps 3 years old. Despite Apple allowing their updates to installed for 4, maybe 5 years these days. I had this on my 4 iPhone 4, which I think started slowing down after iOS 6 and then with the iPhone 6. Now I have an iPhone 11. I upgraded to iOS 14, but at the moment I’m unsure if I’ll update this year. My phone feels pretty snappy, and I’d like to keep this it this way. Since it’ll only be two years old by then, I may very well update this year and then not bother again. Hoping to keep the phone at least 4 years.

I kept my MBA 11” on Mountain Lion for years, never had any issues. I think over 5 or 6 years. After upgrading to Sierra and then High Sierra, my notebook experienced slowdown.
Click to expand...

The observation that phones get much slower over time hasn’t come true for me with my 8+ much. My brand new 12 Pro Max feels about as snappy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LFC2020, MacLappy, The-Real-Deal82 and 1 other person
3GS (2 years - contract)
4S (2 years - contract)
5S (2 years - contract)

6S+ (4 years, Apple $30 battery replacement in the 3rd year)

Had I not dropped the 6S+ enough to break the speaker sound, I probably would have kept it a 5th year until the 12 Pro Max.

11 Pro Max: current, and anticipate 3 full years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lwii2boo, LFC2020 and Peter K.
Every two years in November of an even year for me.
My First phone was a Flip Phone from Samsung when I was 13. Then my mum's old Nokia after she finally got her first iPhone in June 2010 (3GS) I was there when she got it, after that it was a crappy Samsung (Cheap Model) that really didn't work.
Then I got a Telstra branded phone for $50. Eventually I got my mum's old 3GS which somehow got stolen on a tram. After that I got a Sony Xperia which is probably the best Android Phone I've had. After that I got a Galaxy S4 in January 2014 but come December 2014, i finally got an iPhone 6 and it's been iPhone ever since. In November 2016 I got an iPhone 7. In November 2018: XS Max and finally my current phone which I got in November 2020: 12 Pro Max. I have to admit, if Sony was still selling Xperia in Australia, I'd be tempted to give them another chance.
 
Last edited:
I upgrade every year no matter what.
Can’t wait for the iPhone 13 and always on display
 
sewerx said:
Almost 11 years with my current phone. Without any repairs. Only issue, broken home button - thanks to assistive touch i’ve been using iPhone 4 until now.
Click to expand...
Pretty awesome. I still think the 4/4S was the best phone form factor ever btw.
Does no repairs not even include a battery replacement or two?
What apps do you use? Have they lost any functionality? I love the idea of using a phone for 11+ years, but I don’t think the apps I need to use would be supported nearly that long. All other reasons to upgrade I think can be mitigated but this to me would be the hardest to get around. I’d think though. I haven’t kept a phone long enough to have to deal with this issue yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sewerx
subjonas said:
Pretty awesome. I still think the 4/4S was the best phone form factor ever btw.
Does no repairs not even include a battery replacement or two?
What apps do you use? Have they lost any functionality? I love the idea of using a phone for 11+ years, but I don’t think the apps I need to use would be supported nearly that long. All other reasons to upgrade I think can be mitigated but this to me would be the hardest to get around. I’d think though. I haven’t kept a phone long enough to have to deal with this issue yet.
Click to expand...

No battery replacement - original one since 2010

My everyday apps: Calvetica (calendar), Maps.me (due to frequent travel I need app with worldwide offline maps), LINE, Adobe Ideas and native apps like Mail, Notes, Passbook, Camera. All apps works fine except LINE - for few last months I've got "update required" message after login.
 
  • Like
Reactions: subjonas
I use to line up at 4am or earlier (when that's what you did), I stopped after 6max, now I just think of the advantages and make a choice, I'll upgrade this year with iPhone, I've had a few Androids, still running a decent Huawei Pro 30, won't upgrade that again though.
 
lostom said:
I use to line up at 4am or earlier (when that's what you did), I stopped after 6max, now I just think of the advantages and make a choice, I'll upgrade this year with iPhone, I've had a few Androids, still running a decent Huawei Pro 30, won't upgrade that again though.
Click to expand...

What’s a “6max”?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back