Other What will make you upgrade to a newer phone?

[ian87w]

I’m really feeling we are at peak smartphone. Take my S21. I really don’t see anything in the near future that would make me want to upgrade, especially since I have the 256GB model, so plenty of storage still. And I’m only planning to upgrade my iPhone 7 Plus mainly because Apple dropped it from ios16. Performance used to be a reason, but imo nowadays it’s only edge cases where people upgrade due to performance.

Seeing at lay consumers, most generally tend to upgrade when their battery life is getting too short and/or they’re running out of storage space. Some will upgrade when their phone breaks (regardless of length of time of ownership).

What about you guys? What would be your reason to upgrade to any newer phone from your current one?

 

[unrigestered]

when the batteries go too bad to bear anymore.

but of course i'd also get a new one if it broke on me.

the latter thankfully never happened to me though, but my iPhone (13) is much more fragile than my previous Galaxy S1 that i had dropped several times, sometimes even from a height of >2m without getting anything more like some micro scratches. i'm sure my iPhone wouldn't survive just one of these drops and will surely also get way more damage from drops from the "the usual" heights

 

[MajorFubar]

When the batteries go bad.
But it will be an SE3, which no doubt has the same lousy-ass battery as the SE2, or maybe I'll go Android next time, because I want a phone with fingerprint recognition.

 

[unrigestered]

i can recognize fingerprints just fine on my iPhone

 

[jchap]

Battery capacity seems to be a reason why people here would consider purchasing a new phone. Doesn't Apple offer a chargeable battery replacement service? That would likely be a lot cheaper than going for a new phone, if you're still happy with the functionality of what you've got and the iOS version is still supported on your phone.

Third-party services (like vendors in shopping malls) do offer battery replacement as well, but I wouldn't trust the quality of the generic batteries they use.

 

[unrigestered]

well i kept my previous phone for 12 years with it's original battery, even though i could have easily replaced it myself within seconds, but at one point, it's also time to let go sometimes.

 

[Spetsgruppa]

when i have extra money xD

 

[Keniutek]

USB-C. Simple as that.

 

[ian87w]

Battery capacity seems to be a reason why people here would consider purchasing a new phone. Doesn't Apple offer a chargeable battery replacement service? That would likely be a lot cheaper than going for a new phone, if you're still happy with the functionality of what you've got and the iOS version is still supported on your phone.

Third-party services (like vendors in shopping malls) do offer battery replacement as well, but I wouldn't trust the quality of the generic batteries they use.

Apple does offer battery replacement service, and generally can be done same day. But of course you have to go to an Apple store, which might be inconvenient. And generally most people don't realize any significant battery reduction until 2 or 3 years, or even longer depending on their usage and charging behavior, so by that time, I have a feeling most people felt "ah might as well get a new phone, I have to go to the store anyway."

 

[calstanford]

A 1"-type sensor camera with 20-24 MP. Preferably in 3:2 as I shoot all my images in that format. Nothing else.
No fake binned 48MP (=12MP) 1/1.3" thingie Android had for years and iPhone 14 Pro Max is going to get this year.

 

[Shirasaki]

my iPhone xs max is on 256GB storage and for the first time in 10 years I am forced to enable "optimise storage" on iPhone to get some local storage back. Whatever next iPhone I pick, 512GB is the absolute minimum and non-negotiable. I value cloud storage as a way to conveniently sync/share files across different platforms and services, not to use it to "store everything".

 

[Al Rukh]

It’s quite fair to say that most people upgrade when their battery life shows its age, apart from the phone breaking or other obvious irrecoverable damages.

Most of us wouldn’t really upgrade for the speed because it’s very unnoticeable if I’m being honest. I’m happy with my 13 PM and I can see myself using this for three years. I’ll use it for two years at least if Apple decides to sell a premium model with titanium chassis or if there’s a under-the-screen Touch ID. Like the OP said, iPhones have peaked. A yearly upgrade these days wouldn’t make too much sense objectively.

 

[ThomasJL]

When Touch ID returns.

 

[TechRunner]

For me it's about support primarily, but other factors, like a revolutionary camera or a slowing down of my current device, makes me consider a switch. I'm actually looking to change now, as my Pixel 3aXL is end-of-support as of this month.

 

[schneeland]

It's a mix of different factors - sometimes I have replaced phones because they were getting slow, sometimes because there is a feature I wanted (most notably: better camera) and back when I was still using Android, I also had devices being out of support for too long (I didn't have that with iOS so far, though). I did break a phone once, a not-quite-smart Nokia E51, but luckily cases have protected my phones so far.

In general, my upgrade cycles are getting longer, but we are still talking about a 3 to 4 year life time before I sell a phone or hand it to a family member.

 

[Unami]

Usually, when I break the phone or when apple does it (software update that makes it unbearably slow or when there's no more support for the new version of iOS). If my battery craps out before that, I have a new one installed at the apple store.

Feature-wise, since iphones have gotten water resistant there's not a lot that would make me upgrade just for new functions. Cameras only get marginally better and still have tiny chips and puny lenses - and computational imaging isn't "there" by a long stretch yet. Maybe if a new iphone was not as expensive as they are now, was built ruggedly, got an infrared camera that can show temperature and maybe got a lidar-scanner with higher resolution than the pro that'd be an incentive to upgrade for me.

 

[mlody]

when I can get a new one for free as part of a trade-in deal.

 

[CraigJDuffy]

Battery capacity seems to be a reason why people here would consider purchasing a new phone. Doesn't Apple offer a chargeable battery replacement service? That would likely be a lot cheaper than going for a new phone, if you're still happy with the functionality of what you've got and the iOS version is still supported on your phone.

Third-party services (like vendors in shopping malls) do offer battery replacement as well, but I wouldn't trust the quality of the generic batteries they use.

They do, it costs like £50 as well which is much cheaper than a new phone. Did this with my XS last year and intend to hold onto it for another two or so.

 

[CraigJDuffy]

When Touch ID returns.

Good news! The iPhone SE has Touch ID!

 

[Riviera122]

USB-C is the main factor for me.

 

[Cognizant.]

USB-C is the main factor for me.

I really hope that’s in this year’s iPhone and AirPods.

 

[jezbd1997]

my 7-11pro jump was because of battery life mainly. even replaced the battery but i just needed better.
still loved that 7.
11pro-13pro was sierra blue colour, 120hz and the slab form factor again.
i don’t even know what will tempt me to upgrade next as the 13 pro is so perfect, another new form factor?
i kind of have a love/hate relationship with the stove-top camera design

 

[Nhwhazup]

I usually update every 2-3 years dependent on how my current phone is. I have a 12 Pro and will likely go another year as it’s working just fine.

 

[ericwn]

I really hope that’s in this year’s iPhone and AirPods.

Me too but I have a feeling it’s going to be 2023.

 

[StellarVixen]

Battery capacity seems to be a reason why people here would consider purchasing a new phone. Doesn't Apple offer a chargeable battery replacement service? That would likely be a lot cheaper than going for a new phone, if you're still happy with the functionality of what you've got and the iOS version is still supported on your phone.

Third-party services (like vendors in shopping malls) do offer battery replacement as well, but I wouldn't trust the quality of the generic batteries they use.

I replace the battery at 3rd party repair shops when it reaches around 80 percent. Never had a problem, just because the battery doesn't have Apple logo on it doesn't mean it's gonna set your phone on fire. But each to their own.