Asking because… On one hand I do see smartphones being released left-and-right, and they are rather integral to modern life
On the other hand I’m still chugging alone with my Pixel 6a that I bought 3 years ago with a replaced battery and a somewhat clogged charging port… and all my previous phones I only replaced when they have serious deficits that make them difficult to use
Wondering when you all replace phones. Please definitely mention it too if you ended up repurposing the old phone for something else
As long as the one I have works, I keep using it.
Started year 5 on this one, if the batteey was user replaceable, I’d so that and keep using it.
Like about every 5 to 7 years as that’s usually when it starts getting pretty slow. Not sure why or if it’s planned obsolescence, I take good care of my phones. My current one was gifted to me by my aunt last year, at the right time.
Its been 6-7 years for this one. I replace them when they stop working
Ditto.
It historically the charging port for me that fails first to the point I can’t reasonably return it. So this time I got a phone with wireless charging … which stopped working after a few months and I’m back on USB C charging for years now.
At least C is a little more physically robust than older versions.
I haven’t had a phone reach end of life for security updates yet, but that drive me to get a newer one too.
A lot of phones have wireless charging now as well. Even if you don’t use it all the time, It’s fewer wear cycles on the connector.
That’s the rational answer. Replace a thing when it’s no longer fit for its purpose, typically because it’s broken.
When it no longer holds charge.
This is usually about 5 years. I’d change the battery, but by then the web has slowed down and become inefficient enough to warrant a new phone anyway.
In August it will be 15 years since I purchased the phone I’m typing this reply on, Samsung Galaxy S2. All I do is calling, basic browsing, and checking the weather, so I don’t really feel like I need a new phone. Battery is replacable, so until the screen is broken, this phone will serve its purpose.
Is that with LineageOS?
I’m still running Jelly Bean. I know that I could get a more modern OS with Lineage OS, but for my very limited purposes the old Android is good enough.
How does even a single Lemmy client work on that?
Web browser. I only have two other social media accounts, on Reddit and LinkedIn, and I use a browser for these as well. Even if a dedicated app worked in my OS, my phone doesn’t have enough memory to install it.
Which browser are you using?
Brave. Not sure about the version number, but it’s been working fine.
When it breaks. I don’t remember how long I’ve had this one but it was made in 2019.
Only when it’s unusable. I recently got a new phone, my old one was an iPhone XR but the last few months it just randomly restarts and overheats like crazy.
I did a battery replacement a year ago but I think it was time. I also got a cheap Samsung, I’m not about to pay the money that Apple is charging customers just so I can make phone calls and use maps
I use my phones until they’re limping and pleading me to just let them die. At that point I look on the used market and buy the best previous-gen phone I can find for the cheapest price, then repeat. I’m not a fan of cell contracts - I like to buy my phone outright to keep my monthly bill as low as possible.
Up until now I was only buying used Pixels so I could install Graphene, but if Goog ever locks the bootloader or anything like that I will move to something else supported by Graphene.
Or maybe just revert to dumbphone and start carrying a small ultralight laptop around for internet stuff. Probably less doomscrolling that way.
I was just thinking the same. Simple oldstyle flip phone and a tablet or tiny laptop.
My wife has had her Samsung Note10+ for 8 years, battery just hit the wall where its charge drops too rapidly to be a reliable phone.
On average every 5 years. The battery life is always the issue. I will get a fairphone next time…
When it is no longer able to do things I actually need it to do, and fixing is difficult/expensive.
So far that’s about 5 years per phone for me.
- 2006 or so
- 2009 or so,
- 2012? 13? gifted to me
- around 2017, first smartphone, my previous’ phone speaker broke, got a used one
- 2019 or so, used phone’s battery died badly, friend gave me this reconditioned one
- 2025, previous phone’s screen turned purple, idk what’s up with that
I bought my current phone in 2017. It will be replaced when the cons of continuing to use it outweigh the cons of buying a new one. Fortunately phone manufacturers have removed most of the features I want in a phone and added nothing of value so I’m saving a ton of money.
I have averaged about every 5-6 years
I’m happy if a phone lasts 5 years. I’ve been using custom ROM the whole time.
Pixel 8 currently with GrapheneOS until something hardware breaks that I can’t repair or Graphene due to G**gle.
