Hi all,
Had an interesting conversation they other day with my friend who wants to upgrade their phone again…after only having their current phone for a year.
I personally use mine for at least 2 years (or until it dies) before I even think about getting a new one so it makes me wonder how often do people upgrade their tech stuff like phones, laptops, etc?
Also with the Telstra new phone feeling or Optus' 12 month lease for phones, are they even worth it?
Great job still rocking the Xbox 360, same here!
I haven't had a phone on a plan for ages. I buy the phone outright and then find a good plan. Not only is this often cheaper, but it allows you to change telcos if a better plan comes up with another provider. I replaced my last 2 phones when they stopped working. MY last laptop replacement was with a second hand identical copy of my previous laptop - with a new win 10 install by me. I was very happy with it so why change? The reason I changed was because I cracked the screen. A new screen was $200 and a new second hand laptop was $300. I recycled the battery and power lead to the new laptop. Unless you want a gaming laptop, you can get by with pretty average hardware. :)
Buying a phone outright works out to be the cheapest option. You also then have the flexibility of choosing providers. Doing this also means you are more inclined to hold onto your phone for longer as you don't have the 12/24 month contract renewal. I factory reset my phone last year and installed a custom rom without the bloatware and it is like having a new phone.
What phone?
i've galaxy s3 running nougat, no bugs no lags … just perfect, except crappy photo from outdated camera
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
I don't update unless I have an issue with my current equipment or there's a pretty good deal around. Only replaced phones when they died due to liquid, only replaced computers when they could no longer run the software I needed. Buying the latest tech on release is really stupid I think. Wait 1 year and it'll be half the price, or less!
Had an iPhone 4 until recently when bought a second hand iPhone 6 (the 4 died), that'll last me a few years at least
Had a Surface Pro 2 for a number of years, only very recently upgraded to the new Pro (thanks to discounted seller who didn't jack up prices + 20% off tech sale on eBay)
Buying the latest tech on release is really stupid I think. Wait 1 year and it'll be half the price, or less!
Why stop there? Wait 5+ years and it will be a fifth of the price, or less!
There's a sweet spot though. Wait too long and it isn't useable. A computer could go ten years and still be useful, so waiting 2 years after brand new technology comes in seems reasonable, and phones could last about 5, so waiting 1 is reasonable. By buying in day 1 you're paying double the cost to get 10 or 5 years instead of 8 or 4.
I know you were being sarcastic though :)
Phone is 3yo to date (ip6) hoping to last another year or 2 with the upcoming discounted battery change from Apple.
Last laptop lasted 5 years (cheapo $600 something HP display stock, still works but overheats constantly), previous one lasted 5 years as well (secondhand Toshiba that would've been 8-9yo when I gave it to my dad, to this day it still works albeit screen's stuffed/washed out)
I used to upgrade phone every 2 years until they increase the plans to silly prices (it used to be cheaper to be on a 24 months plan, now it's just the outright rrp spread over 24 payments plus the actual plan)
My laptops generally last around the 5 year mark as well before they're so laggy and I can't stand it anymore.
With phones I started buying outright a few years back and haven't looked back since! Calculating the cost of the plans I thought the reason why people still signed up for them was because of the big upfront payment…that was certainly the case for my younger self :)
It's actually worse than that, the outright plus a BYO plan is now much much cheaper than buying on a plan. Depending on the phone $200-$600 cheaper over the 2 years.
There's 2 reasons I see people buy on a plan:
- People can't afford the upfront payment (which is silly, because if you can't afford the cheaper option, you certainly can't afford the expensive plan, what a great way to get trapped in a cycle of debt)
- If you use it for work you can tax deduct your payments each year rather than depreciate a handset (though with the price difference this isn't really worth it either)
Phone sep 2017 2 yearly
laptop sep 2013 need a desktop soon
tv free 50" basic LED dec 2013 looking at oleds but scared the price will drop soon
console ps4pro july 2017 first of the generation
coffee machine late 2012
coffee grinder mid 2012
microwave 2nd hand freebie almost dead over 10 years old
fridge secondhand over 10 years old good condition
washing machine 2012
treadmill 2nd hand over 10 years old
I decided a few years ago to get China android phones, but upgrade every 18months - 2years rather than buying costly phones and keeping them 3-4 years.
Financially, it has been cheaper, and having a top performing phone all the time is great.
The only downside is I have still quite usable handsets that are worth nothing. Good for a spare, I guess, in case I lose or break my main phone and have to wait weeks for a replacement.
That's interesting…is it worth it to upgrade for a 'top performing phone'? I have a google pixel myself and even with the new google pixel 2 out I still feel like it's a quality phone that I won't be giving up until it dies.
My current phone has 4Gb of RAM, and is noticeably snappier than the 2Gb one it replaced, even just for apps not gaming.
For something I use so often, I was it to run well.
When I had an iphone, the escalating cost put me off upgrading so I ended up having a slow phone half the time.
I was coming round to your way of thinking but my risk calc stops me, and I dislike wasted devices.
Mostly it is
… that stops me. Apple is bad enough at all this, so I stick with old iPhones and one vendor I don't like. Current iPhone 6+, bought 2nd hand once it was 3 months old. Now >3 years old.
Never had a new battery, still has >48 hours battery life, works quite fast (it has much less memory than a new phone) so isn't as snappy as a new phone, but far more importantly
I'd far rather the kind of UI and keyboard Android uses, but at 3 years I'm very happy with the phone and don't see myself having to move for another 2 years.
How does it work out cheaper to buy into the Android ecosystem? I can see it is cheaper up-front, but the value of a stable, maintained software stack, much higher security are far more important than the initial investment. However the quality of customer care from Samsung, let alone a Sony or any one of the myriad of less well-resourced vendors, pales in comparison to being able to have your problems fixed on the spot at an Apple shop anywhere on the planet.
I have an iPhone 5, 5 years old. Replaced the battery ($6) and it works perfectly again, and keep it as a phone for traveling. I can restore to and from it very easily, or use it fresh with no data in jurisdictions where I don't want to take data. The screen is small, but again, it is fully supported, runs all my apps, and works just great, with or without the cloud.
These features are priceless to me and cannot be found on other phones, but the cost is not great considering it has only ever involved the up-front cost (costs amortise at $300 to as little as $200/year), and a bit of effort to not load stupid apps and keep the phone in a slim case so I don't drop it so much.
Computers are a different story, they are all specific to purpose, and remain until they use too much power in comparison to something new, become poorly supported, unreliable or hard to get parts for. I take care to buy low power, high reliability server-grade RAM for uptime reliability. The big names often have made PSUs unique to certain models in the past, let alone rare RAM chips- these are crossed off the list as anything that can wear out must have a replacement on-hand and easy to source. Fans are very important, it pays to have spares of these always.
if you're looking for something to use your old phones for i stumbled upon this https://alfred.camera/
great little app that will turn old phones into security cameras
I don't have a set time to upgrade my phone.
As a dude, there's only two very personal things that I always have on me. One being my phone and the other being my wallet.
If I don't like or get sick of one or the other and there's something else out there that I like better, then I'll just get it. Doesn't matter whether I've had my current one for 3 months or 2 years.
Everything else, including my laptop, I'll just upgrade on a needs basis. (My current laptop is 7 years old)
Cycled:
Although it depends a bit on how it's holding up, battery replacements may help with that. Old devices are offered to family first and if not wanted sold to CEX (ie exchanged for games).
Everything else is "replaced" when it "breaks".
2 years for phone. Gonna extend that to 4 years if Samsung is kind enough to replace my S7 edge battery. Best phone made by them imo.
6 years for laptop
Have a Macbook Air from 2011 that does all it needs to (process word docs, browse internet).
Desktop is around 4 yrs old, replace graphics card every 3 yrs or so
Phone when the previous one dies, I used to use Android phones and they consistently broke within 24 months, bought an iPhone 7 twelve months ago will see how long it lasts
TV only when the previous one dies, current 55" LED is from 2013 and doesn't look like it has any signs of deteriorating soon.
Always buy the new Sony console within 6 months of its release and they always last the entire console's generation (typically 7 yrs) noting I didn't upgrade to a PS4 pro (pointless imo).
Appliances like washing machine, fridge, microwave until they break. Fridge is 10yrs+ old (hand me down), washing machine was $50 on Gumtree four years ago and still goes like Ben Hur, Microwave is a hand me down from my old workplace (can thank the office whingers who needed a new one for that).
Lease ain't worth it, just watch for when something comes up on ozbargain.
I have to stick to optus due to data share sims. I still use a galaxy note 4 but hopped onto the s7 @ $48.75/month with gear fit 2 redemption.
Galaxy note 4 can still run mobiusff which is my main mobile game, probably will use the phone until it dies or wait for the next generation note with the snapdragon 845 or next exynos. Using s7 for backup/camera (have an rx100 V as a real camera).
Laptop 6+ years (used my last one for 10), phone 3+ years. I cannot justify these ridiculously priced phones these days. I like the Note 8 but no way am I paying close to 1K for it.
Just like every other thing I use if it still works it does not get replaced. If Windows XP didn't get dropped I would still be using my first laptop (not quite an Osbourne 1 but not far off). Phones more often as I tend to smash them went through 4 last year, ironically one got broken when the lid on a Telstra pit gave way and I fell in smashing the screen that bad it cut me. Well gotta go and crank start the car and wind up the clocks, Bye.
Bought a Macbook Pro from 2011 which still was going strong when I bought a new one in 2017. iPhone 4 lasted 4 years. iPhone 6 lasted 3 years (because it was running 'slow'….) Surface Pro 2 only managed to survive 1.5 years before wifi+bluetooth hardware started failing. They definitely don't make them as well as Macbooks, harder to get repaired as well, mind you it was a lot cheaper at the time.
when they break
Macbook Pro 2012 - Still going strong and is fast! I actually purchased in the KSA in 2012ish so was tax-free.
Nexus 5x, about 2 years old. Again, still going strong.
Missus has a Macbook Pro 2009. Still working and is almost as fast as the 2012 on boot and web browsing.
TV (Samsung, 32") has to be around 4 years old.
External Monitor was picked up on ebay for $14 - It is a Samsung SyncMaster - it goes well with my MBP. It's sticking around for the foreseeable future.
Everytime JV comments,
Good job OzBargain, i am impressed. The new phone feeling is a disgusting idea, there is no need to replace stuff for the sake of it.
when they break/become unsuitable for the task. But when I do upgrade,i go for the more high end. I notice people who are always upgrading, tend to go for 'value' lines.
TV is ~8 years old, I'm considering an upgrade: only for 4k
Phone is a iphone 6s (2-3years?), i'll upgrade when apple stops allowing me to update the os
Computer is a year old (but over speced for what i need, should last a while)
I keep things until they break or there is some compelling reason for me to want to upgrade.
I have an iPhone that's about 3 years old, keen on this battery replacement but otherwise happy to keep it indefinitely.
I have an iMac from 2011, I have added ram and use external hard drives. Still happy with it, great computer. Thinking of getting a laptop for convenience but will keep the iMac.
TV is about 5-6 years old. Soon will replace with something more modern - thin screen and lighter - because it's wall mounted and is heavy and imposing.
iPad must be about first gen. Pretty slow but only really use it to watch Netflix so it's fine.
Things we still use:
HD TV from 2008
Mac Air from mid-2013, was going to replace this last year but apparently the new mac pros are shit so I'll keep this one for another few years, maybe replace the battery
Galaxy S7 edge from mid-2016, my s5 before that lasted 2 years and my iphones 4 and 5 before that lasted 1 1/2 years each
iPad 2 from 2011 still being used, runs quite well
I got my current iPhone 6 and iPad three years ago, and will not be replacing them unless they failed. I used to always "upgrade" every two years when the contract was up, but now I'd rather use the money for something else :)
I upgrade when I feel like I can afford it… eg. china phones are cheap as hell so whenever
Laptops I get from work anyway as I can just get the ex lease ones companies dont need.
Things that I still use to this day;
They'll only be replaced if they truly die (hopefully) or the replacement is super cheap.