Ever since I got my first smartphone in 2011, I’ve upgraded my phone at least once every two years. Normally, I’d view the upcoming September Apple event as a preview of my next phone, but this year is different; I’m waiting longer than usual to get a new device.
My smartphone history
To provide context, here’s a look back at all my past primary phones:
|
Year Purchased |
Phone Model |
Comment |
|---|---|---|
|
2011 |
HTC EVO 3D |
This quickly taught me about Android’s manufacturer fragmentation, so I vowed to stay with stock Android in the future. |
|
2013 |
Nexus 5 |
One of my all-time favorite phones; I miss the Nexus line. |
|
2015 |
Nexus 6P |
This phone was bigger than I prefer, but I loved the premium feel. |
|
2017 |
Pixel XL |
My Nexus 6P had a battery issue; Google replaced it with this phone for free. |
|
2018 |
Pixel 3 |
The Pixel XL was too big for my tastes, so I was ready for a change. |
|
2019 |
Pixel 4 |
The only time I’ve directly upgraded to the next model year of phone. |
|
2020 |
iPhone 11 |
This marked my switch to using an iPhone as my primary device. |
|
2021 |
iPhone 13 Pro |
I was ready to go Pro after testing the waters with the iPhone 11. |
|
2023 |
iPhone 15 Pro |
A phone I’m still happy with. |
Looking at this list reminds me of the ways smartphones have gotten worse over time. I’ve had a couple of other devices for work purposes, but these are the ones I’ve used every day.
Why I used to upgrade routinely
For a long time, I viewed getting a new phone every two years as the sweet spot between new features, battery health, and trade-in value. By that time, I had used the battery well but not consumed it, and I could get a good chunk of what I spent back with a trade-in.
For reference, I paid $1,099 for my iPhone 13 Pro in 2021, which I traded in for $480 towards my iPhone 15 Pro in 2023. Getting 44% of the value back (not adjusting for inflation) on something you bought two years later isn’t bad.
Upgrading every year is too frequent, given not a lot changes between yearly releases. I was fine waiting a year for most new features that were released during “off” years. Conversely, every three years always struck me as too long to wait. By that time, your battery is more likely to be at low health, the storage is probably becoming tight, and you might be yearning for features exclusive to newer models.
As a tech writer and editor, I also wanted to make sure I had modern devices that got the latest OS updates on time, so I could write about them and properly check others’ work.
Why I’m not upgrading in 2025
The core reason why I don’t care about upgrading my phone this year is that my current phone works fine, and there’s nothing about phones coming out today that excites me.
The 120Hz refresh rate of the iPhone 15 Pro is the most important feature to me. Everything looks smoother, and I immediately notice the difference when I use a 60Hz phone. If I didn’t have that already, I’d be more willing to upgrade.
We all know the selling features of the latest phones revolve around AI. However, these don’t attract me at all. I’ve been heavily skeptical of AI since the start, but gave Apple Intelligence a try since the company has done well before at improving otherwise-rough technology.
However, I didn’t even keep Apple Intelligence enabled for a week. The AI summaries were widely mocked online (for good reason), and I’m not interested in any of the usual AI nonsense like text or image generation. When I use my phone to communicate, I want to read the other person’s words and for them to read mine. I don’t want to have an AI summarize what someone else wrote with AI; I care about the people in my life more than that.
A new phone doesn’t bring enough for me right now
Otherwise, phone cameras get better with each generation, but I’m happy with what I have. I’m not enough of a photography enthusiast to worry about the differences. The Camera Control button seems cool, but I wouldn’t use it much (plus not everyone likes the Camera Control button).
My current iPhone has 256GB of storage, and even with 48GB of Spotify data downloaded, I still have over 50GB free. So I’m not worried about moving to 512GB yet. Plus, by waiting, I increase the chance that the base storage will be bumped up in the future.
Looking back at the timing, I lucked out buying the iPhone 15 Pro when I did. The 15 line was the first with USB-C, which has been great for simplifying the number of chargers I have around. And the Action Button is an improvement over the old volume slider, even if I don’t use it as much as I should.
The cost is a factor
I’ve always budgeted for a new phone to be ready when the two-year mark hits. And while budgeting helps you plan for expenses, it’s still important to ask whether those expenses are worth spending on.
For my last two devices, I got the Pro model iPhone for the better camera setup (I use it to capture life memories, so I want those photos to look good) and 120Hz refresh rate. I also went one tier up from the base storage, so I don’t run out.
That $1,099 cost breaks down to about $46/month over two years, which is worth the cost for something you use every day. But when you already have a device that’s nearly as good as the new one, the expense is much harder to justify.
I’ve also had life circumstances change since my last phone; I got married within the last year and had a lot of expenses associated with that. It’s another reason I’m not eager to spend on a new phone, along with all these other factors in mind.
Phones are lasting longer
You can comfortably use an older phone for much longer than was possible before. That’s partially because of incremental upgrades, but other factors have contributed.
Battery tech is one. Apple states that the iPhone 14 line and earlier retain 80% of their charge after 500 charge cycles; this is increased to 1,000 charge cycles for the iPhone 15 line and later. Pixels are similar, with the Pixel 3 through 8 Pro rated at 800 cycles and newer models at 1,000.
I got my current phone on launch day (Sept 22, 2023), and it’s now at 95% battery capacity with 425 charge cycles. I’m not obsessive about managing iPhone battery health, but I do use the charge limit feature to cap it at 80% almost all the time. At around 215 cycles per year, I could use my phone for two more years before I needed to worry about replacing the battery.
Apple has gotten better at bringing the latest iOS versions to older devices, too. iOS 26 is compatible back to the iPhone 11 (released in 2019). For the Pixel 8 and newer, Google guarantees seven years of OS updates. This is better than the stricter cutoffs of years past.
Two years later, my iPhone doesn’t feel old at all. It’s not slow and doesn’t have any nagging issues that make me want to upgrade. For the first time since I’ve been using smartphones, I’m going to use one device for more than two years.
Other than the drop in trade-in value, I don’t have any concerns. I doubt anything about the iPhone 17 will make me change my mind, so I’ll save up money for next year and see what the iPhone 18 has in store.
