Change my mind: Most people should buy last-gen phones

I know you want that shiny new phone your favorite brand just launched, but don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Buying last year’s model is the better choice for multiple reasons. And this doesn’t just apply to high-end phones, but also to the more affordable models from the Pixel A and Samsung Galaxy A lineups.

And just to be clear, I’m not talking about buying a used device from a stranger on the internet. I’m talking about buying a brand-new, sealed unit of a phone that was launched about a year ago. Here’s why I believe that makes sense for most people.

There are two benefits to buying last year’s phone when looking at it from a financial standpoint. The first one is that you’ll save a pretty penny. Retailers need to clear out their inventory when the new model is launched, so you can save hundreds of dollars on a brand-new device.

As an example, a week or so before the Pixel 10 series was announced, the Pixel 9 was $200 off, while you were able to get a $300 discount on the Pixel 9 Pro. The 9 Pro Fold offered the most savings at $500.

It was a similar story with the Galaxy S24 series. The S24 Ultra was $500 off days before the S25 series made its debut — that’s almost a 40% discount.

But the initial savings are just one part of the story. You have to keep the resale value in mind as well. Phones lose most of their value in the first year. As you can see from the example above, the price of the new Galaxy S24 Ultra dropped by almost 40% in that time frame. So if you were to buy it at full price at launch for $1,200, you would have to sell it for less than $800 a year later, since people could just buy a new one from the store at that price.

Buying it at $800 a year after launch means you’d lose less money selling it after 12 months or so, since the depreciation is not as big in year two as it is in the first year.

The days when the latest phone was a substantial upgrade over its predecessor are long gone. Most new devices are generally nothing more than iterative upgrades, offering a slightly faster chipset, marginally improved cameras, and a few extra software perks — mostly AI-related.

For reference, the S25 Ultra comes with a newer SoC, an improved ultrawide camera, thinner bezels, more rounded corners, and a slightly lower weight. On the other hand, its S Pen lost Bluetooth support, which is present on the S24 Ultra. I don’t think these extra features are worth $500, as you likely won’t experience much of a difference — if any — in day-to-day performance and use between the two devices.

A year-old phone is generally at least 90 if not 95 percent as good as the latest model for up to 40% less money. And if you’re worried about missing out on all those extra software features it has, don’t worry. The major ones usually — although not always — still make it to older devices, but with a short delay.

Even if you buy a year-old phone, the software support will still have you covered for years to come. Granted, this depends on the phone you buy, but if you get a mid-range or high-end Pixel or Galaxy, you can expect at least six more years of software and security updates, considering these devices come with a seven-year software update promise.

Most people don’t use a phone for more than that anyway, so the software updates will have you covered throughout the ownership of your device. This means you’ll get most of the latest software features that are part of new Android releases, as well as security updates that will keep your device protected.

This can also technically help with a device’s resale value, since it’s easier to sell a phone that still has a few years of software updates left than one that received its last one two years after launch.

So from a software update perspective, you’re not really losing out on much with a year-old phone versus a brand-new one.

The problem with new phones is that there may be manufacturing issues and defects that you just aren’t — and can’t be — aware of. People usually start talking about those weeks after sales of a new model kick off and they have had time to test out their devices fully. So from that perspective, buying a brand-new device can be a gamble.

Granted, I’d argue that most devices are issue-free, but some models or specific units can have problems. If we were to go to the extreme, all I have to do is mention the Note 7 that spontaneously caught fire years ago. But I want to be more realistic here since something like that is very rare.

What’s not rare are issues with overheating, batteries, cameras, and displays. For example, some S25 phones had issues with streak lines appearing on some of the photos taken, slow and inconsistent charging, and notification delays. Buying it a year after launch gives Samsung time to fix these problems during the manufacturing process. By purchasing a model from a later production batch, there’s less of a chance that you’ll end up with a faulty unit.

So to sum up, buying a new unit of last year’s model means you’ll save money, the phone will hold its value better, the differences in performance and software will be negligible, and you won’t have to worry about getting a faulty unit as much. To me, the choice is clear. However, your mileage may vary.

If money is not a major concern and you want to stay on the bleeding edge of tech, there’s nothing wrong with buying the latest model. But for most people, buying a year-old phone is the better option. Don’t agree with me? Let me know why in the comments and try to change my mind.

I also want to point out that I used the S25 Ultra and S24 Ultra as examples a few times, since these are the last two generations of Samsung’s high-end phones. But keep in mind that the S26 series is just around the corner, so if you’re thinking of getting a Samsung device, wait until the new gen is out and then go for the S25 when it’s on sale.