We asked, you told us: Most of you keep phones between one to two years

Smartphone manufacturers typically stick to a very strict release schedule which usually includes releasing at least one new phone every year. But with premium handsets costing anywhere between $700 and $1,000, it’s not feasible for many to buy a new phone every year.

Keeping a device for more than a year isn’t the end of the world, but it means that you probably won’t get all of the latest and greatest features. For some, this isn’t that big of a deal. For others, this is a reason to switch phones more often.

So we decided to ask you, are you switching phones every year, two years, or are you holding onto your handsets until they’re dead? Here’s what you had to say.

How long do you usually keep a phone?

Results

Unsurprisingly, most of you voted that you’re keeping smartphones for a least one to two years, with a large percentage of people holding onto handsets for over two years.

These results are even less surprising when you consider that most financing options usually last around two years. By the time that the device is paid off, it has been one to two years, and there’s a reason to upgrade.

In the grand scheme of things, you aren’t missing much by skipping a single smartphone generation. Yes, some of the new features introduced into Android and by the handset’s manufacturer won’t get added to older devices, but these tend to be minuscule.

Noteworthy comments

Here are some of the best comments from last week’s poll explaining why they voted the way that they did:

• I keep my phones as long as they’re getting major Android upgrades. Since my Pixel 2 will be getting three years of upgrades that’s how long I’ll keep it.
• For me the ideal would be to keep a phone for at least 2 years, my S7 Edge is going strong with almost 3 now
• I buy a new phone when the apps I use advise me that support for my Android version will end. I’m on my second smartphone. First one bought in 2012. Second one bought in 2018.
• I’ve actually had my Note 8 since the day it was released in September 2017, which is weird as I usually change phones every year, not longer than that. It is a great phone though, so no need to upgrade.
• My carrier allow me to upgrade my 2 years plan 6 months early so I usually take up the offer if there’s a good deal. I usually buy a flagship Samsung device just before it get updated for 0 or very cheap up front, so while I don’t have the latest and greatest, I’m sure to get updates for the duration of my contract.
• Buy a flagship, skip one version and upgrade to the following one. Repeat Mode. Reason – Device Hardware and Software are outdated in as early as an year these days.

That’s it for this week, everyone. As always, thanks for voting, thanks for the comments, and don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the results below.