smartphone lifespan

[magpie]

How long do you expect smartphones to last?  If you had a smartphone last 3 years or longer, what type of phone was it?  At what point, if ever, did your phone become slow?  Were you an exceptionally patient person or did you not use it often enough to care?  If you have short lifespans on your phones, are you a heavy user?  Do you drop things?  Do you like to have the latest and greatest?

I'm shopping for a new phone, in case you were wondering where this is coming from  Top contenders are iPhone 6, HTC M9, and Samsung Galaxy 6 in case anyone has any strong opinions on any of these.  

[ddi741]

I expect 3 to 4 years but my experience has been about 2. About a month before we can do an upgrade the phone starts to have issues.
I've pretty much had motorola but I think I might go for Samsung next. My work cell is a Samsung and I like it and it seems to have a good camera which other than phone calls, texting and FB is what I use my phone for the most.

[raangoli]

I used my iPhone 4S for 3 years. I got a new one because I just couldn't deal with the battery when I traveled.

I am extremely careful with things, but I still managed to drop it a handful of times. It still looks brand new since it was always in a case. I use it at home to stream music.

[mpc]

I got my iPhone 4s in late 2011. When I upgraded 2 years later it became my H's phone and he's still using it. The wifi quit working a while ago but otherwise it's good. I clicked 4+ years since we've almost reached 4 years and we have no immediate plans to replace it.

[mich1]

I'm hoping a REALLY long time.

SO and I finally got smartphones a few months ago after his flip phone finally croaked after nearly 10 years (my flip phone is still alive). We bought 2 iPhone 6 outright, no contract and are with Ting.

[Susie]

I don't know. I'd have said I expect to get 2-3 years.

My last phone (iPhone 4S) I traded in sooner than was strictly necessary because why not jump on it while it was still worth $200 to Verizon, and I was up for a renewal anyway? I can't remember how many years I had it before I got the iPhone 6. My iPhones always last the 2 year contract period and then some.

[magpie]

duh, I added 2-3 years to my poll. Sorry, not enough coffee!

[shell403b]

I have iPhone 6. White/silver. Tech21 clear case. Love it, but I am also enamored with my iPad, so it makes sense. I've had it since they came back into stock after the first roll out (so maybe 6 months?).

H has the Galaxy S6. That curved screen is pretty sweet. He seems to love it so far (he's only had it a couple of months).

Do you prefer the Apple platform or the Android OS?

[LoveTrains]

3-4 years. my iphone 5 is 2 yeas old.

[hamster]

I notice more and more than I'm chomping at the bit for a new phone when my contract is up because my phone starts sucking.

Come on, Sept. 8!

[magpie]

Jul 30, 2015 13:16:35 GMT -5 shell403b said:

I have iPhone 6. White/silver. Tech21 clear case. Love it, but I am also enamored with my iPad, so it makes sense. I've had it since they came back into stock after the first roll out (so maybe 6 months?).

H has the Galaxy S6. That curved screen is pretty sweet. He seems to love it so far (he's only had it a couple of months).

Do you prefer the Apple platform or the Android OS?

I think I prefer the andoird platform for phones, though I've never had an iPhone.  I currently have an HTC 1S.  It has lasted 2.5 years in case anyone was wondering, though it was not the latest model when I bought it.  I've been happy with it, but it's getting slow/can't handle some of the things I like to use regularly).  

I have an iPad and I don't love it or hate it.  I hardly use it for anything other than letting my kid watch Daniel Tiger on long plane trips, lol.  I have a macbook pro laptop that I LOVE though.  I hardly use itunes or any mac cloud stuff though, so syncing it would not be much of a pro/con issue.

I guess I feel like I see a lot of people using iPhones that are pretty old and I am wondering if they last longer or if maybe iPhone users are just more willing to put up with lag (or maybe they don't use their phones for much other than web browsing and texting?).  I was also just curious how long people expect these things to last, since they seem sooo expensive for a somewhat short-lived item.

[orval]

I had an Iphone 4 for 4 years. I had no issues. I just got the 6plus a couple months ago.

[mbcdefg]

I keep them until they're just no good. I'm pretty careful with my stuff - I can be a butterfingers, but I don't lose things often. 

My current phone is an iPhone 4s that MH got me for Christmas 2011. I've dropped it a few times but the Speck case has protected it. It's running a bit slow lately and Safari/apps sometimes crash, but I'm not looking to replace it just yet. 

Before that, I had a Samsung Alias 2, which I got in 2009 after I dropped my phone (I don't remember what it was ... whatever free flip phone Verizon was offering) in the ocean in OBX. 

[Deleted]

About 3 yrs ago I had an HTC Incredible that was amazing for 18mos, then started acting possessed for no real reason. Around that time I switched to a Samsung S3 that was awesome; I would still have it if I hadn't shattered the screen a 2nd time this spring and the digitizer didn't survive the second repair attempt. I've taken over my DH's S4, which is also 3yrs old and working great. I think 2-3 years is very respectable for general function, if you don't need the latest/greatest thing.

[shopgirl07]

My iPhone 4S lasted 3.5 years and was still going strong when I upgraded.

[mie]

I was using an iPhone 3GS until I upgraded to a 6 this year.

[Deleted]

I expect about 2. My phone is over 3 and it's really slow, doesn't respond all the time, GPS is out of whack, etc.

I have an S3 and I'm upgrading to an S6 soon.

[v]

Until I can upgrade at a discount (so two years). I like having new models with better cameras and more storage.

[niq]

I'm trying to get at least 3 years out of my current phone. But Android is such a fucking clown show, so who knows when an upgrade is going to render my phone close to useless. Already the maps-related apps are just total shit.

The past few phones I've gotten right at 2 years out of them.

[megstoo]

I'm still using my iphone 4s and it's one of the first ones so maybe 4 or 5 years?? Sure I'd like to get a new one but I'm not about the drop the money for it.

[msmerymac]

In the past, I've bought previous models at a discount, so the technology (even with the OS upgrades) usually lasts 2 years. I bought a brand new, latest model phone in December and I hope (*knock on wood*) it lasts 3 years, which would give me my money's worth, because I paid OOP.

[drloretta]

I've kept all mine until they died, much like our cars. They typically last 2-3 years before they either break or the battery won't hold a charge any more.

We have Windows phones

[aurora]

My original Motorola Droid (metal case and slide-out keyboard) lasted almost 4 years. It was a little slow by the time I replaced it but not horrendous. Verizon still gave me $100 for it (I was quite surprised).

I'll keep my current Moto X for 3-4 years if I can. I really hate planned obsolescence of electronics from an ethical standpoint.

[agnes]

I think I'm on year 3 for my iPhone 4s. It is sometimes slower and the wifi doesn't work anymore, but I could prolly keep it for another year if it means putting off spending $500.

My mom has had an LG something or another for about 2 years now. I have been trying to talk her in to getting a new phone for a while now because it's slow as molasses with practically no battery life. Sprint is forcing her to change phones this fall because it won't be supported on their new network or something like that.

[thatgirl2478]

I would expect about 3 years. I'm about 1.5 years into my current phone and it's still going strong, just as fast & as responsive as ever. I do, occasionally, drop it but that's pretty rare. I don't baby it, and I've been known to let my kid chew on it. I've got a Droid Maxx and have been happy with it.

[Deleted]

I usually upgrade when I can with my contract (every 2 years) but I expect my phone to be working well up until that point. My last phone had a shitty battery toward the end but otherwise worked fine.

I usually get a free or inexpensive phone so there is no reason not to upgrade - I didn't pay anything but a connection fee for my current phone.

[jinkies]

I'm on my 4th phone in 4 years, but that's my daughters fault and not due to a phone problem.

My current phone is a used 4S. I've had this one for a year. Just in the past month it's started crashing more.

My plan will go up by $10-15 a month when I eventually upgrade, so I've been putting it off for over a year. I'm hoping to last at least until Xmas with this phone.

Normally I'd like my phone to last 2-4 years.

[M]

I've only had one other smart phone. It's was a droid X. I had it for 4 years and it ran great! Until Hilo knocked it out of my hand and cracked the screen. It went down hill fast from there. I would have probably kept it 5...maybe even 6 years otherwise. I made it last 6 more months until the new Note 3 came out. 2 years later Note 3 still going strong.

I hardly download things on it, don't put much apps on it, and basically use it for emails and internet surfing.

H is a different story. He likes to test out new phones and download shit tons of shit. His never lasta more than 18 months.