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> People on average change their phones every 3 years People in my circles seem to use their phones for 6-7 years atleast.

kimbernator 3y ago
This figure sourcing gallup has nearly half of Americans replacing their phone "as soon as their carrier allows it": https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/07/15/how-often-does-the-average-american-replace-his-or.aspx https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/07/15/how-often-...
- jen20 3y ago
  Of course - it's not like the monthly bill becomes less if you have a phone taken from a carrier, so you should change it out immediately.
  - kimbernator 3y ago
    It absolutely does go down if you're not making payments on a phone
- Clent 3y ago
  That article is from 2018. 2 Year Contracts were still a thing back then. The contract included a hidden fee that covered the cost of the device spread out over the length of the contract. That is all gone now. Carriers have post-paid plans where the monthly device cost varies based on device. These are 0% interest loans from the carrier. At the same time, people have started holding their phones longer. Renewal periods when to 30 months, then 36 months. Some people will never be happy but cellphone customers are never happy. Why can't people just enjoy our pocket computers with their always on connections?
  - _chu1 3y ago
    The mistake was giving the general public pocket computers with always on connections and acting like they wouldn't be stupid with them or turn them into status symbols
  - kimbernator 3y ago
    I worked for a verizon reseller in 2014-2015 and 2 year contracts were not very common by the time I left. 0% loans on 2 year periods were big by then. Functionally I don't think "normal" people really see a big difference.
dotancohen 3y ago
And those people are the reason that the average is three years, instead of one year like the teenagers do.
- kaba0 3y ago
  Your bubble is showing again — only rich parents’ kids buy a new phone yearly.
  - dotancohen 3y ago
    This is not Reddit, you do not need to prefix comments with personal attacks. Nor is karma farmed here by insinuating that you are poor, confused about your gender, or had abusive parents. If by "bubble" you mean my family, nobody but the eight year old has seen a new phone since before the first COVID lockdowns. And the phones that my children use were are purchased with money they earned themselves - including the eight year old. He decided at six that he wants a phone, and saved for two years to buy one - not a grain of which was aquired through his parents.
    - ryanjshaw 3y ago
      Genuinely curious - how did your 6-8 year old earn an income that didn't come from his parents?
      - dotancohen 3y ago
        He walks smaller dogs and sells drinks that he makes at the football field near the house. The neighbour lets him pick lemons to sweeten the drinks. He worked for two years to buy the absolute least expensive phone available. I did buy him a case as a gift for achieving his goal, though: $3 on Aliexpress. I should mention that he also managed to buy two goldfish during this time - also with his own money. So he learned very well to budget, and that each thing that he buys along the way pushed back his goal.
        3y ago

kimbernator 3y ago

This figure sourcing gallup has nearly half of Americans replacing their phone "as soon as their carrier allows it": https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/07/15/how-often-does-the-average-american-replace-his-or.aspx https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/07/15/how-often-...

jen20 3y ago
Of course - it's not like the monthly bill becomes less if you have a phone taken from a carrier, so you should change it out immediately.
- kimbernator 3y ago
  It absolutely does go down if you're not making payments on a phone
Clent 3y ago
That article is from 2018. 2 Year Contracts were still a thing back then. The contract included a hidden fee that covered the cost of the device spread out over the length of the contract. That is all gone now. Carriers have post-paid plans where the monthly device cost varies based on device. These are 0% interest loans from the carrier. At the same time, people have started holding their phones longer. Renewal periods when to 30 months, then 36 months. Some people will never be happy but cellphone customers are never happy. Why can't people just enjoy our pocket computers with their always on connections?
- _chu1 3y ago
  The mistake was giving the general public pocket computers with always on connections and acting like they wouldn't be stupid with them or turn them into status symbols
- kimbernator 3y ago
  I worked for a verizon reseller in 2014-2015 and 2 year contracts were not very common by the time I left. 0% loans on 2 year periods were big by then. Functionally I don't think "normal" people really see a big difference.

dotancohen 3y ago

And those people are the reason that the average is three years, instead of one year like the teenagers do.

kaba0 3y ago
Your bubble is showing again — only rich parents’ kids buy a new phone yearly.
- dotancohen 3y ago
  This is not Reddit, you do not need to prefix comments with personal attacks. Nor is karma farmed here by insinuating that you are poor, confused about your gender, or had abusive parents. If by "bubble" you mean my family, nobody but the eight year old has seen a new phone since before the first COVID lockdowns. And the phones that my children use were are purchased with money they earned themselves - including the eight year old. He decided at six that he wants a phone, and saved for two years to buy one - not a grain of which was aquired through his parents.
  - ryanjshaw 3y ago
    Genuinely curious - how did your 6-8 year old earn an income that didn't come from his parents?
    - dotancohen 3y ago
      He walks smaller dogs and sells drinks that he makes at the football field near the house. The neighbour lets him pick lemons to sweeten the drinks. He worked for two years to buy the absolute least expensive phone available. I did buy him a case as a gift for achieving his goal, though: $3 on Aliexpress. I should mention that he also managed to buy two goldfish during this time - also with his own money. So he learned very well to budget, and that each thing that he buys along the way pushed back his goal.
      - 3y ago