Do All Phones Turn To Crap After A Year?

[Android Central Question]

Do all phones start dying after a year? It seems like most products these days are made to break down so that you have to buy a new one. Are phones any exception? Most people get new phones every 1-2 years. So manufacturers probably just build them to last that long at most. I got my razr maxx a year ago. And out of the box, it was very fast and responsive. It stayed that way for a while. But recently, a year later, it is becoming laggy and unresponsive. Many apps freeze and force close. Including the home screen! I'm not a heavy user and don't have a lot of apps or media stored on the device. I regularly reboot, delete old messages and clear app cache. I've read other reviews of the maxx that say the same thing about a year after purchasing. But I'm wondering if this is an issue with certain phones, or most phones. My girlfriend and I are getting ready to drop $500 on a note 3 and s4, and for that much money, I want to make sure they will both be good devices 2 years from now, at least.

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm wondering if this post was a glitch -- it sounds like it was posted some time in 2013, since there's a reference to paying $500 for Note 3 and S4.

In any case, the Razr Maxx is an old old phone -- released in 2011 (unless you're talking about the Razr Maxx HD, which was 2012). By smartphone standards, it has extremely outdated hardware and is running an outdated version of Android, both of which lead to more difficulties dealing with the demands of modern apps. So that phone isn't a great indicator of what phones are like today.

The main limiting factor for phones these days is the battery. Batteries have a finite lifespan, which the recent iPhone battery hoopla shed light on. The average phone battery will start to deteriorate after about 400-500 full charge cycles. Since most phones don't have a user-removable battery, this means that phones will start having battery issues after about 2 years of normal usage (earlier if the phone is used pretty heavily, later if the user takes good care of the battery). Since most people upgrade their phone every year, this generally ends up being a non-issue.

 

[Rukbat]

My V551 - flip phone, not smartphone, still works - after 14 years.

Both of my Note 3s still work - bought in 2013.

I haven't had my Pixel 2 long enough to know how long it will last, but I'm hoping for at least 4 years, unless something new comes out that I simply must have - like fingerprints, which is why I got the Pixel.