How long will/should a quality phone like the S4 last? What's your update cycle?

[jcp007]

It depends upon my upgrade eligibility and how often devices update. Had my GS3 for 10 months before my GS4. Had a BB model for as little as nine months.

Sent Via My Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet

 

[JHBThree]

Should last two years or longer.

For me? Six months, tops. I had an S3 for that long, and an iPhone 5 as well. But when I reach that point I get bored and try to find alternatives.

 

[decepticlone]

I am rocking a GS2 purchased Feb 2012 which has been dropped a few times. The screen is cracked. I've accidentally submerged it in water. It continues to soldier on, but it's time for a replacement, this time with a nice case, because a new screen would cost $250. To me, yearly upgrades are for fools, including me now (no offense to all the other fools ). Samsung makes spectacular products.

 

[SoCalVisor]

I just upgraded from my Nexus One (received May 2010) to the S4, just 4 days shy of 3 years. I was perfectly happy with the Nexus One, except for the lack of internal storage issue. I don't even pay for my phones or service, but three years seems just about right for me.

 

[CR6]

Today's smartphones should last you a good five years, but just like pc's they will begin to slow down and lag a bit after a couple years. A simple factory reset and battery replacement should keep you going well past that as long as you take care of it, keep it in a good case and don't bog it down with too many useless apps.

tap'n

 

[dfb8085]

I really don't even know why I am reading up on the S4. By the time my upgrade gets here it will be about 1 1/2 years old and something else will be on the way.

 

[Jaimeg123prmt]

I had my BlackBerry Pearl for almost five years. Then I bought the Evo 4G; then a year later the Epic 4G Touch; then a year later the galaxy s3. Between those phones there was a huge difference. However, between the s3 and s4, there isn't a higher huge difference, I think.

 

[jhill110]

It should last forever as long as you take care of it really.
The good thing about the S4 is that with its removable battery, it can be replaced after the battery starts to get near its life end of about 5000 cycles

I'm definitely getting the S5 though whenever it comes out

I've been with Sprint for 9 years and I'm on my 5th phone and have never had one fail. I've only replaced 1... Lost and then later found.
The Phones should last at least 2 years (IMO).

I've been waiting for the S4 32gb to hit the streets so I could spend entirely 2 much for one. But... I'm thinking June 2014 when my next upgrade comes up I'll get the S5. My S3 has been a great phone and I'm sure it'll still be going strong in a year.
I don't really suffer from gotta have it-itis. Afterall, at my age, a year goes by pretty fast.

Sent From The Galaxy VIA Subspace

 

[bembol]

I agree at least 5 years.

Update Cycle? It's getting shorter down to 4-6 months. I can't remember the last time I kept one for more than a year.

 

[Smartext]

We all know that products that were made in the last century are mostly build to last. That is not what we have today. Smartphones technology brings big news to the market every 2-3 years, therefore, they will make sure that you will want to replace your smartphone - every 2-3 years. After those 3 years, which is the average time of an ( Y generation ) individual to upgrade their smartphones, they will buy it back from you ( not directly ) and sell it to the third world countries. ( in 3 years, most of africa will have the proper Infrastructure to handle S4 technology) That how it works, no matter what we want or expect.

 

[kilofoxtrot]

How often do you (or plan to) buy a new phone? every OTHER new product cycle?

Before I can answer, what time is it?

 

[jensigner]

Thanks for all the really good comments. So assuming there aren't any REALLY discontinuous/revolutionary features in a new phone, I'm thinking 3 years is my phone refresh cycle (which is in sync with my carrier contract). Longevity wise, based on some comments above, I'd say that at LEAST 6 years is a realistic expectation assuming proper care, so that selling it after 2 or 3 years is a good selling proposition.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

The difference between a smart phone and other electronics is that these devices are used constantly and carried with us everywhere. I can't believe that folks actually expect them to last more than 2 years to be honest. Even if the technology wasn't evolving as fast as it is, these devices take on a lot of wear and tear. I guess a lot of it depends on how much you use it and what you use it for...but for me I actually expect to upgrade my phone every 12-18 months.

5 or 6 years?!? When you think about the fact that the original Motorola Droid (Milestone) was released in October of 2009 (about 3 and half years ago), and that it came with 256 MB RAM and 512 MB internal app storage, and it's already well past obsolete. Even if you had kept it in pristine condition, it would be 3 or 4 OS updates behind and incompatible with many of the apps in the Play store, even if you had enough free storage to load them.

 

[decepticlone]

5 or 6 years?!? When you think about the fact that the original Motorola Droid (Milestone) was released in October of 2009 (about 3 and half years ago), and that it came with 256 MB RAM and 512 MB internal app storage, and it's already well past obsolete. Even if you had kept it in pristine condition, it would be 3 or 4 OS updates behind and incompatible with many of the apps in the Play store, even if you had enough free storage to load them.

You can say the same about cars. Personally, I prefer to own my car. I've had it for almost 9 years and don't plan on getting another. It still looks fairly new because I take care of it. Just bought my wife a new vehicle and we will keep it until it peters out. Some like to pour money into new cars every 2 years, others like to build retirement accounts with that otherwise wasted money. Yearly updates for cars, phones, expensive cable TV plans, etc., add up drastically.

 

[dlinares90]

It should last forever as long as you take care of it really

I certainly agree that if you take care of your device it should last a long time, but every processor will fail eventually.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

You can say the same about cars. Personally, I prefer to own my car. I've had it for almost 9 years and don't plan on getting another. It still looks fairly new because I take care of it. Just bought my wife a new vehicle and we will keep it until it peters out. Some like to pour money into new cars every 2 years, others like to build retirement accounts with that otherwise wasted money. Yearly updates for cars, phones, expensive cable TV plans, etc., add up drastically.

But it's not the same as cars. I recently bought a new car, trading in one that was 11 years old, so I get that, but mobile phone technology is moving exponentially faster than new car technology is. Though it may not have some of the newer features, a car is not going to be obsolete after a few years. My only point was that matter how much care you take with your device, the technology itself will be near obsolete after 3 years with a smart phone. I mean the original Droid is practically a Model T if you equated today's Android phones to current model vehicles....at least in my opinion. And like a Model T, if kept in good shape, it may be a collector's item, but you couldn't exactly take one out on the Interstate.

 

[MikeDubC]

I update every 3-4 months...I am not normal though

 

[decepticlone]

But it's not the same as cars. I recently bought a new car, trading in one that was 11 years old, so I get that, but mobile phone technology is moving exponentially faster than new car technology is. Though it may not have some of the newer features, a car is not going to be obsolete after a few years. My only point was that matter how much care you take with your device, the technology itself will be near obsolete after 3 years with a smart phone. I mean the original Droid is practically a Model T if you equated today's Android phones to current model vehicles....at least in my opinion. And like a Model T, if kept in good shape, it may be a collector's item, but you couldn't exactly take one out on the Interstate.

I agree, but the logic is based upon carriers' locked down bootloaders and limited access to Android OS versions. If AT&T would allow consumers to update their phones to the latest OS, they wouldn't sell as many every 12 months. The GS4 could potentially last the consumer 5 years or more if they could update to the latest OS. How it stands now, the carriers (most of them) require a phone upgrade to get the latest OS. So, the actual hardware is far from obsolete, rather the carriers use planned obsolescence via preventing OS updates. I work in the computer hardware and software industry and phone hardware is not obsolete until it either doesn't have the storage capacity to hold the latest OS or its processor or RAM begin to degrade. Additionally, I have a Motorola Atrix from 2011 which was dropped in water. We are still using it to test android app compatability.

 

[taynxtlvl]

I update every 3-4 months...I am not normal though

WoW! As much work as it is to set up all new twitter, FB, Tumblr, Foursquare, games etc etc, port contacts and everything 3-4 months is wild, that just seems tiring. I think every 2 years give or take a month on either side is reasonable and entirely in line with most peoples contracts. My last phone my lovely EVO 3D was right on time and concidentally (Or not so coincidentally) I was eligable for upgrading the first of April. so 22 months. And the was still performing flawlessly especially after the software upgrade last summer.

 

[jensigner]

It seems to me that we are pretty close to USEFUL features-saturation in smartphones so why bother upgrading so quickly? Whatever happened to wants vs needs? Of course if you have tons of kids, as brilliantly pointed out above, you have arguable justification for refreshing your phone every few months ... hmmmm