Time to rethink phone upgrades?

[Borgie]

A lot of discussion on how the Fold 5 is not much different than the Fold 4. I was thinking about this.

1. First and foremost, corporations sell things to make money.
2. How much can you really change from year to year? Think of cars. A model I'll just pick the Buick Regal for instance. The car was the same style for 5 or 6 years. Same body, lights, etc.... Sure from year to year they would add a little something here and there but nothing drastic (and the price still goes up). Then after 5 or 6 years you get a total design change of the body. But think about it, really how much can you do with a phone. So you have a slab phone, you can change the corners, curve the glass, other than that the form factor is the same. Samsung revolutionized that by introducing the fold and flip. You will always get a new CPU, maybe faster storage, maybe more RAM, maybe a bigger battery, maybe better cameras. But all that faster, bigger, stuff still needs to be jammed into the same form factor.

So people want the embedded S pen. To put that in you have to take something out. What should be sacrificed. Until the new battery technology is perfected you still need room for the batteries. You want better cameras? Are you willing to pay for them? Should there be a Fold 6 Ultra with better cameras?

Are these companies colluding to keep prices up? Most thought Goggle fold would come in cheaper than Samsung, nope. I think even the Chinese foldables not available here aren't any cheaper. One plus is rumored to be cheaper but now they are delayed because they have to change the screen.

So with the fold 6 the rumors are a faster CPU (expected), better cameras, embedded Spen, bigger battery. Will the price go up? Will things need to be taken away to fit the s pen and bigger battery?

I think a lot of people are realizing this and not upgrading from the 4 to the 5. Not a thing wrong with that. The 5 will be my first foldable so I'm excited for it.

 

[Bkdodger1]

Delete dupe post

 

[Bkdodger1]

Well, I know plenty of people that don’t upgrade phones like most of us us here on the forums… I have friends with their phone 4 years and older… and the year to year of grades should not be so drastic IMO … I mean you really working to improve some things with a phone but when you stick to a certain type and style of what you wanna release, you don’t wanna scrap it and completely design something new .. I don’t think the foldable market is there yet for the lower prices. Let’s see now once OnePlus releases their new phone in the US …

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I think you're cutting Samsung too much slack by believing that the S-Pen isn't integrated this year because of space constraints... I honestly believe they could have easily accomplished it this year if they wanted to, but this year is the hinge flattening year If they also incorporated an S-Pen silo, how would they get people to buy the 6?

Samsung have been following Apple over the last few years in the sense that they do the bare minimum year on year to extract the maximum sales from the least R&D possible... look at this years watch as another example.

The only reason they upgraded the Flip as much as they did was that motorola forced their hand... I suppose the real problem is lack of realistic competition.

 

[BerryBubbles]

If I wasn't a member here, I'd probably still be using my Samsung s5 & wearing a Timex watch.

FOMO is contagious.

 

[joeldf]

Can't say hanging out around here somehow makes me want to buy new phones all the time. Most of the time, I just shake my head at what some people think are important.

Super high refresh rates, folding screens, multiple camera setups, all unimportant to me.

I upgrade around every two to three years because of capacity filling up or I dropped the darned thing breaking the screen. The loss of SD cards just makes capacity a bigger deal now. Breaking the screen was why I only had my S8 for a year and a half.

 

[KupKrazy]

These minor upgrades every yea

A lot of discussion on how the Fold 5 is not much different than the Fold 4. I was thinking about this.

1. First and foremost, corporations sell things to make money.
2. How much can you really change from year to year? Think of cars. A model I'll just pick the Buick Regal for instance. The car was the same style for 5 or 6 years. Same body, lights, etc.... Sure from year to year they would add a little something here and there but nothing drastic (and the price still goes up). Then after 5 or 6 years you get a total design change of the body. But think about it, really how much can you do with a phone. So you have a slab phone, you can change the corners, curve the glass, other than that the form factor is the same. Samsung revolutionized that by introducing the fold and flip. You will always get a new CPU, maybe faster storage, maybe more RAM, maybe a bigger battery, maybe better cameras. But all that faster, bigger, stuff still needs to be jammed into the same form factor.

...

I think a lot of people are realizing this and not upgrading from the 4 to the 5. Not a thing wrong with that. The 5 will be my first foldable so I'm excited for it.

This is brought up frequently, even with the Galaxy S series. Not everyone is on the same upgrade schedule - so the changes in this ZF5 might be more significant to them if they are upgrading from 2-3 years ago vs. someone upgrading from last year. The changes Samsung makes is not intended for people to upgrade every year (even though they'd love that), but rather for people who upgrade every 2+ years where these minor changes are not so minor anymore combined with changes from last year. It's weird because I think a lot of folks really do believe that everyone upgrades their phone annually. This forum of enthusiasts is not a good place to judge the typical upgrade cycle for the average person.

 

[The_Woo]

Woahhhhh.....I love it! This is one of those "deep" topics which makes you think.....lol

I agree with everyone. My own personal take is that I don't need multiple phones or a need to upgrade every year. I do it because I enjoy something new as minimal as it may be, and companies know that. It's a hobby and an expensive one, but I'm blessed to be able to do it. If there wasn't people like that, then this forum probably wouldn't exist.....There is a lot of peer pressure in here too, but that's my fault....

 

[kempsterX5]

I for one have been upgrading every year with the z fold line but I am sitting out this year because of minor changes to fold 5 from fold 4, I just got a new screen cover put on, added a new case and changed wall paper now I have what looks like a new phone but my hope is they embed s pen with larger battery and change screen ratio and I will jump back on the band wagon.

 

[ClintRo]

I upgrade every year... my brain says wait a year but my heart says you want that new hinge and slightly improved battery life. lol

My heart wins out every time!

 

[Joshua Luther1]

I rarely upgrade to the same model of a phone. I have bought new phones almost every year, sometimes less than so I can switch manufacturers or even the os. I'm contemplating trading in my Pixel 7 pro so I can go back to Samsung. I keep telling myself that the next phone I get, I will keep longer. I never do though. The only times I haven't been truly happy is when I have bought the cheaper phone or took a chance on a new model. I still wish I had kept my S21 ultra. That phone was a beast but it was also pretty heavy. Then the deals for the S22 plus and Tab S8 came out and I really wanted a tablet. A year and a half later, and the way I use my devices is changing. I want to simplify and pare back on my device usage so I can spend more time with my family. So now I'm looking for a phone that can suffice and fill the role of a big enough and powerful enough phone that will replace the Pixel and the Tab S8.

I've even thought about switching completely over to iOS but I just can't bring myself to do it. Even if I forced myself to do it.

The Fold and Flip just aren't for me. I really want the S23 ultra but it's pricey. Which is why I'm trying to sell my Tab S8 and then maybe wait to see what the trade in deals are for the S24 Ultra next year. I'll even be content to go with the S23 ultra if the price drops and they offer a good trade in deal. But usually they don't offer the same trade in amounts when buying last year's devices.

 

[jeetu4444]

Fold 4 was my 1st fold, But Fold 5 is very decent upgrade according to me
New Hinge , light weight
Brighter screen
Battery life alone a would upgrade
From S22ultr to S23 ultra
Now will straight buy S25 ultra
And Fold 7

 

[Joshua Luther1]

I am very, very tempted to trade in my Pixel 7 pro for the Flip 5. Through Verizon, I can get it for free with 36 months of bill credits. I just have to pay the taxes and activation fee. Weird, getting the Verizon one from Samsung, I would have to change my data plan in order to get the $1000 trade in. Through Verizon, I don't have to.

 

[J Dubbs]

I am very, very tempted to trade in my Pixel 7 pro for the Flip 5. Through Verizon, I can get it for free with 36 months of bill credits. I just have to pay the taxes and activation fee. Weird, getting the Verizon one from Samsung, I would have to change my data plan in order to get the $1000 trade in. Through Verizon, I don't have to.

The only thing about the Flip is the screen is a little taller and narrower. I didn't mind it once I adjusted. But to me it doesn't feel as big as the numbers imply.

But man does it feel nice in the pocket

 

[Poshworld]

I think you're cutting Samsung too much slack by believing that the S-Pen isn't integrated this year because of space constraints... I honestly believe they could have easily accomplished it this year if they wanted to, but this year is the hinge flattening year If they also incorporated an S-Pen silo, how would they get people to buy the 6?

Samsung have been following Apple over the last few years in the sense that they do the bare minimum year on year to extract the maximum sales from the least R&D possible... look at this years watch as another example.

The only reason they upgraded the Flip as much as they did was that motorola forced their hand... I suppose the real problem is lack of realistic competition.

I agree. They've gone the Apple route with minimal upgrades and price gouges.

 

[hk888]

A lot of discussion on how the Fold 5 is not much different than the Fold 4. I was thinking about this.

1. First and foremost, corporations sell things to make money.
2. How much can you really change from year to year?

Tried a Honor Magic V2 today. As a massive Samsung fan, it was painful. Realised just how much Samsung could of and should have changed the Fold5.