How often do you replace your phone? For over a decade, I've been on a two-year cycle on a phone contract.With my last phone, and iPhone 14 Pro, I lengthened that to three years.Now my three years are up, but I don't feel any need to upgrade to a new phone.
The only thing that's wrong with my phone is that the battery capacity has dropped below 80%, which means it needs to be replaced.So, does it make more sense to do this than spend a bunch of money on a new phone? Battery aging is the main reason phones feel “old” I cannae push her any more, captain! Smartphones have long passed the point where even lower-mid-range phones really need performance upgrades.The average modern mobile processor has absolutely no issues handling common daily apps and media consumption.
Flagship phones are even less of an issue here.After all, even years after the launch of a modern flagship, mid-range phones are still catching up.The real problem is battery aging.
It only took three years for my phone to lose more than 20% of its capacity, and while that doesn't sound bad, battery aging accelerates.So it will lose capacity faster if I just leave it, and it will have trouble providing peak power, which means my phone will start throttling its performance.It’s dramatically cheaper than a new phone It just makes cents So, why drop $1000 on a new phone when there's nothing else wrong with the phone I have? The new one will only have marginally better specs and features.
Why not replace the battery? I got a quote from my local iStore, and it turns out it will cost about $100 to have my battery professionally replaced, though this varies by model and region.That means getting an original Apple battery and the phone's physical integrity restored, at least on paper.That's my plan right now, and I don't see why I can't get at least another three years out of this phone as a result.
Software support now outlasts battery health It's a good problem to have, but still a problem For a long time, phone manufacturers offered incredibly short support cycles for phones.You'd get three major OS updates, and then that would be it.Security updates would keep coming for longer, but eventually, apps wouldn't work with the last OS version your phone supports.
This wasn't that much of an issue because phone hardware was improving so quickly, and app requirements were in step with that.Now phone performance has plateaued.It's a mature technology, and there's just no rational need for such short replacement cycles.
It seems the industry agrees, because the likes of Apple and Samsung now typically offer six years or more of major OS updates, which means these phones will be compatible for much longer than before.It's hard to imagine what additions to typical apps could make them require more horsepower than even a phone from five years ago could offer, so that leaves us with the only disposable component in the phone: the battery.Frankly, I would not be surprised if some of the phones that shipped with a six-year support promise end up getting even more than that, as phone makers face the reality that all but the most tech-hungry customers aren't motivated to keep buying phones.
Repairs beat e-waste and hidden upgrade costs Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Let's be honest, we all talk the talk when it comes to using stuff as long as possible and limiting how much waste we create.In the end, however, we buy the new thing anyway, and I am as guilty of that as anyone reading this.However, I honestly think we've reached the same point with smartphones that we have with iPads.
People just feel no need to upgrade, so they don't.My wife's iPad Pro is over six years old at this point, predates Apple Silicon, and is still more powerful than she needs it to be.Some time ago, when my insurance company replaced my water-damaged Galaxy S21 Ultra with an S22 Ultra, I had my first experience of a single-generation upgrade.
To say it was underwhelming would be an understatement.Today I feel like even jumping three to four generations would feel pretty similar.It's certainly not a great feeling to spend so much money on a phone and receive basically no perceivable improvement.
Do your battery replacement right A potentially explosive decision While I am very in favor of battery replacement, I have to stress that you need to do this right.Don't have the battery replaced with a no-name generic model, and make sure the work is done by a reputable (and if needed, authorized) repair shop.Not every phone will have a battery that can be replaced, even by a professional.
So check whether the manufacturer supports battery replacement in principle.If they don't, and you have to replace it, look for a phone with a replaceable battery as your next model.The good news is that new battery technologies that take much longer to wear out are just about ready to roll.
So, hopefully, we'll soon see phones with batteries that last longer than their software support cycles.
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