How long have you been doing this? There was a point (I would argue at least up to iPhone 6s) when every iphone was a massive upgrade.

Sometimes the newer model has a feature you'd like to have.

Sometimes you've discovered something you don't like about your current model.

Sometimes outside factors influence you (deals from your service provider, for example).

Many people (especially here on HN) can afford to get the new device every year, or every 2-3. So they do.

I don't really know what to say, though. People gonna people. Humans are often irrational, sub-optimal, and easily influenced. Happens to the best of us.

I like to get new phones every year or two. I enjoy it because I like gadgets, new phones always seem a bit more futuristic and beautiful than my old phone, and I like feeling I have a top of the line phone. On the other hand I drive my cars until they won't pass inspection and the repair cost exceeds the value of the vehicle. I don't care about cars. I know some people replace their cars every 2 or 3 years. People care about different things.

Peer pressure specially if you are young?

My phone is my most used (personal) daily device, I use it for maps while driving, to text people, call people, browse Reddit/HN, occasional YouTube etc. I can also easily afford to replace it every year if I want to. I do but usually the upgrades are incremental so I do it every 2 years.

I’m gonna pass on this years iPhone because of the lack of a sim tray though.

Here is a comparison page for the iPhone 11, which is three years old, vs the latest iPhone 14:

https://www.apple.com/sg/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone-11...

If you replace your phone every three years, you would be getting that upgrade now. If you replace your phone every five years, you would have to wait another two years for those features.

A few things that stand out are: a better display, a much better camera, much better battery life, much better performance, faster Internet, a tougher and more water-resistant build, and dual eSIM support. These are all concrete improvements that make my day-to-day life better. Why wouldn’t I upgrade if I can afford it?

The camera in particular stands out. Thirty years from now, you aren’t going to remember how fast your phone was or how much it cost. But you’ll still have the photos and videos it took. Your upgrade frequency today affects the quality of the photos and videos you look at for the rest of your life.

In addition to this, Apple devices hold their value very well on the second-hand market, so selling your old phone while it’s still useful offsets the cost of the new device by a significant fraction. If you keep your phone until it wears out, it’s less cost effective overall.

For an awful lot of people, upgrading every two to three years is a good deal, which is why Apple are making so much money.

I'm not in the yearly upgrade cycle, but I do tend to replace mine every few years.

In terms of speed, ever since the OnePlus One I bought back in like ~2014, I can't think of a time I have been unhappy with the raw performance of a phone by the time I go to upgrade.

Battery life is also not something I usually use as justification for a replacement, as I am fine going with a third-party place or doing it myself, depending on the complexity—the one exception was when I woke up to such a swollen battery while I was traveling in Russia that the screen fell out; it was such a mess and at such an inconvenient moment that I just bought another phone for the time being.

Rather, there is usually some sort of other nicety that is finally compelling, or circumstances force it upon me.

My example will seem silly given the fact that the solution is one to a bit of a manufactured problem in the first place. But despite the fact that Vivo, Xiaomi, etc., launched the first in-display fingerprint sensors almost five years ago, Apple still insists on Face ID. Normally, this works fairly well and doesn't bother me too much, so I keep my absurdly long and inconvenient iPhone password as I am rarely entering it when I have it on me.

However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and everyone began masking, good lord, it made me stop wanting to use my phone at all outside. It was so ridiculously inconvenient entering 30 characters each and every time I wanted to check anything at all, especially since I have my boomer-esque 45 wpm typing speed when I am using my phone.

Apple, multiple years late, finally released their feature to unlock your phone while wearing a mask. But it requires an iPhone 12 or newer.

This is an example of a scenario where even though I'd probably have been happy with an iPhone X, XS or 11 otherwise, the newer device still becomes very compelling.

(also yes, I know they let you unlock your phone while wearing an Apple Watch, but I don't want to have to have one just to use Google for 30 seconds while outside)

Of course, the true solution there is probably not to buy yet another iPhone but rather a device that respects you, but everything is a tradeoff, and at times, I need an iOS device specifically, etc. It is what it is, but I am locked into this ecosystem for the time being ;-)

> As someone who buys a good smartphone then hangs onto it for 5 years, can someone help me understand the need for this?

There's no need for it. However, the cost difference between the two extremes (upgrading every year vs. upgrading every 5-6 years) might be less than you think.

Last time I ran the numbers, I estimated that trading in every year for 5 years cost about $500 more than trading in once after 5 years. In other words, you pay ~$100/year to always have the newest phone.

I think that many people replace after 2-3 years because 1) that's when the warranty runs out; and 2) you don't save much vs. holding on to the phone for longer.

I used to get one every sell, sell the last one, and make a profit since it was tax deductible.