Why we’re not updating our smartphones as often as we used to

Tech savvy Australians are hanging on to their smartphones for three years despite the plethora of new models being released each year according to a recent study by Finder.

Customers are not being tempted by the new shiny smartphones and are surprisingly keeping their device for three years on average.

Finder’s survey of 2,109 Australians revealed we are just not interested in trading up to a new smartphone as often as we used to.

Many of those surveyed have had their handset for about a year and half with the research showing it would be another 18 months before they started looking for a new phone.

The smartphone market has matured considerably with entry level devices now offering the features and performance that would have been seen with a high-end phone a couple of years ago.

According to the Finder survey, Gen Y updates most frequently every 27.6 months on average followed by Gen X every 34.1 months and Baby Boomers every 44.5 months.

“Gone are the days when each new generation of phone revealed huge new features,” says Finder’s Alex Kidman.

“The differences between one year’s phone models and the next aren’t that great, or that compelling.
“Big brands need to pull a rabbit out of a hat if they really want to create some buzz around their new models.”

Samsung released its Galaxy S8 flagship earlier this year – one of its most successful launches to date.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 8 later this year which is expected to have a radically new design and new features.

This year marks the 10^th anniversary of the original iPhone.

If you are looking to buy a new smartphone here are some tips to consider:

– Stay within your budget: There’s no point spending big money on a new phone if you’re not going to use all the features.

– Outright or on plan: Customer can choose to buy the phone outright or pay it off on a two-year contract. The advantage of buying the device outright is that you’re not locked into a contract and can shop around for the best monthly SIM-only plan.

– Storage: How much storage do we have on our device, is it expandable and can we take advantage of cloud storage.

– Data:  we are using more data than ever with our smartphones so whether we are committing to a plan or shopping around for a SIM-only plan, it’s important to find one that can match our monthly data usage.

– Do your research: It’s a good idea to do your homework before making that smartphone purchase.  Read our reviews here on Tech Guide and get your hands on them in-store.