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Vodafone Finds Brits Keep Mobile Phones for 4 Years Instead of 2 (www.ispreview.co.uk)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 2 points 3 years ago (1 child)

When smartphones first took off, each new one was a large upgrade

And they were subsidized by the cell phone company, so they only cost $200 (In many places in the US, at least).

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    Yeah definitely this is a big factor.

    I have a small pot I save into for my phone upgrade each month. Waiting longer means I get a shiner new phone when I do finally decide to upgrade.

    And once I have it I want it to last as long as possible!

    When it used to be just part of your contract you wouldn’t think about, just get a new one when your contract said it was time.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    There wasn't even a maximum on the contract. When I got my first two phones, I agreed to a 2-year cellular contract. If I closed my account or moved providers before that, I had to pay AT&T some amount of money to kill the contract. After those two years were up, I could do whatever I wanted. I was then on a month-to-month payment, like standard cell plans today. They just wanted to make sure to recoup their money over 2 years for subsidizing my cheaper phone upfront.

    Now, the subsidization is more like a subscription fee, where there are additional fees on the bill each month toward the phone and the cell phone company encourages you to get a new one once it's paid off. You're still paying full price for a phone. Possibly forever.

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