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How’s Your Tech Upgrade Cycle?

Jimmu

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
How often to you upgrade your phones, computers, tablets, etc? (Purchase a newer version, not upgrade software)

I generally keep each phone for three or four years before upgrading to a new one. I find it to be an excessive waste of money to upgrade every year. I used to purchase two year contracts including the phone to reduce the down payment but with not being sure of what country I’ll be in two years from now this isn’t a good option for me anymore. A payment down on a new smartphone can be intense, but also I don’t want to leave the iPhone/Apple ecosystem so I use the product as long as possible to get the value out of it.

When it comes to computers, I just have my first personal laptop (mid 2012 MacBook Pro) that I purchased in late 2012 or early 2013 and have used since. It has still not failed me but soon I’ll be having to replace the hard drive with an SDD because I suspect it’s about to finally fail after nearly 8 years. Again, I really like the MacBook and having been able to keep it for nearly 8 years (and counting) I am sure that it was a good investment. The cost of a new one nowadays is so outragous that I’ll probably keep using the one I have until it fails and I can’t fix it.

I don’t have and have never had a tablet since I don’t see the point of having one where I have a phone and laptop already.
 
I'm in limbo right now. I don't replace often, because things keep getting worse and worse, of course. More expensive, less quality. My computer is six years old, the laptop I'm using right now is four years old... and my phone is also four.

I've been in need of a new computer since last spring, but I'm in a weird situation with my dad right now and he keeps talking over me. Sorted out some ideas in October, and my dad just dismisses them. I need his help because I don't drive. That's why I've been using this laptop instead. But this semester is going to suck because I don't have a permanent computer situation right now.

And now my phone issues are probably going to force me to spend my money on replacing that instead of a computer, so that's fun. My phone can't use LTE anymore and will frequently lock up to the point it's unusable when it's on data. The infuriating part of this is that this is all fake end-of-support stuff to FORCE customers to upgrade. **** off.

But no, I never willingly upgrade. Upgrades nowadays are downgrades, fight me.
 

TheGreatCthulhu

Composer of the Night.
Joined
Jan 22, 2016
Location
United States of America
Gender
Very much a dude.
For my desktop, only when I notice significant slow downs in modern games, but even then, usually a video card update. That's usually around 10 or so years.

But for other electronics, not so much.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Location
England
Gender
Female
I wait until my device is completely unusable, and then buy a second hand replacement when I can afford it.
I don't have the kind of money where I can go buying brand new tech.
I do make exceptions if it's something I'm really interested in, though.
 

~Kilza~

The Resting Sun
Joined
Sep 9, 2019
I try and hold off upgrading my technology for a few years (like, 4-5 at least). I've had my current laptop since March 2016, though that wasn't planned since my previous laptop (which I had since Christmas 2013) ended up having a hard drive failure and that was the end of that. I'll probably look into getting a new laptop (or maybe desktop since a laptop's not really mandatory for me anymore, idk) in 2021. I've had my current phone since July 2018, which replaced my phone that I had since August 2014, so that's a decent span of life that I want to keep up. After all, upgrading technology less means you save more money, and it's not like the technology itself advances at a rapid enough rate that you need to upgrade yearly.
 

Ninja

Well well well
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
Phones. I’ll upgrade them every year as I have the iPhone forever program. As it’s a device I use all the time, I don’t mind paying the premium to have the latest and greatest.

Laptops. Every 5-6 years or so. I have an HP Spectre x360 and it’s lightweight, fast, and gets the job done.

Computers. Ongoing. I build my PC so I can upgrade parts here and there as needed.

Sound. When it comes to audio devices, every other cycle. For example I upgraded from my AirPods to the Powerbeats Pro. I will likely upgrade to the AirPods 3 when they are announced.
 

Stormageden747

Zofian General
Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Location
Ram Village, Zofia
Phones: Whenever my next upgrade is usually. By then the phone already has problems because I use it for hours everyday.

Computer: Not too sure on this one, I just recently built a computer this year, so it's going to be a while before I upgrade. Probably will upgrade once the current high-end stuff becomes affordable, assuming I have money then lol
 

DekuNut

I play my drum for you
Joined
Jan 30, 2011
Location
Tangent Universe
Honestly, when I have to. I haven't really had the cash for much new tech the last couple of years due to college. But, over the past year i have gotten both a new phone and a new laptop, so hopefully that'll be changing soon enough.
 

Krazy4Krash

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 15, 2010
Location
'straya
Every phone I've had has been a hand-me-down from my family, and I've "upgraded" every few years. I'll probably need to replace my current one soon because the screen is smashed. I can't justify spending the money to fix it when I could use that same money to go towards a new phone instead.

I've had the same laptop for about five years now. It's definitely showing its age, so I'll need to get a new one soon. I've thought about getting desktop PC instead since I'm not living between my mum's, dad's and girlfriend's houses like I used to.
 

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