The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.
While squeezing as much life out of your device as possible may save money in the short run, especially amid widespread fears about the strength of the consumer and job market, it might cost the economy in the long run, especially when device hoarding occurs at the level of corporations.
From a macroeconomics perspective, the best way forward is to give people money (handouts) so they can buy more stuff. More consumerism -> hotter economy.
Smartphone companies are trying to push phones with planned-obsolescence on people sothat people buy new phones more frequently, and that’s a bad thing for the consumers because they have to spend more money.
The best way to respond to that is if consumers prefer buying smartphones from companies who have produced long-lived smartphones in the past. That means if company A produces shitty, short-lived smartphones, people indeed buy a new smartphone after a short while but from another company B who is willing to develop better quality.
Quickly and people, you need to become more wasteful again, you’re hurting the economy
Edit: Archive of the page
The person who wrote this must be absolutely insane. How I’d it a bad thing for the world that people are holding on to their devices? Less e-waste and people don’t spend impulsively. It’s also very logical: smartphones reached a plateau and people aren’t exactly swimming in money with the rising price of everything.
The person is writing from a business prospective. If people are replacing their phones less often, it means that fewer phones are being purchased each year. If your company makes phones, that means adjusting to a shrinking market no matter what your company does.
I am not an economist. I am not an expert on anything consumer. It is, however, plainly obvious that companies are trying to squeeze blood from a stone at this point. They can’t make money anymore with pay to own and innovation like they used to for a variety of reasons. From greed to enshitification. If you look at it with a different view, everyone is poorer because they are greedy, they’ve ruined everyone’s lives but must make numbers go up. So they find new and terrifying ways of screwing you over for diminishing returns. Like this. Relying on turnover sales and nothing else.
Relying on turnover sales and nothing else.
The best way to grow the economy is to develop spaceflight. If you fly to mars, there’s millions of acres of free real estate waiting for you. Time to construct and grow the market.
There’s no more meaningful growth on Earth possible, because the physical limits have been reached. This effect has been predicted as far back as in 1970 with the report: The Limits To Growth. We’re finally seeing the effects of that now.
From greed to enshitification. If you look at it with a different view, everyone is poorer because they are greedy, they’ve ruined everyone’s lives but must make numbers go up…
This is the leading concept behind Capitalism. It’s a self-devouring system. Every. Single. Time.
Yeah. I’d even say we went beyond late stage capitalism. We are now on the cusp of a feudalistic society more akin to the corporate dominance in Blade Runner or Eve Online, maybe The Expanse, then anything resembling capitalism. Corporations are more powerful than nation states, many people are indentured to their workplace via healthcare needs or non competes, etc. So there’s that. This is an entirely new thread though so I’ll stop it there. TL;DR - This shit sucks.
Not close enough to CP2077
kill the job market, ramp up inflation… who could have ever seen this coming.
29 months is too long??? I consider that the absolute minimum.
If my device doesn’t last at least 36 months I look for a new company. I aim for at least 48 months.
I refuse to buy Samsung or Google devices anymore, since they definitely did not meet my 36 month criteria. They didn’t even make it to 24. Google did at first with my Nexus 4 and I loved it but they shit the bed real quick after that.
Either I’ve had weirdly good luck with Samsung, or I’m exceptionally gentle on phones. I expect 6 years minimum out of my Notes, and so far that’s held up.
I bought an older Samsung and only use it for doom scrolling, 2FA, and podcasts. Its fine stripped down to nothingness. My next purchase, once the cracks from me dropping it spread, will be an older Pixel so I can run GraphineOS. I’m hopeful that like my Linux experience, it’ll extend the devices life given my use case. Like buying old laptops and kicking windows to the curb in favor of Linux buys you tons of time and product life.
7 years now.
While it may seem to be a smart money move, it can result in a costly productivity and innovation lag for the economy.
For the love of god! Won’t somebody think of the economy?!
Another example of “the economy” meaning the ultra wealthy’s bank accounts.
Oh my bad, I need to consume more to increase shareholder value. Almost forgot
Good.
Oh look, it’s the consumers who threaten the economy, not the fucking ghouls in the C suite, killing jobs and cutting wages. How dare they not having enough money? How DARE they?
Kevin Williams, the author of this article is a very special breed of stupid.
Kevin, if thats even a real person at this point in media, is just pushing stories and discourse aligned with corporate speak. Let’s consider it less stupid and more complicit, which I argue, is even worse.
yeah…his previous article just before this one was “Americans are heating their homes with bitcoin this winter”
you’re a couple years late to that hype cycle, Kevin.
I dislike having the comma of direct address thrown at me. At least close the aside!
Nah they’re referring to a different Kevin Williams.
That at least skips the need to legally change my name.
29 months is a long time?
I’ve had this one since 2019
My wife finally upgraded after 5 years, and I’m on year 4 of my Pixel 6 and its still going strong, will probably go another 1-2 years with it.
