When it’s time to change your smartphone

When we buy a new phone we never ask ourselves the question “how long will it last”? Many hope that the phone will last as long as possible but, either by choice, or due to technological progress, or above all due to the battery which lasts less and less, you can’t hold a phone for too longespecially if we notice some typical “advancing age” problems appearing.

Understand when it’s time to change your phone for a new one it is therefore, in reality, very simple.

READ ALSO -> 15 different ways to use your old Android phone

1) Lack of space on your phone

The first symptom that the phone is now too old is the lack of space in internal memory, especially after having installed many apps and downloaded (or taken) many photos and videos. This moment could come even sooner than expected, especially if we love using our smartphone to photograph anything or to make high definition videos.

The advice we can give you is to move photos and videos to the cloud using Google Photoclean the internal space regularly with an effective app like Files di Google e di disable automatic downloading of photos and videos from WhatsApp.

If these tricks don’t work and your memory is always 80% full or so, it’s worth considering replacing your phone with a new one smartphone with at least 256 GB of internal memory.

2) No updates are downloaded

Different phone manufacturers provide different updates after the phone is released; as many users will surely have noticed some manufacturers are faster than otherswhile some no longer release updates after a certain amount of time (for example after two years from release on the market).

If we have a Android phone we can expect 2 years of updates and at least one version upgrade (from Android 13 to Android 14 for example); if instead we have an iPhone we can expect 4 years of support from release date of the product and at least two version steps.

This difference can push us to get a new phone sooner than expected, especially if we focus on manufacturers that no longer update their phones after a short time; if we notice that we no longer receive updates after 12 months probably the phone ended up out of supportwith all that entails (lack of security updates, absence of new functions and new emojis, etc.).

To learn more we can read our guides on how to check updates on Samsung, Xiaomi and Android phones come on how to download updates on iPhone.

On older Android phones without updates we can always change the ROM and stay updated, as seen in the guide above how to update android on old and unsupported phones.

3) The battery drains quickly

The biggest problem with a smartphone, after a couple of years have passed, is the sudden drop in phone battery life. A new battery should be able to last the whole day, while a worn out battery will hardly last half the day, having to recharge the phone often and willingly.

This gives us another big clue to understand if it’s a good time to change your phone: if we use the charger two-three times a day over 2 months it is better to choose our new phone immediately, focusing only on models equipped with at least 5000 mAh of battery.

4) Modern accessories cannot be used

New accessories may not be compatible with our old phone or may work poorly: just think about fast charging magazinesai wireless charging stands and at new headphones or earphones with Bluetooth 5.2 or later.

These accessories work just fine if we use a recent phone (at least 2022); all other phones may not be compatible or run at slow speed, thus limiting the benefit of taking advantage of modern technology.

For further information we can read our article ai best cell phone accessories to add to your smartphone.

5) It is not possible to use modern technologies

Modern smartphones support new technologies increasingly used in everyday life, which can make our phone appear old:

• NFC: fundamental for pay by phone without using your credit card or debit card.
• Wi-Fi 6: this new Wi-Fi technology is much faster and more stable than previous ones and must be used with a compatible modem.
• Ricarica wireless: modern phones can be recharged without any cable, simply by placing them on stands or wireless chargers (charging is slower but very convenient).
• Cameras with AI and OIS: all modern rear cameras included in the latest generation smartphones have artificial intelligence (which improves photos in real time) and an optical image stabilizer (to always take perfect shots, without blurring).

If we feel the need to use even just one of the following functions it is worth replacing our old phone, focusing only on the high-end models to immediately have all the characteristics described.

Conclusions

A modern phone lasts an average of two yearsthen it must be replaced: even if this rule is not valid for all phones (for example iPhones they receive many updates and they last longer) replacement may be necessary due to lack of space, lack of support for the devices we have purchased and the absence of that function that all our friends, colleagues or relatives have on their phones.

Don’t know which phone to buy? We can take help from the suggestions in our guides to smartphones more similar to the iPhone that cost half as much eh best cheap Android smartphones.

Always on the same topic we can read the article on what to know before buying a new smartphone.