How much should you spend on a smartphone
In the current spectrum, how much should one spend to get the best value? I know everyone has a different taste and budget. But analysing the current trend of smartphone culture could give a bit of insight into spending wisely.
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Divide the total cost by how many years of OS updates are given by the manufacturer.
This, plus make sure it's hardware security updates too, and not just OS updates. Some disenguious vendors like to confuse the two terms in their favor. I.e. fair phone.
the fairphone 5 gets 10 years of Security Updates by Qualcom and around 8 Years of Software Updates
don't know what you're trying to show here
I'm illustrating the window of Qualcomm soc security updates is smaller than the advertised fairphone updates window.
right, but FP took a industrial Chip instead of a Phone Chip because that industrial Chip has that extended Support
or did you learn something i didn't?
Could you please elaborate what you mean by saying “hardware security updates”?
Security updates from the hardware vendor. Classically Qualcomm and their system on a chip driver security patches.
You’re an Apple fanboy too, eh?
That’s the metric I’ve been using for the last decade-plus, and it’s kept me locked to Apple for that very reason. When you can get 6-7 years of completely new OS upgrades, and another 2-3 years of security updates after that, Apple is a no-brainer choice to make.
The new Google and Samsung phones have been promised 7 years of updates, including major Android versions and features drops!
Mm-hm. And Apple has been doing this since the very early days.
Let’s see how these abandonware-loving companies pull this off, first. My work phone was promised three years of updates, and it’s still waiting for Android 12. Which came out in 2021. I doubt that it, much less Android 13 and 14, will ever end up on the device from a bog-standard update.
Actually apple doesn't provide any guarantee. They've historically supported their devices for a while, but if they choose to cut their support short, it's entirely within their rights.
are you using surface duo or what? lol
No phone that I used in the last 10 years survived longer than 3 years so why would i care about 6-7 years of OS upgrades?
Have you tried an iPhone? With a case? Admittedly I don’t have experience with other brands but iPhones have always just worked, reliably, for my family of four, and have held up for years
They’ve usually lasted except for this last round where my teens had our old iPhone X’s: 3-4 years with adults, perfect. However the kids kept taking their cases off and dropping the phones. I don’t know why they were so careless this time around, but I can’t fault the phones. If they were trying to get early replacements, they only succeeded in carrying around phones with broken screens
Anyhow, good phones are sturdier than ever and can last with even the most moderate of care
I was using an iPhone X until just a few weeks ago, and my father is still using my old iPhone 6.
The iPhone 6 I got in 2014. That was just over 9 years ago. And my X lasted for over 6 years… and will be replacing my dad’s 6.
iPhones can last a hell of a lot longer than any Android device for the same care taken of them.
I've been an Android user since the beginning, started with the G1. But I'm starting to think about Apple. I have no other Apple products but I just don't care about phone tech any more. I want a long lasting phone that launches apps, texts, and makes phone calls.
As much as I would love to welcome you with open arms, be aware that each platform has highly opinionated ways of doing things. If you are a long-term Android user who is just looking for a “simpler” experience… yes, iOS is indeed a more user-friendly design and has less friction between its different parts, but it does so in much different ways that will present you with an initial learning curve that might be too much of a slog for you.
Just… get an iCloud tier that satisfies your storage needs. Even if you have no other Apple devices to sync to. Trust me, it’s literally an insurance package in case your phone gets lost, critically damaged, or stolen, and is stupidly simple to use as a recovery source. I quite literally cannot count how often I see people who have lost a crapton of personal photos and data because they were willing to get a $1k+ phone, but couldn’t stump up the 99¢/mo for that iCloud storage.