Latest reader poll pounds another nail in the annual phone upgrade coffin

My primary phone was a seven-year-old HUAWEI P30 Pro not too long ago. It still sits on my office side table, and even though I’ve since upgraded to a more modern Samsung device, I look over at it once in a while and remember the good ol’ days. Although its battery is slowly giving out and it’s stuck on Android 10, it’s probably the best smartphone I’ve ever used, and it demonstrates that older Android devices can well outlast their projected life spans.

That’s something that more consumers are now seemingly cottoning on to. With RAM and other component prices spiking in recent years, inflation remaining a problem that affects disposable income, and smartphone pricing floors rising, it’s now incredibly difficult to upgrade. And, given the marginal gains of modern phones over their direct predecessors, upgrading just doesn’t seem worth it.

At least this is my opinion. So, what do readers think?

In a recent poll, we asked you how long you’re likely to hang onto a smartphone. With 2,270 votes counted, here are the results.

Just 4% of readers upgrade their devices annually, which means that if they own a Galaxy S26 Ultra this year, they’ll get the Galaxy S27 Ultra in 2027. Is this sustainable? Probably not. Is it what enthusiasts would do? Absolutely.

In comparison, more than three times as many voters upgrade on a two-year basis. This option accrued 13.6% of the overall vote, while a further 16% prefer a three-year upgrade cycle.

This means that the remaining two-thirds (65.9%) of respondents go “four years or longer” between smartphone upgrades, which highlights several prevailing industry trends.

For one, we’re seeing the impact of extended software support windows, which now cover devices for up to seven years in some cases. This affects mid-range Google and Samsung models too, bringing budget devices a feature once reserved for quad-digit dollar flagships.

It also highlights the incredible build quality of modern devices. They may no longer win fights against asphalt without a case, but benefit from greater ingress protection and solid construction.

Then, of course, there’s the economic pressure I’ve already mentioned. Holding onto a working smartphone frees up cash for other necessities and emergencies. That might be an obvious benefit to some, but it really is tempting to want the latest and greatest device in your hand. At least based on the results of this poll, it was.

See you in four years (or more!)

We’ve published several upgrade-adjacent polls in recent months, and this survey is yet another data point that suggests annual smartphone upgrades are becoming exceedingly rare.

In a reader poll conducted last month, almost three-quarters (72.8%) of the ~4,100 respondents said they keep their phones for at least three years. This corroborated findings from December 2025, which indicated that almost half of the ~5,200 voters do the same, with a remarkable 29% only upgrading when their “current phone breaks.”

How old is your current smartphone? When did you last upgrade? Are you planning to upgrade your device this year? If so, what are you looking at? Let us know in the comments below.