20 thoughts on “Upgrading Phones”

1. I upgraded, but less because of the phone and more for the VR. The best change in Samsung is becoming less prone to drop damage.

2. Before I had one, I didn’t really see the appeal but they are really useful for the type of activities I enjoy. It is just too bad the actual call quality isn’t better on them. I don’t understand a lot of the design decisions. I guess the skinny jeans crowd drives them but I would prefer phones to be designed much differently.

   New ones are way too expensive and a lot of people were used to getting free upgrades every couple of years from their provider. This doesn’t happen much any more but you can occasionally get a good deal if you pay attention.

3. I didn’t so much upgrade as replace, last time; my current phone did get Android Pie, but it cost less than the old phone and I haven’t regretted it.

   It’ll get Android Q when it comes out, but since the new features everyone is gaga about have nothing to do with anything I want, I wouldn’t mind if it didn’t.

4. I have a Galaxy S8. I love it and I don’t feel the need to replace it.

   A fingerprint reader that works for me would be nice, though. I have an Apple iPhone SE and an iPad mini 4 and their fingerprint readers work fine for me. Maybe I’ll have good luck with the reader on the S10?

   1. I had the S8 and moved to S10. I prefer the fingerprint reader on the S8. Also, the S10 seems to have interrupt problems, as when any background task does something, it locks the foreground app. It may be just a blip, but when it happens streaming video will lose the stream while the audio plays on. The S8 didn’t do such things. The screens are roughly the same. If you want to upgrade and save money, the only difference between a Note9 and S10+ is processor.

      1. The notes are cool but you need a man purse they are so big.

   2. All the tech reviewers on youtube went nuts for the new S10’s. There were a lot of people who were Apple fanatics that switched over, which wasn’t a good sign because they also detailed the problems with Apple’s laptops and a lot switched away from those too.

5. I upgraded my work phone recently because I get a ‘free’ upgrade every two years and the phone company was bugging me to do it (mostly, I presume, so they’d have me sign on a two-year contract again; which is kind of pointless as the company pays so long as I’m working there).

   It’s bigger so it doesn’t fit in my pocket as well as the old one, the screen is a bit better, otherwise there’s no noticeable difference despite having twice the RAM and a much faster CPU. If I’d had to pay for it, I’d have kept the old one.

   The days when every generation of phone was an improvement over the last one ended a few years ago.

   For that matter, I’m getting sick of the constant and mandatory changes to various built-in apps; I’m almost tempted to stick to an old phone that can’t run the new apps. I can’t even figure out how to transfer epubs to the new phone to read there.

6. The prices skyrocketing is, I think, a big part of it–plus, we’re reaching the point on the curve where each new flagship phone isn’t that much faster than last year’s.

   Me, I cheated this year. I wanted a high-end phone but I didn’t want to pay Samsung or Apple prices. Instead, I ordered a Xiaomi from overseas. Flagship specs, literally half the price, and it works on Verizon, too.

   1. Yes. I must admit, I did like the iPhone XYZ (or whatever it’s called) I played with in the store, but it would have meant paying $600 on top of the contract vs getting an iPhone 8 for free with the contract.

      So nice, but no way.

7. My last upgrade was to the iPhone 7 Plus – and I do mean last upgrade. It does everything I need it to do, and much, much more. It’s essentially my second computer, but also functions as GPS and camera.

   I sometimes even use it to make telephone calls…

   1. Since I found that the GPS based pedometer is much better than my old mechanical version the phone is my constant companion. Also it is a lot lighter than the tablet so I take that on trips instead to save weight. It gives me a browser, a alarm clock, a camera, and email. What more can you ask?

      I also use it as an emergency communications device when I go hiking.

      Oh, and like you I do make two or three phone calls a year.

      1. ViewRanger is a great hiking app. Good maps and it has a buddy beacon. Not sure if it is on Apple though.

   2. But wouldn’t you want a better camera?

8. I find the new phones interesting, but I’ve yet to see a smartphone I could tolerate, old or new. The privacy issue is a dealkiller for me, so is the awful phone quality, and the size of the things – far too big for easy pocket carry.

   1. I’d have stuck with a dumb-phone if there wasn’t an app I have to be able to run for work. I originally had Android, which was a privacy nightmare at the time (and probably still is), but iOS is fairly safe if you turn off the bad stuff and don’t install random apps that want to spy on everything they can.

      At the low level, I also read the Apple iOS security document a few weeks back and was pretty impressed. They go a long way beyond basic drive encryption, which is all Android offered at the time I left it.

9. I still have my Galaxy Note 3. I’m waiting on 5G…or a used note 9. Note 3 still does everything I need.

   Also won’t replace my 8yo PC until the new ones have USB4.

   1. Yeah, I have a Linux PC from 2008 and a Windows PC from 2012, which was running modern games fine with a recent graphics card until it started locking up a few months back; I’m guessing the motherboard is dying so I’ll probably replace it once the new AMD chips come out.

      As with phones, there’s been so little progress in desktop CPUs over the last few years that there’s been little point in upgrading.

10. Galaxy S6 user here, paid $150 for it on eBay about a year ago. Had an S4 for years before that. Does everything I need it to as a phone, text messaging device, web browsing device and takes great pictures too. Paired with Cricket at $35 a month it makes me wonder why anyone pays more.

11. I’m still using my old Alltel flip phone; the phone company finally gave up trying to get me to “upgrade.” I carry mine in my purse most of the time, turned off; get it out and turn it on when I need to use it, which is rare. It’s also small enough to fit in a blouse or pants pocket in case I’m not carrying my purse for some reason. Costs me $22 a month, mostly for peace of mind in case I do need to make an emergency call (which I’ve had to do several times). Sometimes use it to call a friend while I’m out, mostly to ask if they need something from Sam’s or whatever. At home, I use an actual phone, with an answering machine. If someone needs to talk to me, they can leave a message.

    I know people who use their phones to look up sales and coupons; I do that (on my computer) before I leave the house. On-line coupons can be printed before I leave.

    Am I out of date and old-fashioned? Damned straight! And I’ll stay that way as long as I’m the one paying the bills.

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