People Are Keeping Their Smartphones For Longer (For A Good Reason)

The last time I upgraded my smartphone, "The Batman" was in theaters, "Severance" was the hot new show, and everyone was playing the recently released "Elden Ring." I didn't buy my iPhone 13 thinking I'd still be holding onto it in 2026, but over four years later, I have no intentions of replacing it any time soon. I'm not alone in this, either. According to a Reviews.org survey, the average American keeps their smartphone for around 29 months, up from 22 months in 2016. An Allstate survey found that just under half keep their phone for over three years — a far cry from the annual updates that were once so closely associated with these devices.

I was never one of those people who got a new phone every year, but I used to upgrade more often. After about two years, the combination of frustration with my current iPhone and interest in the latest features would convince me to get the latest model. When it comes to my current phone, though, that urge to upgrade has yet to manifest.

The primary reason I've kept my iPhone 13 for so long is simple: It's still working. In the past, my phone would essentially tell me it was time to get a new one when it started to crash frequently or refuse to hold a charge for long. I got my current phone after my last one (then around two years old) shut itself off and wouldn't turn on for over an hour while I was away from home, a stressful experience I had no interest in repeating.

Four years on, though, nothing of the sort has happened with my iPhone 13. Its maximum battery capacity is 80% and, while it doesn't always run smoothly, I can't recall ever having to force restart it. With smartphones getting more and more expensive — the iPhone 17 and Google Pixel 10 start at $799 and the Samsung Galaxy S26 is $899.99 and up — holding onto my current, functional phone for as long as possible feels like a no-brainer.

Apple also hasn't given me much of a reason to upgrade, nor has Samsung or Google convinced me to switch. While the latest smartphone models offer greater power and new features, the differences between this year's phone and last haven't been particularly dramatic in some time. The iPhone 17 may have a better chip and higher-quality camera, but that's not nearly as eye-catching as the iPhone 4's front-facing camera, the iPhone 4S' Siri, or the iPhone X's design overhaul.

Smartphone makers are touting AI features lately, but my complete disinterest in having things like image generation and writing tools in the palm of my hand isn't unique. A 2025 CNET survey found that only 11% of smartphone owners in the U.S. upgraded for AI features, down from 18% in the previous year. The same survey found around 29% don't find mobile AI useful or want additional AI features, an increase from 25% in 2024.

AI has become inescapable, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees these features as detractions rather than encouragement to upgrade. I find the environmental, security, and overall societal concerns about the technology more compelling than custom emojis or smarter Siri. There's a part of me that wants to wait in hopes that the early hype dies down and smartphone makers start noticing that the majority of users don't care and aren't willing to pay for AI features.

My feelings aside, hype itself is no longer enough to sell a new phone. AI and folding smartphones (the other big buzzword in recent years) aren't exciting to the majority of consumers, and increasing prices makes upgrading less feasible, especially in this economy.

For me, though, keeping the iPhone 13 I bought back in 2022 has gone from a subconscious choice to a conscious one. My phone has yet to signal to me that its time is running short, and since Apple supports iPhone models for around seven years, I have plenty of time until planned obsolescence makes a new phone a necessity. That doesn't mean I'm planning to keep this phone until the bitter end, but for the time being, I see no reason to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new one.