Survey finds annual phone upgrades aren’t very popular these days

It’s easier than it used to be to make a smartphone last. These days, yearly phone releases introduce only minor improvements, and phone makers like Google and Samsung offer software support that spans the better part of a decade. In a poll we’ve been running for the past couple of weeks, we found a lot of Android Authority readers are taking advantage of the situation, with the majority of respondents keeping their devices for longer than we would have thought.

Our poll asking readers how long they keep their Android devices presented three choices: one to three years; three to five years; and five years or longer. To our surprise, about three quarters of people who participated say they keep Android devices for three years or longer, with a surprisingly large portion hanging onto their phones for five years or more.

More than 44 percent of respondents chose the “3 to 5 years” option. That makes sense: phones are expensive, progress has become slow, and with Pixel and Galaxy phones offering software support for a full seven years, upgrading every three, four, or five years hardly feels like missing out these days.

Maybe more surprisingly, the second-largest share of voters, about 29 percent, said they keep Android devices for five years or longer. Phones haven’t changed that much over the past five years, but for an Android enthusiast audience, it’s surprising to know so many folks are holding onto phones like the Galaxy S21 and Pixel 6.

The smallest portion of poll participants, just over 27 percent, say that they upgrade every one to three years. That checks out; phone hardware hasn’t advanced in ways most people will value since 2023.

How often do you buy a new phone? Are you planning on keeping the one you have now for three, four, or five more years? Let us know in the comments.