Is it even worth upgrading mobile handsets these days?

[B3NNL]

I come to the end of my contract on my Huawei P30 Pro in a week and usually I get all excited and start to look for the next upgrade that I never knew I couldn't live without!
So hastily today I spent a while online looking at options and for the first time in a very long time, I'm tempted to just get a sim deal and keep the handset.
I use the camera a lot which is another reason I'm not drawn to the latest Iphones etc when compared to the Huawei. Is there currently anything out there that would be "lifechanging" for me in the world of smartphones?

1st world problems eh...

[Munter]

No it's not worth it.

I've been SIM only and buying phones as and when, for years and years.

Phones last about 3 years for me before I start to think new ones last longer/have better features.

[Pothole]

May as well keep it. I'm SIM only now and just bought a Xiami Poco X3 for £150. It's great for what I need.

[Jamescrs]

I moved to Sim only around 3 years ago now and haven't regretted it. At the time of doing it I had a Pixel 2 XL and there was nothing at the time I felt was a huge upgrade for my use.

As the phone failed I bought a Galaxy S10+ used from Music Magpie on their top grading and this phone is more.than upto my needs so again I feel no need to chase the latest handset.

Maybe when this one fails I'll look at 5G but I dont feel im missing out.

I dont see me going back to paying for phones on contract, I think ill remain sim only and buy handsets when they break rather than because I want the latest.

[GT03ROB]

I have an IPhone 6 & 7. Don’t see any point in changing. do what they need to do, Changed the battery on the 6 late last year as it was knackered.

[sociopath]

I bought a OnePlus 6T off amazon and stuck it on an ee sim only deal with 2gb if data for £10 a month

However many years later its still doing everything I need and with the ee boodter every 3 months I now have 12gb of data per month, still for £10.

Can't see any reason to update anything

[mike9009]

I have been SIM only for five years. It means I don't needlessly change phones because the contract has ended. It means I have more money in my pocket rather than a phone with features I don't really need in my pocket. It means I have changed providers and got more data.

The only significant changes to the tech in the last five years seems to be the camera/ screen. I have a DSLR sat in a drawer.

[Doofus]

My phone is a phone, It's SIM only, and does everything I need (Samsung Galaxy S8). I do most stuff with a tablet, and that does need an upgrade, but my phone is just fine given all it does it phone calls, texts and emails.

Plus, if I upgrade my phone, the new one will be too big to fit in my pocket.

[AJB88]

I used to change mine every year, Had a few iPhones then Galaxy S1,2,3,4,5 then Nexus 5, Nexus 6P, Pixel 2XL and now Pixel 4Xl

Find its better to change every 2/3 years now but even then they often dont feel like a massive upgrade.

[Glosphil]

Have owned a Honor 9 Lite on sim only for almost 3 years cost me about £130 & does everything I want. Wife has same phone - simplifies my tech support role.
SIMs are BT on a deal because we have their broadband. £5/month each for unlimited calls & texts + 4GB data.
Before this had BT SIM in another cheap Chinese phone for 3 years.

[AJB88]

I've been on sim only with Three, EE and now Smarty (owned by Three), my Pixel 4XL will be 2 years old in October, might get a new one when they come out will see what features it offers (Pixel 6) but in reality might not bother.

[sjg]

Incremental stuff really. Everything is fast enough and has a good enough camera now so unless you’re particularly discerning or want features like wireless charging, waterproofing and don’t have them now, not much need to upgrade.

I’d been getting a new iPhone every 2 years but will stick with the XR for another year or two at least.

[Doofus]

My biggest concern is size. My phone lives in my pocket, even when driving. Much bigger than I have now will make that much more difficult. All newer phones (with at least the same features as mine) are bigger. The assumption seems to be that people use their phone as their only 'device', and I don't, so I want my phone to be a manageable size.

[AJB88]

Yeh fully agree, my Pixel 2 XL my mum has now, does her fine, it has now run out of OS updates from Google, she doesn't do banking on it etc so will be fine for her. But I would be upgrading it now as do banking etc on mine.

[C n C]

iPhone 6 here which I bought outright new at the time and have had Giffgaff sim in it.

Over 6 years old and still happy with it. Battery still over 80% original capacity.

Mainly use it for email, hotspot for Macbook Pro (also over 6 years old and going strong), WhatsApp, banking, alarm clock, a couple of games and some basic photos.
If I want top quality photos, I'll take out the full frame DSLR.

Not worried about the phone itself being waterproof as it has been in a waterproof case from day 1.

When I do need to change it, I'll probably go for a used/reconditioned later iPhone, but not the latest.

[Sheepshanks]

B3NNL said:

I use the camera a lot......

All the 'camera people' seem to be eagerly awaiting the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

[bmwmike]

I'm still using my note4. It literally does everything i need except one thing - the volume defaults to ringer volume not media volume. Also not getting security updates any more, i think, and as a security pro this irks me. I don't know what i'll replace it with, definitely a newer android though.

[Terminator X]

I'm always PAYG SIM card then buy a mobile every few years on eBay either nearly new or 2nd hand. This current one though is fine and I've had it for 5 years or so!

TX.

Edit - BlackBerry user too, not many of us left

[98elise]

I'm currently on a galaxy S7 and see no need to change unless the phone breaks. All of my family are out of contract on SIM only deals, so the sum total of our phone bills is £40 a month!

[AJB88]

Mate of mine asked me if I could help update his S7 Edge the other week as a few apps had stopped working now saying they need to be updated but no update available. Surprised to see the latest update on it was Android 6, bearing in mind that Android 12 will be out later in the year.

Flashed LineageOS for him.