Pretty much on an annual basis, smartphone OEMs introduce new models. Some might introduce new models every few months, but generally speaking refreshed specs and upgrades come on an annual basis. There are probably users out there who upgrade every year, or every few months even, but who holds on to their phones the longest?
As it turns out it is BlackBerry users. This is according to recent data from Kantar Worldpanel who found that BlackBerry users tend to keep their phones around the longest on an average of 32 months. This is versus the average smartphone consumer who was found to hold onto their devices for about 22 months before making an upgrade.
However we can only assume that this is largely due to the fact that prior to recent times, carriers tended to lock their customers in with 2-year contracts, thus preventing many from making more frequent upgrades. However as carriers have started to abandon the traditional 2-year contract plan in favor of installment plans, perhaps those numbers will change.
Other interesting stats offered by Kantar has revealed that while BlackBerry owners hold onto their devices the longest, Microsoft’s Lumia handsets have the shortest replacement cycle of 16 months. Apple’s average replacement cycle is at 25 months which is interesting given that more and more customers buy iPhones every year, while Samsung is at an average of 18 months.
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