Report Suggests Consumers Prefer Software Updates Over New Phones

Say you have a phone that’s about 2-3 years old and you were given the choice of either buying a new phone or just updating the current software to its next major build, which would you choose? According to a report from the New York Post, it seems that customers these days would much rather continuing updating their phones rather than buy a new one.

According to Jan Dawson, founder and chief analyst of Jackdaw Research, “We all know people still carrying around a 4- or 5-year-old smartphone and see no reason to upgrade.” He also notes that customers who used to change phones every couple of years “are starting to change their behavior.”

We have to wonder if this could be due to the fact that carriers these days no longer offer phone subsidies, where instead they allow customers to purchase a phone and pay it back over the course of 24 months in installments. Chetan Sharma, CEO of Chetan Sharma Consulting says, “Consumers are paying full price for new cellphones, so they are treating cellphones like computer purchases and keeping them longer.”

It is a rather interesting shift in trend, if true, but what do you guys think? With the new carrier plans where customers are encouraged to buy in installments, do you think that this has made you less inclined to upgrade your phone every couple of years?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, General
Tags: Android, iOS, study