We’ve rounded up seven reasons why you shouldn’t renew your Android annually (or why, for us, it doesn’t make sense anymore).
The smartphone landscape has changed a lot since its inception a decade ago. Ever since the old “non-smart” phones started incorporating multimedia aspects, it became very clear that Cell phones are about to become pocket computers.
The fundamental difference between smartphone and PC development is that Technological leaps have occurred in a very short period of time. In a little more or less a decade we find ourselves with almost mature devices, while personal computers took much longer to get to where they are today.
The technological leaps that have taken place in such a short period of time have forced the switch to a new phone practically every year, though It’s not like that these days. If you give us permission, why do we tell you?
Innovate and evolve at a slow pace
The difference between a current terminal and a previous generation is negligible
We said it at the beginning of the article: mobile devices are practically mature these days. What do we mean by this? For which the list of innovations coming in the new version of the device It comes down to small changes that many users don’t even notice. If the smartphone evolution hasn’t stopped then we thought it would be years.
Let’s take a quick example of this. When Samsung first launched the Galaxy S and then did the same with the Galaxy S2, RAM, internal memory and processing power increased from one phone to another. This makes it very attractive to switch to the next generation: This means a faster terminal, with more memory to install applications without using a partitioned microSD card (something almost mandatory before), a substantial improvement in time and a camera compatible with faster mobile networks.
today, The difference between two flagships from different years and from the same manufacturer is not so easily noticeable. Continuing with the Samsung example, if you have a Galaxy S20, of course it’s still perfectly functional and functional as is. You may have realized that, just at the machine level, you still have a phone for years.
Mid-range phones are built to last
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro is one of the most powerful mid-rangers on the market
When I bought my first Android I did so without really knowing what I was getting into. I ended up with an HTC Explorer that, let’s not kid ourselves, wasn’t exactly a miracle. Early mid and entry range of Android They were a huge source of frustration.
Not only do these phones become obsolete very quickly (especially when manufacturers decide they won’t support them out of the blue), but Involves performance and internal memory space issues That they were more of a certainty than a possibility.
Today that has changed a lot. At the same time the updates to the applications are getting bigger and bigger, The capabilities of this phone have increased accordingly.
What’s more, it has been established as a mid-range Android since long ago One of the strongest market sectors All devices with Green Robot operating system. For example, a button.
By doing this, the manufacturers Stopped focusing only on the top of the rangeExtending mid-range support and ensuring that updates are received over several years.
The battery can last for at least two years
Batteries currently don’t differentiate that much between generations
It’s true that smartphone lithium-ion batteries degrade over time, but that doesn’t mean you should replace your phone a year after you buy it. In most cases, the mobile terminal battery Fully functional for the last two years.
Most manufacturers Battery health is managed to a science. Let’s say, for example, that intensive use of your phone gives ten hours of autonomy. With a year’s worth of decay, you’ll still be able to come up with something close to nine and a half hours. It is not as serious as it seems.
Also, you can always choose Change your phone’s battery In a technical service. This operation is much cheaper than buying a new phone, and in addition to saving money, it can extend the life of your terminal by several years. As if that wasn’t enough, phones today have great autonomy, so the degradation is also reduced by charging them longer.
The top of the range is getting more and more expensive
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a prohibitive price of around 2000 euros
Priced to access top-of-the-range models Increasingly prohibited. Anyone who buys one of these devices, hands out a sum that in many cases isn’t recouped from one year to the next. It’s hard for someone who already spent around 2,000 euros on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in 2022 to do the same in 2023 (which doesn’t mean there aren’t any).
This is not a problem exclusive to the top of the Korean folding range; We have observed this in other manufacturers and other models. Also, There are not many significant differences at the hardware level From one year to the next in the same range of models that we established in the beginning.
Already in 2018, in media like Android Central, it was analyzed whether it is worth moving from Samsung Galaxy S8 to Samsung Galaxy S9. The final conclusion is as shown in the data People who had an S8 probably won’t buy an S9, but of course they will wait a few generations before changing the terminal because, after all, there were no significant differences between the two phones. If this already happened a few years ago, imagine what will happen now The manufacturing, construction and design of the smartphone is at its peak.
Camera improvements do not support a new phone
Cameras don’t change much over the years
This is one of the many reasons someone might want to replace their terminal annually Get a better and more advanced camera. Whether through optics or through software and digital processing, it’s true that manufacturers have historically made photography and video a problem in order to sell more units.
The question we should ask ourselves is: Do we need a camera that’s slightly better than what we already have? Any decent mid-range phone already has a good camera with a good level of detail, and of course, flagships don’t need to talk about cameras.
These optical sensors have been good enough on their own for several generations now. They can withstand a few years doing a very good job, so Replacing them with only one year of life doesn’t make much sense.
Yes, some manufacturers can come up with a really innovative feature like Samsung’s Space Zoom, but rare exception.
You don’t need the most powerful processor for your day-to-day
The Dimension 9000+ is MediaTek’s crown jewel
With every update, manufacturers are taking the processor a step further. today We have very fast chips In the form of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and MediaTek Dimensity 9000+, which are said to perform the calculations of the main top of the range units.
In the past, this jump forward from processors was the most important factor Evolution of these chips was slow (at first).. Because of this, each new generation had considerable impact and older phones were quickly deprived of support and updates.
Currently this is no longer the case. Phones that are a few years old are still able to work better with the latest versions of the most popular apps, even if operating system updates are received less frequently.
A current generation processor may be 10% faster than the previous generation, but mostly You won’t notice the difference. Moreover, it is possible that with normal use of a terminal you will not even need the full power of the processor. And no, you don’t need the latest and greatest Snapdragon to view Twitter and Instagram.
Durability, because there is no planet B
Not renewing smartphones annually is one way to reduce ecological footprint
This may sound like a truism, but users We tend not to take environmental issues into account. The production and use of smartphones leaves an ecological footprint on our planet: the faster we change phones, the more we contribute to its growth.
by a Only questions of responsibility and sustainability, if we do not need to replace the terminal with a new one, it is better not to do this. Yes, you can always recycle your old phone, but it will still have a bigger environmental footprint than if you simply skip doing it when it’s unnecessary.
It is true that there are devices that respect the environment, but the first step is to help reduce the impact of technology use on our planet must come from us.
