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US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

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Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#91
post #8

I bought refurbished iPhone SE 2nd gen from eBay for ~$130 in July 2023. Looks brand new. I use Chargie to extend battery life and a magnetic charging port adapter to eliminate charging port wear. When battery will wear out I’ll replace it with the one from iFixit. Let’s see for how long I can make this device last. https://chargie.org/

Aren't you years behind on security updates on that model though? I guess if I'm just using text, maps, and phone calls, I wouldn't care...

I kinda like this strategy

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#92

I upgraded from an iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 15 Pro for the camera. I've got some large upcoming trips and felt the improvement was worth it. I love that now I only need a USB-C cable—that simplifies things a lot. Day-to-day it doesn't feel that different. Slightly faster and slightly longer battery life. If it wasn't for the camera improvements I probably would have stayed with the 12 Pro for another few years. App…

The Pro iPhones are in a different league. I can't go back now.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#94

I just "upgraded" my phone and for the first time my new phone is worse than my old one. I only upgraded because I noticed my old phone (Huawei P20 pro) was no longer getting android updates and I was concerned for the security of it. My new phone (pixel 8) feels worse in almost every regard. I can't even customise the home screen as much ( Literally cannot remove a link to Chrome and other google apps ). Given it's…

I upgraded my P20 pro to a Samsung S20FE, and it felt like a downgrade. My wife took over my P20pro, and she's still rocking it, more than 5 years later. The screen is cracked in a corner, but the phone trucks along like nobody's business.

That was a seriously underrated and good phone. I'm 2 years on my Samsung and I hate it so much.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#95
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see all that, but there is a sizable market that just can't afford an iPhone that's worth looking at. Though maybe if used iPhones are usable for longer time periods, that eats a little into Android's dominance of the low end?

No, because they have financing. Everyone can afford iphones. Teenagers without jobs can afford iphones. The system seems perfect.

>Everyone can afford iphones

Sorry, but this just isn't true, loan or not.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#96
post #13

Phones are feature complete. No huge compelling reason to upgrade. If you work for a living then it makes no sense to spend money on upgrading if you already have a relatively newish phone

The last couple of times I upgraded, bloat in maps navigation was reason enough to upgrade to a faster phone. I don't want a sluggish UI while driving. Hoping Google doesn't cram much more ads or junk into the maps app or Waze.

Try OsmAnd, it's great!

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#97
I watch a lot of American Football (NFL) on TV and I've seen a ton of iPhone 15 commercials. Not a single one talks about a new feature. The only thing I hear/see and retain is that it's made from "titanium". They don't say it's lighter, they don't say it's stronger or better in any way. Since America is an "iPhone country", maybe that's why? Just terrible marketing.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#98
How much of this is due to the carriers moving device contract lengths from 2 years to 3 years?

Been at AT&T forever, they moved their upgrade cycles on iPhones from 24 months, to 30 months, and now to 36 months. Presumably because an iPhone costs more than it did 5 years ago but I'm still paying the same monthly that I was 5 years ago.

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#99
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I am simply astonishing that so many people are playing along with such an obvious bad-faith troll as the root of this thread... The vast majority of Apple users don't upgrade year over year. Those that do generally take advantage of fantastic resale values to get the upgrade at little price. And are you claiming that Samsung or Pixel owners aren't doing the same? I know a number of peers who buy whatever is th…

> The vast majority of Apple users don't upgrade year over year. I agree with that. But young people - for whom status symbols carry the most weight - generally upgrade their iphone in less than two years at a clip of ~50%. > And are you claiming that Samsung or Pixel owners aren't doing the same? I didn't claim that. I don't know. But it's less of an investment and far less of a status symbol.

"But young people"

Can you cite your source? Like what does "young people" mean? Many young people with iPhones have old devices with broken screens. I can find a Gallup survey from 7 years ago claiming an upgrade rate every 2 years (actually they answered "whatever my provider supports", which isn't as relevant now), but notably the differences were much bigger between generations in 2015. Now many would be hard pressed to differentiate an XR from a 15.

"I didn't claim that."

You literally said "Apple has that, other manufacturers don't.". It's simply untrue. My wife has an XR and I cannot convince her to upgrade as she just doesn't want the hassle of moving to a new device. And of course that XR still gets the latest OS, updates, supports all apps, etc, quite a contrast from many competitors...

"But it's less of an investment"

Many Samsung devices are more expensive than Apple devices. Pixel 8 devices are similarly priced. As to the status claim, it's amazing how much more of a status thing non-Apple device holders make about their choice than people just choose a very good quality, high performance, well and long supported Apple device...

Re: US Smartphone Shipments Decline 19% in Q3 2023 as More Americans Delay Upgrade

#100
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's Mac business is doing poorly and the iPhone business is not doing particularly well. It's one of the biggest losers in this upgrade cycle delay, with Nest/Pixel being the only manufacturer growing. Being bullish on excess capitalism during a slow down doesn't seem like a no-brainer play to me. But to each their own. Realistically, I'm just not sure how much growth Apple has left unless India becomes a giganti…

Did you even read the article? First thing, Apple is the smallest loser in this upgrade cycle. Being only downed 11% compared to downed 37% for Google. Second, the only manufacturer growing is Motorola. Not Pixel/Next.

The article is incorrect then. Nest is growing.

https://9to5google.com/2023/07/28/google-pixel-us-q2-2023-sh...

> But, despite Android as a whole losing ground, Google Pixel phones are becoming a bigger slice of the US market.

https://www.androidpolice.com/smartphone-sales-slump-google-...

> Smartphone sales are slumping this year, but not for Google

https://www.androidpolice.com/alphabet-google-q4-2022-earnin...

> Pichai went on to note that Pixels “gained share in every market” Google operated in this year.

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