How do people upgrade every year?

jrwagh333 · 12 Mar 2020 at 15:28

How do people get the latest and greatest model every year?

Sell the old at a loss and take a hit on buying new?

neoboy · 12 Mar 2020 at 15:33

Basically, plenty of people love tech.

Saying that, something I stopped doing now as I don't see the value in it anymore considering I can spend money on other things I like.

Squink · 12 Mar 2020 at 15:36

People who phone hop are almost certainly not tied into a contract. Each new phone means the old one got sold at a loss to fund the purchase of the next.

Mujja · 12 Mar 2020 at 15:46

I used to years ago when each mobile looked different and new release actually had new features not just upgraded cameras or more curves.

I'm happy with the my current phone, large OLED display with a good battery and camera. I'm also contract free now on a 30 day SIM. If I lose my current phone or it breaks then I'll probably get a Note 10+ or S20+ as I still love tech but otherwise a new 24 month contract at £40+/month doesn't make sense.

biron_w · 13 Mar 2020 at 09:17

I buy my phones outright and just have a sim only deal. But then again I'd never pay for a brand new stupidly priced phone like a Samsung S series or a top of the line Huawei.

krooton · 13 Mar 2020 at 14:42

Sold at a loss sounds so negative, surely that 'loss' is what you paid to 'rent' the phone for a year?

Martynt74 · 13 Mar 2020 at 14:46

krooton said:
Sold at a loss sounds so negative, surely that 'loss' is what you paid to 'rent' the phone for a year?

I think it's just the connotation of loss which sounds negative.

Like everytime you change cars/pretty much anything, you're selling at a loss, but people don't phrase it like that.

Squink · 13 Mar 2020 at 14:51

Why does there need to be a positive swing on it? Tech advances fast and depreciates fast as well. People who enjoy tech lose money on it. The more you enjoy it, the more you lose. Same with most things.

Martynt74 · 13 Mar 2020 at 14:59

I don't think there needs to be any kind of spin on it. It's just a choice that people make. Things cost money and if you want the newest/best of anything it'll cost more money than sticking with stuff.

cameronN · 14 Mar 2020 at 00:19

You've got the use out of it and enjoyed using the newest and want to keep on progressing

DataVampire · 2 Apr 2020 at 02:16

Quite a few uk mobile phone operators now have a new plan on there contracts, for EE it is called "smart plan" this allows you send your current phone back and say pay a fee in the first 1-6 months of starting the new contract i think it is up to £200 after 6 months it goes down. so in theory you can upgrade every year or when a new Samsung ect comes out. its not its more money per month to be able to do that ie a higher priced contract. but again on EE you get swapable addons for example with mine i get amazon prime video. music streaming and video streaming, all of which does not eat into my data allowance.

GMac11 · 2 Apr 2020 at 09:11

I have had years where I've gone through 3 or 4 phones! But as mentioned above it's basically a hobby and I have no qualms about buying a phone, using it for a few months and selling again. I usually buy when I see a good deal, as the saying goes "you make your money when you buy"

. I will often make a loss but not a lot, maybe £40 or so depending on how long I keep a device, heck I've even turned a profit on the odd occasion! The way I see it is even if you totalled up say £100-£200 losses in a year it's not a lot for a hobby. If I was savvy and brave enough I'd be doing YouTube reviews to at least get something else out of it but then it would turn into a job.

chroniclard · 2 Apr 2020 at 09:20

Some people also use those upgrade programs. My friend gets a new iPhone each year, think he uses one of those. Mind you he pays something silly a month like £60+

GMac11 · 2 Apr 2020 at 10:45

It's an interesting psychology. The same people who would baulk at the idea of paying upwards of £700 for a phone, even every year, wouldn't even flinch when it comes to paying £60ish a month for a contract.

Squink · 2 Apr 2020 at 11:30

GMac11 said:
It's an interesting psychology. The same people who would baulk at the idea of paying upwards of £700 for a phone, even every year, wouldn't even flinch when it comes to paying £60ish a month for a contract.

Or £300 a month for a base-spec BMW.

welshdragon · 3 Apr 2020 at 08:11

Mujja said:
I used to years ago when each mobile looked different and new release actually had new features not just upgraded cameras or more curves.

I'm happy with the my current phone, large OLED display with a good battery and camera. I'm also contract free now on a 30 day SIM. If I lose my current phone or it breaks then I'll probably get a Note 10+ or S20+ as I still love tech but otherwise a new 24 month contract at £40+/month doesn't make sense.

I do this. Sim free. Buy the phone outright. Cant see enough difference at the moment to consider changing my iPhone xs. Would like a bigger phone but will wait