Phone upgrades - tell me why

RealityCheckMate on 09/02/2025 - 11:55

Oh, the irony in the comments about the Samsung deal! If you're someone who upgrades yearly, you walk away with the latest and greatest phone for a few hundred dollars—sweet deal, right? But if you're like me, hanging onto your phone until it's practically a fossil or relying on a free work phone, forking out for a new personal one becomes a conundrum. Naturally, I’m a bit of a frugal soul; I prefer splurging on experiences like holidays and gourmet food instead.

So, the million-dollar question: Do you splurge on a Samsung S25 Ultra, or do you need a compelling reason—like it earning you money?

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  • Perky on 09/02/2025 - 14:50
    +5

    I retired my Samsung galaxy s 3 after 12 years service…was a work phone originally. Replaced the battery once for $50.

    I personally think unless you have a very good reason to have the high end phone ..then the best value is to shop down the chain a bit to find a phone that does every thing you need but without overpaying for features .

    I’m retired now so the first phone I’ve paid for in my life was a Samsung A22 5g for about $249…going strong 3 yrs down the track….i was gutted I actually had to open my own wallet to buy it.

    Over the years all my best cars and phones were work ones….nothing feels better than when someone’s else is paying…lol…a true cheapie

  • scott on 09/02/2025 - 18:16
    +3

    My phone is my primary device, so I feel spending a fair chunk of coin on it is justified. For comparison my personal laptop is 2012 era, & my car is 2006…

    My entire smartphone life has been with Samsung. Years back I would keep them a long time. One had a side button wear out, several of them I did battery replacements on etc.

    ~18 months ago I was running a S10. It had aged out of android updates which meant I could no longer access work email, teams etc on it (not required by my employer was I was issued a laptop, but kinda handy). It's screen got smashed when the mast of a yacht I race on fell down, so I took my wifes S21(I think) and got her an S23+ which was the latest at the time. Found out her phone was way more responsive for navigation while we were in Japan, so got a S24U at launch (the U mostly for the snapdragon processor). Not a cheap upgrade, but well worth it, especially for the battery life (massive improvement) & camera's.

    Just upgraded my wife from the S23 to S25U. Under $1k after trade in, vouchers etc. she is very happy with the upgrade.

    Could have upgraded myself to a S25U for ~$380 (plus case and screen protector), but decided not to as the phone are so similar. Had a bit of a tease at the live shopping promo, thinking I could upgrade for $250. Tried to action that, but checkout failed.

    Some of the Samsung deals are so good, it is worthwhile to go ahead with an upgrade simply to refresh the condition of the phone and battery (and warranty). Don't miss taking phones apart to swap batteries etc.

    Should note that the samsumg warrenty claim process is so slow, that I would advise buying a new phone, and selling the old one when you get it back months later.

  • Senior Mouse on 09/02/2025 - 20:36
    +2

    Basically, Cheapies falls into 2 larger categories. They both like deals, but are different in consumer philosophy:

    • The coomsumers that have a somewhat unhealthy obsession for buying specific products/brands and are willing to spend an exorbitant amount for a product that has far exceeded its price/performance ratios (latest Samsung/Tesla).

    • Cheap(ie)-asses that make do with what they have and have a "fix-it" mentality - can be somewhat unhealthy beyond reason though, like having a 12-year-old smartphone (lolwat)

    Most people fall into both categories with a balanced approach, but I think this website leans more to the coomsumer side of things (like bragging about deals, what they picked up this week etc.)

    I only buy phones 2nd hand, or if new, less than $200 because I don't really care that much about smart-phones and I don't really see them as a status symbol - In fact, the more expensive the phone, the less likely I will see them favourably as a general impression; this probably makes me more of a Cheapie-ass.

    • Frisky Grandma on 09/02/2025 - 22:19

      i think as ive gotten older ive moved from category one to two.

  • darkzek on 09/02/2025 - 13:29
    +1

    If you annualize the price of your phone getting high end phones can end up making some sense.
    I purchased a Poco X3 for $400 in 2020 and it lasted 3 years before becoming insecure because of lack of security updates. Last year I replaced it with a Pixel 8 for $1.1km, but it's got 7 years of security updates.
    That works out to Poco X3 at $130 a year, the Pixel will be $157 a year. Considering the inflation since 2020 and for a far superior phone (at least for now lol) i'd say the new more expensive Pixel was a better deal.

    • coffeee on 09/02/2025 - 13:34
      +2

      I just hope the battery lasts that long, my pixel is great but i hate the tensor chip being inefficient compared to snapdragons.

      • desikiwi on 10/02/2025 - 06:32

        Which pixel are you on

        • coffeee on 10/02/2025 - 07:07
          +1
          1. The phone is fine but the modem drains battery when on 5g so i switched to 4g to lessen it.
  • akrotohur on 09/02/2025 - 19:12
    +1

    I don't budget more than $200 for a phone "upgrade", and due to the lower budget, I feel like I should "upgrade" every couple of years, but usually I'll stretch up to 3 years, now I still have couple of "old" phones that I use for scrolling TikTok or social media, etc. I only use my main phone when out and about.

  • Frisky Grandma on 09/02/2025 - 13:06

    Im always one or three years behind the curve and buy either used phones or super discounted phones.

    Currently waddling around with an iphone 15 pro and im happy (well as can be with iphone os)

    • Alan6984 on 09/02/2025 - 13:30
      +2

      Im always one or three years behind the curve and buy either used phones or super discounted phones.

      Me too (I don't buy second-hand but rather discounted new) - I always run a year or so behind the latest models, and try to pickup at about 50% to 60% of what it would have been, say, 12 months earlier.

      Given that batteries generally last around three years (for me at least, and often getting a new battery costs too much to be worth it), last year's model, bought new, will cost me, say, $500 over three years, or around $167 a year. If I bought brand new, and it cost, say, $1,000 it would likely still last me around three years, and cost me around $333 pa. My phone is therefore never more than about four years old (from launch), and three years old (in terms of use). I have managed to get my current phone out to about 3.5 years, but the battery doesn't last very well, so I will be replacing shortly.

      Obviously you have to pick your timing / deals, but that is the same with anything.

  • desikiwi on 10/02/2025 - 06:28

    I am on a $300 NZD roughly phone since 2 years now poled screen microsd card 600 series sd qualcomm it's works fine it's not happy ifbi open to many applications,.

    I plan to move to iphone as need smooth video recording as it's not yet possible with android . And app run stability.
    As I have started moving many of my app or task to my ubuntu/ linux mint laptop running casaos i am using adblocker rss reader bittorrent video stream / jelly fin , audio streaming so on .

  • gcnz on 10/02/2025 - 12:47

    No way. I needed a new phone at the start of 2022, the charging port on mine was a bit stuffed. I had a look around, everything seemed way too big and most seemed heavy too, especially the cheaper ones. I bought something, a Samsung A something maybe, but took it back the next day cos it was just horrible to use. Ended up buying an almost new Samsung S10e from Cash Converters for $300, it was the perfect size and fine for my needs. I don't get the need for huge screens. Size matters to me, bigger isn't better, they all do the same things.

    • livelamploaf on 10/02/2025 - 16:55
      +1

      I'm also running with an S10e, size was a big factor in that decision. I smashed the back glass in the first week but it hasnt caused any issues in a couple of years!

  • rkl on 10/02/2025 - 13:31

    It really depends on your personal needs and lifestyle. A higher-end phone can be worth it if:

    You can comfortably splurge without affecting other areas of your life.
    You plan to use it for more than just calls, texts, and social media.
    For example, I use the Galaxy Z Fold 5 because it's perfect for my work. I rely on it heavily for documents, emails, and more. My wife, on the other hand, uses the Galaxy S23 Ultra (she was considering the S25 Ultra but felt the upgrade wasn’t worth the price). For us, the main reason we go for the flagship models is the camera. It’s our go-to for photos and videos of the kids—my DSLR hasn’t seen the light of day in months, if not years.

    Personally, I prefer buying new for the warranty. Just recently, I had the internal screen and batteries replaced on my Fold.

  • Huntakillaz on 10/02/2025 - 14:39

    For me being frugal as well, but spending when I know a good deal:

    I was on the Huawei P30 (From this deal https://www.cheapies.nz/node/19413), and since because of the stupid USA ban I can no longer get Android updates and I can't unlock the boot loader so no custom roms either. Also things like new smartwatches wouldn't work on the Android 11
    I also wanted to get back into Amateur photography so having a good Camera was important which is why I went S24U + Watch 7
    If the same camera setup was on the S24/S25 i would have gone to those instead, the S24U is Heavy 😢

    Like just this Xmas finally upgraded to Sony WH-1000XM4 from the Sony MDR-ZX770 (I got from this 2015 deal: https://www.cheapies.nz/node/1957)

    So most of my Gear (Tech included) has been buy once use for a decade unless a requirement needs to be filled.
    The only other time i upgrade is when I know I can sell my old stuff for a very good price that makes the upgrade cost minimal/trivial or I need to give an older fam member something better (my hand me downs usually, since they're pretty new looking still)
    I've never had issue with batteries most of my still old 70-80% capacity after all these years

  • Flippant on 12/02/2025 - 09:37

    My current phone is a One Plus 8T that I got from Leemings for $180 a few years back when they had that crazy cheap old stock clearout. That phone released back in October 2020, in tech terms I think that officially makes it a senior citizen so I should probably be thinking about trading it in for a newer model like my Dad did with my Mum, but I'll hold off for now and keep it around until it stops receiving security updates or the battery stops holding a charge, until that day comes I'll just keep trying to live a normal life using a phone with no AI photo shenanigans and whose apps open slightly slower than they do on a $2000 2025 model.

  • coach on 14/02/2025 - 16:52

    You can try picking up a phone from eBay Australia. Since their 3G shutdown, many phone models that are not sold by carriers were made prematurely obsolete. I don't see why these phones shouldn't work in NZ as long as they are unlocked.

  • justaddwater on 14/02/2025 - 23:15

    The moving of files and setting up apps puts me off upgradong

    • RealityCheckMate on 15/02/2025 - 13:43

      I literally did this yesterday
      Apple has Quick Start and 4 other methods. seemless and when done within minutes , the new phone contents look identical . even the wallet moved across
      Samsung has Smart switch.

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