Poll: How often do you upgrade your phone?

Hi everyone,

How often people choose to upgrade their devices can vary widely and is influenced by factors such as budget, technical needs, personal preferences, and trends. We’d love to hear from our community about your own upgrade habits.

How frequently do you replace your phone, and what drives your decision? Please let us know in the poll below. Feel free to share any motivations, challenges, or other thoughts in the comments!

If you’re thinking of upgrading soon, we offer a wide range of new and refurbished phones over on Lebara Phones.

How often do you upgrade your phone?

I just upgrade when I can afford to - normally every 2-3 years. I find phones especially iPhones don’t really change much every year - but they do every 2 or 3 years.

I upgrade my iPhone every 5 years. Not to the latest model. I upgrade to the model before that. For example, this year (2026) I will upgrade to the 2025 model.

I only upgrade when my phone breaks, it's too expensive and out of my budget to buy new so get refurbished when needed. Most of the time I take it to our local repair shop which is cheaper than getting a new phone.

U túl the iPhone 12 I did upgraded every 2 years. Than not too much changed so went for the 15 as I skipped an extra year. Now I’ have the 17 but probably I will do 3 years again

Thanks for the comments so far all!

I'm in the group that waits way to long until my current phone is falling apart. Something I'll do differently for my next upgrade I think.

Either when my phone stops working, or there's a significant benefit from the newer phone. Not for AI.

Upgrade when the phone is no longer working or not capable of meeting requirements.
Upgrades just to get the latest and greatest is not good for the environment.

Infrequently

Usually when my Son gets a new phone, then I get his and my wife (who won't even turn on Mobile Data if she can avoid it) gets mine.
PS. IOS 26 is a Class 1 PITA

Depends how good the offer is! 😜

As a keen amateur photographer a significant advance in camera capability influences when i upgrade.

I upgrade when my phone stops working or is so far behind on operating system/security updates that it might become a problem. Usually this means about every 3 years. The only exception to this was when I moved to Lebara a few years ago and got a 5g phone to take advantage of the extra band.

Really depends on seeing a deal and whether I can afford it. I'm not chasing the latest tech.

I used to upgrade every 2-3 years however haven't since I got an iPhone 12. I don't see the need unless I cannot get operating system upgrades anymore.