APPLE AND SAMSUNG, two of the world's foremost makers of smartphones, just had an underwhelming quarter. That was a surprise because it was the holiday season and both companies had launched new models. But, buyers were a bit hesitant. They were happy with the phones they had bought last year, and did not want to shell out so much money for incremental upgrades.
So, when should you buy a new phone? The answer is pretty straightforward—when the old one starts giving you trouble. In fact, you can apply the same rules used to buy a car. You buy a new car when the old one no longer serves your needs. You would not upgrade every year just because the carmaker comes up with a flashier colour or brighter headlamps. Similarly, it does not make much sense if you upgrade the phone for a marginally faster processor or a screen with a higher resolution that your eyes cannot even figure out.
However, you should stop using a phone if the operating system is no longer supported. A phone might run fine on an obsolete OS, but it is a sitting duck for hackers.
Technology upgrades in smartphones, of course, are faster than they are in most other consumer products. But these changes, of late, have become evolutionary rather than revolutionary, making the case for a yearly purchase pretty weak. Having said that, if you have a few thousand rupees to spare and you really want that new phone, you should go ahead. Because the iPhone Xs is a much better phone than the iPhone 6 or even the iPhone X.