It doesn’t matter how expensive it is to upgrade your smartphone every time a new version gets released, many people just HAVE to have the latest technology. While a little more than half of American smartphone users claim that they’ll only upgrade their smartphone when it stops working, American iOS users are much more likely to upgrade their devices every two years than Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone users.
Smartphones may be rapidly increasing in popularity across America, but a majority (54%) of smartphone users say they will upgrade their phone “only when it stops working or becomes totally obsolete.” This finding suggests that smartphone producers and mobile carriers have yet to convince the American public to upgrade frequently. Forty-four percent of smartphone users say they will upgrade their model “as soon as your cellphone provider allows it, usually every two years.” The major mobile carriers, such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, routinely offer users two-year contracts, with mobile subscribers often upgrading their devices after this time period. The major and minor carriers also offer phone service with no contracts and “pay as you go” plans, where the cost of the smartphone is initially more expensive, but not having to pay extra with an agreement mitigates the price of the phone.
