A question I get asked a lot this time of year is, “Should I upgrade my phone, or should I wait?”
With Apple announcing new iPhones recently and Samsung and Google announcing new phones in the past few weeks, it is easy to get “new-phone fever,” but how do you know whether it’s really time to upgrade?
With some new phones costing well over $1,000, it is not a decision to be made without some thought and research.
There are some people who really “need” to have the latest phone, and they trade in last year’s model for whatever is new this year. If that sounds like you, please go right ahead and upgrade. I understand.
If your phone is less two years old or newer (like mine), you probably ought to wait. I have an iPhone XS Max that I bought two years ago. Actually, I’m still paying for it monthly on my cellphone bill. I have five more payments until it’s all mine. I’m going to happily keep using my old iPhone for at least another year.
If your phone is older than two years, you are likely on the fence about whether to pull the trigger on a new phone.
You should take a little time to assess your current phone. Is it damaged? Is the screen cracked? How about the battery? Does it still make it through the day, or are you having to charge it up more often? A lot of phone batteries start to decline after a couple of years of hard use.
You can check your phone’s battery in the Settings app. On an iPhone, open Settings and scroll down to Battery and then open Battery Health. My two-year-old iPhone shows I have 93% of my battery capacity left.
Android doesn’t include battery-health information natively, but I recommend using an app called AccuBattery from the Google Play Store.
If you like your current phone but the battery is getting old, you should look into how much it would cost to replace the battery versus buying a new phone.
I extended the life of my parents’ iPhone 6S by replacing the batteries myself. You can have it done at most mobile-phone repair shops. Apple will replace your iPhone battery for $49 to $69.
If your phone is starting to bug you, or you know it’s just limping along, take a look at the new phones released this fall. There are really good phones in all price ranges. You don’t need to spend $1,500. Google and Apple both have new phones that cost less than $400.
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Jim Rossman writes for The Dallas Morning News. He may be reached at jrossman@dallasnews.com.
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