More users purchasing used phones

[me just sayin]

Look like more users are buying refurbished and used phones instead of flag ship phones. If true, it is the manufacturers fault with the high profit, high priced phones. I know I will be waiting longer before upgrading my note 8.

Back in 2014, the average upgrade cycle was 23 months – likely attributable to most consumers upgrading every two years, while a much smaller number upgraded every year. But that number has already hit 31 months, says BayStreet Research, and is set to climb higher still …
The WSJ cites the firm predicting a 33-month cycle by next year.

Longer upgrade cycles and growing purchases of used smartphones said to threaten flagship sales

 

[Sajo]

Maybe this is a good thing and will send a message to manufacturers? Probably not, but it would be nice. New phone prices have gotten out of hand, in my opinion.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[lloydstrans]

The phone people should look at the computer industry. 10-15 years ago the tech was growing by leaps and bounds, now the only thing that changes is the GPU. With the latest iteration pandering to VR. Very few people are replacing their PC's every time the latest bump in speed or the newest ICU version drops. And now people gravitate towards the more budget friendly models to boot.

My latest phones have been all the same, new Moto's that are 2 year old tech. This coming from one of the gotta have the latest Moto every year. And I did. I paid 150 for my last XT1254 new in the box. Kind of gets old paying 600-700+ for the flagship phone that does nothing much better than what I currently have. WooHoo, the bezel is 1/2 MM thinner on the new model, better go buy it.

The subsidized phones were a good driving force behind the trend. Used to be people couldn't wait for their "upgrade". Just like the OS. We can't wait for the latest version, just to critique what "was better on the last version". Okay, I'm old, and now just content, bah humbug. Yes, the phone industry will be crying soon. And they can join the smart watch industry people. The smart home gadget industry will follow suit too. I have a programmable thermostat, that is enough tech for my house.

 

[apl3]

I have a google pixel no longer under contract. It does what I need it to do. So why should I run out and drop 1k on a phone. Unless it can make me dinner and give me back rubs, oh wait I am married got that covered. So what the new phones are incrementally better I have no desire to run out and buy one. For that price I can buy something useful.

 

[pc747]

A mix of what each of you have put out in that if you really look at phone tech cheap phones are getting good. And with Google doing more to make their software work on low end hardware you can get away with a mid tier phone and be fine. In reality phones have become a fashion statement like shoes and clothes.

Why do we get these latest phones, so we can have the latest coolest gadget. At the end of the day even the techiest (made up word there) of us hardly use the features on our phones. I don't really use the daydream feature on my phone, and majority of Samsung users rarely use all their features.

With that said we still want to see the latest and greatest and if it don't have some new look, feature, or quirk we are ready to pounce on the manufacture for half stepping it.

But back to the mid tier phone, that is where I felt Essential missed a golden opportunity. The moment they started slipping and it was clear that they just wouldn't compete in the market they should've dropped to becoming the flagship for boost and metro pcs. Because believe it or not there are a significant amount of customers in that space.

They could have become the Google experience phone of that market offering a phone that gets continual updates getting better with age, something that made the Nexus/Pixel line of phones appealing to myself.

Good discussion guys.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[me just sayin]

I wonder how many features people actually use on their phones. I know I don't use all of them.

 

[Sajo]

Those are excellent points pc747. Essential probably could have been "that phone" but missed it. Look at what Moto has done with their Moto G and Moto E lines. Great phones with excellent software for dirt cheap. They do almost everything flagship phones can do, only have more plastic and less aluminum & glass. Put a decent case on them and you can't see the difference. From what I have read they are slaying the mid tier and cheap phone markets in places like Brazil and India. No wonder they had the Moto X4 launch in Brazil, they are very popular there.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

Those are excellent points pc747. Essential probably could have been "that phone" but missed it. Look at what Moto has done with their Moto G and Moto E lines. Great phones with excellent software for dirt cheap. They do almost everything flagship phones can do, only have more plastic and less aluminum & glass. Put a decent case on them and you can't see the difference. From what I have read they are slaying the mid tier and cheap phone markets in places like Brazil and India. No wonder they had the Moto X4 launch in Brazil, they are very popular there.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Great point there.

As much as I didn't like Lenovo's move to focus on the mid tier line I have to admit it was smart. In a era of saturation where both Apple and Samsung command the high end market with Google, HTC (not as much any more), and LG fighting for the crumbs of the high end pie left by Samsung and Apple, Motorola was wise to concentrate on just going to another pie (mid-low market).

 

[me just sayin]

go after the middle market and have mods for those who wanted different and, in some cases, high in features. that was smart.

 

[Sajo]

go after the middle market and have mods for those who wanted different and, in some cases, high in features. that was smart.

Moto Mods work on the Moto Z series, which is Moto's high end flagship phone. They are not cheap at all. I was referring to their Moto G and Moto E series which don't use Moto Mods. They are Moto's mid range phones that are very popular in some countries.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[me just sayin]

Moto Mods work on the Moto Z series, which is Moto's high end flagship phone. They are not cheap at all. I was referring to their Moto G and Moto E series which don't use Moto Mods. They are Moto's mid range phones that are very popular in some countries.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

thanks for that. I was under the impression the middle lines could use mods too. maybe they should

 

[Sajo]

thanks for that. I was under the impression the middle lines could use mods too. maybe they should

They wouldn't be mid range phones at that point, they would have to have the stronger aluminum frames, the strong Mod magnets, etc.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

thanks for that. I was under the impression the middle lines could use mods too. maybe they should

They wouldn't be mid range phones at that point, they would have to have the stronger aluminum frames, the strong Mod magnets, etc.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

I think you both make a good point. But it may be cool for a company who may not be on the radar of most buyers to present an option where you can buy a mid end phone but can add features that make it high end.

Unfortunately that can not be done without opening the phones up as it is hard to go from mid end camera, display, and speakers to flagship without making hardware adjustments. I guess the only way this would work is to find a phone that teeters on the edge but then, as @Sajo pointed out, it would not be high end. If you are not able to compete with the Samsungs and iPhones then it is almost not respected as a respectable high end phone. It was the argument that kept people from taking the Google phones serious for years. It was missing in the camera, build, or display departments for years. But as of late Google had to step it up.

 

[lloydstrans]

You can never count me out. When it comes to purchasing stupid stuff. When the red hydrogen one comes out and it works on Verizon I'm in. Done deal. Just cuz. Not for the performance, but for the aesthetics.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[me just sayin]

purchased for the aesthetics then cover it with a case