Weekend poll: What's the longest you've ever held onto a smartphone?

Are you buying every year or waiting as long as you can?

When you head out to buy a new phone — be it from a carrier, a retailer, or online from the comfort of your living room — you probably have a lot on your mind. You need to consider display sizes, camera quality, storage and RAM allotments, and so much more. While it might not take top priority in the moment, software update reliability is just as essential as those hardware specs. After all, you don't want to get stuck on an outdated or broken build of Android.

Reliable software upgrades don't just keep your phone running in tip-top shape — they also let you use it for longer periods of time. For example, if your daily driver is a Pixel 3a, you might not feel any need to upgrade for at least the rest of 2022. It's running Google's latest Android 12 build — in fact, its software is more up to date than what's currently on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. And while you might want to pick up a Pixel 6a down the road, it's not a must-have nearly three years after the initial launch of the device. Samsung phones are similarly kept up to date, especially regarding timely security patches.

Not every Android manufacturer is so consistent, of course. Motorola's mid-range and budget phone lineup is affordable, but they usually only receive one major upgrade and often launch with software already out of date. OnePlus is a unique case, recently launching Android 12 for its latest flagships but with enough changes and bugs to render the phone much worse off than before.

Of course, even if your device stops getting upgrades, you can always turn to third-party ROMs to extend its life. Builds like Paranoid Android have continued development into 2022, bringing Android 12 to phones that will likely never get it. Even a select group of once-popular gadgets like the Galaxy S2 continue to receive support from fans and die-hard users.

For this week's poll, I think it's worth looking at the longest amount of time our readers have ever kept their phones. It doesn't necessarily have to be your current device — perhaps you just upgraded for the first time in years over the holiday season — but instead, whatever your current record is for the duration between purchases. Phones have gotten more expensive over the last few years than ever before, but they've also become more reliable. I wouldn't be surprised if many of us are holding onto devices for years at a time.

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