Tech enthusiasts will be thrilled as release season is well underway, the launch of the new Galaxy Fold 5 was unveiled on August 11th continuing to push the what some deem as novelty, but many enjoy as a solid device, and the iPhone 15 being lined up for a September announcement with the expected changes to USB-C charging.
As the prices for these devices continue to soar with the Galaxy Fold 5 capping over £2,000 it will raise the question for many users, is it time to upgrade with these rocketing prices, or hold on for a little longer? This article will look at some of the pros and cons for both upgraded and for holding on for a while too.
The first consideration will always be what this device is used for – will it be used by a power user looking for heavy use and niche apps? Will usage be a bit lighter with the occasional Netflix video and some video calls? Whilst it may seem obvious many users will get trapped into the habit of simply upgrading every year or another year, the large cost that comes with it, but never really using their device past very low benchmarks.
For most users, usage will typically boil down to some light internet usage through social media, YouTube, and a bit of heavier video streaming, as well as what most would consider to be lighter gaming with genres like casino on the rise as players take advantage of bonuses like these jackpot city free spins rather than what many would consider to be heavier gaming like full released esports titles or more. If this usage sounds similar, then why splash out £2,000 for a device that won’t ever be pushed to the limits.
Performance is another consideration too, as users become more tech savvy many are becoming more aware that the internals of their devices aren’t changing as regularly as many had hoped in the past, often times a device will keep the same internal components for two or three generations with minor tweaks and as such the newest device is more or less the same as the old device, with a few small tweaks here and there.
This raises the question of whether there’s value in dropping potentially thousands of dollars on a brand-new device that in many ways will perform the same as the old device. Of course, planned obsolescence is something to be considered, software updates will often feel like older devices are slowing down as components receive reduced power to extend lifespan, but this should only be a bigger issue on devices approaching a decade old.
The last consideration is price, it has been mentioned a few times throughout the rising cost of modern devices but for most it won’t be an upfront purchase but a device plan and airtime plan through a contract, but even those are starting to rise too with the latest iPhone likely expected to debut with a contract closing in on £100 per month, it’s quite a substantial commitment.
For many the financial aspect won’t be an issue but the continued increase in pricing being seen is something that many are calling to be curbed at some point, many devices are taking away features rather than adding new ones and some feel they’re getting less for what they pay rather than more, and so when it’s time to upgrade this is something else that needs to be considered.
There are plenty of layers to whether or not a device upgrade should be considered, and many different angles to cover, with these few being some of the bigger concerns – given we are now in the release period for a whole heap of new devices, let this be some food for thought when the shiny new phone captures attentions, and keep in mind before buying what the actual gain may be and at what cost this gain comes too.