Seriously, smartphones are getting to be so similar between versions, and are already smarter than most of the people that know them.
Cellphones are really close in cycle to that of a gaming rig. A solid PC only needs to be upgraded every 3+ years (it depends on how good it was when you made it), and smartphones can go over 2 before they start running into issues. My dad's S3 is 3 years old and just now getting to the point where it's old enough to warrant an upgrade. Hell, I could probably stick a custom ROM on there and get another year out of it. My S5 is going to last me another 2 years - unless I get in a modding mood and get something a little more flash-friendly. The thing is, smartphones change so little each iteration (S3 to S4, G2 to G3), that they're not really worth getting when the next one gets released.
There's a lot of people that wait until their upgrade before buying their next phone. However, there's a lot of people that drop hundreds when the next iPhone or Galaxy hits the market. I made that mistake too by buying a phone that was only a year newer (LG G2 to S5), and I regret it. The smartphone market is so saturated in stupid gimmicks that it's unreal. I can't even remember what was supposed to be impressive about this phone, and I've never used most of the main advertised features. I still use the watch that came with it (get at me), but I've never touched the other stuff.
My experience is the same as a lot of the people that upgrade frequently. Everyone freaks out over what the next phone can do, and the hype gets a lot of them to buy it on day one. They play with the new features a little bit, forget about them, and end up with a phone that's slightly bigger and marginally faster than their last one. Anyone with an understanding of their old phone can wow people easier than the person with the shiny new one when they only know the little trick that the sales person at the store taught them. Most of the new features have either already been done, or are useless in everyday use, so they're essentially the same phone - except bigger, maybe a bit faster, and with a new look.
Seriously, smartphones are getting to be so similar between versions, and are already smarter than most of the people that know them.
Cellphones are really close in cycle to that of a gaming rig. A solid PC only needs to be upgraded every 3+ years (it depends on how good it was when you made it), and smartphones can go over 2 before they start running into issues. My dad's S3 is 3 years old and just now getting to the point where it's old enough to warrant an upgrade. Hell, I could probably stick a custom ROM on there and get another year out of it. My S5 is going to last me another 2 years - unless I get in a modding mood and get something a little more flash-friendly. The thing is, smartphones change so little each iteration (S3 to S4, G2 to G3), that they're not really worth getting when the next one gets released.
There's a lot of people that wait until their upgrade before buying their next phone. However, there's a lot of people that drop hundreds when the next iPhone or Galaxy hits the market. I made that mistake too by buying a phone that was only a year newer (LG G2 to S5), and I regret it. The smartphone market is so saturated in stupid gimmicks that it's unreal. I can't even remember what was supposed to be impressive about this phone, and I've never used most of the main advertised features. I still use the watch that came with it (get at me), but I've never touched the other stuff.
My experience is the same as a lot of the people that upgrade frequently. Everyone freaks out over what the next phone can do, and the hype gets a lot of them to buy it on day one. They play with the new features a little bit, forget about them, and end up with a phone that's slightly bigger and marginally faster than their last one. Anyone with an understanding of their old phone can wow people easier than the person with the shiny new one when they only know the little trick that the sales person at the store taught them. Most of the new features have either already been done, or are useless in everyday use, so they're essentially the same phone - except bigger, maybe a bit faster, and with a new look.