I’ve been reviewing phones for almost 18 years — here’s my advice on when to upgrade your phone
After nearly 18 years of reviewing phones, the author advises against yearly upgrades due to rising costs and diminishing performance gains. A three-year upgrade cycle is recommended as the sweet spot for most users, offering more noticeable improvements. Benchmarks show that year-over-year performance increases are minimal, while older models lag significantly behind after three years.
- ▪Flagship phones now regularly exceed $1,000, making frequent upgrades harder to justify.
- ▪Performance improvements between consecutive phone generations are shrinking and often unnoticeable in daily use.
- ▪The Galaxy S26 Ultra shows only an 18% multi-core boost over the S25 Ultra but a 241% increase over the S23 Ultra.
- ▪A three-year upgrade cycle allows users to benefit from substantial hardware and performance advancements.
- ▪The author evaluates phones across all price ranges and finds the three-year rule applies broadly, including to budget models.
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Phones I’ve been reviewing phones for almost 18 years — here’s my advice on when to upgrade your phone Features By John Velasco published 17 May 2026 You really shouldn't be upgrading yearly When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Tom's Guide) Copy link Facebook X Reddit Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter I’ve been reviewing phones for nearly two decades now. In the early days, flagship models were often just $200 with a two-year contract — but things have changed, and those heavy carrier subsidies are long gone.Back then, it was standard practice to upgrade every two years as your contract neared its end.
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