How often do you upgrade your mobile phone when used mainly for business?

[Tigris]

How often do you trade-in/upgrade your mobile phone?

I use my mobile phone mainly for business, inc phone calls (voip number comes into the handset) social media posts, emails etc.

Last time I used the Samsung trade-in program to swap my Galaxy S20 for the S23 Ultra. I've noticed I can get almost £500 off the S25 Ultra if I trade-in now. I've read there's not a huge difference in performance/features but i've noticed my battery degrading recently. The other thing i'm thinking is do I trade-in now whilst I can get £500 trade-in credit towards the S25 ultra?

It is said mobile phones should be replaced every 2-3 years to keep up with the security updates etc.

 

[Ozzy]

How often do you trade-in/upgrade your mobile phone?

When the new iPhone (yes, I use Apple) looks shiny enough, I feel justified in buying the current model.
I use SIM only in my business for my staff phones, and I buy mobiles outright. It tends to work out about every 3 or 4 years for a new phone. I'm still sporting the iPhone 11 Pro and haven't been inspired to replace it yet, it still works fine although the screen is getting pretty scratched.

 

[Tigris]

When the new iPhone (yes, I use Apple) looks shiny enough, I feel justified in buying the current model.
I use SIM only in my business for my staff phones, and I buy mobiles outright. It tends to work out about every 3 or 4 years for a new phone. I'm still sporting the iPhone 11 Pro and haven't been inspired to replace it yet, it still works fine although the screen is getting pretty scratched.

Forgot to add I'm sim only as well.

Might hold off and see what the S26 offers.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I have a full contract & Android - mostly because I'm too lazy to change the former

Hence I try to remember to upgrade every 24 months on principle. I'm completely unconvinced that it offers any real benefit other than new batteries and undamaged cases

I've just given my MiL an 8 year old Samsung, which she finds a bit complicated

 

[martin_shl]

I am SIM only too and try to go for Android phones that have a long period of updates. My current phone, which I recently bought is the HMD Fusion Business Edition which is offering 5 years of updates (from 2024, so 4 in reality for me) and is easily repairable if it gets damaged.

 

[WaveJumper]

When the new iPhone (yes, I use Apple) looks shiny enough, I feel justified in buying the current model.
I use SIM only in my business for my staff phones, and I buy mobiles outright. It tends to work out about every 3 or 4 years for a new phone. I'm still sporting the iPhone 11 Pro and haven't been inspired to replace it yet, it still works fine although the screen is getting pretty scratched.

Excellent choice in my humble opinion only thing i would add is never leave it to long to upgrade to latest as you can get a very good p/x deal on your old phone and I am always surprised at how much faster my new one is. I am on 15- plus at mo and will swap up next year.

 

[UcallJohn]

Most of our clients upgrade their phones only when needed. However, those in marketing often are on the lookout for better performance, camera quality, and storage for tasks like editing and content creation so they do tend to switch more often. If your business relies on high-performance devices, a handset + SIM contract is a great way to spread the cost while keeping up with new technology.

If your usage is more basic, as long as your phone still gets updates and the battery isn’t failing, you’re good. On average, depending on brand and quality, optimal phone performance can last 2 to 6 years. That said, rapid software advancements (with a sprinkle of planned obsolescence) are making longevity harder.

@Tigris if you're considering to try Galaxy S25, we have an exclusive business deal in partnership with EE. Our 36-month contract offers the flexibility to upgrade six months early, plus rollover benefits. You can get the 128GB model with unlimited minutes, texts, and data for just £44 + VAT per month. This way, you can experience the S25, and if you find it's not the phone for you, you can then upgrade to another device.

 

[Paul Norman]

I usually upgrade every two years, as this is when the provider sends me a reminder to do that.

Now the question is raised I can offer no sane reason as to why I do this. My current phone is just coming up for 2 years and seems fine. The new one seems no different.

 

[Nico Albrecht]

Galaxy S25, we have an exclusive business deal in partnership with EE. Our 36-month contract offers the flexibility to upgrade six months early, plus rollover benefits. You can get the 128GB model with unlimited minutes, texts, and data for just £44 + VAT per month

That sounds incredibly expensive to me. A new S25 phone costs around £700 or less, yet the total contract value exceeds £1,900—meaning you're paying over £33 per month just for the calls and data. Who in the world goes for such costly contracts?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Sim only contract I don't spend to much on my phone as I damage them a lot.

 

[Tigris]

I'm sim only

After doing some research the S25 Ultra doesn't seem much of an upgrade from the S23 Ultra so I think I will wait another 12 months.

Just noticed my S23 Ultra isn't lasting a full day on 1 charge recently.

As Samsung are offering almost £500 trade-in I thought I might upgrade to the S25 ultra but it's still £750 for the upgrade which doesn't seem to be much of one from the S23 Ultra.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Every couple/few years or whenever a smash my screen.

I have been a non Samsung (or Apple) user for several years - my Xioami has great features and is a fraction of the big brands pricing

 

[Ian J]

I upgrade mine when it breaks which it did a few months ago so I bought a Vodafone reconditioned S23 which will do me until that one breaks

 

[allain]

If you are an android user, you can block ads,
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At private dns host name to
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Without quotes.

 

[MickelCL]

TBH, when its broken.

 

[UcallJohn]

That sounds incredibly expensive to me. A new S25 phone costs around £700 or less, yet the total contract value exceeds £1,900—meaning you're paying over £33 per month just for the calls and data. Who in the world goes for such costly contracts?

Hey Nico, that’s a valid question.

For reference, our offer is competitive compared to providers if you google it. A new S25 costs as of now around £799, let's say you’re on a £30/month unlimited SIM plan with additional benefits like roaming, the total cost will likely come close around £1900 as well over 36-month with a normal purchase. However, these business phone contracts are designed more for scalability and flexibility, for individual use, these contracts are not overall cheap, but cheaper on instant, it’s more like renting vs buying. Renting seems more expensive in the long run, but it offers instant value and flexibility to upgrade or change as needed, while outright buying doesn’t.

Phones may seem more affordable, and indeed very much when it comes to one phone. However, if you're a business, the more you scale the more you pay, say you need to get 4 or 5 phones for your sales team, the upfront cost of buying those phones plus SIM plans becomes a lot less attractive. Buying 5 new S25 phones at £799 each, plus £30/month for an unlimited SIM plan with roaming benefits, would cost a total of £3,995 upfront for the phones and £150/month for the SIM plans, that’s a significant initial investment (total £9395 over 36 months). On the other hand, with a phone contract, at £44/month + VAT per user, the total monthly cost for 5 phones would be around £220/month, or £7920 over the course of a 36-month contract. That's significantly cheaper now.

Contracts allow businesses to avoid that large initial investment and instead spread the costs out monthly, making it much easier to manage cash flow and much cheaper, especially when devices might need replacing quite frequently.

Most of the times as well, business contracts include things like ongoing support, repairs and the option to upgrade to newer models as opposed to an outright purchase. Lastly, a small bonus is that businesses can often deduct phone contract payments as operating expenses each month, providing immediate tax relief. This isn’t always possible with outright purchases as far as I know, where the cost is spread out over time/depreciated.

 

[DontAsk]

Lastly, a small bonus is that businesses can often deduct phone contract payments as operating expenses each month, providing immediate tax relief. This isn’t always possible with outright purchases as far as I know, where the cost is spread out over time/depreciated.

That makes no sense to me, and I hope it's not advice you give to potential customers. Yes, the depreciation may be spread out over time, but so are the monthly costs.

If the handset is solely for business use then it can be covered by capital allowances and tax relief claimed in the year of purchase.