Smartphones are necessities today as we cannot do without them. With advancement in technology yearly, smartphone companies Samsung, Transsion Holding, etc release newer versions and people change phones for different reasons.
But what really is a smartphone shelf life and
how long does the average smartphone lasts
before it starts showing signs of deterioration?
Understanding Smartphone Shelf Life
Shelf life is an English word on its own and before
we understand how it relates to smartphones, we
have to know what shelf life itself means.
What is shelf life? According to Wikipedia, shelf life is
the length of time that a commodity may be stored
without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale.
Oxford dictionary defines it as the length of time for
which an item remains useable, fit for consumption,
or saleable.
Now that we understand what a shelf life is, it can
now be related to smartphones. A smartphone shelf
life simply means the duration of time which a
smartphone is fit to be used without any problems.
Averagely, the lifespan of a smartphone is 3-4 years
and many factors contribute to this. This will be
explained below.
Signs Your Phone is Reaching the End of its
Lifespan
When your smartphone becomes no longer enjoyable
or starts giving you issues, it might be time to get a
new one.
Operating System Issues
A phone cannot function without its operating
system. There are two popular smartphone OS –
Android and iOS. Whenever a smartphone is released
it comes shipped out of the box with a version of an
operating system. For example, the Samsung Galaxy
S8+ ran Android 7.0 Nougat at launch. Samsung
makes sure its smartphones get the latest version
whenever a new version is available but sooner or
later, they drop support for old smartphones like
other manufacturing companies do.
Another example, Tecno Spark 4 + ran Android 9
Pie & HiOS 5.5 or The Camon 12 Air which ran
Android 9 Pie & feature a 6.4-inch waterdrop
AMOLED display, Mediatek Helio P22 chipset etc
.
The reason is newer version of operating systems
becomes advanced and comes with features which
are power-driven and sometimes become too heavy
for the hardware on older smartphones.
Also, almost everyday smartphone applications get
updated and newer functionalities are added. All
these accumulated affects the smartphone in the long
run. Applications crashes, the smartphone becomes
slow, lags and it gets frustrating to use. Whenever
this starts happening, your phone is nearing the end
of its lifespan.
Battery Health
Smartphones are powered by batteries. Even though
some batteries can be replaced, whenever a
smartphone’s battery is no longer dependable or has
to be charged several times a day it’s a sign the
phone is reaching the end of its lifespan, this normally
happens between two to three years.
Wear and Tear
You might be surprised, but the law of ageing applies
to smartphones too. Over a long period of time, you
may have used your smartphone ruggedly such that
some parts have been scratched or broken. This may
in turn start affecting hardware materials.
Conclusion
Smartphone manufacturers are constantly competing
with one another. A smartphone you get today
becomes obsolete when the same company releases
another from the same series with better
specifications tomorrow. The average smartphone
shelf life is 3 years after which it starts deteriorating.
adex3g