We all know the exercise.Apple's annual autumn event is approaching, many of us start to check in at our previous biennial smartphone plan to see if we are eligible for an upgrade in September.Once the latest phone is only the latest phone so long.Even for distinguishing shoppers like me, it requires serious willpower to resist the lures against oneLilla iPhoneof1 TB storage.
Mobile airlines have long persuaded many of us to upgrade our smartphones every two years and offer two -year contracts that are linked to free upgrades or cheap telephone groups to keep the two -year upgrade cycle going.feelingThat ponying only a few hundred dollars (or less) to the latest, most available telephone has contributed to perpetuating the increase in the actual telephone upgrade of two years.AT&T and Verizon have brought a "free" to the market.iPhone 12Last year for customers who buy unlimited plans and are committed to a multi -year agreement.Trade-in offers were even better for iPhone 13 this year.
But although it is still the norm in the United States, a routine upgrade is not for large parts of the world.
I was born and raised in the development of Asia, a region where buying a smartphone is financially unreachable for hundreds of millions of people, much less a two -year upgrade.In India, the average person has to save two months of salary to buy the cheapest available smartphone, according to oneStudy publishedFrom Alliance for Affordable Internet last August.From my perspective upgrade the trend to routinely upgrade a phone every two years if it does not changebeeMuch is a privilege, a privilege that reminds me of the sharp equality gap of income and the ever -magnifying digital gap worldwide.
Read more:Billion people still can't afford smartphones: it's a big problem
In addition and perhaps more tangible, I think we should consider the environmental costs of buying a new phone.You have read the headlines: climate change accelerates with rapid speed.Countries around the world still have new items set for the highest temperatures.There are more climate -related disasters than ever before, Arctic Caps melting and biodiversity disappears faster than we can make it.What exactly happens to all the discarded phones over time?Is all the plastic ever completely dissected?
Read more:Apple opens its world of iPhone
Consumer electronics is responsible for tons of e-waste annually, which in turn contributes to the climate crisis.Experts have warned how the removal of e-waste contributes to climate changeBecause of the chemicals issued when the waste is burned, some of which correspond to carbon dioxide.
For years, developed countries such as the United States have sent recyclable waste abroad for treatment.Even if it starts to change now, there are real costs.iPhones contain toxic materialsSuch as lead and mercury, for example, what the environment and people can harm if they are incorrectly removed.And often the e-waste is not properly checked.In South China there is a city called Guiyu, known as the world's largest cemetery for the electronic mess of America and synonymous with environmental activists with toxic waste.FN's 2020 Global E-Waste Monitor Report has shown that last year the world dumped a record of 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste, with the US, the second largest contribution to E-Waste, which dumped 6.9 million tonnes.
Read more:I paid $ 69 to replace my iPhone battery: this is what happened
Although Apple is committed to a net zero supply chain in 2030, it is difficult to claim that there is a better alternative to lower carbon consumption than less consumption.A moment, Apple says Appleend-to-end supply chain van iPhone 12Mens 70 kg of carbon with the atmosphere.If even 1 million people waited for the extra year, we could save 70,000,000 kg of carbon to get out of the air in a year.You cheated when it was 10 million or 100 million.Something to think about before you do that upgrade.
Smartphone -Upgrade -Cycle has become longer
Even with the tempting offers offered by carriers, the upgrade cycle is apparently expanded.In recent years there are more moreReportShow how Americans and Europeans are more than happy to hold their phones for longer periods.Factically affected smartphone -upgrades in 2019 -upgrades on two of the largest American carriers, Verizon and AT&T.Air companies such as T -Mobile and Verizon look to have responded to this by offering plans from month to month that offer more flexibility and options, which indicates a possible deviation from the "standard" of a biennial telephone grade.
Apart from large image factors such as the fighting global economy in the midst of the current pandemic and our increased mindfulness about the environment, I think this trend remains of a collapse of causes.Nowadays, telephones receive software and therefore security updates for a longer period of time.2015's iPhone 6s compatible withiOS 15, potential weakening of wishes for an annual bees -upgrade.
In addition to all this, the smartphone innovation has hit a plateau, and the industry bears the characteristics of one that matures: to slow down the growth of smartphone, along with the slower development of what we need what we want and so on.Surprises here: today's phones are always wonderful improvements instead of the awesome innovation that was seen only three or four years ago.
Falling technological gap
Until a few years ago the smartphone manufacturers left us on the edge of our seats and wait for the next design update.But that is not much the case anymore.One, which has understandably activated an upgrade -supercycle.But the most exciting for many of us was on the CNETWizard, which is hardly new.Apple's own technology with which you can do thisMagnetic Snap in fixings, was introduced for the first time about 15 years ago with the first generation MacBook Pro.It was then re -introduced in the iPhone 12.
If you look at what has changed from iPhone 11, you will see the usual suspects on your list: 5G, OLED screen, new design.There are still a few things that you don't want to see everywhere, such as Magsafe and Ceramic Shield, but nothing extra special to really write home.The last time I was blown up by an iPhone disclosure, it was personally in 2017 when Apple introduced the iPhone X, who proposed new design standards for the modern iPhone. IPHONE X removed the physical start button and thick edges from its predecessors and made room forA slim, futuristic device that inspired the iPhone 12 family.For the first time with Apple we were also able to unlock an iPhone with Face ID, Apple's face recognition technology.
Looking at iPhone 13, the story sounds known.We knew it would not get a major technical upgrade (Although it didn't prevent us from being desired). We appreciate the upgrades, Apple gave the phone (a smaller notch, a larger battery and a faster screen update speed),IPhone 13 is "not radically different",According to Cnet's Patrick Holland.plus, a number of these new iPhone functions, such as the 120Hz screen, can currently be found on Android telephones, which strengthens the idea of a falling technological gap in the landscape of the smartphone.The life cycle of a typical iPhone is now three years.So the company counts its new accordingly: we each get a larger redesignThreeYears, not two, with different small updates in between.
See no further than the Glitziest non-applicable flag schiplancing this year for instructions: Samsung'sGalaxy S21Family.Here the prominent change was not made to hardware or software, but perhaps with the least interesting function: the price tag.S21 setupHas a starting price of $ 800 (£ 769, au $ 1,249),That is $ 200 less than last year's $ 1,000 Galaxy S20, who creates a tempting agreement.
Apart from thatS21 and S20 from last yearWas usually step -ing -i can remember that I had to pore the specification sheet to recognize prominent differences when I treated the virtually unpacked event of Samsung.Improvements were made to the usual suspects, including processor, software and 5G.This could have been part of Samsung's response to the global coronavirus pandemia, but again the credibility gives the idea of the falling technological gap.It was also interesting to noticeDe items samsung a lot van s21Flagship family for the reduced price.We said goodbye toExpandable storage, bundled earphonesAnd most notoriousCharging in the box, as Samsung followed in the lead of Apple - apparently in the name of the area.
Read more:This is what we know so far about Samsung's Galaxy S22
Let's also take the time to consider the question: what S21 makes an attractive purchase S10 can have all these functions.Picks, even Galaxy S7 fromwomanMany years ago it did.MIT Point is that annual changes can be stepped by forcing most people to upgrade with urgent character, especially given the background of rising smartphone prices.
Are we on peak phone?
I don't have a discount on folding phones.Samsung and Huawei have made unmistakable technological progress, and their curved handsets have drastically changed the way in which smartphones are used and can represent the future of industry.But folding telephones are far from mainstream.Telephone manufacturers and airlines in the United States have moved the most innovative devices at a price that is simply out of reach for most people.For exampleGalaxy Fold 3starts at $ 1,800 (£ 1,599, au $ 2,499) andHu a is SMA Tex2, available for the time being in China, costs almost $ 3,000 ($ 2,800, £ 1,985, au $ 3,640 converted).Until these prices come the price parity with, for example, iPhone 12 Pro or Pro Max, folding telephones will probably remain a niche product.
Smartphone -Novation is stagnated and this is not a bank against consumer electronics companies or the technical giants they design.Maybe we have reached a maximum smartphone and it is time if it should go.It can very well be part of the reason for the reason racing to upgrade your phones is slower.
