Americans are holding onto devices longer than ever and it's costing the economy

[Alix217]

I have a iPhone Pro Max 13 and it feels brand new

 

[The Pledge]

I’m rocking this 16 pro max until we’re at 20PM

I’m sick of Apple and their bullshyt.

 

[International Playa]

Im not a gadget geek & always been frugal. I use my phone, TV, car etc until it stops working.

 

[Bboystyle]

Still rocking S23 Ultra and no reason to upgrade. But this article is screaming to promote consumerism

 

[hood b. goode]

 

[O.T.I.S.]

My mom kept her flip phone until Verizon stopped servicing it, and forced her to get a smartphone. She got an iPhone, and kept the flip phone as a “phone book”. She kept charging and using that phone until it snapped in two. She kept her first iPhone until THAT no longer got serviced. She basically keeps all phones until they no longer work, or get bushed by the provider.

Exactly

Life is not good enough for the majority of people to give af about cell phones really.

Like in the Obama years when things were smoother, people could afford to give af and have “cellphone” wars.


Now with stupid shyt daily, no one cares like they used to

 

[O.T.I.S.]

Tone deaf as fukk.

This is basically all they need people for.. to keep spending and buying shyt

 

[O.T.I.S.]

like buying a new laptop every where. who does that.

This too

Basically buying/leasing a new laptop every year with the prices. Why tf would people want to do that? For the new microchip and camera

 

[BK The Great]

I hold onto my phones for years unless i see something cheaper with a upgrade of memory. Traded a piece of shyt iphone 12 for a brand new 14 last year. As long as i can play games, listen to music and browse the net i'm good.

 

[TrifeGod]

Had my Iphone 11 for years and went straight to a 16 after I lost it…updated my gaming computer and that should last me until playstation 7 lol…shyt is not our fault

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Just got a new iPhone this November, last one I bought was February 2019. No point in upgrading super often for minuscule battery gains and camera changes - I’m not a photographer

 

[ChatGPT-5]

This too

Basically buying/leasing a new laptop every year with the prices. Why tf would people want to do that? For the new microchip and camera

exactly. and the only thing I use my phone for is whatsapp, messenger, music, uber eats, and a billiard game. the original google pixel can do all of this. only reason I bought a 9a is because I dropped my old phone 1 too many times and the camera was shyt. the camera is peek on the 9a so I don't plan to buy a new phone until I run this down

the processor is fast, the video camera is in HD. I was using one of my servers and having a full blown conversation with "Gina AI" I pointed the camera inside autozone, it could identify everything and then I was asking for suggestions on motor oil. the auto part dude was just standing there while she was doing his job better than him.

when customer service gets dumb or attitude, I just pull out my phone and have a conversation with one of my servers instead.

 

[IsThatBrothaMouzone?]

That headline is crazy

Americans are holding onto devices longer than ever and it's costing the economy​

Kevin Williams
Published Sun, Nov 23 2025 10:05 AM ESTUpdated Sun, Nov 23 2025 8:57 PM EST

If you are holding onto your aging printer or cracked smartphone longer than you had planned, you are not alone.

Heather Mitchell, 69, retired and living in Tucson, Arizona, is content with her phone even though it is old by smartphone standards.

"My Samsung Galaxy A71 is six-years-old. It's hanging in there surprisingly well for a jalopy. I've had issues with it, and still do, but they are minor," said Mitchell. "I love Samsung phones, but can not afford a new one right now. A new phone would be a luxury."

The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.

While squeezing as much life out of your device as possible may save money in the short run, especially amid widespread fears about the strength of the consumer and job market, it might cost the economy in the long run, especially when device hoarding occurs at the level of corporations.

Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies. The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.

Experts agree lost productivity and inefficiency are the unintended consequences of people and businesses clinging to aging technology.

"Think about how much internet speeds have changed in the past decade or more. In the 2010s, 100MB speeds were considered high speed and very good. A short 10 years later and we're operating at 1GB speeds, which is roughly 10 times faster," said Cassandra Cummings, CEO of New Jersey-based electronics design company Thomas Instrumentation. Operating at higher GB speeds requires different electronic hardware, and a lot of the older technology can't handle it.

"Those devices were engineered when no one could fathom speeds that much faster would be mainstream," Cummings said.

That can be a drain on nationwide networks as well.

Americans are holding onto devices longer than ever and it's costing the economy

Americans are holding onto devices longer than ever before, and while it may be consumer smart, it comes at a cost to work productivity and the U.S. economy.

www.cnbc.com

Sounds like propaganda to get us to buy new shyt.

I got an old azz Samsung that's like 7 or 8 years old. Don't really need the upgrade.

 

[TheJet]

Might upgrade for the Pixel 11pro. I'm cool until then.