José Adorno/BGR

Buying a phone every year can be enticing, but as technology improves, the upgrade cycles tend to grow longer. As smartphones become more advanced, there's simply no reason to upgrade to a new one every 12 months. The biggest problem with buying a new phone every year is that the technology doesn't keep up with users' desires, software support lasts longer, and products get more expensive.

Take the iPhone, for example: Apple launched the iPhone 17 in late 2025 for $799. With the ongoing memory crisis, even without the iPhone 18, the 17 got a price hike in September 2026 to $899. For the Pro models, Apple raised prices by another $100, but in other regions, the price increase was a lot steeper — in France, an iPhone 17 went from around 799 euros to over 1,100 euros.…