More-Frequent Smartphone Upgrades not ‘Catching on’ With US Consumers, Gallup Poll Finds

Wireless carriers’ attempts to entice customers to upgrade to new and better smartphone models more frequently than every two years “is not yet catching on with smartphone users,” a Gallup survey found. Gallup canvassed nearly 16,000 U.S. adult smartphone owners in April and May and said it found a “mere” 2 percent of those canvassed said they upgrade their phones when a new model is released, usually about every year. The survey found that iPhone users upgrade more frequently than Android owners. Of iPhone users canvassed, 51 percent said they upgrade every two years, while 47 percent said they’ll do so only when their phones stop working or become obsolete, Gallup said. By comparison, 58 percent of the Android customers surveyed said they won’t upgrade until their phones stop working, while 40 percent said they’ll upgrade as soon as they’re eligible through their carrier to do so, it said. Gallup’s “bottom line” conclusion was that while “there may be zeal for owning a smartphone, Americans are divided in how frequently they upgrade their phones,” the research firm said. “It is apparent that despite aggressive marketing and media campaigns encouraging users to upgrade their phones to the hottest model, there is some resistance to switching out phones every year or two.”