How to Extend Your Phone’s Life and Save Money by Not Buying a New One
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Here's your Money Briefing for Monday, August 22nd. I'm Daniela Cheslow for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for J.R. Whalen. Apple, Samsung, and Google are all rolling out new phone models, and it can be tempting to drop hundreds of dollars or more on the latest edition. But the best phone to use right now may be the one you already have.
A new phone costs anywhere between $500 and $1,200, and if you can delay that purchase for another couple years, you'll save that much money and also get even more features on the other side of it.
That's our personal tech columnist, Nicole Nguyen. On today's show, she'll have some tips for how you can tune up your phone to make it last longer. That's after the break.
Holding onto an old mobile phone can save you money, and it's also better for the environment. But it is frustrating to use a phone that feels like a clunker. The Wall Street Journal's Nicole Nguyen has been thinking about that. She's a personal tech columnist, and she's here to share tips about how to get an old mobile running like a puma. Hi, Nicole. Hi. Thanks for having me. You bet. Thanks for being here. It is now what you've called, should I get a new phone season? And it seems like phone companies would really like me to do that. Why is that?
Well, it's new phone season because Samsung just launched their latest phones in August, and next up is the new iPhones, plus a new Apple Watch, plus some AirPods, probably. And then after that, Google has their event. So it's gadget season.
Is it worth skipping a new phone during 'new phone season'?
And on top of that, carriers are going to start luring customers in with absolutely wild trade-in deals.
Wow, that is going to be a lot of temptation. So why lash yourself to the mast and hold on to your old phone?
If it works in your life, I'm a strong believer that you should continue to use it until it no longer works. Of course, if you do upgrade after five or six years, it's going to feel like that new phone is a really big upgrade. But you don't really need a new phone if your current one is still working. And there are ways to make it feel like it's a new phone.
Okay, let's get to that. Run us through those steps.
So step one, check for software support. It's a good idea to upgrade always so that your phone is secured from the latest bugs. But also because the latest version of iOS is coming out very soon, in September sometime, and you get a bunch of new features, editable iMessage texts are coming, for example.
Oh, once I've already sent them, I can go back and edit?
Yes, or maybe they're deleted. In any case, it will make your phone feel new again. And the best way to check whether or not your current model will be supported by the latest version is to go on Apple's website or on Google's Android support website.
So that's the software. wear? What about the hardware, like the way we charge our phones?
The battery inside of your phone is very consequential.
Why should you consider keeping your current phone instead of upgrading?
It determines how long you can use the phone during the day, and it can also determine the performance of your phone, as in the speed of your phone. So the first thing I like to tell people is if you have a frayed cable and you're experiencing charging problems, replace that cable. It's pretty cheap to get a fabric-entwined cable that will last you a lot longer or switch to wireless charging so you don't have to deal with plugging in your phone every day.
So you're saying don't hold on to your old cable the way you're trying to hold on to your old phone.
Yes, exactly. And the second is if you've had your phone for two or three years, you might be due for a battery replacement.
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