Smartphone shipments plunge to a low not seen since 2013 — their largest ever decline

Smartphones saw a large decrease in demand for the 4th quarter of 2022. Increasing inflation has left demand for smartphones low. Apple is still the smartphone leader. Samsung saw declines in shipments.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/26/apple-retains-top-smartphone-spot-as-global-shipments-fall-to-2013-low.html

I said no to the upgrade option years ago in favour of sim free no contract with unlimited text & calls £6 a month & a small amount of data….which I rarely use.

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I pay a tenner a month to top up my mobile…I buy a top up voucher from my local convenience shop and do it that way.
Sod contracts!

I cannot understand the need for smartphones. My little Nokia 130 does all that I need including holding all of my recorded music for when I’m out shopping etc.

I have a mid-range Samsung phone and had it for a few years. There is no way I would spend £1,000+ on a phone that will be obsolete in a few short years. Mine does everything I need it to, the camera gives a good performance (provided you don’t use the zoom), can handle all the apps I need and can play a few games (when the wife is shopping) and I have my music collection on it (again, when the wife is shopping).

Perhaps the market is shrinking because it’s almost impossible to keep up with the ‘latest tech’ when there is little need to - not to mention top end phones being ridiculously expensive and are replaced every year with higher spec models. My biggest gripe with smartphones is the limitation of software support and updates which come with them. It’s as if the manufacturers want you to buy a phone and ditch it in a shortest time possible to buy it’s replacement.