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Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
Most people are no longer upgrading their Android phones<\/a> every two years. It\u2019s now the norm for consumers to replace their devices every three or four years. It also doesn\u2019t hurt that carriers have embraced 36-month or even 48-month contracts.<\/p>\n As such, I totally understand if you\u2019re buying a phone with the intention of keeping it for three or more years. But before you put your money down or sign that contract, I\u2019ve got some tips to keep in mind if you want to buy a phone that will last for years and years.<\/p>\n What’s the best tip if you’re buying a phone to keep for a long time?<\/p>\n 65 votes<\/p>\n Make sure it has a long update policy<\/p>\n 48%<\/p>\n Get a phone that’s rated for many charging cycles<\/p>\n 15%<\/p>\n Buy a phone with a big battery<\/p>\n 8%<\/p>\n Get the model with more storage (or microSD)<\/p>\n 2%<\/p>\n Make sure it has good performance<\/p>\n 11%<\/p>\n Get the phone with great durability<\/p>\n 3%<\/p>\n Make sure it’s repairable<\/p>\n 11%<\/p>\n Other (leave a comment)<\/p>\n 3%<\/p>\n 1. Look for a long update policy<\/p>\n Robert Triggs \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n My first tip when buying a smartphone for the long haul is to ensure it has a long update policy<\/a>. This means that the phone will receive software upgrades for many years to come, bringing new features and keeping the device secure.<\/p>\n Google, Samsung, and HONOR\u2019s top-end phones all offer seven years of OS and security upgrades, making these the best performers in this regard. Meanwhile, high-end phones from the likes of Xiaomi and OnePlus often come with four major OS upgrades and six years of security patches. On the other end of the spectrum, cheap Motorola phones<\/a> usually only get two OS updates and three years of security patches.<\/p>\n In other words, if you plan to keep a cheap Motorola phone for five years, it will stop receiving updates just after the midway point. This means your device won\u2019t be protected against newfound vulnerabilities. The lack of Android OS upgrades after two years also means you won\u2019t receive many new features down the line.<\/p>\n 2. Get a phone with great long-term battery health<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n All smartphone batteries degrade over time, effectively losing 20% of their capacity after a set number of charging cycles<\/a>. It\u2019s why your new phone lasts for ages compared to the same phone two or three years later. However, phone batteries don\u2019t degrade at the same rate.<\/p>\n Some phones have batteries rated for 800 charging cycles (i.e., roughly two years) before they\u2019ve essentially lost 20% capacity. Google and Apple\u2019s phones are rated for 1,000 charging cycles. Samsung is the top dog, though, as its flagship phones are rated for 2,000 cycles (more than four years) before effectively losing 20%. That means if you\u2019ve got a Samsung phone and a Pixel device with the same battery capacity, the Pixel will see a more severe drop in battery life after a few years.<\/p>\n Needless to say, you should check how many charging cycles your next phone is rated for if you don\u2019t want its battery life to fall off a cliff after a couple of years. Manufacturers sometimes post this info on their product pages, but they can also be cagey about it. I\u2019d also recommend you visit the EU\u2019s EPREL database<\/a> to find these details.<\/p>\n 3. Or get a phone with a big battery<\/p>\n Mishaal Rahman \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n There\u2019s more to a smartphone\u2019s long-term battery life<\/a> than charging cycles, though. The actual battery capacity also plays a major role if you want to keep a phone for ages. After all, who cares if the phone\u2019s battery ages very slowly when it\u2019s a small battery capacity anyway?<\/p>\n I\u2019d recommend buying a phone with a large battery (5,000mAh or higher), as this softens the blow of degradation. A phone with an average-sized battery will effectively turn into a device with a small battery owing to that ~20% capacity loss over time. However, a phone with a large battery will turn into one with an average-sized battery.<\/p>\n Of course, you ideally want a phone with both a huge battery and slow degradation. But a huge battery can help offset typical degradation. Furthermore, a phone with a large battery doesn\u2019t need to be charged as often as one with a small battery, so it won\u2019t accrue charging cycles as quickly. However, even a phone with a big battery will see a noticeable decline in endurance after five or six years.<\/p>\n 4. Get the phone with more storage (or a microSD card)<\/p>\n Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n You\u2019ll accrue a ton of files as you use your phone over the years. This includes photos, videos, documents, downloaded podcasts, offline music playlists, and WhatsApp-related data. I therefore recommend buying a phone with plenty of storage if you plan to keep it for the long run. This way, you\u2019re unlikely to run out of storage after a year or two. It also means you don\u2019t have to constantly clean up files to claw back space.<\/p>\n I\u2019d suggest buying a phone with at least 256GB of storage in 2026, as 128GB can fill up pretty quickly with captured media, downloaded music, and more. The good news is that the latest flagship phones from Apple, Samsung, and most Chinese brands offer 256GB of base storage. However, Google\u2019s Pixel phones<\/a> and many mid-range devices still start at just 128GB. This isn\u2019t bad if you don\u2019t use the camera much, or if you frequently offload photos and videos to cloud storage, but it\u2019s better to be safe than sorry.<\/p>\n Another option is to find a phone with a built-in microSD card slot, allowing you to expand your storage with a memory card. Unfortunately, this feature is largely limited to budget Android phones<\/a> and Sony\u2019s high-end Xperia devices.<\/p>\n 5. Make sure the phone has good performance<\/p>\n Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Many smartphones slow down over time, so it\u2019s worth considering a phone that has good performance. Because much like battery degradation, a phone with mediocre performance on day one might be a stuttering mess four or five years later. But a phone with good performance out of the box should still be relatively smooth, or at least satisfactory, down the line. The big difference is that you can always replace your battery, but you can\u2019t replace your phone\u2019s processor.<\/p>\n Don’t skimp on performance if you want your next phone to last for years and years.<\/p>\n Furthermore, manufacturers and Google constantly bring new features to their phones with each major update. Some of these features require a relatively powerful phone, leaving you in the lurch if your device has no horsepower. You should also consider device performance if you\u2019re a mobile gamer, as a phone with disappointing performance in 2026 is less likely to support the most demanding games a few years from now. My rule of thumb is to buy phones with Snapdragon 8 series chips, recent Snapdragon 7 series processors, Dimensity 8000 or 9000 chips, Samsung\u2019s Exynos 2\u00d700 series, or Google\u2019s Tensor line.<\/p>\n Some Chinese brands like OPPO, vivo, and OnePlus also make interesting claims about long-term performance. For example, OnePlus asserts that the Nord CE 6 Lite will maintain its smoothness for five years, while vivo made the same claim for its V50. I imagine that if these phones have middling performance on day one, this promise just means they\u2019ll have the same middling performance five years from now. I\u2019d still prioritize a good chip and a decent amount of RAM (8GB or more) over these claims, though. But it\u2019s something else to keep in mind if you want to keep your phone for three or more years.<\/p>\n 6. Keep durability in mind<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Another important consideration is the phone\u2019s durability. After all, you don\u2019t want your new device to break after its first drop. There are several durability-related factors worth knowing.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most important consideration is the type of protective glass on the phone\u2019s display. Gorilla Glass<\/a> is the most popular protective glass solution on the market, but there are many versions. Some cheap phones use old Gorilla Glass versions (i.e., Gorilla Glass 3), but you should really look for the Gorilla Glass Victus series and Gorilla Glass 7i if you want more robust protection. Some of the most durable phones on the market use ceramic-based protective glass, such as Gorilla Glass Ceramic, HONOR NanoCrystal Shield, and Gorilla Armor, for improved scratch resistance. Does the phone you\u2019re eyeing have a glass back? Then you should also make sure that the rear cover is protected by Gorilla Glass.<\/p>\n You should also check your phone\u2019s IP rating<\/a>, which is expressed as two digits (e.g., IP53, IP68). The first digit refers to dust resistance, while the second refers to freshwater resistance. That means a phone with an IP53 rating can resist dust and splashes but can\u2019t be dunked in water. Meanwhile, a phone with an IP67 rating or higher is sealed against dust and can be immersed in water. Some phones don\u2019t have prominent IP ratings at all, but might have \u201cwater-repellent\u201d designs. Translation: You can probably use the phone in the rain, but that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n 7. Also consider repairability and spare parts<\/p>\n Rita El Khoury \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Another key tip when buying a phone for long-term usage is to make sure that repairs won\u2019t be a problem. Phones officially sold in your country will often have official or authorized repair centers, but it\u2019s a good idea to double-check this.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t mind DIY repairs, you should find out how easy it is to repair your future smartphone. The iFixit<\/a> platform often posts written articles and videos detailing a phone\u2019s repairability, complete with a score out of 10. The JerryRigEverything and PBKReviews YouTube channels also deliver great teardown videos. Otherwise, Fairphone is the undisputed king of repairable phones, while HMD has also released a few repairable phones in the last couple of years.<\/p>\n Even if you don\u2019t plan to fix your own phone, you should still find out how easy it is to get spare parts for your prospective phone. Some brands sell spare parts via their website or repair centers, while others might partner with iFixit. The likes of Google and Samsung both sell spare parts in the US, with Google also confirming it\u2019ll offer them for seven years<\/a>, matching their phone update policy. That\u2019s good news and means you won\u2019t be left in the lurch if you need a new screen or battery five years from now. This also means you can buy spare parts and then take both the parts and your broken phone to an alternative repair store if you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n![\"Samsung](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Samsung-Galaxy-S24-in-hand-homescreen.jpg\"\/ "\\"Samsung")
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