[practicemaths]

People trade in cars every 3 years. I imagine it's similar to phones. Plus phone battery life does degrade pretty heavily over time and heavy use.

[epolanski]

I trade them when the old one breaks.

Phones stopped having any meaningful reason to update since a decade.

My 2019 Xiaomi Note 8 Pro is still perfect and capable of answering posts on HN like this, going on YouTube or answering WhatsApp. Pics are also great and battery life is too.

[practicemaths]

Yes, your personal experience is not the same for the average consumer class. Which is the majority of phones & cars are designed for and sold to.

[epolanski]

It's actually the same of the average consumer class, people are updating phones less and less, as there's really little reasons to do so. New phones are marginally better, at best, but not in any meaningful way.

[practicemaths]

Another user posted in above

"As of 2023, the global average replacement cycle length for a smartphone is 3.6 years."

I'm not disagreing on a technical level. I agree. I use a pretty cheap ass phone myself that I bought off the rack.

I think it's clear though that phone makers and telecom companies are more than happy to sell people a new one every few years and intend to continue doing that.

[dogsledsleddog]

A subculture trades in cars every 3 years, as in they are resold on the used market for another 13 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_longevity

[StevePerkins]

Is that really a large subculture, or is that mostly car rental places cycling vehicles through their fleet?

The rental companies typically buy vehicles from the manufacturer at such a volume discount, that they're able to flip them onto the used market a few years later and come out even with taxes benefits factored in.

[ascorbic]

There are also private and corporate leases. In the UK at least 20-30% of new car sales are leases (it's a tax efficient way to get a new car, particularly EVs), and these usually run for about 3 years, after which they're sold off at trade auction.

[practicemaths]

Do those same cars have 0 problems with them and not require any scheduled maintenance in those 13 years?

[dogsledsleddog]

You are talking about the auto market like Japan didn't come in and devastate Detroit. No problems means things about TCO to 16 years and how that plays out.

Mid tier Android makers that couldn't secure chipset support beyond 3 years began to realize they have to exit the market a couple years ago, a guaranteed outcome of Apple fixing their story long enough for resale values to impact purchase decisions.

[romwell]

>People trade in cars every 3 years.

Looks at their 2010 Honda Fit in the parking lot

Umm, yeah, some people do.

[practicemaths]

Yes, but the automakers and car salesman aren't selling to you.

[romwell]

>Yes, but the automakers and car salesman aren't selling to you.

Guess where the trade-in value ultimately comes from.

Something tells me it's a factor in how many people are able to trade their car in every three years or so.