I bought my current smartphone about two years ago and I know it’s already time for a replacement. I dropped the phone once and there’s a small crack in the front glass. Luckily, the crack is less than an inch long and it doesn’t affect the screen. This is just a cosmetic issue. What isn’t a cosmetic issue and a real bummer is that the main camera frequently has problems focusing on objects. I wind up having to choose either taking a blurry photo or not taking the photo at all. A smartphone without a functional camera really sucks. My phone also has trouble with its one or more microphones. Sometimes when I make a call, the person can’t hear me at all. What good is a phone when you can’t have a conversation with it?
My last phone was venerable Nexus 5, which I had for almost five years. Replacing a phone in less than three years seems wasteful to me but so far, nothing has come close to the Nexus 5 for longevity and value. I am waiting for May, when Google is expected to release the Pixel 4a. This phone will be the latest “budget” version in the Pixel series. I’m hoping this phone will last much longer than my current one and have fewer problems as it ages.