You Should Enjoy Tech!

We live in a world where smartphones are used for practically everything!

We use them to access social media, take pictures, browse the internet, pay for things, mobile banking, and the list goes on!

I think it’s fair to say that they’ve changed the world! I mean when I was growing up, we didn’t have smartphones, we used a separate camera to take pictures, shared a family computer and listened to music on portable CD Players and later MP3 Players and iPods.

Today, all of that can be done from a single handheld device, a smartphone. 

Smartphones are continually getting better and more powerful. I mean around 10 years ago, I could never have imagined smartphones being as powerful or in some cases even more powerful than computers!

As smartphones continue to evolve, so does the race to own the latest and greatest device on the market. 

But, here’s the thing…

For most people, a smartphone is just a tool they use, and the majority of people aren’t concerned about owning the latest and greatest smartphones. They just want something that works.

The majority of people will only replace their smartphone if their current one breaks or becomes unbearingly slow. 

The same can be said about tech enthusiasts, I mean for many, staying at the forefront of mobile innovation was once a matter of pride and a way to experience cutting-edge features and performance.

But things have changed!

I mean I’m sorry but smartphones have seriously gotten boring! 

Back in the day

When I was growing up, I remember mobile phones being exciting, they all had different shapes and different features, and they were all designed to do a specific job.

You had phones such as the Sony Ericsson Cybershot phones which were designed to be camera phones. Or the Sony Ericsson Walkman music phone which was a pretty cool phone. 

Phones had different styles, you had flip phones, sliders, and Qwerty phones, The list just goes on and the innovation was really high, especially when Apple released the first iPhone, which practically changed the world!

Today

Things have changed a lot since those days, I mean let’s face it most smartphones look identical, with the exception of the camera bump. In many cases, if the phone is wearing a case (no pun intended), the phones are difficult to tell apart.

There seems to be a lot less innovation these days too!

I mean, smartphone manufacturers are now releasing updates with feature drops, that add new features and innovation to smartphones that are already out, so if your phone is less than a year old and works perfectly fine, why would you upgrade it to the latest model?

I mean, let us take the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max as an example. Apple released something new with those phones that hasn’t really been done before. They released the Dynamic Island.

I agree, that Dynamic Island is pretty cool, but it’s the perfect example of a software-based feature that can theoretically be released via update.

In fact, when Apple released the iPhone 14 lineup, there was a huge surge in Android apps being developed that mimicked the Dynamic Island.

But once again, this is the thing, if you have a perfectly working phone, is it worth upgrading it to the latest model? 

In today’s world, the improvements and innovation between models seem to be on the inside of the device, Sure you may get a better camera and more performance, but my question is why?

I mean, considering the fact that smartphone cameras have been really good and smartphones have been very powerful for a number of years now, is upgrading worth it?

In my opinion, the only real innovation that we’ve seen is the foldable phones as they are something new and something that hasn’t been done before and can’t be rolled out in an update.

My thoughts on this

As a tech enthusiast, I like to enjoy tech, I don’t want to have to worry about my smartphone becoming outdated when a new version is released. 

However, I feel that people do judge you for having a “last year” model when in actual fact it’s still a perfectly capable phone that will likely last for at least another couple of years.

This is especially true for the online tech community. I mean the amount of mean comments I see online about people having iPhone 12 or any other older smartphone is just unreal!

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the latest smartphone! Smartphones that have been released in the last couple of years are still perfectly capable devices with great cameras and that still perform well.

I’m currently using the Google Pixel 7 Pro, which ironically is one of Google’s latest flagship models, however, it’s likely that Google will release the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro this year.

But here’s the thing, I didn’t see the need to buy Google’s latest release, the Pixel Fold nor do I see a reason to buy the Pixel 8 or 8 Pro once it’s released. I am still perfectly happy with my Google Pixel 7 Pro.

More importantly, the only reason why I got the Pixel 7 Pro was that my previous phone the Samsung Galaxy Flip 4 broke.

Final thoughts 

To summarise this blog post, as a tech enthusiast, I want to be able to enjoy tech for as long as possible, I don’t want to worry about manufacturers constantly releasing newer models especially since my phone still gets updates and feature drops from time to time.

That’s why I’ve made the decision to stop buying the latest and greatest smartphones unless I have no choice. For example, if my phone breaks.

With Techtober coming up, I think it’s important to remember that not everyone will be looking to buy a new device, and you shouldn’t feel bad about it!

What are your thoughts on this? Do you still buy the latest smartphones? Let us know in the comments!