Spain's phone sales drop as cheap devices last six years

The €150 phone that lasts six years is sinking sales

The decline in mobile phone sales is not a demand crisis but an adjustment of expectations. A fleet of devices lasting four, five, or even six years without breakdowns, combined with price hikes pushing high-end models to €1,500 and mid-range to €600, has broken the logic of annual replacement. The result is a contracting market while devices continue to function.

The diagnosis spans several fronts. Some argue that recent low- and mid-range models were so solid there is no reason to upgrade: a terminal bought four years ago "still works well" and was inexpensive. Others point to price as an insurmountable barrier: finding something acceptable for under €200 has become difficult, and those looking at high-end models encounter figures unrelated to actual usage.

Why a 2019 phone still works in 2024

The answer lies in technical convergence. A Nokia 7.1 from 2018, purchased in 2019, running Android 8 updated to 10 with 3GB RAM, remains operational after four years; its owner recently bought a new case because the old one broke. A low-end Redmi 9 has lasted since launch, and an inherited Redmi 4 is still alive with a battery replaced for €6 two years ago.

This pattern repeats in affordable terminals: a Nokia G11 costing around €90 meets needs without the owner missing anything. An older OnePlus 3T is repurposed as a Wi-Fi router in a second home. The uncomfortable conclusion for manufacturers is that incremental improvements no longer justify the expense.

The memory trap: why cheap phones performed worse than old ones

For three or four years, the low-end segment did not improve at all. Manufacturers installed successive Android versions on insufficient memory, resulting in a paradox: new terminals performing worse than devices five or six years old. Comparing two phones with the same RAM but different software ages leaves the newer one in a worse position, according to daily users' experiences.

Now, interesting options finally appear for €140-150 allowing users to replace a five- or six-year-old phone without antiestéticar of degradation. The key is not the processor but adequate memory for the supported software. Those who ignored this balance for years paid the price in slowness.

Banks as the final argument for changing phones

If hardware doesn't force it, bureaucracy does. Some banks are beginning to reject clients with older Android versions for their apps. The paradox is notable: those who do all banking via computer are pushed to buy a new phone for an app they barely use. Obsolescence shifts from physical to administrative.

This argument holds weight. Financial apps require recent versions for security, making banks the actor no manufacturer had achieved: forcing renewal. It is not the only front. App updates ceasing to function on Android 8 or 9 push in the same direction.

Monaco prices with Senegal salaries

The underlying complaint is not technological but wage-related. People still pay housing, car, food, phone, and TV prices typical of Monaco with incomes akin to Senegal. In this context, extending device life is not stinginess: it is household arithmetic. People are financially tight, and banks are too.

The market notices. When the installed base is huge and devices don't fail, the only lever left is price. High-end has lost this battle: an iPhone 14 offers nothing an 11 didn't, and an 11 offered little more than an 8 except eSIM. Buyers ask why pay more for the same.

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Prediction, with caveats: unless batteries see real leaps or banks tighten further, replacements will continue to stretch. If either changes, the decline corrects itself. No one bets on which will happen first.