Repairability is definitely a factor, but don’t forget considering how long a company will support software updates for the device, how the device meets your needs no only today but 5-6-7 years from now, and your options for repurposing the device once it reaches EoL.

That won’t solve the software side. My previous phone was still working, but then Google fucked up the software. The first because it required some new ssl standard for all connections that the phone didn’t support. The other one because google added a whole lot of local Infos, pictures and features to the map that could not be disabled, therefore rendering my Navi to a unresponsive, slow and battery draining app I could no longer use. And then there where some apps that would not run because my os was to old.

My iPhone is repairable and supported until 2028. And because Apple is refusing to make more mid-size phones, I will be using this one until 2028 at minimum.

With T-Mobiles JUMP program you can just turn on your phone and they wipe out the remaining EIP in exchange for the new EIP each year (and for awhile every 6 months). If the new phone is not more expensive then your bill doesn’t change at all, if the new phone is cheaper then the bill goes down. They refurbish and resell the turned in phones, which also means the catch is you have to keep the phone in good condition.

I upgraded every year, then broke the tradition for my current longest streak of 2.5 years with the OnePlus 8T because no other phones excited me except for the Foldy phones, but at the time only the Samshit folds were available on TMO so I waited for the then rumored Pixel Fold. (OnePlus stopped selling in all Carrier stores in the US during this time, so noe OnePlus Open for me :( )

I have resumed the tradition as I am awaiting my delivery of my Pixel 9 Pro Fold tomorrow lol

It’s honestly been a fun journey that started with the Nexus One

Then to the Motorola Backflip (Cool phone, miss it dearly)

To one of the first phones with a fingerprint scanner (Motorola Atrix 4G, it was called a “gimmick that wouldn’t last” at the time LMAO)

To the Nexus 4

To one of the first waterproof phones in the US, my beloved Sony Xperia Z which then broke 6 months later (think I dropped it) which led to the Nexus 5

To my first and LAST Samshit phone the Galaxy S5 (Which I hated and upgraded away from as soon as I could)

To the Nexus 6 and then 6P when the “Phablet Wars” started,

To the OnePlus 3T (one of the only phones I bought outright)

To the second phone in the US to sport a “shatterproof” screen, the Moto Z2 Force (pretty fun phone, I tossed that thing around like crazy lol)

To the OnePlus 6T (Iirc the first phone they started selling in carrier stores) which led to the 7T and then 8T which led to the “Great Waiting” of 2.5 years for Google to hurry the fuck up with their Pixel Fold

To the Pixel Fold and now finally, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Lots of firsts, and experimentation in that list, lots of memories, root experiments, custom kernels, over clocking, pushed most of those phones to their limits in the year I had them. Hell, I would have probably been among the first with a Foldy phone if it wasn’t for the fact the first foldys were Samshits…