Smartphone Life Cycles Are Changing

If you've found yourself squeezing that little bit more life out of your smartphone in recent years, you're not alone. Kantar Worldpanel data shows that compared to 2013, users in the U.S. and Europe are now waiting an average of 2.2 and 3.3 months longer respectively, before upgrading to their next handset. In China, while there has been a net increase of 1.6 months over the same period, the trend isn't yet quite so apparent.

This chart shows the average number of months before users upgrade their smartphone in the U.S., China and Europe from 2013 to 2016.