My current phone is going off lease very shortly. Apart from the obvious comment about why any phone provider would think leasing is a sensible model, I have decided to change ecosystems.
In deciding what phone I would get, security and privacy were at the top of my list. The current phone gets basic security updates over a month after they are first published, and that is simply not good enough. That said, I do like a large telephonic device.
So I considered a contract with one of Australia’s mobile phone networks or resellers - but all seemed quite expensive for what one got when looking at the phones that were updated in a timely manner (iPhone or Pixel). The Pixel is also a little small.
My next comparison was about buying a phone outright. This came down to a choice between the Nokia 8.3 (big phone, Android One so is updated as quickly as Pixel) or a more expensive large iPhone model.
I eventually settled on the latter, but have ordered a refurbished device that is a couple of years old. Sure it’s not the latest model, but Apple is still updating phones that are five or six years old - while Android One only promises security updates for first three years (and feature updates for two).
My expectation is that this next phone should last at least three to five years - and unfortunately only Apple seems prepared to support phones for that period of time.
