Every year we get a whole bunch of new phones. And that's usually the case with just one manufacturer. Apple launched five phones this year, for instance. And Samsung isn't a slouch in this regard at all. Even OnePlus is getting into the fun of launching more than two phones a year, and it looks like it's a strategy the company will hold onto for the foreseeable future.

There's nothing wrong with that!

It's different now than it was mostly because it's not just flooding the market to flood the market. Not in every case, anyway. There are some instances where maybe there doesn't need to be that extra variant of a phone, but for the most part it is companies offering up handsets in just about every single price category there is. More options, and that's generally good!

But there's an argument to be made that, in the year 2020, phones are good enough that holding onto them longer just makes sense. It might not be as long as a TV, or a computer, or even a tablet, but phones are good enough that iOS and Android users can get away with holding onto their phones for several years now.

That's not to say companies aren't still making strides with their newer handsets. The iPhone 12 is quite the departure, and, in many cases, an improvement over the iPhone 11. However, that doesn't necessarily mean if you have an iPhone 11 you should upgrade to the iPhone 12, either. And the same can be said for most phones that get replaced a year later. And some could argue that even upgrading every two years might not be as imperative as it used to be.

As always, it comes down to the individual, what they want to pay, and what they're looking for in a new phone. A better processor? A better camera? Other elements specifically tied to a new phone, something that's not available in their current handset? That's always the kicker. Thankfully, wireless carriers do make it pretty easy to upgrade these days, whether you want to do it every year or not.

This year was the first time that I returned my current phone to upgrade to a newer model. Usually I simply eat up the remaining cost, however small it might be, and then upgrade and sell the old phone. That wasn't really an option this year, so I just returned the old handset for the newer one and went on my way.

The process was smooth enough that it may be something I do very year. And that got me wondering: how often do you upgrade your phone these days? Is it every year, every two? Longer? What's the longest you've held onto a phone? Let me know!