Why are older phones still expensive on contract?

[welshsteve76]

The battery in my wife's phone has got to the point now where it needs charging everyday.  It is losing around 25% battery when left on overnight in "FLIGHT MODE"!

This is a separate issue, but a gripe I have with mobile phone providers these days is this if the batteries in these modern phones are not built to last 2 years, and let's be honest, they are not, then the networks should not be offering 2 year contracts as standard.  However, I guess this is done to keep the price of the phones per month down.  Phones are, in my opinion overpriced for what they offer.  I mean, most of the decent ones are now twice the price of a decent laptop or tablet.  £600 for a phone that won't last 2 years is ridiculous.

Anyway, moan over, back to my original question.  My wife has therefore decided she wants to invoke O2 refresh and get a new phone.

However, looking at the pay monthly contract prices, even the older phones are still expensive on contract.

For example, the Samsung Galaxy S7, even though it is now 2 years old, and we are now onto the S9 range, is still only available on contracts over £30 per month unless you're willing to pay over £100 upfront for the phone.  This is more expensive than it cost my wife to get her current Samsung Galaxy S6 on a contract over 18 months ago.

Surely the price of older phones drop once new models come out?  Or is this another case of one rule for providers/manufacturers and another for the consumer?  To explain that, if I were to get a new phone from O2.  Then a month later, despite it hardly being used and in perfect condition, if I were to trade this in, O2 would only offer around half the price I paid for it as a trade in value, but they would then sell this back on in the "Like new" range for very little less than a brand new model (a "Like New" Samsung Galaxy S7 is currently offered at only £2 less per month than a brand new one).

Apologies if I seem like I'm ranting, but it really bugs me how consumers are continually ripped off by providers/manufacturers.

[jonsie]

First off, go into th phone settings and see  what is using the battery. It may just be an app

[MI5]

This is really for feedback to o2 as a concern as we have no idea why, I can only assume that less of a difference persuades customers to spend a bit more on a newer phone.

[Anonymous]

@welshsteve76 They do drop when new phones come out but depending on tariffs & if they are still popular & a flagship brand then they will still be expensive. I have a 7 Plus which I bought on Refresh after the 8 range was released, the price was dropped but depending on tariffs due to the data amounts can bump up the prices 

[welshsteve76]

Hi @jonsie

I have tried everything, believe me.  I have spent ages going through the apps to see what's using the power up.  The Battery app on Samsung devices I don;t think is that intuitive.  It's certainly not as good as the one on my OnePlus 3T.

I have gone through all the apps my wife doesn't use, force stopped them, cleared the data too.

I just think it's most likely the battery.

@MI5- I just wanted to see what other people's opinions were on the price of phones and contracts these days.  Whilst I could feed my thoughts back to O2, they most likely don't care and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to their practices and offerings to customers anyway (unfortunately )

[MI5]

True mate.

[gmarkj]

Batteries are usually only good for a certain number of charging cycles (somewhere in the 5-600 range I think).
Once this has been reached then the amount of charge they hold drops considerably.
Phones are generally more expensive now, but you are also getting more from them. My current phone has a faster processor, more system memory and more user memory than the one before. It has a better, bigger screen and a better camera.
However, you are quite correct in that the difference in cost between a "new" new phone (ie, just released) against an "old" new phone (last year model) is not always reflective in cost.
I would recommend using a comparison website such as http://www.phonesltd.co.uk/ or https://www.comparethemarket.com/mobile-phones/
That way you can compare the deals available either direct from the provider or through a 3rd party.
If you are not bothered by refresh (ie, you are likely to keep the phone for the minimum term) then you can probably save money going elsewhere.
Good luck!

[Cleoriff]

I agree with every word you say @welshsteve76 about older phones holding their prices. I am fortunate to be in a position to buy my phones outright and run them on a sim only contract.I have done the same for both my sons and the trick is to definitely shop around

CPW are competitive as are giffgaff, I have also bought phones from highly recommended sellers on Amazon.

I have a Note 4 and it is only this year I have noticed the prices beginning to drop for this model, should I want a replacement. It first hit the maket in 2014!!

[jonsie]

I was looking at prices for Note 4 's and they were wanting silly money given that we are now on Note 8 soon to be 9 in 6 months!

[Bambino]

@welshsteve76 I'm in agreement with @Cleoriff on this. If you're not interested in the 'latest and greatest' phone, and have a little bit of disposable income, your best bet is to buy an older model new phone sim free and use it with a sim only contract. There are good deals out there for these kinds of phones if you shop around.