Something that happens to me on a regular basis is that I’m, well, a bit clumsy. I fall over; I drop stuff, I run into things. The running into things I blame on the fact that I’m half blind, but the rest of it is because I’m a bit of a klutz. I had a bit of an incident last month which involved said klutziness. After getting out of the shower, I did what 90% of people (I would assume) do and picked my watch up, intending to put it on my wrist. Sadly when I tried to put it on my wrist, fate intervened, and instead of my wrist, my Apple Watch landed face-first on the tile of my bathroom floor. Below was the result;
Yeah…..so suffice it to say that I decided that it was time to upgrade my watch. While I was going through the process, I started thinking about what would have prompted me (aside from being clumsy) to upgrade my technology.
1) It’s broken – Given my current situation, I feel like I should start with this one. You need your technology to work. We rely on technology every day, and if it doesn’t work, that’s a serious deal-breaker. Broken technology can also be dangerous. With all the touch screens on every smart phone, tablet and smartwatch, having a cracked screen (like the one above) can be hazardous. Very likely not life-threatening, but if I were to cut my finger on a broken piece of glass, it would certainly hurt. Depending on how it’s damaged, it could cut your finger if you need to swipe your screen a specific way, which would be bad.
2) It doesn’t work anymore – Sometimes, when you use technology for a prolonged time, it means that it wears down. Say your programs either won’t open or take an age to do so. For people who use technology to do their work (which is 90% of us), taking time to have something work that should work automatically is simply unacceptable. Having your technology work in your personal life in a similar fashion is equally intolerable. Personally, with my home computer, I try to make it work for about 4 years (Damage notwithstanding). This means that I’ve had enough time to use the device fully, and I know that there are better ones on the market available.
3) It’s being phased out – Apple is famous for phasing out older phones. I get that, they have some seriously cool technology, and they want “people who use iPhones” to have the latest and greatest. Also, because of how technology evolves and how fast it evolves, there will be times that older hardware will be simply incompatible with the newest software or Operating Systems that are on the market. This means that you need to upgrade your hardware to accommodate your software because your hardware can no longer accommodate the demands on its limited resources. Instead of adapting older and older technology, it’s easier for some companies to provide the tech you use not to support the older hardware, which prompts you to get the newer stuff.
4) But….but….but…..I WAAAAAAAANT IT!!!!! – I’ll admit, there are times when something is shiny and new on the market, and I can’t help myself. I had an experience with this recently. I was roped into a sales meeting for a particular type of charger for my devices. The presentation was ok, but the product itself was so cool that I couldn’t help myself.
While I don’t do this all the time, there have certainly been times when I have forked over my cash to get something cool.
I have to say that while I was not expecting to do the upgrade this year, I am looking forward to it. There are a couple of cool features that this generation of Apple Watch that I will for sure be reporting back on, and that will be coming down in the future once I get my new watch. For now, know that there is a fine line between never really updating your hardware (which I would remarkably advise against) and upgrading your hardware whenever something new comes out (which I would imagine your bank manager would advise against). The trick for you is aware of when you’re technology is no longer working for you. Not dropping something at the first sign of trouble, but if there is a consistent issue that causes you not to do what you need to do with your technology. Or, you know, if it’s super cool…..
How often do you upgrade your tech?
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The only tech I upgrade, really, is my phone. Most of the time it’s because the new one is shiny and comes in pretty colours. On occasion it was because it was broken beyond replacing the screen. But because of the working from home aspect of life, I am finding my beloved laptop is staring to slowdown. Apps close on their own, or take forever to open. I constant have to turn it off and back on. Pages don’t load, or my online programs refuse to open. It saddens me. I love this piece of technology, it has sentimental value. But I think it is time she retire.
Carrie,
That’s a great comment. Thank you! for sure I can get attached to my technology, but for me, the thing to remember is that a) it’s just a phone so it’s easily replaceable and B) if you back up your phone, you can relaunch all of your apps and whatnot on the new one, which will likely be updated for the new hardware anyways.