GoKawiilWhat’s motivating smartphone owners to consider upgrading hasn’t changed much over the years. Zain Awais/CNET
Charging your phone in the middle of the day can be annoying and inconvenient, especially when you’re on the go. Instead of fumbling with chargers, how about more battery life for your smartphone?
That’s what’s driving 52% of US adults to consider upgrading their phone according to a CNET survey. Besides that, 55% say a better price would convince them to get a new phone. With Apple’s Surprise and Shine event planned for Wednesday, Sept. 9, we’re expecting Apple’s first foldable phone and two phones from the iPhone 18 series. Analysts say the iPhone Ultra, iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max could have better battery life than older models. But don’t expect lower prices thanks to RAMageddon.
With Apple’s event just days away, here’s what US adults are looking for in a smartphone and how it may be able to deliver.
Key findings The top three motivations for US adult smartphone owners to consider upgrading their devices are price (55%), longer battery life (52%) and more storage (38%). That’s the same top three as last year: In 2025, price was the top motivator (62%), followed by longer battery life (54%) and storage capacity (39%). Despite AI’s growing presence, only 12% of smartphone owners say AI integrations would motivate them to consider upgrading. Only 13% of smartphone owners would be motivated to consider upgrading to a new phone concept, such as a foldable or flip phone. Over half of smartphone owners (58%) experience frustration with their phone’s battery life, and 31% say their phone’s battery doesn’t hold a charge as well as it did when it was new.
Most US adults aren’t motivated by new smartphone features and designs
Smartphone brands, like Samsung and Apple, are building in convenient features, such as a tool to remove unwanted objects from pictures, AI call screening and the ability to draft a message from a prompt. However, CNET found that US adults would consider upgrading for more practical reasons. Over half (55%) of US smartphone users are motivated by price, including 53% of Apple users and 56% of Samsung users.
Yet brands are still exploring new concepts and features, like Apple Intelligence, a built-in AI feature and even Siri AI which will debut with iOS 27. Analysts expect Apple to unveil a book-style foldable iPhone, which could be named the iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold. But that’s not what most smartphone owners are after.
Smartphone owners are more convinced by other design and feature factors when deciding on a new phone, such as camera features (27%) and the phone’s display or screen size (22%). Here are the top motivators to consider upgrading for all smartphone users.
Zain Awais / CNET
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