Cost-of-living pressures, slowing innovation, and sky-high price tags are changing the way consumers think about their smartphones and when to replace them.A new global study from Allstate Protection Plans finds nearly half of Americans now keep their smartphones for three years or more, as the traditional annual upgrade cycle fades.For the first time, battery life has overtaken price as the single most important factor when buying a new phone.Rounding out the top purchase drivers: storage capacity camera quality screen size brand reputation Flashy new features, once a major selling point, are no longer a priority for most consumers.Roger Brown of Square Trade Allstate said the shift comes down to a combination of better phone quality and slowing innovation. "The quality of the phones has gotten so much better over the last ten years, so there's less need to do it the innovation, the new bells and whistles have become less and less interesting. And so those two combined effects the better quality phone, there's less innovation, and oh by the way they've been getting more expensive all kinds of lead us to sit back and say I don't need to do an upgrade."Brown said smartphones have become so deeply woven into daily life that people need them to perform well and right now, most of them are."They are critical to our lives, meaning we do so many things with these devices. They are our communication devices through email, telephone calls, text messaging, etc. They are our cameras, they're our video cameras. They are encyclopedias when we need to get information. We go there to do our shopping. A lot of people use them to do their banking, so they become so integral to our lives, we need them to work well."Rising prices are also keeping consumers from upgrading. Brown said the sticker shock of today's phones compared to what smartphones once cost is a major factor putting the brakes on trading in for new models."Some of us are old enough to remember when the most expensive smartphone was like $200 or $300 and now it's $1,000 or even $1,200. When things get a little tight and inflation's going... we sit there and look at the phone and say, 'You know what, it's working just fine. I don't need to buy a new one right now.'"The survey found consumers fall into distinct upgrade camps. About $25% upgrade every two years, the next two quarters every three to four years, and the final 25% only when their phone breaks or no longer works. Still, accidents happen. The survey found that one in 4 people will crack a screen, lose or have their phone stolen every year meaning some consumers will need to replace their devices whether they planned to or not.And when they do replace them, nearly 30% say they would consider leasing their next phone rather than buying it outright.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere -- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices. Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube ...read more read less