I have not experienced this. 

That time you dropped it in the toilet may not have helped.

Nathan,

 Many individuals have already touched on possible issues that could be affecting your phone's performance - E.G. - accidentally dropping it a few times, overloading the phone with too much data (apps, photo's, music, etc.), etc. However, another key reason why many iPhone (myself personally) & Android users will start to notice a drop off in their phone's performace around the one (1) year mark has a lot to do with the fact that our phones receive a plethora of developer "updates" throughout the year (from Apple, Google, etc.) that take a toll on our phone's operating system(s).

 Basically, when phones are built (developed) & circulated for mass production, those units (phones) are built with industry standard technology that is prominent at the time of release. However, technology is ever-changing, ever developing; so these companies will push out these updates to keep current with the technological developments & trends as they come, but your phone that was built in 2015 (example) wasn't designed to be able to handle some of the complex iOS operating procedures that came into play in 2017 (again, example). Therefore, many phones will see a drop off in performance with the more updates they've had to go through during the phone's "life-span", & since these updates can happen quite frequently throughout the year, the average phone's "life-span" has been dwindling for years.

 Hope this answer helps!

-T.J. / The Realty One Mortgage Team

Too many apps, too many pics and videos.  People just need to not try to overload their devices.

I do not believe it is the phone per se.  I believe it is the overload of apps and the abuse phones take.  That said, people will spend a lot of money on their beloved phones.  

Probably for 2 main reasons. Most smartphones run almost all the time on battery vs a computer where you may have it plugged in more often - more wear and tear. And second, you likely have automated functions and some manual on your pc that self-cleans it, vs your smartphone where most people don't.

What Roy Kelley said but substitute 'River' for 'toilet'. I have not yet made THAT error! 

mine is 3 years old and going strong!!! (strongly)

Nathan,

Neither our Macs not our Air are feeling sluggish after 4 years, they are still doing very well, our phones are 6 and 6S and we have no complaints. A

I don't know if that's true.   Maybe it's more about some people who have an attraction to the latest, brightest and shiniest objects.

That's a good question... and I believe it's to "encourage" us to buy new ones. Way back when I had a Blackberry that went strong for some 7 years. 

That is a very good question. I have always blamed the firm ware updates. So you go purchase a new phone. 

Probably  by design, so that they can sell you a new one every year.

They sell more phones that way

The battery life is the problem for me. My phone is about 3 years old and I don't want a new one. But I just woke up, pulled it off the charger at 100% and 20 minutes later it is at 92%. I have to plug it in half way through the day and I am not using it nearly as much as John does. Bad batteries so people will trade in after two years. It is by design. -Kasey

I think they are built that way so you NEED to buy the latest and greatest when their new model comes out

The only reason I got a new phone was because the connection to charging it didn't work anymore. That was a Galaxy 4, so now I upgraded to a Galaxy 7 which has wireless charging. Who needs all these apps and games on their phones anyways? The screens are way to small for my compuer-damaged eyes.

I buy Apple products and haven't had that experience - I went from a 4 to a 6S and my 6S is still going strong!

Nathan Gesner I believe it's because the apps are getting larger and require more memory. Just like desktops, the software is becoming more memory intensive and uses more computer resources causing them to slow down. The iPhone has a 64GB model. Why does a smart phone need so much memory? Larger apps and memory intensive.

$$$$$$

Might have to consider a new mobile phone soon but my i5 is still working well and has features I still don't know how to use.

So they may charge more!

Smaller being overloaded also the bandwidth just isn't there.

I think at that time, the battery life has worn out a bit.   I usually buy a new phone every other year.

Nathan Gesner - well I change every other year.... oops, spending too much, it seems.

About the phones - we overuse them...

We can squeeze 5 or 6 years out of ours - as to phones, they are not 'puters even though people attempt to use them as such.

You also have to remember, we don't drag computers around in our pockets, throw them on the counter, plug them in to recharge them daily etc - they take a heck of beating

My computer is 8 years old and does everything I need

Too many apps and constant updates.  I turn off auto updates and only (manually) update the apps I regularly use.

I tend to think of these new devices as micro-computers with telephonic capability.  The wireless-phone functions don't seem to become significantly "smarter" as time goes on.  Whereas the computer functions do bog down with all the spy-ware tracking your every move!

Apps and bloatware

Android fixed this really well with the Nougat update. The thing does itself when I remember.

My iphones are both over 5 years old without any problems. I drop them daily just to warn them to keep in line or else!

Haven't had that issue with Apple. 

Because when the sheep line up for the $1,000 iPhone X with it's brand new technology (that Android users have had for over two years now), companies see huge windfalls in forcing people to upgrade phones.

Big business learned during the 1950's that offering products that last while helping the brand dooms them eventually. So they instead decided to make changes to products via updates, innovations etc. to keep the people buying. 

No idea.