Smartphones are now considered an essential tool for our everyday lives. No matter what your job is, you are probably going to search something on the internet and having a smartphone with you is the easiest way to do this on the go.

What would it feel like to have a long lasting smartphone that just serves your every needs for a very long time?

Well, I can personally answer that. I had a smartphone that served me well for 7 years and 8 months before it gave up on me. This is my experience on what it is like owning one smartphone for a long time.

January 2018, I had a Samsung Galaxy S2 that I accidentally dropped (not the first time) while I was out drinking with my friends. That was the last drop it could handle and it stopped working.

For a few weeks I decided I would "take a break" from using a phone which might be an alien concept to most people. After a week or two of not owning a phone, it made me realize how much convenience it gave me with its ample functionality.

• Checking the time.
• Checking my notes.
• Checking my schedule.
• Setting my Alarm.
• Check the weather.
• Checking the news.
• Taking photos of important stuff.
• Taking photos of random stuff.
• Watching video tutorials about my job (Web Development)
• Watching videos for entertainment.

And much more that are now taken for granted by all of us. It is just so convenient to have all of these things in one place, using one device.

Then I finally decided to buy a phone.

What I got was a brand new Oppo F5 Youth smartphone with 3Gb of memory and 32Gb of storage. It was around Php 18,000 (US $356.24) back in January of 2018. Not a flagship phone but a very expensive one for my standards.

This phone has a Octa-core 2.5 GHz Cortex-A53 with Mediatek MT6763T Helio P23 (16 nm) chipset. It originally came with Android 7.1 Nougat. The main camera is 13MP and the front/selfie camera is 16MP. A fingerprint sensor at the back of the phone, and it comes in rose gold color which looks really expensive.

In other words, I love it.

I've used this phone in testing my websites and any other websites that I am copyi.. *ahem* studying, and it is flawless for the job that I need it for.

For a couple of years it had been supported by the manufacturer for its android updates. The last android update it was able to upgrade on was Android 11 back in 2020.

It has been my companion for everything I did on the internet when I am away from my computer.

It has good quality speakers, good quality resolution for watching netflix/youtube. It has a very good camera, and most importantly, it is very reliable for my use case.

The problems or more appropriately the limitations of the device started showing when I wanted to download newer apps that require newer android versions.

Around 2021 and onwards, I wanted to update some of the apps, even the simple Converge ICT app to pay my internet bills is not allowed by the appstore to download on my phone. Why? Because of outdated Operating System.

Though the phone was working perfectly and smoothly, for taking calls, managing my schedule, browsing the internet, writing down my ideas, checking e-mails, online shopping so and so, even light gaming, it is still showing its limitations and at some points, problems because of the software.

As a programmer I understood these limitations and instead of buying a new phone, I decided that I will keep living with these limitations for as long as possible and would take good care of my phone as much as I can (which I did btw).

Around 2025, the youtube app has stopped working. Whenever I tried opening the youtube app on my Oppo F5 youth, it suggests going to the browser and opening youtube there. Very sad. It was one of my most used app on my phone which kept me entertained and has helped me in enhancing my skills and my personal growth over the years.

And then finally, August of 2025. The Phone's screen started to separate from the body. It was still usable but at times the touch sensor was not responding anymore. There were times when my inputs are not detected, and at times random inputs are pressed due to the uneven pressure on the detached screen, but it is still turning on which is amazing.

A few more weeks later, September 2025, the screen has completely detached on all edges, the phone still recognizes my fingers from time to time but most of the time it just sits there, with its black screen which I've stared on for so long and so many years.

This is not just an old phone anymore. This was an old companion. An old friend who is breathing its last breaths. I've been through a lot of tough times and low points in life during those past 7 years and 8 months, and this phone probably saved me a number of times just by being always there, ready to serve me in any way it can. Right, this isn't just a phone anymore. This is my treasure. I will continue to keep it for old time's sake.

Technically I can still repair it if I wanted to but bro I feel bad for it just looking at its state. It's begging to be replaced.

A week ago around first week of September, I bought a new phone, a cheap one, a Tecno Spark 40C which is SO MUCH faster than my Oppo F5 Youth, and looks so cool, and it feels like it's a reincarnation of my old phone. This new phone is a budget phone only costed me Php4,495 (US $78.68), and I can already feel the fire burning deep inside me and the future ahead of us for my phone and I. I will take great care of it as I have my Oppo F5 Youth and hope to make the most out of it and enjoy it while it last.

(These are also the last photos taken with my Oppo F5 Youth.)

I dedicate this article to my old friend, my old phone, my knight in shining tempered glass.

Of course it wouldn't be complete without photos I've taken over the years with my old friend Oppo.

Thank you Oppo for the wonderful memories.