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People are keeping their cell phones a lot longer

Ina Fried, author of Login

The average number of months U.S. consumers hold onto their cellphones. Graphic: Chetan Sharma Consulting

The average American is now hanging on to their cell phone nearly three years, according to new data from Chetan Sharma Consulting. That's up from about a two-year upgrade cycle in 2014.

The big culprits: The end of two-year contracts and a maturing cell phone market have been the key factors.

"Consumers are treating phone purchase akin to a computer buy and given that there are only minor hardware changes from model to model [with exceptions], there is less incentive for consumers to upgrade," CEO Chetan Sharma told Axios.

The X factor: Sharma says the arrival of the iPhone X could lead upgrade cycle times to shorten in the coming quarters.

Go deeper

Orion Rummler, Margaret Talev
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Read: Former Vice President Walter Mondale's last message

Photo courtesy of Mondale.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale wrote a farewell letter to his staff, sent upon his death on Monday, thanking them for years working together.

Dear Team,

Well my time has come. I am eager to rejoin Joan and Eleanor. Before I Go I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Never has a public servant had a better group of people working at their side!

Together we have accomplished so much and I know you will keep up the good fight.

Joe in the White House certainly helps.

I always knew it would be okay if I arrived some place and was greeted by one of you!

My best to all of you!

Fritz

Orion Rummler, Margaret Talev
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Former Vice President Walter Mondale dies at 93

Walter Mondale, left, with former President Jimmy Carter in Jan. 2018 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota's campus in Minneapolis. Photo: Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Walter Mondale, who transformed the role of U.S. vice president while serving under Jimmy Carter and was the Democratic nominee for president in 1984, died Monday at 93, according to a family spokesperson.

The big picture: President Biden, who was mentored by Mondale through the years, said in 2015 that the former vice president gave him a "roadmap" to successfully take on the job.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Hans Nichols
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: U.S. ambassador refuses Kremlin push to leave Russia

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan. Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS via Getty Images

The United States ambassador to Russia is refusing to leave the country after the Kremlin "advised" him to return home following new Biden administration sanctions, two sources briefed on the situation tell Axios.

Why it matters: John Sullivan, a respected diplomat who President Biden has, so far, retained from the Trump era, is at the center of one of the most important early tests of Biden's resolve.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow