Upgrade downturn: why are people holding on to their old phones?

Smartphone manufacturers are looking to the new iPhone to boost a lagging market, which has seen annual sales growth slump

It is less than a fortnight until the launch of the new iPhone, but shoppers outside Apple's flagship London store express no enthusiasm at the thought of queuing up for it.

A common refrain among phone owners outside the shop is to point to their handset and state: "I'll probably wait till it breaks." The new iPhone makes its debut on 12 September and is rumoured to have a number of new features for an Apple device, including doing away with the home button on the front of the handset, but there is a perception among mobile phone owners that the pace of technological evolution has slowed.