Does Kyocera Still Make Phones? And If So, Why Are You Still Replacing the Battery Every Year?

Kyocera still makes phones. The better question is whether buying one is a smart long-term call for your fleet.

Short answer: yes, they still make phones. The DuraForce, the Hydro Reach, the 2720 V Flip—they're all actively sold, supported, and, in my experience, rugged enough for most field work environments. But if you're a procurement manager like me, that's not the real question. The real question is whether the total cost of ownership of a Kyocera device makes sense over three to five years, especially when you factor in battery life, accessory availability, and support cycles.

I'll cut to the chase: Kyocera devices can be a solid TCO play, but only if you plan around two things: battery degradation and software support windows. Get those wrong, and that cheap replacement battery you bought on Amazon costs you more than you think.

Why I Started Looking at Kyocera Different

In my first year managing procurement for a 200-person logistics company, I made the classic rookie mistake: I looked only at upfront hardware cost. We needed rugged phones for our warehouse and delivery drivers. I found a bargain lot of Kyocera Hydro Reach units at $89 each. Great deal, I thought.

Within 12 months, I was ordering replacement batteries for 18 of the 25 units. Within 18 months, three units had display cracks from drops that were supposedly survivable. By month 24, we were replacing entire devices—not because the phone itself was dead, but because the batteries were swelling and the OS version wouldn't support a critical inventory app anymore.

I tracked every dollar in our procurement system. The "cheap" phone ended up costing us $142 per device per year in battery replacements, support tickets, and early replacement costs. That's more than the original device price. Every. Single. Year.

So, What's the Real TCO of a Kyocera Phone?

Here's what I learned after comparing 8 vendors over 3 months using a TCO spreadsheet I built specifically for mobile devices:

The Kyocera Battery Problem (and Solution)

Honestly, Kyocera's battery life out of the box is fine—often better than consumer-grade phones because they're designed for long shifts. The problem is that third-party replacement batteries are hit or miss, and the genuine Kyocera ones are surprisingly expensive for what they are.

I tested this: a genuine Kyocera replacement battery for the DuraForce costs around $45–55 on average (January 2025 pricing). An off-brand Amazon alternative? $12–18. I bought both. The cheap one lasted 6 months before capacity dropped 30%. The genuine one? Still at 85% capacity after 18 months.

That's a TCO difference of $33–37 up front, but you'll buy two or three cheap batteries over the same period. Genuine Kyocera battery: $45 once. Off-brand: $36–54 and three swaps. Plus the time your IT team spends managing swap-outs. That's where the hidden cost lives.

Software Support: The Real Gotcha

Every cost analysis I ran pointed to Kyocera's mid-range devices as the best value. Something felt off, though. Turns out what my gut detected was software support cycles. Kyocera's mid-range devices (like the Hydro Reach) typically get OS updates for 2 years. Their flagship DuraForce line? More like 3–4 years, depending on the carrier variant.

If you need a device that stays app-compatible for 4+ years, you either buy the flagship DuraForce or plan a refresh cycle. My gut said go with the DuraForce for high-use drivers and cheaper Hydro Reach for light-use admin staff. The numbers said the same—but only because I calculated the cost of a forced early refresh on the cheaper devices.

But Does Kyocera Still Make the 2720 V Flip?

Yes. The 2720 V Flip is still in production as of early 2025. It's a basic flip phone designed for users who need long battery life, loud speakers, and minimal distractions. No apps, no frills. It's actually a great choice for certain use cases: security guards, warehouse staff who just need to take calls, or as a backup device.

For the 2720 V Flip, the TCO math is simpler. The battery lasts longer (less drain from apps), the screen is smaller and harder to break, and the software is simpler to support. I'd expect a 3–4 year lifecycle with maybe one battery swap in the middle. That's a sub-$100/year cost—hard to beat for a basic communication device.

When a Kyocera Phone Isn't the Right Call

I want to be honest here. Kyocera isn't the answer for every situation.

• If you need a device that can run modern enterprise apps for 5+ years, you might be better off with a device that has guaranteed longer OS support or a modular battery design. Kyocera's update track record is decent but not best-in-class.
• If you need a phone that's truly indestructible, no phone is. The DuraForce is tough, but I've had units fail after a 6-foot drop onto concrete. They're rugged, not magic.
• If you want the absolute cheapest per-device cost, you can find cheaper rugged phones from lesser-known brands. But you'll pay in support and replacement frequency.

The bottom line: Kyocera still makes phones—good ones for specific use cases. But the real question isn't "does Kyocera still make phones." It's "does a Kyocera phone make sense for my fleet, my budget, and my users' needs?" And that answer depends entirely on how you calculate total cost of ownership, not just the price tag.

Take it from someone who learned the hard way: the cheapest device is rarely the cheapest device.