but my point is: why? So they get three years out of a fabrication process and supply chain instead of 8 months if they only allowed you to buy the newest mode

but my point is: why? So they get three years out of a fabrication process and supply chain instead of 8 months if they only allowed you to buy the newest models every year. It's not a big choice. You have "free on contract", "cheap on contract" (last year's models), or "best on contract" (current models).