But isn't that fine? For someone with a 3-4 year old phone, the update might be more worthwhile. Someone might have another phone (Android) and want to switch.

But isn't that fine? For someone with a 3-4 year old phone, the update might be more worthwhile. Someone might have another phone (Android) and want to switch. Someone might have started making more money and want a nicer device. Etc. Dislike of undue marketing hype aside, I don't really see the big deal about year over year upgrades not blowing the previous model away. Sure, I've got complaints about consumerism, waste, etc, in general, but I feel like those are broader issues that might not be entirely orthogonal, but are still not the same issue.