What's the point of buying new phones every years?
Other than your carrier give it for free or cheap, I don't really see the reason why should you buy new phone. I've been using Redmi Note 9 for past 3 years and recently got my had on Poco F5. I don't see the point of my 'upgrade'. I sold it and come back to my Note 9.
Gaming? Most of them are p2w or microtransaction garbage or just gimped version of its PC/Console counterpart. I mean, $400 still get you PS4, TV and Switch if you don't mind buying used. At least here where I live.
Storage? Dude, newer phone wont even let you have SD Card.
Features? Well, all I see is newer phones take more features than it adds. Headphone jack, more ads, and repairability are to name a few.
Battery? Just replace them. However, my Note 9 still get through day with one 80% charge in the dawn. Which takes 1 hour.
I am genuinely curious why newer phone always selling like hot cakes. Since there's virtually no difference between 4gb of RAM and 12gb of RAM, or 12mp camera and 100mp camera on phone.
The main reason to do it is when the manufacturer no longer releases security updates for the phone. Given the security history and the typical corporate attitude of caring little for the customer, I want to minimize the risk posed by not having a very out of date operating system.
Some manufacturers drop support after a few years. It's usually less frequent than every year but if you were worried about spyware or someone getting all those weird pictures you have saved to your camera roll it could make sense to upgrade for peace of mind.
Wtf? Its a ridiculous BS situation that support is dropped so fast, but if you do anything remotely sensitive on your phone you should absolutely use a device receiving security support.
except even "short" support is two years, major companies like Samsung, Apple, and Google give 4+ years. The "gotta upgrade every year for security" is an excuse, not a reason.
Honestly just switch to a manufacturer that provides security updates for longer periods of time. My iPhone 5S, released nearly 10 years ago and is still getting them. Fairphone is another great example.