Like second hand cars
In 2019 I went into an Apple store and paid £749 for an iPhone XR on a finance agreement that was £31/month, which is just the phone without a data/call plan. I pay about £10/month on a SIM only deal which I change when I want as there's no contract.
Fast forward to today and a family friend managed to get a refurbished (read: same quality as mine is now) XR - including airtime - for about £17/month. I'm still paying over £40 for the same thing.
The analogy I use is what I did is like buying a brand new car. Why would anyone do that when you can get one 18-24 months old for a fraction of the cost, and effectively get the same thing? I bought it on a whim because I genuinely thought it was a good phone that would last me 4-5 years (and hopefully it will). But of course had I have waited and just gone for a second hand one that could still have been the case.
The point being that "new tech" isn't good enough when compared to tech from a year or two ago to justify the cost. Manufacturers know this and that's why you get these crap adverts from EE and such about "envy" when in reality everyone thinks you're a bit stupid for spending £80/month on a phone just because it's shiny and supports 5G. We all know in a year or so what customers will actually be prepared to pay for that.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
