The biggest problem with the iPhone to me is forced obsolescence. A device from 2014 (iPhone 6) is no longer able to run many apps, because it doesn't support iOS versions past 12. Many of these apps are essentially just web pages, so in principle the hardware should be more than capable of running them. But instead you are pushed to ditch perfectly functional and capable hardware in favour of a new model.
Compare that with the PC world. A laptop from 2011 can still both run Windows 10 and pretty much anything you want, assuming your hardware is able to process it fast enough - which for many use cases it is.
I totally agree. Not just iPhones either but the Mac too.
I have a Dell Latitude laptop with a 3rd gen Intel i5, 8GB RAM and a 500GB SATA SSD that runs Fedora (any other other Linux) perfectly as well as Windows 10 (and 11 even though it apparently doesn't meet the new requirements). Sadly a Mac from 2011 cannot run Big Sur. Sure it is slow for heavy, modern development but for a lot of things it is just fine (well except that 768p screen oof)
Even more annoying is how cut throat Apple are with removing old technologies. It is a small pain point for me that I cannot run Plants vs Zombies on my Mac anymore because it is a 32bit program and Apple removed 32bit support a couple of years ago.
I understand why Apple does it but I also dislike it a lot. No system is perfect but Apple go out of their way to make things harder imho. Even more so with how frustrating it is to virtualise macOS and get performance anywhere close to what we can get with Windows or Linux in a VM.
It is a sad fact that I don't look at macOS nor iOS as some kind of long term investment. I use them for what they are right now and nothing more. I ensure I am not dependent on Apple's systems and services. I use them because right now they give me the least hassle (they work well, have good app support, etc) but I would happily switch away in the blink of an eye to something else should it come along. I have no loyalty to Apple. I use them because they are convenient to me, the moment they no longer are I will move on.
Ahem. You should be comparing iPhone upgradability with Android upgradability, most of which get stuck after a year or so. If they receive any upgrades at all.
Unless you carry you 2011 laptop around in your pocket, that is.
I am not saying Android is better - just using Apple as an example. Although it does seem like there are more options of at least reusing the hardware in some way with an Android device. I am not sure where exactly the problem is or how to solve it, but there seems to be something fundamentally wrong about the whole thing.
A battery, arguably along with storage, needs a very very good reason to not be upgradeable.
Old Nokia phones that are 20+ years old can still be used. PCs and consoles from the 90s are still perfectly usable with their original software. Smartphones have been 'good enough' for nearly a decade - why is there not a legitimate 'buy it for life' version?
Compare that with the PC world. A laptop from 2011 can still both run Windows 10 and pretty much anything you want, assuming your hardware is able to process it fast enough - which for many use cases it is.