Apple still sells iPhone 7.
OTOOH, having given a bit of thought, is it just more economical to eat the expensive of the flagship up front and then hang on to it for four or five years (which is what we currently do).
XR: $750 / 6 years = $125/year
8: $599 / 5 years = $120/year
7: $449 / 4 years = $112/year
So assuming you plan to keep the device for its entire lifespan, I'm not sure it actually matters very much what you buy.
[0] http://infographic.statista.com/normal/chartoftheday_5824_io...
Will easily last me 3-4 years.
50/year to own.
iPhone 8 assuming it lasts 4 years without battery/breakage means I could buy new moto x4 every year I own that 8. I get that its supported longer but these devices are heavily used and abused.
Or trailing edges of the 2nd and 3rd generation respectively.
Just make sure you don’t hold on beyond obsolescence.
Sometimes old stuff spikes in value a bit as others want to replace/repair instead of upgrade.
That's quite a shallow self-image
But I would absolutely love a $400-500 iPhone and I'm fine if it's missing a lot of features. My phone just isn't my primary point of mobile computing anymore (if anything, Apple Watch fills that role for me now[0]), so I neither need nor want a $1000 phone (even though, being a fanboi, I have one). And the point of putting my CV in the first paragraph is to point out that, hey, even if you don't make money selling me a phone, Apple, you'll still make an arse-load of money off me. And maybe you'll get new customers/revenue to boot.
[0]Which, I'll point out, is also a ridiculously-priced device at $900 for the one I bought.