[deanhills]

I am not sure where you got that older models drag on? I am not exactly sure what you mean but iPhone 6/6S recently got the newest iOS and there are plenty of people who are running it well. Keep in mind that its been 5-6 year since the release of 6/6s and Apple is still supporting it. I have not seen any Android company support a phone that long. Yea Apple has gone downhill since Jobs and I do agree there are changes to the new phones that I do not really care about (testament to this as I own XS Max and have not upgraded for 2yr+ now) I do not plan to upgrade unless Apple substantially made changes to their newer phone for me to justify the features and price to upgrade. And you talk about bell and whistles but every new thing Apple came out with had a use (for ex. 5G/WiFI 6/Magnetic Back (for wallet)/Better DAC/Better Chip & Better Camera/Privacy) They are all QoL improvements and they have their own uses. Maybe some of their business practice is shady and I do recognize that but you need to also recognize at the end of the day they are just a company like any other who looks out for profit. But they do make a difference and ALL public company are slave to their share holders and Apple is not along in this.

During 2016 I tested two models of Apple against Samsung. Apple 6 and 6S. I've written about my experiences a few times in this Forum. After change of OS there were battery issues. Apple then invited users to test and if necessary have batteries changed by December of 2016. They were using Apple Sales Offices to participate in what I consider to be a "promotion" of Apple trying to change the negative feedback on batteries due to OS issues. I tested my Apple against Comparable Samsung Galaxy S7. There was a huge difference in use of battery between Samsung and Apple. I took both Apple phones to Apple for testing the batteries. They said the one was OK (even though it was still slow) and the other they recommended that there was something not good with the phone, and that I should take it to an Apple Retailer to upgrade to a new phone.

The Apple distribution system is one of selling new Apple phones and as many bells and whistles you can think off. I can't remember where I read this - as this was discussed at some point too. Apple bringing out a model prematurely, because of wanting to score with marketing - even when the technology was not completely ready yet.

Just imagine all of the add ons one has to buy these days when you get a phone or an Apple laptop.

So Apple is greedy. And so are all of the other cell phone brands. No one is exempt. They're there to make as much money as they can, and a huge part of that market is their existing clients, getting the clients to upgrade their phones to new ones.

I decided not to go for Apple as I found a lot of hype surrounding the brand. Yes, it is a good quality phone that professionals like to have. But you have to pay for every bell and whistle along the line. Including music. There are also too many restrictions so that they can control the phone. I'd go as far to say that Apple is greedier and more marketing focused than the other brand phones. But for now I'll stay with just greedy like every one else.