Hardware are more reliable and lasts longer. The software makes the hardware less useful over time.
Apple is moving into the subscription everything model slowly if you noticed. You can get new phone every year with Apple Upgrade Program, News+, Fitness+, iCloud+, Apple TV+ etc. Slowly you will be locked into the ecosystem and can't escape it. We might as well call Apple (Google/Amazon to an extent) an utility at this point.
Apple is moving into the subscription everything model slowly if you noticed. You can get new phone every year with Apple Upgrade Program, News+, Fitness+, iCloud+, Apple TV+ etc. Slowly you will be locked into the ecosystem and can't escape it. We might as well call Apple (Google/Amazon to an extent) an utility at this point.