All cell phones are made with planned obsolescence. I've seen pics of thousands of phones in garbage piles that are scheduled for shredding - millions get trashed every year. People rarely keep them beyond 2 or 3 years. Any company designing a phone to last a long time will go out of business; Apple can not be singled out here. When you buy a phone you are not paying for owning a piece of hardware; you are paying for use of the features. It's the same with computers, what you pay for up front is averaged out over the years that it is useful for you, and at the end the hardware is worthless. Again, that's the way it works for all companies manufacturing electronic devices.
That having been said, I own a cheap TracFone with some smart features. It costs me about $10 a month for using it (including averaging in the cost of the phone over the years I use it). I can toss out the phone anytime in favor of a better one and transfer over the unused time. Cheaply. The rest of my family uses expensive smart phones, but my needs are simple; I use the phone for calls and sometimes for pictures or texting. I don't worry about drawbacks on any phones.
How’s the reception on those Trac-Phones? You getting bars reliably?
I’m looking to jump right now and would love to hear your feedback.