"new base-model iPhone every year,"
Anyone think about the environmental impact and the ewaste this creates and that a lot of used electronics ends up in Africa and China at electronic scrapyards?
In a perfect world 100% of our cellphone is recycled and then it would be ok to get a new one each year. Except the recycling part does not work yet.
Likely since they will still be high end phones, but as a trend this would suppress the price for used phones and just pushes the problem down the chain.
The people pikcing up those used phones are likely getting rid of a slightly older one at a higher frequency now and that will still generate more e-waste.
Used iPhones get handed to relatives or sold. I know people using 3rd- or 4th-hand iPhone 4 units, and these came out ~5 years ago. I live in China. Here, a broken iPhone 4 or later will be repaired, not scrapped.
In a perfect world 100% of our cellphone is recycled and then it would be ok to get a new one each year. Except the recycling part does not work yet.
Do we want the scenes of Wall-e to become real?
Here is a documentary about where the electronic waste ends up http://www.e-wastelandfilm.com/