What are you talking about? They have always released a new iPhone every year since it debuted in 2007.
2007 - iPhone
2008 - iPhone 3G
2009 - iPhone 3GS
2010 - iPhone 4
2011 - iPhone 4S
2012 - iPhone 5
2013 - iPhone 5S and 5C
2014 - iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
2015 - iPhone 6S and 6S Plus
2016 - iPhone SE, 7 and 7 Plus
2017 - iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X
2018 - iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max
2019 - iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max
2020 - iPhone SE (2nd Gen), 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max
2021 - iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max
2022 - iPhone SE (3rd Gen), 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max
I think they were referring to a new design approximately every two years. Like 3, 3gs, 4, 4s, etc.
I don't really care about the hardware design as much as software changes, so the current look is fine. I just wish the sides were more rounded.