It’s difficult to say when someone should skip a year, because it really depends when they decide to upgrade and what their carrier is offering for discounts/promotions at the time. Either way, I still think the XS real highlight was the 6.5 display for the Max, and the A12 processor does offer some distinct advantages with the HDR camera and 60 frames per second for gaming.
I hear what you’re saying, it is certainly subjective at the end of the day and if carrier upgrades or loyalty programs make it more enticing. I think those are rare on release day though as early adopters tend to pay the maximum either up front or over their contract. So say for you, it ends up being a net 200$ upgrade, but for me it ends up being a net 600$ upgrade...then the value discussion changes.
For me, it cost 1003.47 net to go from my iPhone X to XS Max at launch (I live in Canada). And for me, it has to be worth that difference in the first few months or I simply wait for the next device. A grand is a lot of money. So that is the lens I am seeing this discussion in. Today, I can take advantage of carrier discounts and pay off my contract...I can make that same move, with a new 2 year contract keeping the same plan, for a net 0$ outside of extending the contract. So certainly that value changes over time...but at this point in time, I don’t want to renew a 2 year contract when new iPhones are 6 months away.
Regarding 60fps for gaming and HDR camera: I was not sure if you meant was how some games (newer high end mobile games like asphalt 9, fortnite) support 60fps on the A12, and HDR as the smart HDR feature which is certainly impressive, or not. But those are valid points and do cross my mind, however these are the counter points that cross my mind:
First, HDR itself has been a feature in iPhones since the 4S, smart HDR is what debuted with the XS/Max/R. How big of an enhancement is it though? In some cases it looks significant. But in other cases, you’d be hard pressed to find significant changes. It’s not like the iPhone 8/plus/X have terrible cameras, and bear in mind we are talking about annual iOS device upgraders. For me the cost was
Second, 60fps gaming itself is not exclusive to the A12...some popular games such as temple run, angry birds did it a very long time ago. What the A12 does is it affords the thermal space to run games without over heating. Epic admit as much, that the A11 could run those same games at 60fps but simply the thermal realities would make it difficult to do safely.
And ultimately, to your point, I agree that at the end of the day it depends on the individuals wants and what their carrier offers, if they get good deals etc. 6.5 in screen is enough to get some people to upgrade. For me, I care about the tech inside the device and the display itself. And last years iPhones were so minor in upgrades that during the conference apple had to advertise features it had already talked about the prior year and released with the iPhone X.
I do think when it comes to the specs and the price you pay for those phones, they aren’t worth the difference in yearly upgrades and last year was a great year to skip out on for people satisfied with the iPhone X. At least this years rumoured iPhones will have what look to be serious camera upgrades as well as the usual cpu/gpu enhancements, making them more enticing for annual upgraders.
For me, it wasn’t worth the grand and I ended up returning my Max and sticking with my X.
(Then I got lucky with a XR from work haha)