This is what happens when companies try and put the same phone out every year. go back to 2 years per new model . problem solved
I bet their shareholders would love to hear that strategy.
People can't expect huge changes every year. Most people still only upgrade every other year. I'm sure Samsung's expectations can't be as high this year as opposed to 2017. 2019 will clearly be a huge year for sales. As long as everyone's expectations are are in check, I don't see the issue.
Apple has put out essentially the same phone for the past 5 years. People still buy them, though. Auto makers do the same thing. The problem is the consumer "thinks" they need a new phone once or twice a year year and they don't. If they continued to update the OS on older models, they would lose more sales.
My situation is I'm on JOD. Why wouldn't I want the newest phone if I'm basically paying the same amount per month. With JOD changing to having more money down, people might get back to the 18-24 month upgrade cycle, before JOD started.