I think the issue is people think they pay $50 for an older version instead of $300 for the latest, thus saving massive 80% or so. In reality, it's $1,970 vs. $2,220 (assuming $80/mo for two years). The difference is only 11%. If people realized that, many could reconsider accepting significantly outdated hardware for 11% savings over 2-year period.
I understand your point, but I think 'significant outdated hardware' is a misnomer; with the exception of things like Retina Display breaking backwards compatability, its pretty rare that the difference between two phone generations is that important for non-power users.
