Better value for money, bigger battery, better screen (Samsung), more memory (most devices), more storage, expandable storage, standard interface (all devices), no legal liabilities related to 'hacking' the device, better camera (Samsung, Pixel), more choice in form factor, need I go on?
What did you do with those phones that they 'went sideways'? I have a number of Motorola Defy phones which are between 8 and 9 years old, they still work fine. My daughter left one of those Defy's in her pocket when she put her jeans in the washing machine, it went through a full washing cycle and still worked except for the ear piece which I replaced at a total cost of $0.50 in parts (I bought 10 for $5 including shipping, anyone need a Defy earpiece?). I only ended up buying a newer device (Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with many of the mentioned advantages) because the Swedish electronic ID supplier stopped supporting Android 4.4. I also have an Ainol Novo Advanced 8 Android tablet from 2010, still works fine albeit with a somewhat limited battery time.
Apple makes slick devices but the slickness comes with a downside: they are among the most vulnerable devices out there, usually ending up in the bottom legion when it comes to ability to survive rough treatment [1]. Repairs end up being extremely expensive due to the enforced single supplier rule - only Apple is 'allowed' to repair the device, iOS contains checks for 'unauthorised' repairs. For the price of a single screen repair on an iPhone X ($279) I can buy a new phone for myself and for my daughter (who has a Xiaomi Redmi 4X), 'other' repairs cost $549 which is enough for new devices for the whole family. In short, Apple is the more expensive choice. If you think they're worth their price you should buy them but that does not negate the fact that you're paying more for a more fragile device with limited repair options.
You're forgetting the context, being the selection of a device to run Linux (or anything else) on. Also, more memory is more memory, no qualification needed. It doesn't matter why the device has more memory, just as long as it does.
Yeah and it needs "more memory" because it runs Java. Modern iPhones have way more than enough memory to run one app at a time and a few in the background.
Who cares why the device 'needs more memory' (which it doesn't by the way, the excessive amounts of memory in recent Android devices is more of a marketing ploy than a necessity) when the goal is to select a device to run an alternative operating system on? That is, after all, the context of my reply.
Is is, just add `termux` and install whatever packages you want. That won't help those who want to install Sailfish or Ubuntu or their very own mobile Linux creation or whatever other option they might contemplate. For those applications it makes sense to get a device which is open to this type of tinkering.
What did you do with those phones that they 'went sideways'? I have a number of Motorola Defy phones which are between 8 and 9 years old, they still work fine. My daughter left one of those Defy's in her pocket when she put her jeans in the washing machine, it went through a full washing cycle and still worked except for the ear piece which I replaced at a total cost of $0.50 in parts (I bought 10 for $5 including shipping, anyone need a Defy earpiece?). I only ended up buying a newer device (Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with many of the mentioned advantages) because the Swedish electronic ID supplier stopped supporting Android 4.4. I also have an Ainol Novo Advanced 8 Android tablet from 2010, still works fine albeit with a somewhat limited battery time.
Apple makes slick devices but the slickness comes with a downside: they are among the most vulnerable devices out there, usually ending up in the bottom legion when it comes to ability to survive rough treatment [1]. Repairs end up being extremely expensive due to the enforced single supplier rule - only Apple is 'allowed' to repair the device, iOS contains checks for 'unauthorised' repairs. For the price of a single screen repair on an iPhone X ($279) I can buy a new phone for myself and for my daughter (who has a Xiaomi Redmi 4X), 'other' repairs cost $549 which is enough for new devices for the whole family. In short, Apple is the more expensive choice. If you think they're worth their price you should buy them but that does not negate the fact that you're paying more for a more fragile device with limited repair options.
[1] https://macworld.idg.se/2.1038/1.692054/iphone-x-en-tickande...