No. You get a 2 year old flagship phone for $200-300 outright, instead of $1500+

Samsung also makes the A-series Galaxies which are a pretty solid mid-tier phones that are supported for years, too.

That's just plain bullshit? I just checked my local second hand marketplace, and 2 year old flagship models seem to go for about 35-50% of the current equivalent newest model price.