The only reason why I've decided to pay 500+ (for the first time in my life) for a flagship device was for a better camera and storage, as I wanted to have good quality photos of my kids.

That said, I will keep on replacing the battery until the circuit board itself turns into ash

An old Samsung S10 takes stunning pictures. Mid range phones at 300 USD are incredibly good at taking shots.

But our appreciation keep getting skewed because flagship phones make leaps forward.