My daughter brought me a pixel XL (the original) a couple of years ago. Before then I would buy (i.e. or upgrade) every 2 years, thinking I wanted to keep up with the latest tech, including better/stable wifi and bluetooth, quicker response, larger drive, etc.. That was when phones were under $400 bucks.
Now my Pixel is outdated, yet still does everything I need it to business wise and socially. Also it still receives the OS updates immediately. Furthermore I have not even used it to its full potential. I will keep this phone until it breaks or becomes unusable. If they stop automatically updating it I'll just root it. Even if it get water damaged I will use the rice trick first, which worked a couple of times before with other phones.
In other words I don't need a new phone. There are no new features I need or will use often enough to justify. I will say I do keep up with the latest and greatest phones out there, but damn spending $800 to make phone calls, take a few pics, check emails and texts is crazy.
When that day comes I will take a strong look at a 'newer model phone' but used, and unlocked.