> About 1.46 billion smartphones were produced in 2018, while 1.56 billion were sold. If production drops back to match lower sales, that could mean 38.44 million fewer phones made. And if all those phones were about the size of an iPhone X, that would mean about 400 pounds each of mined ore, water, and other resources were conserved, a total of 15 billion pounds.

The problem is that capitalism is running on selling always the latest products. The product, in general, shouldn't last long. So even if you don't need a new phone, they are going to force it to you. I don't think this latest trend is going to last. After all, "Smartphone sales will drop 2.5% worldwide by the end of 2019" as it is stated in the article. Not a huge drop.