funny how adding the most basic thing—a 23 yo USB C ('cuz it has USB 2 speeds on the non-Pro iPhone)—is mentioned as a feature you should upgrade your iPhone for...
For that matter, Apple was a major adopter of USB starting with the iMac in 1998 (which also ditched 3.5" floppy disks in favor of optical and USB storage options - later models added FireWire.) Non-USB connections for iDevices (FireWire, 30-pin, Lightning) were used because of limitations of USB at the time(s). 30-pin and Lightning were retained for ~10 years to reduce connector churn (sorry Firewire iPod people.)
Regarding the pro model, it's definitely convenient to be able to shoot directly to an external SSD, connect to a monitor (and charge from it like a MacBook or iPad) etc. without a dongle.
And they've pioniered USB-C usage in charging with otherwise ill-conceived 2015 MBP.
I can’t remember the last time I connected my iPhone to a computer to do a data transfer.
While Apple does not guarantee or publish a guarantee about how many years of major OS versions and security updates iPhones will get, it’s typically been about six or seven years of major OS version upgrades (from original device release) and another two or more years of security updates. The iPhone 11 was released in 2019 with iOS 13. When it’ll stop getting a new iOS version is up to Apple.
Nope. The improvements in camera and what it offers are noticeable, especially for low light photography as well as video quality and types. Some examples: night mode, portrait mode, cinematic mode, etc. Normal customers do care for or are impressed such things. The difference from one year’s phone to the next year’s may or may not be significant, but if you’re looking from iPhone 11 to iPhone 15, there is a really huge difference.