I think counterintuitively there's less waste this way.

With yearly, incremental releases, people will evaluate what's new from their phone and most people will update on their own cycle, probably every few or several years.

Meanwhile, with gaming console "generational" releases every few years, that is a strong incentive for everyone to upgrade.

If I have a 3 year old phone which I'm on the fence about updating, then I might pass on this year's model and go for next year's. But if there won't be another phone for 3 more years I guess I might as well get this one.