The tech press and us nerds who pay too much attention operate on a different continuum to the general public.

Apple knows the average user has a 3-year contract upgrade cycle. They need a new phone each year to satisfy the need for these people to pick another iPhone over a more recently released competitor.

That it to say that the iPhone 16 will be compared to the 15 by us but in reality Apple is selling it to people with a tired iPhone 13 looking for a refresh.