I would agree with you (financing small purchases like a phone is a bad idea and causes people to spend money they shouldn't), but that doesn't make the clickbait acceptable. Ars Technica should accurately report the claims of the telco industry.
Sure, let’s just ignore the disastrous adware, bloatware etc that also “subsidize” these cheaper phones, to say nothing of the actual capabilities or user experience of said devices.
The only thing I'd get excited about in a new phone is a faster CPU.
Cheaper phones by definition have slimmer margins.
I find that markets that are financialized where the price of the good is obfuscated are less efficient. This is because efficient markets rely on price discovery. Healthcare is an excellent example of this.
And in store there's clearly the price tag right beside the demo model.
So hard to see how its obsfucated like healthcare.
Or is there some carrier that sells the expensive $1000+ phones on prepaid plans?
The locked phones are usually sub $250 and have some kind of finacial gimmick to get the sticker price lower. Often it will be some carrier specific model name. Just sort by price low to high and you'll find them.
ATT, Verizon, and Tmobile are selling many many expensive phones, locked, on 24 momth payment plans, literally hundreds of possible configurations of dozens of models.
Some companies do better in this regard. For example, Samsung provides four major updates, whereas the last mid-range Motorola I owned only gave me one. By the time I receive the fourth update on my current phone, I'll probably be dealing with bigger issues, like the battery not holding a charge—or worse. I wish phones were more serviceable, but that’s just not the case. Still, at mid-range prices, I’m fine with replacing it when it’s on its last legs.
If you're inclined, though, most Android phones allow you to unlock the bootloader and tinker with the software as much as you want.
A brand new Pixel 8a is under $500 and has updates until 2031.
I even paid straight up for my current Laptop, some $2700. The only things in my life I threw a down payment on are furniture: my bed, my kitchen chair setup, and my patio furniture.
A better distinction is not small vs. large, but appreciating assets vs. depreciating. Houses tend to increase in value, so it's usually okay to finance (pandemics and market crashes are the exceptions) because you often make a profit when it's time to sell. Phones tend to decrease in value after purchase, so financing it just means you're losing even more money at the end. Phones are also fragile so it's common to break one and still have to make payments.
There may be a really good reason for a not well-off family to get a new and advanced phone from the phone company, for a small monthly payment. They can't afford the upfront cost, and will pay more for a depreciating asset. On the other hand, they now may have a phone with a great camera to record their kid's school graduation, or other such event that only occurs once. Or they may finally use a smartphone with 4G / 5G to have good-quality video calls with some faraway friends or kin, which were a pain with their old phone. Etc.
This still beats buying a new phone with a credit card, at 29.95% APR.