iPhones hate me. Started with the 3, first came DOA, replacement lasted a week then fried on charger. Third lasted a long time. On 5s, first one was locked in this boot/stop/reboot cycle a couple of months in. Replacement lasted a year before it would shutdown on it's own with a nearly full charge, sometimes in the middle of a call. I gave up and got a Sony, it was an awesome phone. When the 6+ came out, my wife upgraded. I didn't think the cost was justified, so after research, I got an Honor 5X, international phone from Huawei, that had all of the features I wanted in the iPhone, but for $185. I'm still using it today, with nary a hiccup, and will likely look at importing another international phone whenever it finally starts acting up.
Just tell the kids for their next upgrade is going to be the tried and true , flip phone.
I understand completely what you're saying about justifying it vs other more important financial concerns though. Perhaps new mid priced machines like the Equinox will offer a lot of bang for the buck and will be easier to justify to our better halves. 
Its the fact that I like the OS, I've had good experience with the device and manufacturer in the past, and I want the new features offered in the latest high end model enough to justify the price. Same with detectors. To each his own.
Apologies if I sounded like a judgmental jerk in that original post...on rereading, I guess I phrased things like flame bait...definitely not my intent at all! Perhaps new mid priced machines like the Equinox will offer a lot of bang for the buck and will be easier to justify to our better halves.
