If saving money is a concern, and I had an iPhone 12 (actually I do, but just the regular Pro, not the Max) then I’d stick with what I had, for a number of reasons. The big two being a) existing investment in the ecosystem - most of us have spent hundreds of dollars on apps over the years, and b) the iPhone 12 is not bad tech, and should last for years with nothing more than a battery replacement.

More money saving in the long run is on keeping your current phone, second around be to buy the out of season phone (S22). The S23 price will probably drop when the S24 comes out. I doubt you will lose much trade in value for your phone because that's less tied to the price of your phone and more tied to the value of converting customers and locking in longer contracts.

Unless there's a truly revolutionary new feature in the S24, I don't see much benefit to getting it, especially through the lense of money saving - "what if I wait for the new phone" will just leave you in a perpetual state of waiting.

Buying a new phone won't save you money. Switching platforms will cost you even more, except you bought a Pro Max and no apps or accessories like cables whatsoever, which is unlikely.

The 12 series has lots of compute power for several years to come and will receive some full OS version updates. Its cameras and general hardware are great. So keeping a powerful, working phone will save you more money.

Keeping your current phone would be more money saving in the long run (if it's still in good condition)

Definitely wait. Consider selling your phone instead of trading in and keeping an eye on the promos coming from Samsung directly. At least in Canada, they have been very aggressive for product launches.

thanks for the replies.

however I didn't ask about keeping my current phone or if buying a new phone will save me money, I know that the most money saving solution in the long run is not getting a new phone. I still had an iPhone 5 before I upgraded to the 12 and it wasn't even on the release date.

Point is I DO have to switch ecosystems (not that I invested in it apart from the phone which I also got cheaper because I didn't get it on release nor did I buy any apps) and I need an android, and if im switching I want a good phone and so I might as well get the newest one or a model released the year before. So that is why I asked which of the two options I mentioned are more money saving.