Most people never use all the specs. If all you are doing is browsing the Internet, watching videos, or playing some simple games, you don't need much.

I have purchased unlocked mid-range phones for for a while now. Expensive enough to have decent specs but not so cheap that the build quality suffers. When the teenager is dropping the phone 3-4 times per day, a good case and a good build quality is required. 3 years with that type of abuse is about all you'll get out of it.

I run two phones. For work I get one of the flagship phones. I only pull out my laptop in my office. Most of the time I am using the phone in all weather conditions. I use those specs for thousands of hi-res pictures, data entry etc.. all day long. At the end of 3 years it's toast.