This is an interesting choice. Photos from my phone would literally be the last thing I ever turned off backup for.
To each their own...
Which means this original comment is somewhat disingenuous: "256Gigs of storage basically means everyone's going to have to upgrade their iCloud storage monthly spend just to back this thing up."
Clearly there is another option (as evidenced by your own behavior). But let's not pretend that option is free, either.
how do you backup your photos when the phone gets full. I dont have a mac and the process is excruciating. Also the formats get messed up so some photos become unusable. I stopped taking 'live' photos because of this.
The two formats I've found that they don't back up accurately are rotated photos (if one's a stickler for "originals") and cropped screenshots (JPEG instead of PNG). Possibly the sidecar files for edits too.
Sometimes Google photos shows the wrong orientation for my pixel photos/videos but it's just a display issue.
Everything you stated to is useless to the person you replied.
Likewise the 6th gen iPad Mini is what I was waiting for to get a tablet to sketch.
Sometimes a device hits just right.
Not unlike the "Best jacket of the season" being the one that is most fashionable as opposed to the most functional.
Now I think all the iphone cameras still suck compared to an actual camera, but the improvement over the last 10 years has been dramatic.
"MASSIVE improvements in Camera". Where? Evolution, refinement, sure. Massive? Hm.