Practical answer
What happens to my photos?
Your existing photos are safe. For new ones, most simple phones have a basic camera — and a real camera is better than both.
This is usually the emotional objection rather than the technical one, especially for parents.
Existing photos
They live in iCloud or Google Photos and are reachable from any computer. Back them up to a hard drive as well before changing devices — that is good practice regardless.
New photos
- Most simple phones have a basic camera. Quality is modest but real.
- A small point-and-shoot camera beats a phone camera and does nothing else.
- The smartphone still takes photos when you have it with you.
Many people report taking fewer photos and being more present at the events they used to photograph. Some miss shots. Both are true.