It is a game where you start fighting (space) goblins and end fighting (space) demon lords. Your character is expected to grow. It could be done with inherent bonus or automatic progression, yes, but cyberimplants, nanotech, and stuff like that also are tropes of the genre, and starfinder does not bloat you to the point your «magic» items matter more than you in that regard.
Comoulsory buys are, tho, weapons and armors. There is no equivalent to greater maguc weapon or magic vestment, you have yo buy gear up to your level. I don't think it is,a problem, but some people do
What makes a big difference to me between Starfinder's Personal Upgrades and Pathfinders magic belts and headbands is that the latter could be things you bumped into while adventuring and had at least some amount of decision-making to them. Stat-boosting items maybe aren't exciting to veteran players, but for those who wanted they introduced some flavor ("This is the belt I took from Reginald the Ruthless") and induced choices, like which party member best needs what belt, and if a Belt of Strength +2 should be replaced by the newly found Belt of Dexterity +4.
In contrast, Starfinder's Personal Upgrades are very clinical - there's no concrete fluff as to what they are other than that they could be various things, and they're not lootable items - and they don't involve much decision-making, cause they're not competing for slots. I agree that makes them feel very mandatory. There's no reason not to get them other than lacking the credits (you could say it's a bit of a credit tax). We'll see how it works out. No doubt it's more streamlined and probably better for 3.PF veterans who know what they want out of a build.
So my summary would be: SF Upgrades are better (more practical) for the way system veterans play and build their characters, but they involve less decision-making. The RP value is about the same, but it's more on the GM/Player in SF to make them feel like more than just a stat boost.
That's a fair point, but those kind of magic belts and headbands make for a greater compulsory buy list. Specially because the Belt You Took From Reginald the Ruthless is functionally like The Belt You Bought in Ye Old Magic Item Shop.
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The stat items in Pathfinder weren't a choice, you either bought them or fell way behind. CRs were written assuming certain stats on the players' end, and the only way to get those stats was the belts/headbands. Find a neat cloak? Forget it, the cloak of resistance +x is all you need.
Limiting the number of personal upgrades to 3 and making them slotless is what allows choices. Now you can keep up with the assumed stats and get the stuff that does something cool.