Most full sized residential fridges are auto defrost these days. I think it's been that way since the 80s or so.
I've a 2003 build Whirlpool fridge that's been just fine. In that era the defrost logic is usually mechanical and if/when the defrost timer fails it's a $30 part that's fairly easy to replace.
The LG that I just junked uses electronics to control the defrosting. That gets expensive to fix but (I think) that's also not what failed in that piece of crap.
The failures I've seen are the heating element dying (annoying in one fridge because of how it was wedged in, real pain to replace), the drain pipe clogging (this can be really annoying to clean), or the computer just giving out (usually takes the whole fridge, but I've seen it just lose the defrost).
All three are more annoying to deal with than a fridge where you just know you gotta defrost it now and then (chest freezers still had that for longer, maybe still do).
I've a 2003 build Whirlpool fridge that's been just fine. In that era the defrost logic is usually mechanical and if/when the defrost timer fails it's a $30 part that's fairly easy to replace.
The LG that I just junked uses electronics to control the defrosting. That gets expensive to fix but (I think) that's also not what failed in that piece of crap.