When you look at everything a modern smartphone does, the prices don't look as bad. They're a computer, digital camera, digital camcorder, GPS unit, tape recorder, Mp3 player, flashlight, FM radio (in many cases), calculator, calendar, portable game console, and much, much more. All in one tiny little package that fits in your pocket. Oh, and they're also a phone.
Now, I'm not an iPhone kind of guy and I get all of that functionality from a much cheaper smartphone (Moto G7 Optimo Maxx at present that I paid $89.99 for with a full years service,) but when you look at what you'd have to pay for individual devices to replace all that a modern smartphone does, even the highest-priced iPhone looks like a bargain in comparison.
Videomaker Magazine was first published in 1986. The average price of a camcorder alone back then was $1,646 (among the 58 models they featured in their magazine in 86/87.) And they weren't as good as a modern smartphone. My cheap little Motorola lets me record in 4K at 30 frames per second. None of those $1600+ camcorders could come close to matching that. I can record longer videos with no need for videotape at a higher quality and with more options (image stabilization, auto-focus, and much, much more) than you could back then with a $1,600+ camcorder.
My first desktop computer cost over $2,000 and was less capable than a modern smartphone. (It had a 1.2 GB hard drive. My phone has 32 GB's.) The amount of technology squeezed into a tiny little package these days is ridiculous. Every song I've ever bought is now stored on a micro-sd card in my phone. There are over eight thousand songs I carry with me wherever I go. You couldn't do that with eight tracks, cassettes, or CD's. Don't even think about vinyl records. I can simply say "Hey Google, play (insert name of song here) by (insert name of singer here)" and my phone will start playing that song within seconds.
Should you rush out and buy an iPhone? I wouldn't simply because I can buy a much less expensive phone that does everything I need a phone to do. Why pay five times more than I have to? If you need more capabilities though, go for it. Compared to what you'd have had to pay for those same capabilities just a few years ago, if they were even available at all, modern smartphones are a bargain. Even the most expensive ones.
A lot of people tend to overbuy, and that's their right. People will buy a fully equipped iPhone 12 Pro Max when a much cheaper phone will do, but people will buy a Bugatti Veyron (that's a $2.5 million car by the way with a top speed of 250 MPH) when a Toyota Camry would take them the same places for much less money. Me, I'd take the Camry and the change, but that's just me. Likewise, when it comes to phones, I pick one that does just what I need and not a whole lot more.
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