[joezydeco]

Because the higher-end Apple devices have crossed the line into a luxury good. Go read this link from HN yesterday:

https://stratechery.com/2018/the-iphone-franchise/

The answer turned out to be pretty simple:

"Apple wouldn’t go down-market, nor did its customers want it to."

The final conclusion seals the deal further:

"Some people buy an iPhone every year; some are on a two-year cycle; others wait for screens to crack, batteries to die, or apps to slow. Nearly all, though, buy another iPhone, making the purpose of yesterday’s keynote less an exercise in selling a device and more a matter of informing self-selected segments which device they will ultimately buy, and for what price."