[wisty]

IIRC it is true, but it's a quirk of the phone market. People either go for the the flagship or for an economy phone, but it's a weird quirk of the mobile market (since most people assume that the cheapest phones are basically as good as midrange phones, or that they're better off with a cheaper phone and more frequent upgrades, so there's no middle).

Cars are different. Not everyone buys a Porsche or a Kia.

[ip26]

The vanishing middle is actually happening in many, many markets IMO. You can either get cheap plastic junk or overpriced glam. MacBook Pro or Chromebook. The high quality, no frills, moderate price product- it's gone from most markets.

Cars are perhaps one of the few exceptions, maybe due to sheer price setting hard limits on the high end and basic safety setting limits on the low end.