It turns out that when your company doesn't make any products that serve the budget end of the market, the average income of your userbase skews higher than companies that do serve that part of the market. Who knew?
That’s why the highest ranking phone under $500… is an iPhone? It honestly makes the most sense to buy the budget iPhone if you are on a budget. They’re supported much longer than other phones meaning not only are you not paying a whole lot up front, you’re also able to meaningfully use it much longer than competing android phones.
According to some napkin math, those $500 are a bit less than half the monthly federal minimal wage for 40h weeks. In the US, one of the richest countries. So that's not really "budget".
*Just one source but still: https://www.theverge.com/21420196/best-budget-smartphone-che...