Not compared to a $1,000 ($1,700 2018) 1994 StarTAC, it’s an absolute BARGAIN. If you don’t believe me, send me a $999 XS and I’ll send you the $1,700 StarTAC (if I can find it).
I won’t expect a XS in the mail.....
I’m not sure what else was available when that StarTAC launched, but I think the issue with the Xs/max pricing is that they don’t actually do very much more than prior iPhones. Faster, better camera, better screen, etc but fundamentally, it’s performing the same functions using the same software as devices far older and cheaper.
If the iPhone Xs were the first iPhone (first touchscreen smartphone) ever, I’d pay $1000 in a heartbeat. I’d pay $2000! Because compared to having NO smartphone, it’s beyond amazing.
But compared to my existing, paid-off, blemish-free, fully-functional iPhone 7 (with a brand new $29 battery)? It gives me... what? A better camera? More speed (which I won’t use)? A different biometric authentication method and a different screen technology?
I’m hard pressed to see why anyone who has a functioning smartphone from the last few years would see value in these new devices at those prices. Even an A9 runs iOS 12 and modern apps flawlessly.
So the comparison to the StarTAC is only a good one if the prior generation of cell phone had been very nearly the same thing, which I don’t think it was.