10 years ago, a brand new iPhone cost $199. Today, an iPhone XS Max starts at $1099. What happened?

There are theories. But the fact remains that the original iPhone, released in 2007, got off to a slow start, in part because of its incredibly high price (for the day) of $500, or $600 for a usable model. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer infamously mocked the iPhone for its high pricing, and despite ongoing misunderstandings about his comments, he was right.