With Tuesday’s announcement of the iPhone X, which comes with an edge-to-edge OLED display and starts at a staggering $999, it’s worth reflecting on how such a once-luxury device could transition to mass-market status and then flow back toward its premium perch. When details about the phone, nearly all of which leaked ahead of the time, began surfacing months back, its eye-popping price was immediately the subject of controversy. Was Apple doing the industry a favor by giving its flagship product a nearly four-digit price tag, or was it crossing a line?

The debate hasn’t changed much now that we know the device’s name, what it looks like, and exactly how much it will cost: up to $1,150 for a 256GB model. We’re all wondering who among us…

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