https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/8/23/16190290/samsung-galaxy-note-8-pricing-available-2017

I’ve been looking at the $930 starting price for the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8, scratching my head in bewilderment, looking at that price again, and furrowing my brows. We don’t usually get many mainstream phones with a starting price north of $900 ($960 if you opt for Verizon or AT&T, and even worse in the UK thanks to the pound’s Brexit-induced weakness), and I find myself wondering about the market dynamics nudging the flagship price tiers up. Is it a matter of market saturation encouraging phone vendors to move up into higher price brackets so as to make more per unit sold? Was there always an audience for $1,000 phones, which Samsung is only now deciding to explore / exploit directly with the Note 8?

Having consulted with the Verge hive mind, here are my best hypotheses about the reasoning behind Samsung’s latest move up in price with its brand new phone.