I guess one could also argue that actually Apple has diversified into so many SKUs that there is indeed a high end. HN/techie crowd is always buying the latest

I guess one could also argue that actually Apple has diversified into so many SKUs that there is indeed a high end. HN/techie crowd is always buying the latest and greatest version Pro/Pro Max or whatever every year or two,.. but look at the phones your parents/in-laws are using. Apple will happily sell you current year - 1, current year - 2, or the infrequently updated SE model. Mass market is the people buying those and holding them for 3..4..5+ years. We often go out with friends who are teachers and one had the iPhone 11 she apologized takes bad photos so please take group photos with ours, while the other had the 13ish with error messages popping up about his free iCloud being full. My FIL uses a hand-me-down iPhone Xs for banking because he doesn't trust his Android security, etc.