I mean, that was a rhetorical question, but that is pretty much how I think about them.
But just to put it in perspective, even for a premium device they are ridiculously inflated. I can get a 128 GB Note 9, brand new, from the official seller, for $30 than I can pre-order a 64GB iPhone XR. Yes, XR. We are not talking carriers or contract, we are talking the price from 2 "main" official sellers in my country, one time on cash. I am not sure how anyone (not you) can comment that price is not a valid criticism.
I am so saving this and linking it on every app thread from now on.
But you really bothered to look up/save all the threads and post them sorted out separately in spoilers? Now that's worrying.