$1,000 for a Phone!

Paying a thousand bucks for a phone is no longer

laughable. In fact, it's probably the new normal.

When Apple broke the $1,000 barrier for its iPhone X

last September, critics scoffed at its exorbitant price.

They doubted people would reach so deeply into their

wallets for a phone that outpriced two other perfectly

good iPhones, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The

critics were wrong. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in July

that the iPhone X had outsold every other Apple device

in each week since it went on sale Nov. 3, 2017.

With strong iPhone X sales, Apple proved that mainstream

buyers are willing to pay almost as much, if not more, for

their cell phones as they would for a powerful laptop. And

with rumors of an even pricier 2018 iPhone X Plus-style

phone coming down the pike this September, Apple's

moves to usher in the era of the $1,000 phone may just be

getting underway.