> <i>There’s a general rule about consumer electronics: The older a device becomes, the more competitors appear and prices fall. This was true for televisions, personal computers and portable music players.</i><p>> <i>It was supposed to happen with smartphones. But the iPhone has defied gravity.</i><p>The lock-in effect is real. The Sony and RCA of yesteryear would have killed for this sort of walled garden.<p>…<p>> <i>The new flagship iPhones that Apple is set to unveil this week will feature speedier processors, more sophisticated cameras and titanium rather than stainless steel cases, according to supply chain analysts. The changes are expected to come with a $100 to $200 price increase, bringing the cost of an iPhone Pro to $1,100 and the Pro Max to $1,200.</i><p>Such paper-thin excuses to raise the price. By all rights, the genuine tech in an iPhone has become so pedestrian that prices should have plummeted, yet they continue to increase as long as the market will bear it.