Stockholder and Market Demand as well as IP Competition/Robbery are also factors
When Steve Jobs returned as Apple CEO in 1997, the prime yelling in the capitalist streets was to push up the company's profit margin. After years of pressure, Apple has settled at ~30%. That equates to a gradual inflation of Apple gear prices in order to make the stockholders happy.
Then add in the currently severe competition in the marketplace for smartphones. In order to attract attention, new technology has to present itself as significantly better than what was offered last year, whether the improvement is real or marketing blether. Apple is never perfect, but they do a far better job of providing real innovation than any other company in the tech market. That equates to R&D, licensing and IP purchase expenditures again creating gradual inflation of Apple gear prices.
Then add in the IP robbery effect whereby China: Criminal Nation and other miscreants (hello Samsung, Google, ad nauseam) have consistently ripped off Apple IP in order to create fraudulent competition in the technology market. This of course cheapens the value of Apple's investments in R&D, forcing them to spend further into R&D as well as marketing in order to rise above the faked Apple market. Again, that forces Apple's expenditures on new products, resulting in further inflation of Apple gear prices.
Neglect ye not these three factors being involved in the resulting Apple prices that are so upsetting to those disinterested in what amounts to the luxury leading-edge end of the tech market.
But keep in mind that the Apple Lisa was expensive bleeding-edge technology. It was Apple's first attempt at integrating the Star OS GUI concepts they had licensed from Xerox. (Yes, licensed. Look it up please). It was a transition device with massive costs typical of prototypes and first-to-market technology. Apple aimed extremely high in a market that had far lower expectations and budgets.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
