Smartphone prices are about to get insane

For about the last decade, if you walked into any phone store, you could reasonably expect to pay about $200 for a brand new iPhone — but those days are all but over. 

The iPhone 8, which is expected to launch at a special media event on Sept. 12, is widely forecast to have a starting cost somewhere between $1,000 and $1,200 — or a little shy of double the starting price of the current iPhone 7 ($649).

Perhaps even more shocking is that Apple isn't alone in increasing costs. Samsung is also cranking up the price on its newer phones, starting with the Galaxy Note 8 that launched last month at a price of $930 for an unlocked 64GB version. Read more...