There are a few reasons why prices are going up. : If you thought $1,000 was outrageous for an iPhone or Android device, you're in for a nasty surprise in 2019. Thanks to Apple and Samsung phones like the iPhone XS and Galaxy Note 9, $999 is the new normal. And that's only the starting price. Level up your storage and phones become more costly still. For example, if you want an iPhone XS with 512GB storage capacity, you'll pay 35 percent more ($1,349). Let's not even get started with the iPhone XS Max.