He never said no one buys apple without thinking about status.
"Is it really so hard to believe that some people buy the most expensive iPhone simply because it's the best phone available on the market?"
I can believe that you THINK it's the best, and worth the money -- that's literally what advertising is for and how status symbols work -- but of course I would reject any claim that any $1000 phone is worth it on the merits. (Example, this 'pro' branded flagship phone comes standard with a bottom-of-the-industry 32GB of space, a laughably inferior specification for 2019 flagships where 64gb is standard and 128gb base is available. That's objectively the worst, not the best).
Is it really so hard to believe that some people buy the most expensive iPhone simply because it's the best phone available on the market?