>since Apple is a luxury product that is more about signaling status than about a great computing power-vs-cost value proposition

this isn't a universal phenomenon, funnily enough in China the brand appears to have the opposite effect[1]. It's more seen like a vanity purchase akin to I guess something like a Gucci bag.

"Apple iPhone users in China are generally less educated, hard-up and with few valuable assets, compared to users of other mobile phone brands such as Huawei Technologies or Xiaomi, according to a report by research agency MobData. The Shanghai-based firm also found that most iPhone users are unmarried females aged between 18 and 34, who graduated with just a high-school certificate and earn a monthly income of below 3,000 yuan (HK$3,800). They are perceived to be part of a group known as the “invisible poor” – those who do not look as poor as their financial circumstances."

[1] https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2174310/research-highlight...

> more about signaling status than about a great computing power-vs-cost value proposition

The iPhone SE is up there in power-vs-cost, and in terms of dollars per year of usage Apple probably has the best numbers.

I agree with the sibling comments about technical superiority, however, I see a flaw in your logic. If people are buying apple for signalling, then it would make sense for them to similarly ditch it in favor of another signal which better fits their identity.

Not everybody buys lates ridiculously overpriced iPhones. Some of us buys Apple because Android has unbearable UX. Older models or SE models are perfectly fine.

I buy Apple iPhones for the quality of the design and manufacturing, the 5+ years of updates, and the focus on platform security.

the new iphone SE is an absolute killer in that exact metric.