How can a product be overpriced if more than 50% of the [US] market buys and uses that product?

You might want to reconsider who's doing mental gymnastics lol

source: https://9to5mac.com/2022/09/02/iphone-us-market-share/

That is only a few markets, in one of the wealthiest countries of the world. In the rest of the world android is pretty much +%90 and iphones are luxury goods, like a designer handbag or a porsche.

Apple is definitely the Porsche or Mercedes of computing.

Neither of which are overpriced, they just target a different segment of wealth with a different set of features and build quality.

Apple might be, but iOS is not.

I can assure you 50% of America doesn’t have a Porsche or Mercedes lol

iPhone is just that much better than its nearest competitors.

Do they buy it outright of pay a fraction of the cost upfront then overpay for it on expensive monthly contracts? I very much doubt most of the 50% US market aren't tied into 24 month contracts.

Why does that matter? It's an interest free loan and they eventually do pay for it. We don't criticize people for buying cars with loans or even houses. When we purchased my dads car we were going to buy it cash but we got a 6 yr loan at 0% interest so it was a no-brainer to do that. Additionally most carriers now are offering incentives when you're on their payment plans. If your argument is that you should ditch your current carrier and use some cheap MVNO service instead then that's something entirely different.

Does it matter? There is no such thing as “overpriced” for products that fly off the shelves except only in one’s personal opinion.

I don't think it's gymnastics. The last part about being "genuine" is a stretch, but the fundamental point they're making is reasonable or at least worth discussing. It's relevant to the discussions of gambling and the lottery, for example. I don't appreciate Apple and their lock-in (especially the "we're protecting you" marketing) but the case for "the lesser evil" of advertising is worth discussing. I actually want Apple to start pushing ads, not because of the reason given by GP but because it will almost definitely kill Apple. I think they know that and will go only as far as they know they can without giving up their brand which is ultimately their most valuable asset.