The vast majority of people do not buy a phone, they pay for a contract. The amount of people is overwhelming that don't understand that when said contract ends you don't have to continue paying the same amount and get a new phone again, you can choose a significant discount (often £20-£35 a month or even more), keep the same phone and contract as it was... As long as people only focus on the price of 'new' contracts, it's the service provider that gets the blame for price rises and not the phone manufacturers.

150 USD good price for phone The Samsung Galaxy S23