Adjusted to inflation, the iPhone 4S was 722$. XR is 749$(not 800 by the way). 27$ difference, not too bad considering the technology is superior in every way to the 4S.
As someone who used to like getting the latest and greatest by Apple their current prices baffle me. Or perhaps I'm the oddball that doesn't use my phone enough to warrant spending that much money.
As a price-conscious Corolla purchaser, I don't really care if Bugatti's latest highest-end car costs $2 or $3 million dollars. It's not what I'm buying.
Example (that I serendipitously learned about recently): free (!!!) workshops in Apple stores that you can learn advanced techniques for things like video editing on iPad, among other things.
I’m pretty sure those were around before the iPhone, certainly when the 4S was new.