That’s only cheap if you don’t consider how long it will survive and the replacement/repair cost. A slab phone with no moving parts will last much longer than a foldable making the $/year cost much lower.

And before anyone says this sounds like a baseless conspiracy theory, remember that the big tech companies got fined a few years ago for having an agreement not poach each other’s employees to keep wages down. They do talk to each other, and for things that matter.