Anyways, I learnt the rule that tech companies will usually sell their products at about 60 - 75% more than the actual production cost. That $600 iPhone is probably only worth about $200 or less.
Well no stuff. It's called mark up. They're trying to make a profit.
They're not a charity, so they're not going to sell it at the same cost of the materials/construction.
And ultimately with Apple you're paying for a designer brand.
In the same way that people pay for designer clothes. A Ralph Lauren shirt might be no better than an identical shirt you could buy at your local supermarket, but it's a designer label, so you pay more.
If there was a strong wooden body for the phone I'd consider buying that.