It's official, phone prices hit a record in 2017, buoyed by the Note 8 and iPhone X

Ever since smartphone subsidies were removed by carriers, we've seen a much more pronounced rise in flagship phone prices, until we reached "the year of the $1000 phone" with the iPhone X or Note 8. Not only has the concept of the $400 flagship gone the way of the dodo bird, as Chinese makers have also increased their starting tags, but there's never been a launch price increase for high-end handsets as drastic as last year.

As if to confirm this observation, research firm GfK ran the numbers, now that 2017 is behind us, and made the record increase in phones' average ...