I said what I meant. When you buy an iPhone, not only are you paying for the hardware, you're committing to a monthly fee. A $0.99 app is not even a day of cell service, let alone a 2 year phone contract.
You are getting confused because you believe that paying for a service every day make it an every day purchase. You only purchase an iPhone once (although you will possibly buy another iPhone a year or two later.)
Paying off a home loan over a few decades doesn't make a house an everyday purchase. And paying for an iPhone over a couple of years (or signing any two-year contract) doesn't make that an everyday purchase either.