At least in the USA, you have mainly three choices for "$500+ phones": Pixel, Samsung, and iPhone. The iPhone has been priced very competitively in recent years to the point that they are better hardware at cheap price points than Samsung. That has taken a large chunk of Android sales as people upgrade to iPhones instead of paying more for Samsung.

A thought: It seems that as people get richer around the world they move away from $200 Androids to what is more perceived as luxury: iPhones.