I am staying in Thailand, which may be one of those emerging markets. I will comment on the situation in Thailand, but the situation in other countries may be similar.
The average salary in Thailand is about $350. But that does not make Thailand a price-sensitive market for high-end smartphones. If you want a cheap phone, chinese iPhones copies are readily available starting from $40 on markets and even malls. The people who do buy a real iPhone don't generally buy it for it's features, hardware or apps. They buy because they have money and want to show it. You also see a lot of German luxury cars on street, despite the fact that these taxed at 200%. I heard that if you don't you don't have a Mercedes in Thailand, people don't want to do business with you because they think you are insolvent. A cheaper plastic version of the iPhone, isn't going to cut it in these markets. Rather a more expensive Gold version. Gold has a special meaning for Asians, especially Chinese, who form most of the elite in Thailand.
To a lesser extent I think that also applies Western countries. My former boss, who drove a Porsche, commented on the iPhone 4s launch, that it didn't matter what Apple's latest killer-feature would be. People (including himself) will always want to have the latest iPhone.