While I partially agree with you -and upvoted you-, there are products where this isn’t quite that way. Like the iPad like
@rui no onna told you. Yes, of course, if you don’t mind lacking Face ID (which I like on the iPad Pro because of the attention feature), and you don’t mind the 4GB of RAM, the iPad Air is a great choice. But there are features like Pro-motion, Face ID (which prevents the iPad to lock itself while reading) or double the RAM that, in my opinion, justify the Pro category. On the iPhone on the other hand, it doesn’t (for me, at least).
By the way, I’m glad your friend is happy with the iPhone 12, but the cameras and the much improved battery life in my opinion justify the 13 lineup, and whilst the price is higher, maybe waiting a bit longer for the 13 to be cheaper in September would’ve been a better move. You now will say: yes, but then you will wait for the 14 to drop the price in 2023, and yes, you may be right, maybe I’m a bit biased because I’m an iPhone mini buyer, and next year there won’t be iPhone 14 mini.