ARM licensing is still inflated in price by an artificial monopoly grant, however. Costs will be reduced, and competition will likely drive down the prices for alternative phones. I am not saying that ARM is the only issue, nor am I saying that it is completely impeding freeer phones from entering the market.
No need for RISC-V the ARM licensing is not what drives the cost.
As nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s about his amazing $150 brand name Android phone he's developing Damus on.
Discussion
We can be certain, if praxeology is a good representation of the dynamics of the market, that there will be a downward pressure on prices and an increase in demand and volume of sales for alternatives coming from the development of RISC-V.