Using this as evidence for that view is sort of like saying you're surprised at the relatively increasing expensiveness of cars after the press release about the new BMW 7 series, or Tesla Model S. Big sexy press releases are for high-end products. Consumer grade, cheaper offerings generally don't get as much media since they are lower margin products, but they do exist[1].

1: http://www.androidcentral.com/best-cheap-android-phones

They do, made by Chinese (Xiaomi for example). They don't boast with 12k screens, 32mpix cameras, but are rather simple and perform fine for daily apps, while costing from 120-250€ and sporting expandable storage/2nd SIM and huge battery (3500-4000mAh). They don't perhaps bump the Android version, but basically all phones released in last 2 years will get MIUI 8, with Android monthly security fixes.