Dead thread, first time I read. Comparing gold to an iPhone is nonsensical. like comparing buying a $5 I tunes gift card, or a $5 lunch. The gift card will be $5 in a year- but has no use on its own. You must transmute it in order to gain a benefit. If you keep the lunch it will likely be worth less in a year- but it is not an investment instrument. It's intended to be used for your benefit. The nature of consumable items is that they tend to depreciate if and until they reach a point where they are old enough to become collectible, or posses a novel feature which is useful compared to currently available items.
Way way more stable compared to iPhone that is for sure