Why do companies launch products at much higher prices, only to reduce the price drastically after a few months?
Two very general reasons are:

1) High prices at the beginning target "early adopters" - people that have a higher "willingness to pay" for a new product just to have it first. Early adopters know that they pay more, and they 're ok with it.

2) As regards consumer reaction, it is much better to reduce prices than to increase prices. So sometimes prices are set high to "feel" the market response and then adjust accordingly.

Note: these are very general and "universal" reasons for the phenomenon. The degree to which are qualified in each special case, market, country, etc its a matter of examination. Also, in some circumstances other strategic considerations may lead to the opposite action: start very low to "sweep the market" (price self-subsidy) in order to drive competitors out/increase market share, and then start increasing prices when market has become "captive" to a degree.