Why flagship phones don’t matter anymore?
We don’t have to buy flagship smartphones anymore. That’s the current reality for us consumers in the smartphone world. While flagship phones are still the very best that you can get from a phone manufacturer of your choice, they just aren’t that worth it anymore.
What are flagship phones?
For those who are unfamiliar, flagship phones are the top-end smartphone models. Flagship phones contain the latest bleeding-edge technology and latest software features. They also represent the best a smartphone manufacturer has to offer.
Along with the premium quality of a top-end smartphone is an expensive price tag. After all, you also have to pay for all that innovation and marketing hype if you want it in your hand.
Today, we can expect a wider category of smartphones. Before, we can only count on manufacturers to have a flagship phone and an entry-level phone. But today, that is not the case. Aside from flagships, we have categories such as upper midrange, midrange, and entry-level, and that’s where things get complicated. Should you still go for a flagship phone?
Say hello to the flagship killers
Flagship killers are a breed of smartphones you would typically find in the midrange and the upper midrange level. They are phones with almost all of the characteristics of a flagship phone, but way cheaper.
These phones give consumers the best value for money. However, they do have little trade-offs here and there. Some trade-offs made to keep the cost down can be found in three major areas.
One area where they make cuts is the software. Flagship killer phones don’t get the latest software features found in a flagship phone. Despite this tiny drawback, a flagship killer will still work as well as any other flagship or midrange phone, minus the gimmicky software features.
If they don’t skimp out on software features, then they may keep the cost down by downgrading the camera. This means that, unlike flagship phones, flagship killers won’t get the latest and greatest camera tech. But that doesn’t mean the cameras of flagship killers are terrible. They’re decent at best. You won’t get the latest camera features, but you’ll still get awesome shots and video capabilities.
Another area they may focus on to keep the cost down is the display. With flagship phones, you will typically see the best AMOLED/ OLED display with a high refresh rate, and high pixel density. A flagship killer, however, will offer you something less but not too bad as well. Flagship killers will still offer a great display quality in the form of an AMOLED display or an LCD display while retaining the high refresh rate that we love to see on paper, but with a little lower resolution. That’s not too bad considering the display features you get to keep for a lower price point.
So, should you still buy a flagship phone?
The answer depends. However, saying no to this question may be the most reasonable answer for most. We don’t make the rules but only buy a flagship phone if you need the latest technological features and software features of the phone. There’s nothing wrong with buying flagship phones if you have the budget and the need for them. But, keep in mind that there are cheaper alternatives that can offer flagship performance and overall user experience.
The thing with flagship features is that they trickle down and make it to the lower categories like the midrange and upper midrange categories. Today, you don’t even have to pay more than 30,000 pesos to get a phone that has a Snapdragon 8 gen 1 processor, which is the same processor found in the latest flagship phones. This means that for a lower price point you get flagship-level performance and raw processing power in your device. The same goes for other hardware features like metal and glass build quality and speaker system, or software features like high charging speed capabilities and screen refresh rate options. These features are from flagship phones that are now commonly present in midrange to upper midrange devices.
With the current trend in the smartphone world, cheaper phones are getting better and better. Meanwhile, flagship phones are now status symbols. A statement piece made by manufacturers to challenge their rivals.
Today, it’s harder to justify why you should get a top-end smartphone. Take a look at the competition. You don’t have to spend big bucks for a phone that works and punches above its weight class.
