Flagship phones - do we need them?

Billies Bangers · 25 Oct 2016 at 10:13

I was reading an article last night which suggests that following many surveys of mobile phone users usage, a large percentage is mostly confined to making calls, checking and sending emails, texting, checking Facebook and Twitter taking ‘snaps’ and some light Internet browsing.

Listening to music on the go, playing games and watching media on a phone was at a much lower percentage.

The article was asking the question that given the usage do we really need Flagship phones or is the public being duped into getting the latest, expensive, fastest, all singing and dancing phone. It was argued that for a very large percentage of users a mid-range phone would be more than adequate or even a budget phone for these tasks.

Obviously this doesn’t cover all users and no doubt lots of people do watch a lot of videos on their phones whilst others take pictures of a more professional standard. However, this percentage is a lot smaller than imagined.

It does provide food for thought.

Semple · 25 Oct 2016 at 10:25

That same argument can be applied to anything though.

- TVs
- Washing Machines
- Cars

The cheapest all do the same fundamental thing as the most expensive, they just tend to offer more in the way of features or styles etc.

Billies Bangers · 25 Oct 2016 at 10:53

Semple said:
That same argument can be applied to anything though.

- TVs
- Washing Machines
- Cars

The cheapest all do the same fundamental thing as the most expensive, they just tend to offer more in the way of features or styles etc.

But do we need the more expensive model? There is a phenomenon known as the paradox of choice. Even when a product is released that's got just about everything in it we are still unhappy apparently as we 'expect more'. There was a sub article to this which says that perfectly good phones, many of which are high end with years of service left in them are being discarded for no other reason than the next 'big thing' (allegedly) has been released.

Perhaps some users are getting more savvy as industry figures now show that the budget to mid-range phone sector is growing rapidly, whilst the Flagship sector is stagnating at best and in many cases shrinking.

zoomee · 25 Oct 2016 at 11:10

Depends who its for - if its for me, no less than the best.
If it's for someone else - work according to budget

FutileBreadMachine · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:06

I think it's down to pure consumerism and people buying new electronics just because they are bored with their current tech. It's the same as kids getting bored with their toys - adults are just really tall children

Semple · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:32

FutileBreadMachine said:
I think it's down to pure consumerism and people buying new electronics just because they are bored with their current tech. It's the same as kids getting bored with their toys - adults are just really tall children

I think this pretty much sums it up.

I bought a flagship phone - Xperia Z2 about two and half years ago now, it was one hell of an upgrade to my previous phone Samsung Galaxy S2, and partly needed an upgrade due to the wifi chip burning out on the S2. However being a tech savy person, i look at the latest flagship phones to see what they offer over my current model. Frankly at the moment, not a great deal of difference - some newer tech that's slightly faster yes, but in my eyes certainly not something that's worth splashing an unnecessary £500-600 over.

I don't envy the apple fans one bit for this. Infact it's the mere stupidity of the need for the latest phone that is driving the market so fast. That top end manufacturers feel they now have to release a flagship phone at least once a year. This ultimately speeds up things like QA which Samsung have found out the hard way.

So to answer the OP's ultimate question, no i don't feel we *need* the latest flagship phones all the time, however it's nice that there is a large variety and this also boosts competition between manufacturers. It's just a shame that the general public can't be easily educated to understand why it is that they require the next model up.

Billies Bangers · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:34

FutileBreadMachine said:
I think it's down to pure consumerism and people buying new electronics just because they are bored with their current tech. It's the same as kids getting bored with their toys - adults are just really tall children

This made me smile and you're not wrong.

Tuvoc · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:42

I have never spent more than £150 on a phone, and unless I find myself in a position that I have more money than I can possibly know what to do with, I never will. The £150 phone does all I need. My wife though does buy high end phones, and that is just because her friends do.

Billies Bangers · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:44

Semple said:
I think this pretty much sums it up.

I bought a flagship phone - Xperia Z2 about two and half years ago now, it was one hell of an upgrade to my previous phone Samsung Galaxy S2, and partly needed an upgrade due to the wifi chip burning out on the S2. However being a tech savy person, i look at the latest flagship phones to see what they offer over my current model. Frankly at the moment, not a great deal of difference - some newer tech that's slightly faster yes, but in my eyes certainly not something that's worth splashing an unnecessary £500-600 over.

I don't envy the apple fans one bit for this. Infact it's the mere stupidity of the need for the latest phone that is driving the market so fast. That top end manufacturers feel they now have to release a flagship phone at least once a year. This ultimately speeds up things like QA which Samsung have found out the hard way.

So to answer the OP's ultimate question, no i don't feel we *need* the latest flagship phones all the time, however it's nice that there is a large variety and this also boosts competition between manufacturers. It's just a shame that the general public can't be easily educated to understand why it is that they require the next model up.

Much of what you say is very true. In fact tech engineers who have no allegiance or axe to grind on this issue will tell you there's very little real world difference in what a phone would do three years ago to today's models. That is a sobering thought when you look at what people spend on Mobile phones.

Billies Bangers · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:45

Tuvoc said:
I have never spent more than £150 on a phone, and unless I find myself in a position that I have more money than I can possibly know what to do with, I never will. The £150 phone does all I need. My wife though does buy high end phones, and that is just because her friends do.

Women are high maintenance

FutileBreadMachine · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:48

Semple said:
I think this pretty much sums it up.

I bought a flagship phone - Xperia Z2 about two and half years ago now, it was one hell of an upgrade to my previous phone Samsung Galaxy S2, and partly needed an upgrade due to the wifi chip burning out on the S2. However being a tech savy person, i look at the latest flagship phones to see what they offer over my current model. Frankly at the moment, not a great deal of difference - some newer tech that's slightly faster yes, but in my eyes certainly not something that's worth splashing an unnecessary £500-600 over.

I don't envy the apple fans one bit for this. Infact it's the mere stupidity of the need for the latest phone that is driving the market so fast. That top end manufacturers feel they now have to release a flagship phone at least once a year. This ultimately speeds up things like QA which Samsung have found out the hard way.

So to answer the OP's ultimate question, no i don't feel we *need* the latest flagship phones all the time, however it's nice that there is a large variety and this also boosts competition between manufacturers. It's just a shame that the general public can't be easily educated to understand why it is that they require the next model up.

I'm in the same boat, I have an LG G2 and I've been trying to justify an upgrade to a Galaxy S7 but I can't really. My current phone has a 1080p display and runs everything I need and let's me take decent photos/videos IMO. All the new phone would give me is a fingerprint reader, so not really worth spending £500 for that.

robfosters · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:53

Im on an S6. I cant think of one thing the phone doesn't do that the newer ones do. I can see me keeping it for at least another 2 years. Totally barmy getting tied into long and expensive contracts for a few extra little features. The only caveat being the battery. Hopefully that has quite a long life being non user replaceable.

cheesyboy · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:58

My first smartphone was an Xperia U. Loved the form factor (3.5" screen), but it was noticeably underpowered. Replaced with an Xperia Z1C (about 12-18 months after release, so probably 'mid-range'), and have found it to be perfect for my needs.

As long as I can get a fairly decent camera and a card slot, I'll stick with mid-range options. Just don't see what benefit a flagship phone would give me, for my uses (or for most people, to be honest).

Billies Bangers · 25 Oct 2016 at 12:58

FutileBreadMachine said:
I'm in the same boat, I have an LG G2 and I've been trying to justify an upgrade to a Galaxy S7 but I can't really. My current phone has a 1080p display and runs everything I need and let's me take decent photos/videos IMO. All the new phone would give me is a fingerprint reader, so not really worth spending £500 for that.

You must also remember that a new S8 will be along in February so it's likely you would only get around 15 months OS support with the S7. Not much of a bargain is it?

stuie · 25 Oct 2016 at 13:00

im still on a oneplus one. yeah its 2 years old now year its looking a little battered. But it still works, having rooted it and running cm13 I fully expect to get updates for a while and theres nothing that the new phones offer that will speed up what matters, ie wifi or 4g speeds then I will stick with it

Billies Bangers · 25 Oct 2016 at 13:04

robfosters said:
Im on an S6. I cant think of one thing the phone doesn't do that the newer ones do. .

Well except the new ones will leave you feeling much poorer

FutileBreadMachine · 25 Oct 2016 at 13:51

Billies Bangers said:
You must also remember that a new S8 will be along in February so it's likely you would only get around 15 months OS support with the S7. Not much of a bargain is it?

Yeah I heard the S8 could be released in Feb so that was on my mind too. If I am going to blow money on a new phone it might as well be a newly released one. Then again, there's always the old adage that if you want to wait for new tech you will always be waiting since new stuff is always around the corner.

Dumbnub · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:03

I think a lot of the desire for flagship phones comes from the specs i.e. the lastest cpu/gpu, more ram, higher rez screen, better camera etc. Phones with very high rez screens need better graphics for the same gaming performance. Tbh I think it's silly because full hd, to me, looks fine on a 5.2" screen so there's no need for quad hd or for the latest and greatest graphics chips in those phones.

I watched an interview of a guy who works at ARM (the company that designs most of these chips) and he said that he thinks 8 cpu cores in a phone isn't optimal for price/performance because the current software isn't designed to use all the cores efficiently and he would like ARM to deisgn cpu's with less cores and instead use fewer, faster ones (like how apple designs theirs) but phone manufcturers want to play the specs card to consumers i.e. a cpu with more cores must be better! even if the cpu is slower for the same price.

joeyjojo · 25 Oct 2016 at 14:11

Semple said:
The cheapest all do the same fundamental thing as the most expensive, they just tend to offer more in the way of features or styles etc.

Post #2, /thread

I've never seen any reason to get a 'flagship' phone. IMO the budget end of the market became adequate for virtually everyone around the release of the original Moto G. Since then I agree with Tuvoc, £150 is plenty for a decent handset.

Then again, I have a load of old handsets knocking around for various duties. Got a Galaxy S II the other day for under £30, and various Moto Gs and Es for portable music players, dedicated sat navs, etc. For £30 you can get an old phone, stick some offline maps on it and bam, sat nav for the car.

Ixon · 25 Oct 2016 at 16:13

I have both the Moto G4 & Nexus 6P, i would have got rid of the 6P if the G4 had NFC other than that the G4 covers 99% of what i do with the 6P without any problems, even the camera on the G4 quite decent.