Save money on flagships?

[gendo667]

Well it's hard to get a bigger battery in a smaller device unless you make it thicker. Of course that depends on what size battery you mean.

Oh I'm not worried about it. On days of heavy usage, I don't mind topping off. Doesn't bother me.

 

[Mike Dee]

Oh I'm not worried about it. On days of heavy usage, I don't mind topping off. Doesn't bother be.

I have never brought a phone down to empty because I always plan ahead for extended usage.

 

[gendo667]

I have never brought a phone down to empty because I always plan ahead for extended usage.

Same. My wife and I had to travel half the state today to see family. I just brought my charger. Phones charge so quickly now it's really not a big deal.

 

[Adam Frix]

Well it's hard to get a bigger battery in a smaller device unless you make it thicker. Of course that depends on what size battery you mean.

which is why Apple spends billions on chip research, which is why they use their own in-house chips for iPhones, and which is why they're dumping Intel in exchange for their own in-house chips on their computers. Apple has ARM chips that sip power--which means the batteries can be smaller--and yet which provide significantly better performance than anything else on the market. It's a one-two punch.

Meanwhile, Android makers just goes the brute force route. The chips get more powerful, which means they need more power, which means the batteries need to be bigger, which means the phone needs to be bigger.

And that sucks.

 

[Morty2264]

what good is a flagship if it is not a flagship when you buy it. No more wow factor or bragging rights!!!!

Seriously, I generally replace my phone every two years. When it is time for me to get a new phone, I just don't have the patience to wait.

To me, though, buying the Pixel 2 thr following April, six months after release, still meant that I had a flagship. And I thonk that even though time passes, you're *still* buying a flagship - it just may be six months old or last year's flagship.

 

[Casualballer]

To me, though, buying the Pixel 2 thr following April, six months after release, still meant that I had a flagship. And I thonk that even though time passes, you're *still* buying a flagship - it just may be six months old or last year's flagship.

it's not like it used to be where every six months, there was a genuinely impactful difference in the power and performance of the phone. Six months ago flagships or last years still punches way above what the average person actually needs. The performance benefits that the 865 provide over the 855 are not felt in normal usage, even though there is a measurable difference in bemchmarks. In many cases even if you push the phone to the max there won't be much of a difference. The chips are more powerful now then the software could ever really needs.
Optimization is now the name of the game. Cooling techniques to enable longer peak use of the chip set or things of the like is where differences could be found but aside from some unique phones out in China, that's not really something any manufacturer is experimenting with. All that is to say that last year's flagship provides a similar flagship level user experience to pretty much anyone. * End rant *

 

[Mike Dee]

which is why Apple spends billions on chip research, which is why they use their own in-house chips for iPhones, and which is why they're dumping Intel in exchange for their own in-house chips on their computers. Apple has ARM chips that sip power--which means the batteries can be smaller--and yet which provide significantly better performance than anything else on the market. It's a one-two punch.

Meanwhile, Android makers just goes the brute force route. The chips get more powerful, which means they need more power, which means the batteries need to be bigger, which means the phone needs to be bigger.

And that sucks.

I don't use my iPhone as much as my Android because it's my work phone but it does last, especially on standby. My wife and my daughter can kill an iPhone battery pretty quickly though.

 

[Mike Dee]

To me, though, buying the Pixel 2 thr following April, six months after release, still meant that I had a flagship. And I thonk that even though time passes, you're *still* buying a flagship - it just may be six months old or last year's flagship.

Exactly....though I hate the term, a flagship is a flagship even if it's not brand new.

 

[Casualballer]

Exactly....though I hate the term, a flagship is a flagship even if it's not brand new.

How long does the term still aplly for? Is a galaxy S7 still called a flagship?

 

[Adam Frix]

I don't use my iPhone as much as my Android because it's my work phone but it does last, especially on standby. My wife and my daughter can kill an iPhone battery pretty quickly though.

That in and of itself is meaningless. So they use their phones a lot.

Tell us what would happen if they had Samsung phones. That'll tell all. If the Samsung phone lasted 2/3 the time of the iPhone under their usage, I would be shocked.

 

[Adam Frix]

How long does the term still aplly for? Is a galaxy S7 still called a flagship?

Maybe we should call them cougars.

 

[Mike Dee]

How long does the term still aplly for? Is a galaxy S7 still called a flagship?

I think the discussion was about prior verses current models, but there are no term limits. Obviously an S7 would be outclassed by a more modern device but that doesn't change what the S7 started out to be.

 

[Mike Dee]

That in and of itself is meaningless. So they use their phones a lot.

Tell us what would happen if they had Samsung phones. That'll tell all. If the Samsung phone lasted 2/3 the time of the iPhone under their usage, I would be shocked.

Since they won't use anything but an iPhone, I can't speak to an unknowns or hypotheticals. I do know I use my Samsung's alot and I get though most of the day. There's no doubt in my mind that iPhone stretches battery life further especially standby time. I've already acknowledged that. As good as they are at being stingy on batteries, they are still making big devices.

 

[mustang7757]

Maybe we should call them cougars.

Cougars?

 

[Morty2264]

it's not like it used to be where every six months, there was a genuinely impactful difference in the power and performance of the phone. Six months ago flagships or last years still punches way above what the average person actually needs. The performance benefits that the 865 provide over the 855 are not felt in normal usage, even though there is a measurable difference in bemchmarks. In many cases even if you push the phone to the max there won't be much of a difference. The chips are more powerful now then the software could ever really needs.
Optimization is now the name of the game. Cooling techniques to enable longer peak use of the chip set or things of the like is where differences could be found but aside from some unique phones out in China, that's not really something any manufacturer is experimenting with. All that is to say that last year's flagship provides a similar flagship level user experience to pretty much anyone. * End rant *

I completely agree with you. There are users who won't push their flagships to the next level and won't even notice a difference with the processors. I've owned midrange- and flagship-level phones and never really saw a difference - or maybe I never looked for one.

In any case, I definitely would recommend last year's flagship - like an S10, for example - to someone over a "new" flagship, like an S20 - especially if they wanted a flagship-level experience but didn't want or need the latest chip.

There were even quite a few cases when I actually preferred last year's flagship over current ones - like the Pixel 3 versus the Pixel 4; the S10 versus the S20; the LG G6 over the LG G7 ThinQ. Current doesn't always mean best, especially when one-year gaps aren't always enough to showcase new additions to specs and features.

 

[Stefan Sobol]

I only get phones that my carrier gives away for free.

 

[Mike Dee]

I only get phones that my carrier gives away for free.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Casualballer]

I completely agree with you. There are users who won't push their flagships to the next level and won't even notice a difference with the processors. I've owned midrange- and flagship-level phones and never really saw a difference - or maybe I never looked for one.

In any case, I definitely would recommend last year's flagship - like an S10, for example - to someone over a "new" flagship, like an S20 - especially if they wanted a flagship-level experience but didn't want or need the latest chip.

There were even quite a few cases when I actually preferred last year's flagship over current ones - like the Pixel 3 versus the Pixel 4; the S10 versus the S20; the LG G6 over the LG G7 ThinQ. Current doesn't always mean best, especially when one-year gaps aren't always enough to showcase new additions to specs and features.

In theory the differences could be found in regards to future proofing. That's often a rationale for sticking gobs of RAM into phones when it provides no practical benefits in the here and now. That being said, if the phones are only being supported for 2 years, then the power is still above that threshold. There's no reason the s20 ultra which is literally as powerful as many laptops should only get 2 years of updates. The OS doesn't advance that much in 2 years to require the insane amount of future proofing the s20 ultra provides.

 

[Adam Frix]

In any case, I definitely would recommend last year's flagship - like an S10, for example - to someone over a "new" flagship, like an S20 - especially if they wanted a flagship-level experience but didn't want or need the latest chip.

All this focus on the chip and bits and bytes and speeds and feeds takes away from the REAL concern: support for the ever-expanding radio frequencies and communication technologies that are showing up every day.

T-Mobile is one of the biggest "offenders" here, but they're all scrambling to update the communication technologies and protocols. A couple of the absolute BEST reasons to do midrange phones are: (1) midrange performance today is better than flagship performance even only a couple of generations ago, and (b) you can more easily afford to get new midrange phones every year or so in order to keep up with new communication technologies.

I'm a T-Mobile user, so maybe I'm a little more sensitive than most to being left out in the cold with a phone that doesn't support what band T-Mo has turned to this week.

 

[Theot]

I usually buy at least six months later. Some kind of price drop or trade in deal to get me to bite because I'm done paying full price. I got my pixel 4XL for $600 back in May and I just ordered an S20 because I got $400 instant credit for my pixel 3 on trade.