Sunday debate: Buying a mid-ranger every year vs. a flagship every other one

27 May 2018
Yordan and Ro get into a heated debate what is the better solution for getting a daily driver.

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  • S
  • Stan
  • ELt
  • 28 May 2018

Anonymous, 28 May 2018computer last 10 years? No. With significant daily use as y... moreI still have a Q9650, OC'd to 4Ghz, as a daily driver. The darnthing was running 24/7 for quite a while, and the only thing that actually needed replacing was a PSU. You'd be surprised, how much of a difference an SSD and a GPU upgrade makes.

    In my opinion, flagships are; first too expensive for my budget and second loose a lot of value in very short time. I change about every year but not flagships, more higher mid range. Sometimes I even purchase refurbished or second hand with valid warranty. Since I change every year I'm not too worried about updates, android version, etc...

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 39x
      • 28 May 2018

      Ryan7646, 28 May 2018How about using the phone until it does not become a brick?... moreBUT

      Many of us live in this "I must have the latest THING and I must have it NOW" world.

      Are you saying I should not be in with the in crowd? :(

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • p1i
        • 28 May 2018

        Tech reviewers seem to forget that most people keep their phones for 3-4 years or longer. And it's probably best to buy a flagship since it's more likely to get updates.

          How about using the phone until it does not become a brick? No matter how many years it passes.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • pdH
            • 28 May 2018

            Anonymous, 28 May 2018computer last 10 years? No. With significant daily use as y... moreSome upgrades Yes... I have Amd Phenom2. Original, psu, original motherboard, original cpu. The only thing that has been upgraded is ati1800 that was replased by nvidia 1070... and boot drive have been upgdaged from 600Gb velocity raptor to 512Gb ssd drive, the old velocity raptor still service as an game drive, so 90% of parts are abou 10 years old and still rock like new. I can play any games I like, for some like Star Citicen I have to reduce some settings, but in most games all the candy can be set very high!
            I Also Expect that some parts, like Front class and battery has to be changed in phone during ten year use period.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • Mx@
              • 28 May 2018

              Anonymous, 28 May 2018That is a bad problem... everywhere! I would like to keep ... morecomputer last 10 years? No. With significant daily use as you would on a smartphone you need to swap several components, first of all PSU and several upgrade would be required.

              Compare with aging i5 2500K for example with new i5. there is significant difference under heavy workload. Anything older, worse.

              Smartphone is same. 5 year old Android or even iPhone are almost unusable. sluggish and slow even if you are using just basic features like calling and texting. If you are just doing that..well dont even know why you need a smartphone let alone a flagship

                Anonymous, 27 May 2018If you never been to a flagship, you obviously don't have a... moreSorry, but my roomate has a S8, before he had a Xperia Z2. So at least i often experienced it.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • th9
                  • 28 May 2018

                  How about a feature phone every month or every other week?

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 80g
                    • 28 May 2018

                    Aaron Jesudas, 28 May 2018I believe one more thing is very important to be considered... moreThat is a bad problem... everywhere!
                    I would like to keep my phones 5-10 years, so I would not produce waste. A flagship phone is very capable of running 10 years if
                    - it gets security upgrades
                    - you can chance the battery

                    And now a days those two most important factors Are almost impossible to find.
                    Apple makes Great upgrades a long time... but it is not so easy to change battery to iPhones.
                    Android devices has super bad upgrade history, even you may find a phone that is easy to replase the battery...

                    10 years is all I ask... is that so hard? Computer last easily 10 years, car definitely last 10 year. Even Hi-Fi amplifier last 10 (or more...)
                    I understand that devices that has moving parts need replasement. Cd player last as long as it last Until the mechanics brokes down, and hard disc last only 6-8 years because there Are moving parts...
                    phones 1-3 years? Blashomy!

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • ypY
                      • 28 May 2018

                      Buy a previous generation flagship every 1.5-2 years is the logical thing to do. They are cheaper, offer almost everything as the current flagship and get support and updates from the manufacturer

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • Sr{
                        • 28 May 2018

                        Affordable new device two to three years that hold its ground and get the job done

                          • H
                          • HUssam
                          • Sr{
                          • 28 May 2018

                          I would choose the best value for the money phone. affordable and performance butter smooth,good battery life that last for a day and a half on a single charge with moderate use, and affordable as I'v said

                            • A
                            • Alien
                            • 3RM
                            • 28 May 2018

                            Anonymous, 27 May 2018Right. Because having no 3.5mm jack or using iOS is so adva... moreMaybe that's what you are using your mid-range phone for..
                            I am a power user, I write scripts and test them on my high-end flagship, play with the terminal (if you know what that is), modify the os for my taste and needs.
                            You'd be surprised to know what you can do with a good high-end flagship and the right software.
                            All I can say is that every day I try to learn and discover new things. You seem to enjoy being a regular user. That's good. Not everyone has to be an expert. Stay limited.

                              • T
                              • Tonberry
                              • 0Ep
                              • 28 May 2018

                              How about a compromise? A "flagship killer" every 1-2 years. They're significantly better than mid-rangers (compare Honor 10 with Huawei P20 Lite) and still significantly cheaper than flagships (compare Honor 10 with Huawei P20).

                                • J
                                • Jimbob of Jonestown
                                • NUV
                                • 28 May 2018

                                The question, isn't it?

                                I'm really not sure what I would say for this.... on one hand, I have suffered enough budget phones to be intimately aware of the benefits of a flagship, but on the other hand, I have not yet seen a flagship release with anywhere near acceptable quality - and the prices are absolutely obscene.

                                My gaming desktop runs just slightly more than double the price of a flagship phone here in Canada! A very capable, competent computer can be had for the same price, with all the versatility one would expect of it.

                                Samsung's al-qaeda smartphone release not too long ago, or Apple's bendgate, or Oneplus' yellow/upside down screens..... I don't think anything releases properly now. So that's a very strong caution against a flagship for me.

                                Budget on the other hand.... there are always so many compromises. No OS updates, or locked bootloaders, or glitches (my Le Max 2, for instance, has an appallingly bad FP sensor - and it's a RAMPANT issue with the phone). Nothing ever quite enjoyable, but never quite bad enough to outright quit it.

                                With that said, Having done budget for basically ever (I am cheap, I won't deny it), I'm finally ready to try flagship. The problem is just finding one that isn't broken out of the factory.... I'm not looking forward to the intense cost either.

                                  It would be great if we can afford buying a flagship every year, but unfortunatelly they cost a lot of money and maybe there is no sense of doing this. Of course it depends of the needs of the people. If there is a new function which is needed, then the answer is clear.
                                  On the other hand, the midrangers and even the lower class devices are good enough for normal users. For example I can use the apps I need on my 3 years old Samsung A3 and 3 years old Xiaomi mi4. On the Samsung sometimes it is painful, but still usable. And the truth is that the flagships are public expression than a need. At least in the country I live it is very important for the kids to have an expensive phone for their social status.
                                  Me personally wanted a flagship phone only once - when Sony launced XZ series with the 3d scanner. I wanted to make some 3d models and I thought it would be good if I have a pocket scanner. Of course I would never give such money for a phone - it is much better to spend a week in Italy or Greece, than giving money for gadgets and I do so.
                                  In conclusion I can say that I like phones, but I buy nice looking devices without searching for the best hardware. And since I don't like big phones, I won't buy soon a new one. Now I am waiting for LG Q7 or Xiaomi Redmi 6a with 5.45 screen, but perhaps they will be with ugly bezels too.

                                    Anonymous, 28 May 2018LOL so buy a phone with a dead battery, clever. If it's bra... moreIn fact, the phones I get has never had battery problem and read my last line "it works just fine for me". A 2 year old model doesn't always mean that it was manufactured 2 years ago, it could be a special edition or a specific color option like the red iPhone 7 which manufactured a year later than the rest of the 7. They batch making it to keep up with demands. First batch may be sold out but the second or the third usually not as the demand has shifted to the latest products and this time the price has significantly lowered. The second batch usually is perfected and less problematic and within two years the phone is already reviewed either by websites, youtubers or end users. So it's much safer and it's actually pretty easy to get a brand new old flagship.

                                    Back to your point, if it's dead why would I even bother to buy it? I can go to an offline store to check it myself or can read some verified buyer's reviews whether or not to buy a phone from a good reputation online shop.

                                      The smartest thing to do is buying a new flagship every 18months, but not the current one, the previous one.
                                      So you roughly pay the same as a new mid-range every 12 months, yet last year flagships are better than this year's midranges.

                                      I for one have passion with phones, can afford them, consider them a priority and tend to buy a new flagship every year, 2-6 months after their launch, when they lose 20-40% of their price

                                        • P
                                        • Plank
                                        • NiG
                                        • 28 May 2018

                                        I would go for mid range each year. I have Vernee Mars Pro, in my opinion its a mid range. Next year when i upgrade, i will go for mid range agian, flag ships are to expensive and dont offer much more than todays mid range, exept mabe more cpu power.

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