Big price cuts of 4G Android phones are expected in the following months

04 April 2020
Industry analyst points at COVID-19 and 5G as the main culprits.

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  • 01432
  • KiB
  • 05 Apr 2020

The "market analyst" who is predicting 4G phones flat lining prices is right.Last year's 4G flagship at flat line pricing is a smarter buy than many 2020 mid-range phones (thanks David Lee). And who really needs 5G? Do you? BUT, hello there is an economic depression of the pandemic kind on the way. The latest and greatest 2020 class of prestige phones will not sell in pre-pandemic depression numbers. Companies will be forced to offer a lot of sales or reduced price with a freebie. And the freebie should include something better than a cheap set of ear buds. I'd give anything to know how the phone companies are strategizing their pandemic production orders this year and next year.

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    • Anonymous
    • vry
    • 05 Apr 2020

    Anonymous, 04 Apr 2020Did you send this message from 2013?Galaxy Xcover Pro 2020 says hi.

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      • Ben
      • HCa
      • 05 Apr 2020

      Even less phones to be bought. Phones will have to be priced aggressively in order any to be bought.

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        • Anonymous
        • vry
        • 05 Apr 2020

        AnonD-924172, 04 Apr 2020The reason why 5G phones are not taking off, is all the mor... moreYeah, let's not forget they are also too expensive and have little benefit over 4g ones.

        Not to mention most common people usage can be served even with 3.5G.

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          • Anonymous
          • m5q
          • 05 Apr 2020

          does that mean the s20 4g will go down in price alot then

            • T
            • T M
            • Id1
            • 05 Apr 2020

            Anonymous, 04 Apr 2020Why is 5G important to the average user? 4G is plenty fa... moreIt's not, that's why this push is extremely stupid. With 4G, I can load 1080p YouTube videos instantly, same with all other media content ( IG, etc). Very very few people need insane download speeds.

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              • Anonymous
              • Fvw
              • 04 Apr 2020

              In China, US and EU maybe.

              In India everything is only going to get more expensive. Nothing changes over here.

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                • Anonymous
                • atf
                • 04 Apr 2020

                Anders, 04 Apr 2020Another reason is no one's buying their overpriced bs. Smar... moreTrue that.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • atf
                  • 04 Apr 2020

                  That’s funny since S10 5G cost $400!.

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                    • Anonymous
                    • 0cL
                    • 04 Apr 2020

                    Why is 5G important to the average user?

                    4G is plenty fast to stream higher resolution video than humans can resolve on 6" screens. Maybe needed for streaming high res games, but that's a niche market. OR AR, but again, that technology keeps promising and it keeps failing.

                    So, maybe 5G is important for some of internet of things, but on phone it's a technology in search of a purpose.

                      For most people, 4G is enough, and there's not enough use cases that specifically benefit from 5G.

                      It's like recent PC storage history.

                      Going from HDD to SSD was revolutionary. Truly so.

                      Going from normal sata SSD to NVMe SSD, even if they're 4 times faster, not so much. Because they don't offer that significant of gains, 'percievable' to normal users.

                      If 4G phones really do get cheaper, it's great news all around. Hell, who knows, it could even cause an avalanche/pressure/price-war seeping also into 5G territory. And we can finally see sensibly priced flagships.

                        I live in UK, and I'm in no hurry for 5g. Isn't available in my area, and even if it was, the 4g is so patchy, 5g just is pointless.

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                          • Anonymous
                          • 0xP
                          • 04 Apr 2020

                          So maybe 5G's a good thing, after all. In that 4G phones get cheaper.

                            Another reason is no one's buying their overpriced bs. Smartphone sales are shrinking and manufactures are responding by making their phones even more expensive. Logic fail

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                              • Anonymous
                              • 7xc
                              • 04 Apr 2020

                              ASUS ROG Phone 3, 04 Apr 2020With unlimited 4G data, I could not utilise its capacity, a... moreASUS ROG Phone 3 will be 5G. (Asus has no other choice.)

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                                • 5G is better 4G
                                • 7xc
                                • 04 Apr 2020

                                Mediatek sux, 04 Apr 2020Are you sure? The external modem increases power consumptio... moreMost of 5G phones uses SoCs manufactured through a more advanced node process (7nm, 7nm+, 6nm) with an integrated 5G modem.

                                Current line of SoCs with integrated 5G modem:
                                SD765G, Dimensity 800, Dimensity 1000L, Dimensity 1000, Kirin820, Kirin985, Kirin990, Exynos 980, Unisoc T7520.

                                Upcoming SoCs with integrated 5G modem:
                                SD765G+, SD6xxG, power-down version of Dimensity SoCs, and quite a few more other SoCs.
                                (Not sure about the forthcoming SD865+. Integrating 5G modem into a flagship SoC is more difficult. Not sure whether Qualcomm can do it or not.)

                                The design of antenna system in a 5G phone is also more advanced. It can be powered down or up, into one of the many power-states, depending on the state of communication.

                                  With unlimited 4G data, I could not utilise its capacity, and I don’t really find need for increased speed in my iPhone 11 Pro Max & Xs MAX (booth 512 GB). I don’t play games mostly e-mails, social media, messages, browsing, few productivity apps like One Drive, Sheet etc! 5G probably overkill for my type of usage! Besides, with recent outbreak, it may take a very long time to get 5G network in my place! Even if there are 5G it may be restricted only in very few big cities and in select places only....

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • Lr@
                                    • 04 Apr 2020

                                    I don't see any price cuts at all. Actually prices have even gone up!

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                                      • Shiva
                                      • utU
                                      • 04 Apr 2020

                                      Who needs 5G. 4G+ is more than enough for me and I'm satisfied with the data speeds. I don't stream 4K or 2K content. I'm fine with SD streaming and I don't download big chunks of data either. Countries should prioritise in investing in healthcare services and invest on R&D rather than investing in 5G. I mean there has to be a break. We need to stop all detrimental activities to save the environment and the nature. With lockdown in many countries, there is evident that the ozone layer is recovering and there is dip in pollution levels. I have never seen clean skies like ever before. Already there's scarcity of resources, too many mouths to feed.. If humans continue with degrading and detrimental activities without thinking about the nature, there will come a day when we won't be able to do anything for the existence of life on this planet. Those who think that it will be possible for life to exist on another planet like earth, they are denying the reality..

                                        Anonymous, 04 Apr 2020For buyers still living in a 4G market, this transition to ... moreAre you sure? The external modem increases power consumption right? Unless you mean midrangers like 765 with integrated ones.