Weekly poll: do flagship chipsets still matter?

12 November 2023
The latest silicon brings higher performance and advanced features for image processing, game graphics and AI. But do you really need all that?

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  • PTF
  • 12 Nov 2023

the forms are the important part now:

1. dont limit the size to less than 7inch for phone.
do: make 5g phone call tablet with various internals up to 1tb.

2. dont limit to 1 type:
do: unfold, folded, flipped, slide, rolled, projected, wearable, etc.

3. best solution/direction:
let user customize the whole thing,
allowed to replace parts/upgrade cpu, gpu, storage, battery size too.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 8s5
    • 12 Nov 2023

    It's not important at all
    I have a SD710 for 4 years never failed me
    Only thing I miss is ps2 games emulator
    Other than that there is no app requirers that power
    U don't need 3Ghz for scrolling through Facebook or taking 4k video or playing anygame on playstore!

      rizki1, 12 Nov 2023Poco F5 just got a long term review, I didn't know you... moreI agree but for the last two years most manufacturers have been giving the decent main sensor + rubbish 8mp ultrawide + utterly rubbish 2mp sensor in midranges. Also they have been cutting things in terms of software, like 4k 60 and quite a few even have not offered EIS beyond 1080p 30fps. Also they often cut features like sports capture/motion tracking focus. I think the good midrange chips are fine but manufacturers don't want to offer the same level of optimisation on things like cameras. A few years ago it was a bit better in terms of midrangers offering telephotos with around 3x and even the odd 5x periscope. I think 2024 will finally see the return of telephotos in the midrange though. The only reason I would go for a flagship chip is if I can't find a phone with a midrange chip with a very good overall camera setup that doesn't deliberately cut software optimisation

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • PX0
        • 12 Nov 2023

        No, I'm always happy with what mid-end devices offer.

        In fact, mid-end devices offer more than high-end devices, such as the possibility of increasing storage.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • mFd
          • 12 Nov 2023

          They don't . People only think they do because of marketing
          The same applies to cameras

            Anonymous, 12 Nov 2023Buy an SD 8 Gen 3 phone and use it like an SD 695 phone. Ab... morewith iphones, they'll use it like helio p60 phone

              • B
              • Bob
              • sXr
              • 12 Nov 2023

              i could only pick - mid range are good enough. this poll needs to include why pick a certain soc. i'll never willingly choose a phone without a qualcomm soc because the others do not allow for installing custom roms as they do not release the code to make them possible.
              no matter how good the other 2 maybe.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 3SI
                • 12 Nov 2023

                Junior11, 12 Nov 2023Only about 40% of flagship users know how to utilize the ch... moreWhat does that even mean? The performance overhead will provide longevity. Hand a flagship Snapdragon 821 to the most casual user that only uses WhatsApp and YouTube and even they will use more than 40% of that chip‘s capabilities with said apps. Gatekeeping much

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 0p}
                  • 12 Nov 2023

                  Never has ...

                  By the way , X100/100 Pro ➡️ 1080@30 front

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                    • Anonymous
                    • 3SI
                    • 12 Nov 2023

                    NOK6600, 12 Nov 2023im prefer decent cpu with super low power consumption.. we ... moreYou‘ll only get that with 4nm/3nm process nodes (from TSMC) and those are only available on flagship SoCs.

                    It’s different in the PC industry. There, pretty much every chip of a generation uses the latest node, just with smaller dies, less performance cores, smaller caches etc. In mobile space, lower end Chips will have older nodes and cores, and only sometimes less cores but not always (chips like Snapdragon 680 have 4 big cores but they are old A73 on an older 6nm process). This is already better than a few years ago, where many chips were stuck with only small A53 cores, while flagship chipsets used a combination of A76 and A55.

                      justasmile, 12 Nov 2023If it wasn't for 108mp sensor, the camera wouldn'... moreThe large sensor and additional zoom and ultrawide cameras helped it, not the resolution.

                        Hardware doesn't matter! Just give us a screen and battery!

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 3SI
                          • 12 Nov 2023

                          Of course they matter, the most advanced cores and nodes (and early Armv9 cores were NOT more advanced than equivalent Armv8) provide the most efficiency. That’s not only about performance. A more efficient phone will also consume less power while doing the same tasks. It will have longer battery life at the same battery size. Or it will have the same battery life with a smaller battery, which in turn reduces the weight and thickness which benefits the ergonomics of the device. And the best ISPs provide better video capabilities. High end chipsets have decoders for more codecs like AV1, which makes things like watching YouTube more efficient. And I didn’t even touch on gaming or the neural AI stuff companies like to talk about so much.

                          So while performance has become ok in the mid range with big A73 and better cores even in budget phones sometimes, high end chipsets still provide tangible advantages that improve the entire device.

                            Flagship chipsets don't, but flagship phones do for other reasons.

                              • A
                              • Angga
                              • txE
                              • 12 Nov 2023

                              This survey is kinda weird.
                              The number of tech enthusiast definitely disproportionately higher in this site.
                              So the answer is kinda obvious.

                                Only about 40% of flagship users know how to utilize the chipset to the max and that's just facts.
                                So it's funny to think that a lot of people care.

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 0cB
                                  • 12 Nov 2023

                                  you have to suffer, 12 Nov 2023how is the camera quality compared to midrange phones today?Pretty good but not super.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • vaS
                                    • 12 Nov 2023

                                    Buy an SD 8 Gen 3 phone and use it like an SD 695 phone. Absolute state of consumer market forever and ever.

                                      • A
                                      • AlienKiss
                                      • 3RM
                                      • 12 Nov 2023

                                      I switch phones every 3-5 years and when I do, I'll usually buy the best high-end flagship because it will be the one that will last the longest without feeling the need to upgrade like it happens with midrange phones.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • g3r
                                        • 12 Nov 2023

                                        The problem is manufacturers are now differentiating features based on new chipset even if the previous chipset is capable enough to run. Hence latest chipset is mandatory.