so yeah… idk why most people buy flagships phones only to open tiktok, facebook, etc.
I mean does anyone actually game on their phone regularly? Like an entire pubg mobile gaming session on it?
Or is it primarily a camera thing.
Mobile developers are some of the worst developers on earth. I buy flagships because they hold their processing headroom the longest. Zero amount of dropped frames is acceptable to me: I need the high processing power to overcome the lack of optimization.
I’m a firm believer you shouldn’t buy anything but a flagship phone. Even a decade old flagship is better than a brand new budget phone
i have an old flagship so it’s not at all powerful in today’s standards… but I wouldn’t have been able to use it for so long if it wasn’t a flagship.
i don’t do much heavy stuff on it other than occasionally running desktop softwares using termux/chroot
I rarely use the full processing power of my phone, it’s primarily a web browser and ebook reader. I wouldn’t want to have less RAM though as it’s annoying when tabs and apps get dropped off due to memory constraints (currently 39 browser tabs open, often more)
The main thing I was after when buying a phone was getting one of the size I like rather than the overly large size creep that keeps happening, followed by a decent camera, stock Android (or at least not Samsung-esque bloatware everywhere), and a high res enough screen to not notice pixels. The size alone knocked out a lot of cheaper alternatives and I ended up with a Zenfone 10.
I got fat/big hands, couldnt type for shit on anything narrower than the pixel XL. Sucks, because i really just read text, stream music, and look at images/videos on it. Id happily go with one of the lower end model specs but with a wider screen 😞
I got fat/big hands, couldnt type for shit on anything narrower than the pixel XL.
OMG same lolol, I saw all these “we want smaller phones” comments and I was like do we have Irish Leprechauns on the internet?
I got a fold, and now I can type like the small-hands. It’s nice.
I’ve played games that would make my phone quite warm and kill the battery in a couple hours if I wasn’t plugged in. I’ve done this a lot less since I got a Steam Deck.
I’m no stranger to buying flagship phones, but I never buy them when they’re the flagship. Used mobile phones depreciate so much from the original launch price after only a year or two! I’m usually paying $200-$300 for phones that came out with a $1100-$1400 price tag originally. Because the specs were so high on the phones when they launched, they’re still very good mid-range performers. It also opens the chance to save money if there’s a bit of a scratch on the outside (but not the screen!). I don’t mind mild wear as I’m going to add my own wear to it, and if I happen to scratch it or dent it, its no worse then when I got it so I don’t have huge anxiety about keeping my phone perfect.
Ultimately these are all consumable devices. Paying top dollar, then treating them like priceless jewelry doesn’t make sense to me.
Video game emulation and it often matters a lot
My main draw to smart phones is the ability play any game of my childhood anywhere if I so desire
I use my S25 for work so I do use the full processing power. I use it to check 3D models and work on complex drawings and paintings. In fact, I’m actually looking to get the new fold 8 so I can use the bigger screen for my work
Nice try Sam, you can’t have my ram.
Nooooo… Think of the poor shareholders 🥺
When I was last looking (Android), previous gen / used flagships were a decently better deal than any midrange phones. ~5-6 years on it and it’s still running everything I want at least.
My theory is I can spend a little more money on a better phone and then use it for years longer than a midrange phone before hungry OS updates finally cripple it.
But what if I have to calculate in the price of a battery replacement before the rest of the system can’t keep up anymore? I haven’t done the math because I don’t want to know.
My SIL buys the top iPhone every 2 years for the camera. She cannot be made to understand that anything newer than an iPhone 4 is TOTALLY FINE for taking photos of a bunch of people sitting around a table not even posing. They just get shrunk down to potato quality before they’re sent to anyone else anyway.
Camera/processing speed. For what it’s worth, I regret it and wish I’d gotten a pixel to degoogle.
Lineage supports a wide range of older phones. I recently got an old pixel for cheap that I’m gonna try my first degoogle
Nobody buys Pixels for the processing power. If it weren’t for GrapheneOS I’d be using something compatible with LineageOS, probably.
For me its definitely a camera thing. I recently downgraded from my s20 to a moto G stylus 2025 and while I have noticed a speed difference, the lack of the telescopic lens is killing me bad enough that when I am in a more economically stable state im probably dumping it to go to one with a telescopic again.
