Firstly, What is Flagship?
Flagship simply means the most important or leading member
of a group. Which in Gadget world as come to be an adjective describing the
most prominent or highly touted product or brand offered by a company.
You can't argue with facts, and
those state that the most popular individual smartphone models are ones that
fall into the flagship group - the manufacturer's highest of high-end devices.
Of course, that doesn't mean that everybody has a Galaxy S5 or an iPhone 6 in
their pocket, but if you happen to be the 'tech guy' in your circle, you'll
know that even people that are absolute beginners are usually intent on getting
the hottest models on the market, even if you explicitly point out that, for
their needs and purposes, that would probably be an overkill and even a waste
of money.
It's true. People looking to buy new
devices usually start out by asking the wrong question -- which is the better
between X and Y, regardless of whether those unknown devices are actually in a
class more appropriate for their needs. Instead, it's usually best to start out
by asking yourself some realistic questions, like what exactly you're looking
to do with your smartphone and how often you think you'll do those things on
average. For most people, those needs will usually be taken care problem-free
by a lower-end device.
Of course, if you do want the
hottest thing on the market, there's nobody stopping you, and neither should
anyone try. But if you're the kind of person that wants to make the best of
what is pretty much always a limited budget, and the below signs apply to you
to a large extent, then perhaps you may want to consider a mid-ranger - those
have gotten awfully good for what they cost.
1. You're Not Much Of A Gamer
One of the biggest reasons people
buy into the highest of high-end devices is the chipset inside. When looking at
how those do on synthetic benchmarks, it's easy to see why some consider a
flagship phone with one of the latest processors available a must -- but are
you necessarily on that list? One of the biggest hooks for the aforementioned
silicon has got to do with gaming -- even on mobile, the latest titles are
pretty intensive from a graphical standpoint.
But do you actually game on your smartphone? And we don't
mean Candy Crush Saga or Solitaire, but more the likes of Asphalt 8 and
N.O.V.A. 3. Because those are the titles that actually need a high-end GPU to
run on 1080p displays. If the answer is no, then a mid-ranger will get you by
(and some will even run the above two frills-free).
2. You Use Your Phone's Camera To Share Images On
Social Media
The other major hook with flagship
smartphones is the camera. There's just no denying that, regardless of brand
(usually), a higher-end smartphone will deliver a better image than a lower-end
one. But the question is, what do you intend on doing with those photos? If the
answer is "Share them on Facebook or Twitter or Viber", then you
might want to face reality: your photos are about to get compressed pretty
heavily, and 99.9% of the people on your network will see a relatively small
thumbnail of them. In other words, that otherwise excellently-detailed,
16-megapixel photo from your Note 4 won't look radically better than a
shot taken with the Moto G 2014 when your circle is looking at it through
Facebook's image theater feature. This is especially true for mid-range devices
released recently - those are proving to be quite capable in the imaging
department.
3. You Don't Plan On Using Your Smartphone A Few
Inches From Your Face
Yet another reason people seem to
prefer high-end flagship has got to do with their display resolution. Unless you plan on using your phone from less than 6-7 inches from
your face (and that's with perfect, 20/20 eyesight), then the
otherwise impressive-sounding Quad HD resolution (1440 x 2560) won't actually
result in a crisper viewing experience. Especially since content for that kind
of crazy resolutions is still awfully rare.
Even with 1080p screens, you've got to keep the above in mind. Not only
that, but do also understand that pixel density is the only metric you really
need to be worried about. And since mid-rangers usually come with comparatively
smaller screens than flagships, there's a very good chance that they'll offer
you more than enough detail anyway. As a rule of thumb, if this is an important
factor for you, look for displays that offer about 300-320 pixels per inch.
4. You're On A Limited Data Plan Or There's No LTE Around
Sure, an increasing amount of
mid-range phones now offer LTE standard, but that's not the case with all just
yet. This may prompt you to consider a higher-end phone just so you can take
advantage of your carrier's blazing-fast network, and that's a pretty good
reason. Usually.
Indeed, you may be well-served to first sit down and consider your
situation before you decide to act. First and foremost, not all countries can
yet enjoy the benefits of an LTE network, even though that's rapidly changing.
But even if your carrier does offer such a service, it's still a good idea to
research said network's coverage, specifically in your area. That's because
there's a decent chance that your device will default to a 4G network since
most carriers worldwide still have quite a significant number of blank spots
coverage wise. Last, but not least, consider your data plan -- if you only have
250 or 500 megs available at full speed, you'll find your connection throttled
pretty fast anyway.
5. You Want A Relatively Compact Smartphone
Big smartphones aren't for everybody. And yet, most flagship
devices now measure 5-inches and above on average, with few exceptions available.
Sure, lower-end handsets are following that very same trend, too, so the window
is quickly closing, but it's still the case that many of the more compact
phones available on the market today are not flagships. If size is a concern for you, then a flagship may not be what you're looking
for.
6. You're Not A Multimedia Junkie Or An App-Aholic
If you don't enjoy watching movies
on your handset, or aren't obsessed with apps, then a higher-end device's more
spacious internal storage should not be that much of a draw for you. Sure,
running out of space with the lowest-end of devices is a concern (those usually
have 4GB available, and not all manufacturers allow you to transfer apps to
SD), but at least you can always count on them to have room for expansion --
through a microSD card (typically, 32GB extra). Unless you need to have your personal library of movies and TV shows
loaded on your device, it's probably a safe bet to go with a lower-end phone
and not worry too much about space.
7. You Mostly Care About The 'Phone' Part In
Smartphone
The rate of evolution in the smartphone market
is nothing short of astounding, but not all of us need be concerned with the
latest features and breakthroughs. This is especially applicable to people that
still mostly use a smartphone for the 'phone' part, or, in other words, to
mainly make and receive calls and texts. If you self-identify yourself that
way, then going for a flagship is probably not going to be your best financial
decision. Get a featurephone or a lower-end smartphone and buy yourself a nice
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Source: Phone Arena
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