5 reasons why buying the latest flagship is not always a good idea

That brand new flagship phone you’ve gotten your eyes on positive does look interesting, doesn’t it? It’s typically touted as one of the best on supply, that includes the quickest chipset, cameras that may carry out miracles in all lighting situations, and a design that turns heads. However don’t let your feelings run the present.

Take a step again, chill out, and actually take into account whether or not you want it earlier than you attain to your pockets. Likelihood is, shopping for the newest flagship is perhaps a mistake. Listed here are 5 the reason why.

The times when each new flagship smartphone represented a monumental leap over its predecessor are largely behind us. The latest Galaxies and iPhones, whereas polished, are sometimes solely marginally higher than earlier fashions when it comes to uncooked specs and options. Positive, there are numerous enhancements highlighted on paper, however you possible received’t discover a barely sooner chipset when merely scrolling by means of your Instagram feed or looking the net. Battery life isn’t typically significantly better both, and for many customers, it’s onerous to differentiate between a photograph snapped with this 12 months’s mannequin versus final 12 months’s.

It’s not nearly inside specs and options, although. Design, too, doesn’t appear to vary all that a lot 12 months over 12 months. A brand new shade right here and there, maybe a barely redesigned digital camera module, and that’s typically the extent of it. Whereas corporations might innovate extra on this space, most choose to play it secure, choosing iterative refinements quite than revolutionary overhauls.

So, when you personal final 12 months’s flagship and are considering an improve to absolutely the newest mannequin, I’d argue it’s typically not value it. Until you’re a real energy consumer who completely wants to remain on the bleeding fringe of know-how always, you’re higher off sticking with what you’ve gotten. And when you’re at the moment utilizing an older telephone, shopping for final 12 months’s flagship is commonly the smarter possibility. You get 90% of the newest mannequin’s capabilities for lots much less cash.

I’ve already touched on how shopping for final 12 months’s flagship can prevent cash, however even that is perhaps overkill for some. The most important mistake I see individuals make is shopping for “an excessive amount of telephone.” Simply because one thing is marketed as “one of the best” doesn’t routinely imply it’s one of the best for you. You need to at all times make a purchase order resolution primarily based in your real wants, not solely on what’s the most well liked and strongest gadget in the marketplace.

The reality is that mid-range phones as of late are greater than succesful sufficient for the typical consumer. When family and friends ask me for suggestions on which telephone to purchase, I normally counsel one thing just like the Google Pixel 9a or a Samsung Galaxy A56. Each supply loads of energy for on a regular basis duties, nice cameras, lengthy software program assist, and a sexy design. You received’t expertise any lag when doing staple items like looking the net, checking social media, utilizing generative AI instruments like ChatGPT, or watching movies. Enjoying probably the most graphically demanding video games or operating complicated on-device AI could also be extra of a difficulty, however that’s not one thing everybody cares about.

Subsequently, at all times purchase what you want. If you happen to want a automotive to get to the grocery retailer twice per week and to the physician sometimes, you wouldn’t purchase the newest $100,000 luxurious BMW. Whereas it will actually get the job executed, it’s a colossal waste of cash. Equally, when you’re a mean smartphone consumer who doesn’t play demanding video games, isn’t an expert photographer or digital camera nerd, and depends totally on cloud storage quite than needing large quantities of on-device storage, don’t seize the 1TB Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra simply because it’s probably the most premium possibility accessible. A succesful mid-ranger will completely deal with all of your wants with out breaking the financial institution.

A high-end telephone inevitably comes with a high-end price ticket. And that’s earlier than you account for the important equipment like a case, display screen protector, and presumably even a charger that you simply’ll possible purchase with it. I’ve already highlighted how choosing final 12 months’s mannequin or a mid-ranger can prevent cash upfront. However along with that preliminary outlay, you even have to think about the resale worth, particularly when you plan on promoting or buying and selling it in for a more recent mannequin down the road. If you happen to’re merely passing it all the way down to a youthful sibling, then this concern is much less urgent.

New telephones are inclined to depreciate extra quickly than older ones. If you happen to’re shopping for a brand-new telephone at full retail value, its worth will drop significantly throughout the first 12 months alone. Persons are typically unwilling to pay near the unique retail value for a used flagship, as most would quite spend a bit extra for a brand-new machine. What’s extra, telephones continuously go on sale a number of instances per 12 months, additional driving down the value of used fashions.

Older telephones, particularly once you handle to get an excellent deal on them, have a tendency to carry their worth significantly better. So, when the time involves promote, you’ll lose considerably much less cash than you’d when you purchased a brand new flagship and bought it after a couple of years. It’s an analogous system to vehicles: once you drive a brand new one off the lot, its worth instantly drops considerably. However once you purchase a used automotive, the depreciation occurs at a a lot slower price.

The size of software program assist for smartphones is kind of spectacular as of late, though this does depend upon the producer. Within the Android world, Google and Samsung are main the pack, typically providing up to seven years of both OS and security updates.

This extended assist means your older telephone will nonetheless be up-to-date for years to come back, making the argument for purchasing the newest one solely for its nice software program expertise much less compelling. Positive, there are sometimes new software program options launched solely on newer fashions, however a variety of instances, these options are ultimately launched as a part of an replace to older, still-supported telephones. It doesn’t at all times occur for each single function, however it’s fairly widespread for most of the most impactful ones.

So, even when you purchase final 12 months’s Galaxy S telephone as an alternative of absolutely the newest one, the core software program expertise might be, and can stay, kind of the identical for years to come back — sans a couple of area of interest options that typically aren’t necessary sufficient to justify spending a whole bunch of additional {dollars}.

When a brand new telephone is introduced, the corporate behind it typically makes it sound prefer it simply invented one thing magical. Nevertheless, as with nearly any brand-new product, potential points are at all times a chance. From display screen defects and overheating to numerous software program bugs, the expertise of utilizing a brand-new telephone isn’t at all times as easy as we’d all like.

To mitigate this, it’s generally advisable to attend a couple of months earlier than shopping for a brand new telephone. Control critiques and consumer studies that spotlight potential points with a particular machine to see if the acquisition is actually value it. However one other wonderful cause to think about an older mannequin is solely that every one the small print are already accessible. The producer has possible already shipped out patches that mounted preliminary software program points and addressed any manufacturing glitches that may have brought about {hardware} defects.

Subsequently, you’re much less more likely to expertise widespread points with an older telephone mannequin than with a brand-new one — particularly when you purchase it proper at launch.

Are there every other the reason why you assume shopping for the newest flagship is just not at all times a good suggestion? Let me know within the feedback — I’d love to listen to your ideas.