What things in the phone would I want in exchange for a lower price? | photo: own
Phone prices are rising, that’s a simple fact. Not all manufacturers increase prices every year, but most of them gradually increase the price tags of their phones. This applies to all segments and it is most noticeable in the flagship class, when the prices of the really top phones are often dangerously close to the threshold of 30,000 crowns. At the same time, there are elements that we would like to exchange for a lower price even in flags.
Unnecessary features that make phones more expensive
Not all aspects are absolutely necessary for phones, and there are things that look cool at first, but in the end are actually almost useless and make the phone unnecessarily expensive. One of the main ones is the coolest thing in recent times, the titanium frame. The high-end iPhones 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max as well as Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra bet on it, and it is undoubtedly an element that will attract attention.
Titanium is a very light and durable material, so both manufacturers boast weight savings and higher durability. But is it really so? For example, the Galaxy S23 Ultra saves just 2 grams of weight compared to its aluminum predecessor, the S23 Ultra. With Apple, the saving is a bit bigger (19 grams), but I would still appreciate a price tag a few thousand lower and more conventional materials.
The titanium frame is cool, but actually kind of useless…and expensive | photo: Apple
Do we really need wireless charging?
Wireless charging is another nice thing, but in the end it’s actually quite an unnecessary element that significantly increases the phone’s price tag. Top Chinese flagships already offer relatively usable wireless charging with a power of around 50 W and above, however, most phones are still around 10 to 15 W, so wireless is ultimately rather unusable.
In the era of fast wired charging, where you can charge your phone to a very solid capacity in a few minutes, wireless charging of poor performance is unnecessary and, again, something I would wish in exchange for a more favorable price tag. Regardless of the fact that wireless chargers are quite expensive and the fact that the manufacturer would put them in the package with the phone, we can understandably forget.
Wireless charging slow in most cases | photo: Unsplash
Other features that unnecessarily make phones more expensive
There are more elements that can be exchanged for a lower price on most phones, and we should also mention the curved display on the sides. But manufacturers are slowly starting to realize this, and some top flagships that had a rounded display in the past now have a flat one. It is not even necessary to deploy a completely new generation of durable Gorilla Glass every year.
Or new photo sensors. Of course, these improve between generations, but a great camera doesn’t necessarily have the latest, significantly more expensive photochips. On the contrary, the older generation is often proven, manufacturers know how to work with it, it is cheaper, and bragging about the latest generations of ISOCELL chips from Samsung or IMX from Sony is more a matter of prestige than any real benefit.
Brand new photo chips aren’t even necessary | photo: own
Price instead of tinsel
Of course, manufacturers have to come up with some new products every year, but they certainly must not be for their own sake and just to have something to brag about. It is often more advantageous to bet on older and cheaper, but proven hardware and not make the phone more expensive than the other way around. In the end, it is much better to focus on the software side of things and exemplary support rather than chasing points with unnecessary news.
Source: mobilizujeme.cz
