You’re Paying Too Much for Your Smartphone, Says MediaTek

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MediaTek is arguing that the gap is beginning to close between flagship smartphones and cheaper, mid-tier devices. The company’s thoughts are largely promotional, as it is gearing up to launch a new chipset that targets the latter, but they may have a point: even lower-cost mobiles these days offer features and performance that is adequate for the majority of users.

“I think we’ve reached some inflection point in the industry,” said Finbarr Moynihan, MediaTek’s General Manager of Corporate Sales, to TechRadar. “Of course, the flagships will have their spot and keep advancing the technology, but somehow the experience and value for money equation is starting to resonate with consumers.”
 
And yet, flagships keep getting more expensive.

I think we've been at that point for awhile now. It's just been availability issues. You could get a damn nice phone for half the price of a flagship, but you can't get it right now. The cheaper lower-tier phones available in stores are nice, but likely held back by their brothers because they don't want to show up the flagship.

That's why Nexus was so nice, it could be had in store and was cheap.
 
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After the major carriers ended their subsidies to seriously reduce the price of their phones, I now buy unlocked phones with as close to vanilla Android as possible from Amazon, after doing a bit of research to see what the best bang for the buck deals are.
 
My current phone (LG G2) was given to me by a friend for nothing so I don't think I am paying too much for a phone :p. I will never pay more than $300 for a new phone (unless the phone comes with free H&B :cool:).
 
as long as the phones are subsidized by the carriers through subscription they will continue to rise, most people dont even blink at 30+ dollars a month to their cell phone bill for new bling phone.

maybe when it approaches 100+ bucks a month then the consumer might bat an eye .
 
The average Joe doesn't need a powerful GPU and all the other gimmicks tossed in. I do like a decent camera as I have kids and it's great to not have a "shit, I didn't bring my camera moment". I think for me, I'd be willing to spend $400-500 every 3-4 years to have a decent phone. I don't care if it isn't the latest and greatest nor if it doesn't run Fortnight.
 
When the $1000 iPhone X cost about $350 for Apple to recoup cost and make a profit on... Yeah, it's a tad bit overpriced.
 
I just bought a brand new mid range phone and i wasnt super happy with 450 bucks but id never pay 800 plus for a phone even if i plan to use it for 4 years (which i hope too)

Im positive my 450 pho e does everything a new s9 or note 8 can do and im sure cheaper phones do as well.

But im not a phone junkie i dont play games and im not glued to it.
 
Most people don't need $75k+ cars either. The fact that people are willing to pay for them is the reason they exist.
 
I tend to buy high end phones when I feel that my phone is either has too many issues or for some performance reason. I upgraded from a Samsung s4 to an s7 for a few reasons. Too little storage on the s4, the camera was too slow and I wanted a better picture. This are the main reasons. I didn't get an s6 because it didn't have an microSD card slot needed for photos and music. I will get the battery replaced the next time I'm in China and I think it will be good for another couple of years.

Phones, like computers in the 90s-00s were improving a lot each generation. Not so much these days, a lot like Intel after Sandybridge.
 
Most people don't need $75k+ cars either. The fact that people are willing to pay for them is the reason they exist.

I gave 14k for my truck. Be the last time i spend more than 10k on a vehicle.

My iphone 5c was about 200ish. No interest in anything more expensive. Period.
 
Bought it the first week the Note 7 was released, before they pulled them (note 7)
 
Landfills are overflowing with phones which are good enough for most folks.
This. So many good phones probably tossed cause people care more about their status and having the latest and greatest phone. When in reality no one really gives a shit. I have a pixel XL 2 and really struggling to find what it made my day to day life better over my 6P. Only reason I upgraded was cause I broke the 6P. Otherwise I would be still using that. I should of just got another 6P and saved $600.
 
This. So many good phones probably tossed cause people care more about their status and having the latest and greatest phone. When in reality no one really gives a shit. I have a pixel XL 2 and really struggling to find what it made my day to day life better over my 6P. Only reason I upgraded was cause I broke the 6P. Otherwise I would be still using that. I should of just got another 6P and saved $600.
"I have a high-end phone. I don't understand why others need one. I have excuses but I still have a high-end phone."

Just.. on the topic of landfills.. most high-end phones can be traded in. They don't just go to a landfill after that. They get re-sold and re-used.
 
LOL. I get my HTC One M7s from China for under $100 shipped. I think 6 colours and some of the best speakers you will find on a phone. A killer video camera as well.
 
While the sentiment is nice and all, as an owner of a 5 year old Android phone that was mid-range when I bought it I agree, but of course a company that makes low to mid range SOCs would say that. I have little interest in a smartphone powered by a MediaTek SOC, at least not before extensive reviews.

Their "flagship" MT5891 quad-core multimedia SOC powers a Sony TV that I recently purchased and it is just barely enough to be usable. It's a 4K TV that renders its UI in 1080p. Not sure if it is the SOC, Android TV, or something Sony has done with it but the experience has really soured me on the MediaTek name.
 
I think my Note 4, which is what I'm typing on now, was $749 or $849 through Verizon. Did they really drop the price that much for the Note 5?

Got my Note 4 (new) on clearance for $475, months after the Note 5 came out.

Bought a Note 4 (like new, even had the factory plastic on the screen) for my kid last year for $220.
Still a great phone for that price.
 
bought a new Samsung Amp Prime smartphone in late 2017 for $70 from Cricket ... I can put the other $800 I saved over an iPhone towards a GPU card, umm, no - scratch that idea ...
 
As an owner of two Motorola G4 Plus's (64/4GB) that I got for <$200 each not long after they came out...hell yes the gap is closing!
 
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I tend to get a new phone every year. Last year's phone becomes this years spare. Last year's spare gets handed down to someone, or used for Logitech Arx, or as a media remote.
 
I'm so pissed Nexus is over. I'm still rocking a Nexus 6 I paid $240 for new 2.5 years ago. I will never spend the kind of money they are asking these days. NEVER if everyone else did we wouldn't be in this situation. I can see 5 or 6 hundred. If you got it then spend it I guess but $1000 for a damn phone and donkeys line up with wallets open.
 
I am financing my phone $450 moto play z2. I bought as soon as it came out last summer, needed a phone then and there, next time will wait for holiday sale.

Interest is 0%, 18 months, its about $25 per month. It's carrier unlocked and has 64gb storage and sd card thats all the fancy stuff i really need. My last phone was a droid turbo from work (free for me) that I kept until the battery started to not charge.

How much do the phones cost them to make per unit? I doubt anywhere close to $1000.

(sits on stump and pulls out corn cob pipe): When I was growing up we waited until we got somewhere with a landline and then called someone. No one was dependent on the phone to communicate and we got by for millions of years without smart phones perfectly fine.

I love the convenience of having a smart phone but its an ankle bracelet security wise and expensive to buy and use.
 
LOL. I get my HTC One M7s from China for under $100 shipped. I think 6 colours and some of the best speakers you will find on a phone. A killer video camera as well.
I prefer to buy a phone when I'm in China. It's even better if you can sell your old phone outside of China.
 
Carrier locked phones, dealer incentives/subsidies and "no interest" consumer financing keeps our flagship prices artificially high. Manufacturers and Carriers collude together to ensure that you aren't buying a ~$1000 smartphone outright, but instead subscribing to a 24 month commitment of ~$41.67...
 
Top new phones have the best camera, so...

Let's face it, everyone just wants the best pocket camera, and if the phone is very fast then they can also even run emulation on it.
 
Top new phones have the best camera, so...

Let's face it, everyone just wants the best pocket camera, and if the phone is very fast then they can also even run emulation on it.
That's why my wife and I both upgraded just before the baby was born.
 
Just bought a NOS Note 4 on ebay for $149.. added the 10,000mah rugged sleeve and 200gb memory card for under $300 total.
 
Yet Mediatek's are just licensed IP from other companies, and are still incapable of reaching modern flagship speeds.

Make no mistake, this is Mediatek trying to hock their recent "midrange" SoCs, which is the best they can do after their "premium SoCs" failed badly on the market.
 
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I don't so. I have a low tech high phone
 
I paid like 120 EUR for previous phone, 159 EUR for the one before that (both China phones) with mid-tier 300~$400 worth performance from premium brands so in that sense I understand what he's saying as big manufacturers do ride on that branding pretty bigtime but I decided to get a Samsung S7 this time at 349 EUR to see how much a difference it is and the camera is definitely a huge stepup but other than that I don't feel I'm getting much better stuff that it would be worth several hundred more, the TouchWiz OS is actually a bit of a downgrade. Buying new Samsung phones at launch I don't see much sense in when they drop to 50% in a year, better buy them in a year then.
 
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