7 old flagships that you can buy as great mid-range smartphones right now (March 2015)

The debate on whether it's better to buy an old flagship or a brand new mid-range smartphone is an old an undying one, as opinions seem to be, in most cases, split right down the middle. It is definitely a question you should be asking yourself if you are planning on buying a handset that's somewhere between entry-level and high-end.

On one hand, you have the lucrative new devices that have been designed to look fresh, sleek, and modern and represent the newest trends in smartphone industry, but have had some corners cut and while they will be rocking a current-gen SoC, it will most probably not be a top performer. On the other hand, you have 12-month and above old flagships, which used to be the cream of the crop in their own day, but are now aging.

The general consensus is that new midrange processors are usually about the same in performance when compared to the highenders of yesteryear. However, as we've seen with the recent Lollipop rollouts, flagships tend to get more love from the updates department of their respective manufacturers, as companies aim to keep the highest-paying customers happy, instead of investing obscene amounts of resources into updating a wide range of midrangers – something, which may or may not go unnoticed by the users. So, as long as you are not worried that you will not be getting a 64-bit processor, you really shouldn't dismiss the notion of grabbing an old flagship. Trust us, it will be a long, long while before app developers turn their back on 32-bit compatibility, and grabbing a midranger right now does not make it future-proof just because of the 64-bit capable SoC – it will still be cut off from software updates in about a year (educated guesstimate), and will probably give up on running the latest and greatest of apps at about the same time the older flagship does.

So, now that we've thrown this viewpoint out there, let us back it up with a selection of some old flagships that could make for great midrangers nowadays!

1. HTC One (M7)

A hot topic right here, as the new One M9 has only recently been released to a mixed response. Well, if you don't wish to shell out for a full-fledged flagship, the old HTC One (M7) can be picked up for around $300 new, and for that price tag you get a Snapdragon 600, a 4.7” 1080p screen, and stereo front-facing boomsound speakers. The handset sits somewhere between the Desire 620 and Desire 820 in terms of performance, but makes up for it with the iconic metal unibody design that the HTC One series is known for. Unfortunately, the One (M8) is still hovering around the $400 mark, which is why it didn't officially make it in this list, but hey – here's a mention!