Galaxy S22 vs. iPhone 14: Apple isn't the expensive brand anymore

Once upon a time many loved to call Apple's iPhones overpriced, and it arguably held true. Flagship phones from its competitors, namely Samsung – were lower-priced and thus, more within reach for the average phone enthusiast.

But with the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and Max models shaping up to start at around $999 and $1099 respectively, while the competing Samsung Galaxy S22+ and Ultra – at $1049 and $1299, it's time we talk about something that's often overlooked these days, and perhaps flew over everyone's radar.

Did you notice? Samsung kept raising those prices

So in 2022 the Pro and Max iPhones will be cheaper than the Galaxy S22+ and Ultra? Surely that's a new thing, usually Apple is the one selling the expensive phones, right?

Well, not really. In fact, Samsung's been slowly and quietly driving its prices up for a while now. Even if we forget the upcoming 2022 flagships from Apple and Samsung for a moment, since let's face it – how much those will cost is not official yet – and if we just take a look at this passing year's Galaxy S21 and iPhone 13, we can see something interesting... Samsung is actually the more expensive brand.

First off, currently Apple has the iPhone 13 mini, which is the cheapest of the bunch at $699, yet it offers the same flagship experience as the bigger iPhones. Samsung has no such competitor in the Galaxy S21 line.

Then we have the base iPhone 13 at $799 and the base Galaxy S21 at $799. Okay – they share the exact same price, which makes sense for competitors.

Up we go to the iPhone 13 Pro at $999 and the Galaxy S21+ at $999 – again, same prices, at least this year, even though next year's S22+ has been rumored to be about $50 more, while the iPhone 14 Pro is likely to remain at $999.

And now the big boys – the iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at $1099, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra starts at $1199, or $100 more than its rival iPhone model.

All in all, there's a good chance that the S22+ next year will be at least $50 more than its competing iPhone Pro, and the S22 Ultra will be at least $100 more than its competing iPhone Pro Max, just like this year.

Did you get confused by the numbers? No worries, here's a table clearly showcasing how Samsung's recent flagships have often surpassed Apple's flagships in price at launch, while the iPhones' prices continue to remain consistent:


Note: The above are US launch prices. Prices may vary in other regions.

"But hey, the Samsung Galaxy offers so much more! Of course it's more expensive!"

This isn't really about whether Apple or Samsung gives you more for the price that they're asking, but which flagship phone brand is more expensive.

Because we could get on subjective tangents from both sides – Samsung users may consider the S21's features better – great camera, S Pen support on the Ultra… while iPhone users could point out that the iPhone has exclusive apps, and comes with great built-in free ones like iMove and GarageBand, gets many years of software updates, and so on, and so forth.

Ultimately, and objectively, both Samsung and Apple give you a lot, and whether you're team Samsung or team Apple, you can likely list plenty of features that your favorite phone brand delivers over its rival.

But what we're on about right now is that Samsung is, in fact, the more expensive flagship brand to get into these days.

"Well surely that's a new thing. Last I remember, Apple was the expensive brand."

As mentioned, rumors suggest that the 2022 Galaxy S22+ and Ultra models will be more expensive, and this year's S21 Ultra was more expensive too, over what Apple offers. And we saw that older Galaxy flagships were often higher-priced as well.

We can even step aside from the flagship Samsung and Apple models and look at their mid-range offerings to reach the exact same conclusion, that Apple has become the cheaper brand to join.

For example, Apple's 2020 iPhone SE 2 is a great and powerful introductory iPhone that starts at $399. One of Samsung's closest iPhone SE competitors would be the 2020 Galaxy s10e at $499.

Only when we go down to budget and ultra-budget Samsung phones from the Galaxy A-series and M-series are there no competitive models from Apple at a cheaper price. Because although Apple now has upper mid-range options, it's still staying out of the budget phone market, which has been dominated by Samsung for many years. And budget phones are arguably for the more casual user, not quite the phone enthusiast who wants the best performance and features…

So yeah, when it comes to mid-range and especially flagship phones, Apple is actually a cheaper brand to get into than Samsung. Sounds weird, doesn't it?

"I guess you just hate Samsung!"

It's really not that. What I hate is high prices, as I'm sure most of us do. I didn't like it when Apple was "the" expensive phone brand, out of reach for the less fortunate smartphone enthusiasts, and I don't like it now that Samsung is following in Apple's footsteps, and even passing it in all the wrong areas.

No headphone jack, no charger in the box, and now we see Samsung flagships quietly getting more expensive than Apple flagships.

Ultimately, what we should all want is reasonable prices. And as usual, how much mid-rangers and flagships cost depends on how much we're willing to pay for them.

As for the upcoming year 2022, it appears that at least two of Samsung's flagship models will be more expensive than the competing iPhone 14 models. Which one are you buying?

Want to read more about what Samsung and Apple have in store for us in 2022? Check out:

• Samsung Galaxy S22 release date, price, features, and news
• Apple iPhone 14 release date, price, features, and news
• iPhone 14 vs Galaxy S22