If Samsung and Apple jack up prices, just know there are so many amazing alternatives

The entire tech industry is struggling with pricing for memory modules, as massive AI data centers crop up left, right, and center, hogging all of the inventory. As such, smartphone prices are going up in the very near future for Apple and Samsung phones, and have already gone up for major phone manufacturers like Xiaomi.

Fortunately, the smartphone market has never been in a better place to leave Apple, Samsung, or Google behind, and opt for a different brand’s products. In fact, considering the excellent phones that have been coming out of China recently, I think that it’s fair to say that you already should have done so.

Samsung and Apple are falling so far behind

When it comes to just the hardware inside a phone, Apple, Samsung, and Google have fallen so far behind that it’s actually somewhat infuriating. I’ll excuse Google this time around, as the company has actively said that its phones aren’t designed for mainstream appeal, so the Pixel 10 isn’t meant to be on the same playing field.

But Samsung and Apple? There is no excuse anymore. Both companies know that they don’t have to bother innovating or packing their phones with the latest and greatest possible tech if the other hasn’t. Samsung, in particular, is very guilty of this nowadays, in my eyes. It’s almost like only Apple can force Samsung to innovate now.

The release of the Honor Win and the Honor Win RT has left me speechless. Both of the phones are simply insane: super powerful specs and excellent prices. The one aspect that really blew me away with both the phones was the fact that they both use 10,000 mAh batteries.

Alongside that, they also support 100W wired charging. The Honor Win runs on the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and the Honor Win RT runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which is the same chip that powers the entire Galaxy S25 series. As if all that wasn’t enough, both phones also support a whopping 185 Hz refresh rate on their 6.83 inch LTPO OLED displays.

But what about the pricing?

Samsung and Apple are both considering price hikes for their phones, and Galaxy S26 pricing is up in the air. If either the Galaxy flagships or the iPhone become more expensive next year, Honor has your back.

The Honor Win is retailing for around $570, and the Honor Win RT is starting at about $385. That price, for the aforementioned specs? I am stunned, and I am struggling to find a reason for people to still stick with Apple and Samsung.

Yes, some folks swear by One UI, and yes, some people are too entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. But the new Honor phones are so stupidly good that they’re worth the initial effort required to move, in my honest opinion. And the Win and the Win RT aren’t the only models to look out for, either.

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