The other two models will likely make do with UFS 4.1, or worse, UFS 4.0. As a result, they will be less responsive than the pricier siblings, with everything from app launches to 8K recording taking just a beat longer.
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Sure, the average user may not feel the lag, but it's a specs disparity nonetheless.
Those springing for a flagship are usually not looking to settle for less than the best, but Samsung seems happy to plow ahead regardless.
Performance is for those who pay up
It's not just Samsung that's limiting the best performance specs for its top-tier handsets. Apple is also rumored to cut corners on the iPhone 18, making the starter model more like the budget-friendly iPhone 18e.
The culprits are rising chip and components costs. By reserving the best components for elite devices, companies can contain costs on the base models. This might keep the starting price from ballooning, but it's too early to celebrate an unchanged retail price for the iPhone 18 and Galaxy S27.
What might hold you back from buying the iPhone 18 or Galaxy S27?
What price ceiling?
Foldable market growth predictions. | Image by IDC
That's understandable, given iOS users have been holding out for a foldable phone for nearly a decade. But with Apple's first bendable device rumored to start at $2,000 and the successor to the $2,900 Galaxy Z TriFold is in the works, a new reality has emerged. The market for obscenely expensive flagships is thriving.
This suggests that customers are ready to splurge on smartphones, as long as they provide utility.
Holding back standard flagships for no reason
The expanding foldable market punctures the narrative that specs must be held back to sustain demand.
If anything, it proves that a fully-speced phone will be snapped up even in a dismal economy.
Not everyone wants a top-shelf flagship, even if they have the money. Many find the highest-tier models big and burly.
Standard flagships were supposed to offer top-tier trappings in a compact body. Somewhere along the way, manufacturers lost the plot, intentionally handicapping the entry-level models to widen the gap between them and the top models.
This was done in the hopes of nudging customers toward the expensive variants. What has happened instead is that customers have lost their appetite for base models, as is reflected in shipment numbers.
If sales continue to crater, manufacturers might finally have the excuse they need to pull the plug.
That's hardly a stretch, considering the mini, Plus, SE, FE, Edge, and Air labels that have been introduced, retired, or treated like embarrassing mistakes.
The $1,000 club
iPhone Ultra renders | Image by Fpt
If the base flagship dies, Pro and Ultra-level variants that cost upward of $1,000 will be the only real flagships left.
By downgrading the affordable options while hiking prices on the premium ones, Apple and Samsung are slowly suffocating the smaller models.
Meanwhile, we are too busy ogling trifolds to notice we are being played.
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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.
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