Why you don't need to buy another flagship product from Apple, Samsung or Sony

If you even occasionally browse the news on the net or look into the stores of mobile devices, it means that press releases about the release of the next flagship smartphone have long ceased to amaze you. Apple, Sony, Samsung, HTC, Nokia … And this is not a complete list of all the "contenders" for victory in the race for the love of customers. Some very important "details" for which these devices were created have already fallen victim to this incessant rally, neither on holidays, nor on weekends: mobility and small size of the device.

Thus, battery capacity and battery life were the first victims of "progress". In the latest (no longer very mobile) devices, it is akin to a fairly hardy netbook: that is, within 6 hours. And the ability to safely put a smartphone in a shirt or jeans pocket, or to type a message with one hand was neglected. For a large, bright display that makes it easy to watch videos. However, "our song is not about that at all."

In all the hype, which is associated with the almost monthly release of the next super-productive and mega-functional new products on the market, it is extremely difficult for an ordinary user, such as you, to navigate. When does it actually come to scrapping an old gadget and getting a "flagship"? The news about the release of the fifth iPhone has just died down, as its brilliance was slightly clouded by the enchanting model Sony Xperia Z. But this is no longer the "top" of our pyramid of desires, because from day to day the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available. And, if the heavenly "bull's-eye" did not lure you, then its competitors probably made you interested.

Producers are trying with all their might to squeeze more and more money out of us, attracting all available means to this good goal. But let's shake off the veil of marketing gimmicks and PR moves from our ears, that is, excuse me, and try to objectively assess how fast smart phones are “aging”.

Theory

Statistics show that a typical resident of the post-Soviet space buys a new "mobile phone" about once every 2-3 years. However, this period will be significantly reduced if the circle of respondents is narrowed down to young people. For people under 30, choosing a new gadget is more a matter of prestige than an urgent need. Therefore, those who are allowed by the family budget and conscience to pay a large sum for a new phone, every 10-12 months make another pilgrimage for a new status toy. After all, in all honesty, each of us is deeply indifferent to what kind of "dessert" from Android is installed on a new device. Much more important is the ability to "get" a neighbor, colleague or sworn girlfriend with incredible mental abilities, if not your own, then at least your own phone.

And now you will learn how to stay “on the wave” without unnecessary overpayments and not sacrifice convenient functions.

Materiel

Producers of the "apple" release a new brainchild about once a year, or even less often. They work diligently to make hundreds of thousands of their fans mature. Moreover, they are ripe enough that when the novelty hits the shelves, they immediately discarded all the arguments of reason and rushed to the store to change the fresh iPhone 5 for the iPhone 5S. I must say that manufacturers of devices on Android have not yet succeeded in this trick: there are too many of them, and while Apple is savoring the victory, the rest of the flagships are stepping on each other's heels, trying to attract more buyers with at least one inch, megapixel or gigahertz than competitors can manage.

Let's compare the last three hits from Koreans. Samsung S2 had a diagonal of 4, 3 inches, modest by today's standards, not at all impressive screen resolution of 480 by 800 pixels, a dual-core processor and a gigabyte of "RAM". How did its closest relative S3 stand out? The same amount of RAM, but already 4 cores. More pixels on the screen, camera from iPhone 4S and maximum 64GB of storage. There is a step forward, but nothing has changed significantly for solving everyday problems. The S4 has the same size. The same maximum memory capacity but already eight cores in some configurations, twice as much RAM and a little more megapixels in the camera. The speed and brightness of the display do differ significantly. But it's much easier to grasp this if you are holding S2 and S4 in your hands. Manufacturers make grandiose changes only after a generation. Your smartphone can live happily ever after. Even after two years, the charge will definitely last for a day. About the same as the new flagships. As a last resort, you can replace the battery with a new one. But by skipping one generation, you can get a really different machine, more powerful, faster, more productive and hopefully more resilient.

It's the same with the iPhone. The third and fifth generation differ significantly. A front camera has been added, the shape has changed and the size has increased, the power has grown. But the battery of the iPhone 3GS, even after three years of use, is capable of holding a charge for more than two days. So was there a reason to change it to 4-ku after a year of not very active use? Was. But it has nothing to do with functionality. It's all about status.

Output

The arms race is still in full swing. And, for sure, you will hear more than one announcement of the new flagship before the manufacturers change their tactics. But in this mess and hustle and bustle, you can still favorably differ from the "crowd" and stand out from the crowd. For this, it is enough to follow the voice of reason and necessity in choosing things, and not the dictates of fashion. A new phone cannot change your life. This can only be done by yourself.