New mid-range phone or old flagship: which is better?

Let’s take a look at the main differences between the top-of-the-line phones from previous years and the recently launched mid-range phones. The comparison will be based on some of the most important aspects of today’s mobile phones. Use the links below to jump to a section that interests you the most.

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Screen

While they may be a year or two older, most older flagships almost always have a much higher quality display than most recent mid-range phones. A top smartphone is also almost certain to have a high refresh rate AMOLED panel that also has more accurate colors. Oh, and if you prefer curved screens, older flagships are where you'll find the most options.

Interestingly, while AMOLED displays have also become popular in a number of mid-range devices — with some even offering support for high refresh rates — they still lag behind when it comes to color calibration. In short, not all AMOLED panels are built the same.

Many mid-range phones continue to use high-refresh-rate LCD panels. While LCD screens aren't bad per se — they often fail to rival their AMOLED counterparts in terms of contrast and color reproduction.

As if that weren't enough, it's worth remembering that top-of-the-line devices from recent years should already be compatible with standards like HDR10/Dolby Vision. These are things that most mid-range devices don't always offer — which helps keep their costs low.

Winner: Old flagships

Build quality

High-end phones tend to offer better build quality than mid-range models. However, thanks to the expansion of Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, this gap is quickly closing.

One example I can give is the Vivo X50 Pro that we tested last year. It is practically a flagship in terms of overall appearance and finish. Top-of-the-line phones also stand out for their premium design, with glass backs that look more sophisticated. But in this regard, be prepared to pay a significant amount if the device is dropped.

Mid-range devices, thanks to their plastic construction, tend to be a bit more durable and less prone to breakage, and even when they do break, they’re much cheaper to repair. One area where older flagships score better is when it comes to IP ratings for protection against water and dust. But mid-range phones have been slowly encroaching on this territory in recent years.

• Winner: Old flagships, but mid-rangers are closing the gap

Camera and image quality

While there’s no denying that cameras on budget and mid-range smartphones have improved significantly in recent years, the consensus is that most mid-range smartphones still can’t compete with a top-of-the-line device from the previous year when it comes to image quality. There may be exceptions, but they’re still far from the rule in the smartphone market.

These days, cameras on older premium phones tend to be better than most new mid-range phones not only in terms of image processing and sensor quality, but also important things like lens type and quality and optical image stabilization.

My colleague Antoine also emphasized the fact that any respectable older smartphone will have a decent telephoto lens — something most mid-range phones still don't offer.

Older flagships are also likely to offer much better video recording capabilities, along with much better image quality in low-light scenes, compared to newer mid-range handsets.

Winner: Old flagships. Especially if you're strict about image, video quality, and low-light performance.

SoC, processor and related hardware

It's a fact that top-of-the-line phones usually have state-of-the-art hardware and the best that money can buy at the time. What you probably don't know is how good these processors are 2 or 3 years after they're no longer the top of the line.

In most cases, they continue to offer better performance than newer mid-range SoCs. In fact, processor makers have started re-releasing older chipsets (with minor changes and a new name) and putting them in new mid-range devices for exactly this reason.

A recent example of this is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 860 and Snapdragon 870 processors, which are simply rebranded versions of the Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 865 chips found in the 2019 and 2020 flagships, respectively, with minor changes to their processing speeds.

So yes, veteran flagships can easily beat mid-range SoCs in benchmarks. This, however, does not mean that the hardware in mid-range phones is slow. For most people, the performance difference between the two may not be significant enough, unless they are doing intensive CPU and graphics use, such as gaming.

Flagships, on the other hand, are more attractive to those who want the best performance money can buy and are willing to pay for it.

• Winner: Old flagships — if you REALLY care about performance
• It's worth paying attention to mid-range phones that use rebranded versions of old premium chips (SD 860/870)

Storage

Surprising as it may seem, new mid-range phones may have a slight edge over older flagships when it comes to storage. While you can buy an older smartphone with up to 256GB or 512GB of storage, it’s not uncommon for mid-range devices to also offer a 128/256GB option.

But what tips the scales a little in favor of mid-range devices is that, generally paying less, you can (in most of them) expand the storage using microSD cards.

On the other hand, most recent flagships do not have expandable memory (although Samsungs from 2019-20 still offer the option). Mid-range phones have further reduced the advantage of top-of-the-line phones and now even offer the UFS 3.0 standard for internal storage in some cases. Only premium devices support the UFS 3.1 standard.

In any case, the UFS standard offers a considerable performance leap over the outdated eMMC system for reading and writing data, which results in greater speed when opening applications and especially games.

• Winner: New mid-rangers simply because they offer more expansion versatility

Software and operating system updates

2021 was a defining year in the history of Android phones — because it was in this year that the world's largest smartphone seller, Samsung, made a big announcement. The company confirmed that all of its flagship Android models in the Galaxy line will receive three years of software updates and an additional year of security updates.

This announcement came at a time when the software update policy for Android phones was a complete mess. Basically, whenever you bought a mid-range device, there was not much you could do except pray that the company would remember to offer software updates for the next few years.

High-end devices were free from this concern — unless it was a Motorola — since the public that buys these models cares a little more about periodic software updates. Samsung's announcement marked a change in this policy, and with the market leader implementing this policy, it is only natural that competing brands will follow suit.

In practice, this means that mid-range devices in the future could have the same software lifespan as a flagship. This means that from now on, if you buy a Samsung A-series, you will be assured of receiving updates for longer than if you had bought an older flagship. This drastically shifts the balance in favor of the new mid-range devices.

However, it's worth noting that other manufacturers have yet to commit to an update cycle. That's why older flagships win this round — albeit only by a small margin.

• Winner: Old flagships win. For now.

Battery

One area where most mid-range phones show a decisive advantage over premium devices is in battery capacity. This is mainly due to the fact that flagships tend to be thinner and more svelte. Mid-range phones, on the other hand, don't have to do this and usually go all out on the battery, which translates into longer battery life.

To top it off, mid-range phones also support proper fast-charging technologies and don’t take forever to charge — even with massive batteries. Plus, the processors used in them tend to consume less power and typically only need to power an FHD+ panel as opposed to the QHD+ displays on premium handsets. Clearly, flagships — old or new — don’t stand a chance here.

But there is one area where the top-of-the-line phones are ahead of the game. Most older flagships support wireless charging, and some even offer reverse charging. Meanwhile, most mid-range phones still don't even offer wireless charging, but there are of course several exceptions to this 'rule'.

• Winner: New Intermediate
• Be aware: if you really If you care about wireless charging, a flagship may be your only option.

New mid-range phone vs. an old flagship: which one wins?

As you may have noticed by now, the decision to buy a flagship from last year instead of a new mid-range device (or vice versa) should be made based on the intended use.

For example, a flagship from a year ago would still make sense for gamers on a budget and those who want a better camera experience. It's also advisable for people who want to receive regular software updates for at least the next two years. And of course, the display quality, design, and finish on older flagships should remain a cut above newer devices in the lower tier.

On the other hand, if you're someone who would be happy with a phone that delivers decent image quality, and offers excellent battery life along with competent performance, you'd probably be well served with a new mid-ranger.

Do you agree with the points raised? If you don't, please tell us why in the comments section below!