5 years ago, you could walk into a store with $600 and walk out with a Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung's flagship at the time. However, the prices of flagship phones nowadays have nearly doubled. For example, Samsung launched its Galaxy S21 Ultra this year at the staggering price of $1200. So, why are flagship phones getting so expensive?

1. Flagships are more advanced than ever

In the past few years, flagships have been gaining an exceptional amount of new features, like high refresh rate (HRR) displays, bigger batteries, faster charging, more cameras, better ultrawide and telephoto (optical zoom) cameras, and more. Naturally, this new and innovative technology is expensive. The Galaxy S7 had just 1 rear camera which was the best camera sensor Samsung had at the time. However, the S21 Ultra has 4 rear cameras: 1 wide, 2 telephotos, and 1 ultrawide, all of which are top of the line. Obviously, 4 camera sensors cost more than 1. 

2. Cheap phones are getting good

5 years ago, it was difficult to find a phone suitable for daily use that cost under $200. Many people bought flagship phones because they would remain usable for a few years. Now, with the rise of companies offering amazing budget phones such as Xiaomi and Realme, this is no longer the case. Since these budget phones offer such value for money, there are only a few reasons to buy a flagship phone nowadays: to experience cutting-edge tech, to flex to others, or because you don't care about value. Multiple companies have recognised this and jacked up the prices of their flagships, since offering value for money is not a concern.

3. Some people buy flagships because they don't know any better

Since this site pays its users in cryptocurrency, most people here are probably pretty tech savvy. However, there are actually plenty of people who buy the latest iPhone or Samsung flagship because they don't care or haven't heard about other options. Some of my non tech-savvy friends don't even know that Samsung offers budget phones since all they hear about are their flagships. Plenty of people can't be bothered to research about what phones offer the best value or have the best features, so they just buy the latest iPhone or Samsung since it's well-known. 

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