What does a flagship smartphone mean? What is a flagship smartphone? Latest Hardware

Smartphones are divided into a huge number of different categories, each of which takes into account the needs of certain users. However, there are two categories that include most smartphones - advanced devices and budget devices. In the recent past, premium devices were a rare and expensive pleasure, whose price was close to $1000, and most users preferred inexpensive devices around $100-200. In recent years the situation has changed somewhat. Thanks to the development of technology and the entry of new players into the market, the price of premium devices has decreased, which has led to an increase in their user audience.

And this brings us to the next question: “So why are flagships better than budget phones?”. Below, we'll list a number of obvious differences for you, but first let's go over the more subjective reasons.

Most of us believe that premium devices are superior to their inexpensive rivals in every way by birthright. In general, this is true. However, there will always be a couple of exceptions. For example, the main advantage of budget phones is their low price, which its flagship rivals can never keep up with. Yes, over the past few years there has been a dramatic shift in this direction. Manufacturers began to look at other niches. In addition, we should not forget about the Chinese “comrades” who entered the international market with a wide range of inexpensive flagships of very decent quality. Take the Xiaomi flagships, which combine the familiar features of the iPhone, Android features and the amazing MIUI user interface.

But it seems we’ve started talking, so let’s move on to the main question and list the objective differences between expensive and inexpensive smartphones.

1. Best construction and premium design

As the old proverb says: “You are greeted by your clothes.” Appearance, this is the first thing a future buyer pays attention to even before delving into the jungle of technical characteristics. And here, in most cases, flagship devices are beyond competition. And this is not surprising, because they can afford more expensive materials and more elaborate designs. These smartphones are wrapped in leather cases or shiny metal armor, while their cheaper counterparts continue to wear modest plastic bodies. However, a number of inexpensive smartphones have already broken this rule by replacing plastic with metal, but so far this is the exception rather than the rule.

2. Screens. Bigger and better.

One of the favorite special disciplines for competing premium devices is screen size and quality. In pursuit of leadership, they are constantly increasing their size and resolution, trying to overtake their class rivals and leaving budget models behind. HD resolution (720p) has finally been pushed into the budget segment. Quad-HD (2160p) is slowly but surely becoming the Business Class standard, and a number of flagships have already set their sights on 4K resolution. However, not everything is so simple here, because devices with Full-HD (1080p) resolution have also appeared among “state employees”.

3. Unique technologies

But not all devices obey this rule. The functionality of many top budget models is already close to the flagship class. However, some flagships boast unique features. For example, the Galaxy Note 5 has a very remarkable S Pen stylus. The iPhone 6/6S has 3DTouch technology, and the BlackBerry Priv boasts a unique pressure-sensitive keyboard. Of course, these are not super abilities that will be useful to everyone, but nevertheless, these are unique functions that only premium phones have.

4. Latest hardware

When it comes to flagships, everyone expects outstanding specifications. That is why all top smartphones carry the latest developments in the field mobile technologies. This is necessary in order to meet the requirements and wishes of potential buyers. Yes, budget devices are quite capable of handling most similar tasks, but if you try to run several applications at the same time or constantly switch between them, be prepared for delays, errors and other unpleasant things. That is why only a small part of public sector employees actually support multitasking.

5. Outstanding gaming performance

This point follows from the previous one. Excellent hardware flagship devices makes them an ideal gaming base - such smartphones will never have performance problems. In fact, this is the main reason why we play top-notch shooters on budget smartphones. Agree, few people want to watch 15 frames per second on the screen, which turns any gameplay into real torture. Most budget phones are simply not designed for new gaming products. On the other hand, most flagships easily produce more than 30 frames per second, providing smooth animation and a lot of fun.

6. Full software support

But this point applies primarily to Android devices. iOS platforms and Windows are more unified in this regard. Most of their applications will run on more budget versions of devices. But if you look at two Android devices from different price range, you will notice that not all applications available for the more expensive version run on the budget device. Moreover, this applies even to devices from the same manufacturer. And while flagships become real workhorses for the most sophisticated user, low-cost budget smartphones support only a basic set of functionality, while secondary capabilities are sacrificed for an attractive price.

7. Better cameras

This is another important difference between flagships and budget phones. Yes, sure, large number megapixels in a phone camera does not mean that it is automatically better than its “small” rivals, but flagships can also boast more advanced lenses, sensors and software. And together, all this allows you to take better pictures (especially at night). Flash also plays an important role. If you've noticed, most devices take their best photos on a clear, sunny day. But as soon as you go into a room where there is little light, the quality of the pictures becomes depressing. Most budget models lack good cameras. Therefore, they produce cloudy, low-quality images. On the other hand, flagship devices with bright flash produce clear photos with lots of detail.

8. Batteries. Bigger, faster and wirelessly.

Modern smartphones differ not only large screens, but also capacious batteries. And if the manufacturer has also optimized the working processors and applications, then this combination provides the battery with a long life, especially compared to budget models. This is confirmed by the results of the test, the results of which are shown in the picture above. As you can see, most of the leaders belong to the hi-end class. In addition, most premium smartphones support fast charging technology, and new products on the market can also offer wireless charging.

9. Price

All the previously listed differences lead us to the last, although quite expected, difference between flagships and budget phones, namely, price. At the moment, the cost of most premium devices exceeds $500. On the other hand, the price of state employees usually does not exceed $200. However, this is fair enough. You pay top dollar for flagships because they're faster, prettier, more capable, and have bigger batteries that also charge faster.

Conclusions

Remember all this the next time you go to the store for a new phone and are racking your brains about which smartphone to buy – a flagship or something cheaper. There are pros and cons to each option. However, the main advantage of public sector employees comes down to saving money. However, if you use your smartphone only for communication and web surfing, then why not.

In the last two years or so, one word has become increasingly popular in the mobile industry: flagship.
New flagship from Samsung. What is the best flagship of 2015? Is this the new flagship of company X?

It is used everywhere, and almost every new high-quality smartphone is called a flagship. But what is flagship smartphone In fact? What does this term actually mean? Are we using it correctly?

By Wikipedia, the flagship is the best model at the moment, and most importantly, it is produced in a specific organization.
From this it can be understood that technical characteristics do not in any way determine whether they belong to the flagships. Suppose we take the most good model from explay (Explay AIR) and with its meager characteristics, it is still a flagship, although it was not close to the same Samsung Galaxy S6.

The roots of this term go back to the navy. The word flagship originated as a naval term, used to describe the most important vessel in a fleet - or the vessel carrying a commander. This also explains why, especially in the mobile industry, the term has become so popular, and... overused.
If the flagship is the best and most respected ship in the fleet at the moment, then it is natural that the highest-end smartphone in the company is considered its flagship, right? In most cases, absolutely. But the term is losing its meaning, and not just because of the media.
About a month ago, everyone was expecting the release of Lumia 730 and Lumia 830. And none of them even claimed to be the flagship. If Microsoft hadn’t blurted out the slogan: “830 is the first affordable flagship.”
What does this even mean, sorry Bill, but the Lumia 935 is more like a flagship, and does it cost no less than the flagships of other companies?


Speaking in mobile phone terms, or even more specifically from Samsung's point of view, which model can we call a flagship?
Samsung releases dozens of phone models every year. Of course, only a few stand out in the endless list Samsung smartphones: Galaxy S5 and S6, Galaxy Note4, and currently the Galaxy Alpha series of smartphones. Of these Galaxy, Alpha is definitely not a flagship brand.
The other two are regularly called flagships, but that can't be true, can it? There is only one flagship.

The flagship has become almost synonymous with “high class” or “premium”, it is not correct.

So how to determine such a smartphone - by specification, price, or sales volume. I think the flagship shouldn't even be absolute best phone in the company's lineup. I would say that a flagship smartphone is the one that brings the best profit and sells better than others.

Articles and Lifehacks

Let's ask ourselves the question: what is a flagship phone?

We, ordinary people, are constantly told a couple of times a year, or even more often, that Samsung, HTC, LG and many others will soon release or have already released a new company flagship.

But what is a flagship? Let's discuss the term in this article.

Basic information

• All phone manufacturers produce devices that differ in technical specifications, design and cost. Some are cheaper, others are more expensive.
• One has a 5.2-inch display with a pixel density of 440 per inch, while the other has a faded 3-inch TFT matrix with a resolution of 320x240.
• A flagship is a phone that has the latest cutting-edge features.
• Manufacturers are trying to amaze us with new built-in functions (just remember the heart rate sensor in the Samsung Galaxy 5), the number of megapixels of the camera, the size and quality of the screen, and much more. In general, who is good at what.
• This whole race is not only because of the humane desire for us to enjoy using the device, but also because of money.
• If the flagship device from one company is more famous than from another, sales of the first will accordingly increase, and the second will incur possible losses.
• The flagship manufacturing company tries to keep information about the external design secret for as long as possible. detailed characteristics new items and its features right up to the release of the device.
• Because of this, user excitement is fueled, the company receives increased attention to itself, and competitors are trying their best to find out news about the upcoming flagship.

Why are flagships so popular?

• Recently, the fashion for increasing the number of pixels and screen size is slowly fading away. The development of innovations that have never been seen before, as well as quality, comes to the fore.
• For example, in addition to the heart rate sensor, the SGS 5 has a built-in and usable fingerprint recognition sensor. Before this, this feature was only available on the iPhone. HTC has revised the camera's performance.
• Now the number of megapixels does not exceed ten, but the quality of the images, if not improved, then at least remained at the same level. In addition to cameras, NTS are working on sound quality, constantly improving it from both headphones and external speakers.

In the model range of any manufacturer, a special place belongs to flagships - devices that combine all the best that a particular company can offer. We have made for you a selection of top flagships for the beginning of 2018, which will feature the coolest and most uncompromising smartphones on the market.

New flagships of 2018

Samsung – Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus

Few releases have made as much noise lately as the Galaxy S8 from the Koreans at Samsung. Everyone was waiting for this flagship, because the public understood that the company would need to present something non-standard and 100% successful in order to rehabilitate itself for the failure with Note 7. And the expectations were justified.

The S8 was released in two versions - standard and Plus; they differ in screen diagonal: 5.8 and 6.2 inches, respectively, as well as battery capacity. And it is the screen that is the main trump card of the smartphone; the “infinite” SuperAMOLED display with Quad HD+ resolution occupies almost the entire front part of the S8, and it looks very cool.

Other characteristics do not let you down: on board the S8 there is a top-end Exynos 8895 processor, 64/4 GB of memory with support for cards up to 256 GB, a 12/8 (f/1.7) MP camera and a 3000/3500 mAh battery (depending on modifications). In terms of its totality of qualities, the S8 is superior to any other flagship on the market - this smartphone is truly the best that you can buy now.

Samsung - Galaxy S8

LG G6

The LG G6 is made in the same concept as the S8; in appearance, these smartphones are even a little similar. LG's flagship was presented earlier; it was the first device on the market with an 18:9 display ratio.

Users mobile devices people often wonder what a flagship is. This term is often used for various consumer electronics. We often hear phrases like “flagship device,” “flagship smartphone,” and “flagship features,” but we have little understanding of what it all means. In fact, these terms do not have a clear definition, since each person may have their own understanding of the word “flagship”.

Meaning of the term

If we look at history, we can come to the conclusion that this word has nothing to do with smartphones. Initially, the flagship was the name given to the ship carrying the commander of the navy. As a rule, such a ship was marked with an officer's flag. From this we can conclude that the word “flagship” is in some sense a synonym for the word “main”. That's why flagships are usually called the most advanced mobile devices in a particular manufacturer's lineup.

If you want to better understand the meaning of a word, the first step is to turn to dictionaries to find out its official definition. It turns out that the flagship is not only a naval ship. This word can have another meaning - “the best and most important item from a system or group.”

It seems that mobile device developers have used an alternative meaning of the word to refer to their best smartphones. But the question arises whether the devices that are called flagships are really the best on the market. The problem is that mobile devices become obsolete very quickly. What is currently considered a flagship product may become obsolete in just a few months.

Most often, a manufacturing company uses this word to refer to a smartphone that it considers its best product at the moment. Thanks to this approach, everything becomes immediately clear. As a result, it becomes very easy to distinguish flagships from regular phones. Flagship status is automatically assigned to the company's best all-round phone and is not dependent on features or specifications. The flagship is considered the most popular device that is in demand regardless of whether it has the most advanced features. Even manufacturers of relatively cheap mobile devices have their own smartphones that also fall under this definition.

Typically, Flagship represents everything that a single company can offer within 1 phone. At the same time, the manufacturing company itself decides which device is considered the main one, effectively depriving its customers of this right. Typically, Flagship has all or most of the features that the company has developed at the time of its release. For example, a Samsung Galaxy device that has 4 GB RAM, is considered the main one, despite the fact that OnePlus 3 has 6 GB of RAM. The new flagship must have better characteristics compared to its predecessor.

Such mobile phone will always be compared with other devices. The company is trying to make its Flagship as impressive as possible so that it looks decent against its competitors. But contrary to popular belief main phone may not always be the most expensive in the line. Recently, there has been an interesting trend where manufacturers are increasingly leaning towards so-called budget flagships. Such devices are compared not with expensive competitors’ phones, but with those devices that are in the same price range.

Since all smartphone manufacturers designate certain devices as flagships, buyers will pay attention to them first. If a phone is assigned this status, it automatically falls into a certain category, which distinguishes it from a huge variety of less popular devices. But what are the defining characteristics that earn a phone flagship status?

It can be assumed that such a smartphone must have functions that are considered standard among competitors. For example, a device with a 1080 pixel display cannot achieve Flagship status because all companies are already moving to the Quad HD standard.