Old flagship phone vs new mid-range: Here’s how to decide

It’s the holiday shopping season, which means the smartphones in our pockets will all of a sudden start to act up, randomly crash apps, and mercilessly dip in battery levels to guilt-trip us to upgrade. If you’ve fought this battle long enough and finally decided to seek a replacement to close out the year, then you may be wondering what’s better: A brand-new phone or an older one that you know will serve just fine. 

If money is no object, then sure, treat yourself to the latest and greatest. 

You’ll reap the benefits of the newest technologies and have a trustee pocket companion that will last you for years down the road. 

But for those shopping on a dime, the dilemma then becomes, “Should you buy a new mid-range phone or an old flagship phone?” 

The two may cost the same, but the advantages are not as identical as the price suggests. Allow me to break down the key reasons why you should follow one path over the other. 

Also: 20+ best Black Friday smartphone deals

You should buy an older flagship phone if…

1. You want premium and durable build quality

Many would argue that the smartphone industry has hit a plateau in recent years; the law of diminishing returns taking full effect every time a new iPhone or Android is released. Unless you’re looking at foldables, it’s not hard to see a common denominator across every flagship smartphone these days, at least on the hardware side of things. That’s great to hear if you’re buying an older flagship.

Let’s take last year’s well-praised Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra for example. It’s no longer the $1,000 flagship that it once was — a quick search on Amazon marks it at $443 — but the hardware blend of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus (very durable glass, basically), metal framing, and ultra-smooth aluminum can go toe-to-toe with today’s high-end offerings, while easily outclassing that of mid-rangers.

Also, most flagships are equipped with at least an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, a certification that becomes less prominent as you go downmarket.

Also: How to turn your old devices into Amazon gift cards

2. Camera performance is another priority

Like build quality, camera quality has aged like fine wine across flagships of old phones. While modernized handsets sport lenses and sensors that can capture more distant subjects and better low-light imagery, you shouldn’t count out a two-to-three-year-old smartphone for casual flicks. In fact, specialized features like 4K video recording and portrait mode selfies have been a thing for years now, so you won’t be missing out much by settling for an older model. 

Still, if you were to compare the camera performance of a year-old flagship with today’s mid-range units, you’d be surprised how similar or, in many cases, better the former is. That’s not to say that newer phones in the $400 to $500 range are incompetent, the iPhone SE (2022) and Google Pixel 6a captures exceptional photos and videos. You’ll just find a greater and more diverse arsenal of camera tools from a former flagship, particularly with auto-focusing and image stabilization. 

Also: The case for keeping your old iPhone

3. Display quality matters to you

While more and more companies are beginning to prioritize display quality on even budget devices, you’d still be pressing your luck finding a new sub-$500 handset that has both an OLED display and a high refresh rate. There are exceptions like Samsung’s Galaxy A53 5G, but in the grand scheme of things, the panels on older flagships lap those of modern-day mid-rangers — in viewing angles, color reproduction, brightness, touch sampling rate (the responsiveness to your fingers), and more. 

Also: Here’s how to prepare your phone for a hassle-free trade-in process

But you should consider a new mid-range phone if…

1. You want a year or two more of software updates

I can’t overstate how important software updates and security patches are to your phone and your personal information. They’re meant to keep devices safe from the latest security vulnerabilities while providing you with the most optimized software experience. And while it’s true that flagship phones typically sit at the top of companies’ update priority lists, garnering anywhere from four to seven years of software commitments, buying a used handset means that some of that time has already been lost. 

Instead, a new mid-range phone comes with a fresh start, so you can expect to receive one or two more years’ worth of software updates compared to an older device. 

Also: Samsung commits to at least four years of updates for latest smartphones

2. You plan on buying insurance 

You may have seen listings on Amazon and Best Buy that label pre-owned smartphones as “Renewed” or “Refurbished.” They’re a formal way for retailers to say that they’ve carefully inspected the devices, replaced parts that were no longer working, and now deem them as “like-new” in appearance. Here’s the catch that’s not often disclosed: These restored phones do not qualify for their respective manufacturer’s warranty claims or insurance policies.

The main reason for this is that not every retailer has the same parts and components as the official manufacturer, making it difficult and, in most cases, impossible, for the official service representatives to repair your phone should it break. Companies are getting better at making their genuine parts more accessible, but none of this would be a problem if you just buy a new device, mid-range or not.