The rise of smartphones has led to a constant debate about flagship phones vs. budget phones. Flagship phones, with their high-end features and advanced technology, often come with a hefty price tag, while budget phones offer more affordability and value for money.

Real Research, an online survey app, conducted a survey to determine public opinion on flagship phones vs. budget phones. The survey aimed to examine the factors consumers consider when choosing a phone, opinions on the differences between flagship and budget phones, and whether budget phones offer good value for the price.

Here are the key findings of the survey report

  • 60.93% of respondents use flagship phones, while 28.51% use budget phones
  • 53.93% would consider purchasing a budget phone if it offers similar features and performance as a flagship phone
  • 64.13% said budget phones provide good value for their price

Current Phone Usage

According to the survey, 60.93% of respondents use flagship phones, while 28.51% use budget phones. This indicates that in the battle of flagship phones vs. budget phones, flagship phones remain the more popular option among smartphone users.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Smartphone

The survey also asked respondents about the factors they consider most important when choosing a phone.

Figure 1 Factors considered when choosing a smartphone
Figure 1: Factors considered when choosing a smartphone

The results showed that performance was the most important factor for 16.5% of respondents, followed by price (14.76%), brand (13.78%), and battery life (13.66%). Other factors, such as design/appearance (10.99%), camera quality (11.98%), and features (12.94%), were also considered important.

Differences between Flagship Phones vs. Budget Phones

When asked about the main differences between flagship phones and budget phones, respondents cited several factors. The most common response was that flagship phones have more advanced features and technology (15.31%), followed by higher quality materials and build quality (12.78%), and higher prices due to the higher-end components and technology (12.93%).

Other responses included more advanced cameras and software features (13.37%), lower resolution displays and slower processors in budget phones (12.6%), and budget phones offering a better value for those on a budget (12.51%).

Importance of Latest Technology and Features

The survey also sought to understand how important having the latest technology and features in a phone is to respondents. The results showed that it was very important for 32.57% of respondents and important for 31.5%.

Only 8.22% of respondents felt that it was not important, while 2.68% felt that it was not important at all. This suggests that a majority of consumers are interested in having the latest features and technology in their phones.

Willingness to Purchase Budget Phones

Interestingly, the survey found that 53.93% of respondents would consider purchasing a budget phone if it offered similar features and performance as a flagship phone at a lower cost. Meanwhile, 35.43% said maybe, and only 10.64% said they would not.

Perception of the Price of Flagship Phones vs. Budget Phones

Regarding the battle on the price of flagship phones vs. budget phones, 60.38% of respondents said flagship phones are overpriced, while 22.21% said they are not, and 17.41% were unsure.

Figure 2 Are flagship phones overpriced
Figure 2: Are flagship phones overpriced?

Similarly, when asked whether budget phones provide good value for their price, 64.13% of respondents agreed, 21.43% disagreed, and 14.44% were unsure.

Phone Upgrade Cycles

The survey also found that the majority (55.98%) of respondents upgrade or replace their phones every year or less. Of these, 29.21% upgrade less than once a year, and 25.77% upgrade once a year.

A significant proportion of respondents (22.56%) upgrade every two years, while 16.92% upgrade every three years or more. A small percentage (5.54%) do not upgrade or replace their phones until it is non-functional.

Preferred Brands: Flagship Phones vs. Budget Phones

Finally, the survey asked respondents about their preferred brands for flagship and budget phones.

Figure 3 Preferred brands for flagship phones
Figure 3: Preferred brands for flagship phones

For flagship phones, Samsung was the most popular brand at 39.89%, followed closely by Apple at 32.47%. Others prefer OnePlus (11.18%), Xiaomi (7.61%), Oppo (3.78%), and Google Pixel (3.33%).

For budget phones, Samsung remained the most popular brand at 40.31%, followed by Xiaomi at 25.41%. The rest prefer Google (14.22%), Motorola (7.55%), Realme (5.97%), and Vivo (5.14%).

Overall Best Value for Money

52.92% of participants believed that flagship phones provide the best value for money, while 47.08% believed that budget phones do.

Methodology

 
Survey TitlePublic Opinion on Flagship Phones vs. Budget Phones
DurationMarch 6-March 13, 2023
Number of Participants10,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia,… Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.