What is the advantage of an expensive smart phone?

[sezze]

4 hours ago, dj230 said:

There's quite a significant difference in the screens, I used to sell cellphones in high school as a side job to make money, not only is the screen better on an iPhone, the size makes a huge difference. The screen isn't just more clear/bright, the actual UI is more smooth as well. I.e 120hz vs 60hz (iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 13 pro)

 

Actually a faster processor/more features doesn't necessarily mean less battery life, because when you pay more you get a bigger/better battery. i.e iPhone 13 pro max vs iPhone 13 pro or iPhone 12 vs iPhone 13.

 

A more expensive phone means you can get an iPhone instead of an android or other operating system, although it's true when you're upgrading from one iPhone to the next you're getting the same operating system, some features on the operating system will only be available on the newer phone due to hardware upgrades. i.e face ID is one example

 

The newer chips in iPhones have more security features. 

 

Are you serious? 5G is more than 10x faster than 4G in download speeds, it's like saying you want to use dial up when broadband internet was discovered. Sure you can download movies, wait a few hours and then watch later or stream in lower resolutions, but this is 2022, whether you upgrade to a 5G device now or in a few years is up to you, but it will eventually happen. The wifi chip determines the speed of the wifi hotspot, so a cheap phone will be significantly slower. I can hotspot to my laptop with my iPhone and get 200+mbps download on average, I can even game with my iPhone hotspot. That alone can eliminate the need for any internet service. 

 

I am listing reasons to get a more expensive phone, I never said it was needed, you can survive on a Nokia flip phone as well. 

 

How can you say there is no reason to do so when all the listed reasons are valid?

I said depending on phone to phone for battery life . 120Hz screen uses more power then 60Hz screen .Faster processor uses more power . Does the battery drain faster ? Depending on what phone and what you do with it . You do get a bigger battery , but a old Nokia did last over 1 week without charging , i guess your new Iphone can't do that .

FaceID , my previous phone from  Huawei , already had FaceID . maybe is is time you look at different brands beyond Iphone . I see no differences in Android phones , all features are normally unlocked ( FM-radio is many times locked these days , but you can unlock it ) .

Security features , still don't know which security feature ?Security for what ? Opening your phone with better fingerprint ( more points of detection ?) , other SSL certificates ? idk what you mean. 

5G is faster but i stream directly HD movies without waiting on my 4G phone . No need to wait for hours or even minutes , opening and buffering takes a few seconds and after it just plays , in HD . I regularly watch TV on my phone , 4G no problem .

I play a few games , when in Thailand i do it by connecting 4G to wifi hotspot of my phone , works without problem .Also on my previous phone and as far as i know , wifi hotspot was available on Android phones from 1st version . That you speed is higher is possible , but it is limited by your connection anyway . Your 5G is faster , but the difference between a 20 mbps and a 200 mbps is not as big as you might think it is .

So your valid reasons imho are still unvalid . While you think it is , prob all the differences you mention now , and think are sooo much better , are available on next generation cheap phones . 5G now available on under 10k baht phones .

I am not saying you can't buy a expensive phone , that's up to you , but the actual differences are more on the outside ( better/more luxurious) then on the actual phone . Maybe you should try a 10k phone once to see/feel the actual difference .

[milys]

The hardware is where you will mostly see the difference, better cameras, more memory better screen etc.

It depends on what you are going to do with the phone.

But there are plenty of good phones around 10 K. I agree with you that some people use their phones just to show off.

That's their choice.

[dj230]

2 hours ago, sezze said:

I said depending on phone to phone for battery life . 120Hz screen uses more power then 60Hz screen .Faster processor uses more power . Does the battery drain faster ? Depending on what phone and what you do with it . You do get a bigger battery , but a old Nokia did last over 1 week without charging , i guess your new Iphone can't do that .

FaceID , my previous phone from  Huawei , already had FaceID . maybe is is time you look at different brands beyond Iphone . I see no differences in Android phones , all features are normally unlocked ( FM-radio is many times locked these days , but you can unlock it ) .

Security features , still don't know which security feature ?Security for what ? Opening your phone with better fingerprint ( more points of detection ?) , other SSL certificates ? idk what you mean. 

5G is faster but i stream directly HD movies without waiting on my 4G phone . No need to wait for hours or even minutes , opening and buffering takes a few seconds and after it just plays , in HD . I regularly watch TV on my phone , 4G no problem .

I play a few games , when in Thailand i do it by connecting 4G to wifi hotspot of my phone , works without problem .Also on my previous phone and as far as i know , wifi hotspot was available on Android phones from 1st version . That you speed is higher is possible , but it is limited by your connection anyway . Your 5G is faster , but the difference between a 20 mbps and a 200 mbps is not as big as you might think it is .

So your valid reasons imho are still unvalid . While you think it is , prob all the differences you mention now , and think are sooo much better , are available on next generation cheap phones . 5G now available on under 10k baht phones .

I am not saying you can't buy a expensive phone , that's up to you , but the actual differences are more on the outside ( better/more luxurious) then on the actual phone . Maybe you should try a 10k phone once to see/feel the actual difference .

As I said earlier I used to sell cellphones, Huawei is a horrible phone, why do you think no one uses them? They don't even have access to the google play store, it's not a useful phone at all. I remember trying one, no one wanted to buy it and I knew why after using it. 

 

Apple Secure Enclave is one security feature, iMessage, the government can read your texts but they can't read your iMessages because it's encypted. You can just take someones micro SD card in an android and access everything? 

 

The difference between 20mbps and 200mbps is 10x, it's a huge difference. 5G is closer to 500mbps-1GBPS but hotspot I've usually gotten 200mbps on average (sometimes 300mbps) probably due to the bottle neck from the hotspot connection. 

 

It's definitely not for everyone, that doesn't mean the extra price is justified for some who can afford it. You have to calculate whether or not you use the phone enough to justify having a faster, better performing phone and if that adds value. In your case it doesn't seem like it, that's fine. 

 

I use my phone a lot, the time I can save from not having to wait, having all the apps I need to connect seamlessly, a bigger screen, good battery life, security, is worth it to me. Not to mention Apple has a great warranty, any issues and I get a new phone sent to me, I can replace the battery and screen with apple, same day service. The phone itself holds its value and is easy to sell. 

 

Which 10k baht phone do you recommend? I am curious which one you claim is just as good as a new iPhone. 

[MrJ2U]

Samsung is offering 4 years of Android updates.

 

Incredible cameras that rival $2,000-$3000 DSL's.

 

You can call other phones 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

 

Cool factor!

 

I've just pre-ordered the Samsung 22 Ultra.

 

Lots of promotions if you order early.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

30 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

Incredible cameras that rival $2,000-$3000 DSL's.

It seems there is no mobile phone with an adjustable diaphragm. Even the cheapest DSL uses lenses with diaphragms.

They are not important in all pictures, but they are important in some pictures like portraits with blurred background.

 

 

[MrJ2U]

18 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It seems there is no mobile phone with an adjustable diaphragm. Even the cheapest DSL uses lenses with diaphragms.

They are not important in all pictures, but they are important in some pictures like portraits with blurred background.

 

 

I just went to make a deposit and Samsung has sold out of all its pre orders on its Samsung Thailand site.

 

I was thinking, "Thats expensive".

 

Oh well.

[Nojohndoe]

On 2/4/2022 at 6:25 PM, Neeranam said:

My flip phone was 35k.

I can place it on a table and take videos.

There are many other thing better than my wife's 8k phone.

My kids have the top iPhones for show mostly.

 

Your  kids  bought them  or did you to support the  bs superiority  they get from?

[Nojohndoe]

Suckers  all !

[Neeranam]

2 minutes ago, Nojohndoe said:

Your  kids  bought them  or did you to support the  bs superiority  they get from?

Were you ever young? Did you want the Adidas football boots or the average ones?  Did you want the Levi jeans or the M&S ones?

Kids have birthdays and they get presents. My 19 year old asked for her Xmas and birthday presents from myself and her grandmother to go towards an iPhone. Should I say 'no way' as grumpy old man on the internet thinks it's wrong?

I assume you don't have kids asking such a question. 

[Nojohndoe]

7 minutes ago, Nojohndoe said:

Your  kids  bought them  or did you to support the  bs superiority  they get from?

Get real! Communication device. Not  a state of the art  photography  device, a  wide screen tv, an audio output base with genuine quality  sound , etc . Yes they can capture some good degree of it  to reproduce on a better system but as an interim device most are  disgustingly  over priced.

[Nojohndoe]

2 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Were you ever young? Did you want the Adidas football boots or the average ones?  Did you want the Levi jeans or the M&S ones?

Kids have birthdays and they get presents. My 19 year old asked for her Xmas and birthday presents from myself and her grandmother to go towards an iPhone. Should I say 'no way' as grumpy old man on the internet thinks it's wrong?

I assume you don't have kids asking such a question. 

You  just  confirmed my  opinion . I was happy to get whatever  whenever  . If when I  became independent I bought Levis it was not for the  image but the fit. My 3 children got gifts . Gifts  in my world are not subject to specified  request. Nor are they theirs now. I would like to think their  upbringing is at least part of their successes in life that has enabled  them to  be more  generous to me  than I could be to them ! I also have no idea  of  what "smartphone" they each use nor do I care.

[Neeranam]

16 minutes ago, Nojohndoe said:

Get real! Communication device. Not  a state of the art  photography  device, a  wide screen tv, an audio output base with genuine quality  sound , etc . Yes they can capture some good degree of it  to reproduce on a better system but as an interim device most are  disgustingly  over priced.

I doubt you know what teenage girls need a phone for these days. One of them trades NFTs to make extra money at university. yes, Apple is overpriced and I never buy their products for myself, but my kids love them. They sync their iPad, iPhones, and MacBooks. I'm  not up-to-date with technology but they assure me Apple does it much better than Nokia. 

[DrPhibes]

Galaxy Note 10+ 1.25 terabytes of memory, what doesn't it do? Use it for business (can sit and have a beer making money while the wife spends 1.5hrs roaming the wet market), communications with family/friends overseas, banking (highest level of paid security), investing, entertainment (kudos on the speaker qual), language translator (Lens app is a lifesaver), road map, magnifying glass, compass, altimeter, bubble level, fitness tracker, calendar, can tell me what star I'm looking at, has all the office productivity software of a computer, print to my printer at home no matter where I am, heck if I could emulate win10-powerful enough to run my business software, takes stunning pics, oh ya, and it's a phone.

 

Depends on what your needs are, for me it is a single mobile handheld replacement for my computer/camera/etc. If your retired, have no business going on, not a photo bug, and not super comfortable with tech, then there is no need for you to pay for such a phone.  Take a few minutes and figure out what your needs are and find a phone that fits them.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Were you ever young? Did you want the Adidas football boots or the average ones?  Did you want the Levi jeans or the M&S ones?

Kids have birthdays and they get presents. My 19 year old asked for her Xmas and birthday presents from myself and her grandmother to go towards an iPhone. Should I say 'no way' as grumpy old man on the internet thinks it's wrong?

I assume you don't have kids asking such a question. 

I was young and my friends had those sneakers with 3 stripes and I tried to convince my parents to buy them for me as well. They didn't, they bought me sneakers with 4 stripes. For me it was not a big deal until my friends saw them and pointed at those uncool things and they made me feel really bad having those cheap and ugly shoes. I hated them - my sneakers, not my friends.

Was that fair? No. Should kids do that? No. But they do!

I remember how I suffered and I understand parents if they want to spare their kids that suffering.

It's not fair and all that, but it is reality.

I have no kids and I want no kids, and the cost to have kids and keep kids happy is one of the reasons for that.

[sezze]

8 hours ago, dj230 said:

As I said earlier I used to sell cellphones, Huawei is a horrible phone, why do you think no one uses them? They don't even have access to the google play store, it's not a useful phone at all. I remember trying one, no one wanted to buy it and I knew why after using it. 

 

Apple Secure Enclave is one security feature, iMessage, the government can read your texts but they can't read your iMessages because it's encypted. You can just take someones micro SD card in an android and access everything? 

 

The difference between 20mbps and 200mbps is 10x, it's a huge difference. 5G is closer to 500mbps-1GBPS but hotspot I've usually gotten 200mbps on average (sometimes 300mbps) probably due to the bottle neck from the hotspot connection. 

 

It's definitely not for everyone, that doesn't mean the extra price is justified for some who can afford it. You have to calculate whether or not you use the phone enough to justify having a faster, better performing phone and if that adds value. In your case it doesn't seem like it, that's fine. 

 

I use my phone a lot, the time I can save from not having to wait, having all the apps I need to connect seamlessly, a bigger screen, good battery life, security, is worth it to me. Not to mention Apple has a great warranty, any issues and I get a new phone sent to me, I can replace the battery and screen with apple, same day service. The phone itself holds its value and is easy to sell. 

 

Which 10k baht phone do you recommend? I am curious which one you claim is just as good as a new iPhone. 

If you used to sell cellphones then you should know that Huawei did make very good cellphones until US did not gotten enough money from them , since they were 100% Chinese . They blacklisted them so they could not get access anymore on the playstore . They were gaining marketshare very fast . I can look up the exact numbers but they were speeding along with great phones for the money . After the ban , things have gone downhill fast .

You can't just take the micro SD card from my phone and read everything , since you can choose where the data goes , and my phone works perfectly fine without SD card . If they can take my card , well they can also take my phone , and personally idc what the government is gonna read . If the government really wants to read my data , they gonna do anyway , remember SkyECC , specially encrypted phones ... Im not doing anything illegal , so they can read all they want . If i got a Android , google knows all already , if you got a Apple , they know everything . If you got Facebook , then they know everything also , i can go on for a while more , but i think i made my point .

Which phone to recommend , idk , since im not in the market for 1 , but you got good camera phones for that money , you get good 5G phones for that money , you get phones with very good processor for that money , or with huge screens ... You can even get phones with good warranty for that money . Sure buy a expensive phone , and you can be sure that all of it is very good , since it is supposed to be the best that company can make , but that doesn't mean the cheaper phones are bad ( i never said they were just as good , i said that the difference is minimal for the user ) .

A phone holding it's value ... that's a joke right ? I own a Omega watch , 1 is 14 y old , and its value is now 2.5 times my buying price . I am pretty sure any 5y old phone is not worth a lot anymore and will have lost prob at least 50% of its value , if the phone get's 10y old , im pretty sure you might get 1000 baht for it if you buy a new 1 . Nothing in technology is holding value , since it is made by the millions , and the technology is old and useless in a few years .

[dj230]

21 minutes ago, sezze said:

If you used to sell cellphones then you should know that Huawei did make very good cellphones until US did not gotten enough money from them , since they were 100% Chinese . They blacklisted them so they could not get access anymore on the playstore . They were gaining marketshare very fast . I can look up the exact numbers but they were speeding along with great phones for the money . After the ban , things have gone downhill fast .

You can't just take the micro SD card from my phone and read everything , since you can choose where the data goes , and my phone works perfectly fine without SD card . If they can take my card , well they can also take my phone , and personally idc what the government is gonna read . If the government really wants to read my data , they gonna do anyway , remember SkyECC , specially encrypted phones ... Im not doing anything illegal , so they can read all they want . If i got a Android , google knows all already , if you got a Apple , they know everything . If you got Facebook , then they know everything also , i can go on for a while more , but i think i made my point .

Which phone to recommend , idk , since im not in the market for 1 , but you got good camera phones for that money , you get good 5G phones for that money , you get phones with very good processor for that money , or with huge screens ... You can even get phones with good warranty for that money . Sure buy a expensive phone , and you can be sure that all of it is very good , since it is supposed to be the best that company can make , but that doesn't mean the cheaper phones are bad ( i never said they were just as good , i said that the difference is minimal for the user ) .

A phone holding it's value ... that's a joke right ? I own a Omega watch , 1 is 14 y old , and its value is now 2.5 times my buying price . I am pretty sure any 5y old phone is not worth a lot anymore and will have lost prob at least 50% of its value , if the phone get's 10y old , im pretty sure you might get 1000 baht for it if you buy a new 1 . Nothing in technology is holding value , since it is made by the millions , and the technology is old and useless in a few years .

That's not how it works, apple can't read your iMessages, it's encrypted.

 

I don't blame you on not being able to recommend a 10k baht phone, I wouldn't be able to find one either worth buying

Kind of ironic you choose to not spend money on a better phone and say a 10k baht phone does the same, but you own a luxury watch, yet a $1 watch tells the time the same, if not better ????

[sezze]

18 minutes ago, dj230 said:

That's not how it works, apple can't read your iMessages, it's encrypted.

 

I don't blame you on not being able to recommend a 10k baht phone, I wouldn't be able to find one either worth buying

Kind of ironic you choose to not spend money on a better phone and say a 10k baht phone does the same, but you own a luxury watch, yet a $1 watch tells the time the same, if not better ????

I never said you can't buy it , you do all you want with your money . I own luxury watches , does a cheap quartz keep better time , yes 100% , and it is way cheaper . I got no problem saying that , and i never said otherwise . However , my watches do keep their value , which is nothing a cheap quartz will ever do , and neither will any phone . In fact , the watches do go up in value , show me your topmodel 10y old iphone holding its value or increasing ?

My watches are a jewel , investment and i can read the time on it . Your phone can be a jewel , if you want that , never a investment , and you can call on it .

 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Best-Smartphones-for-Less-Than-300-Euros.138973.0.html

https://www.androidcentral.com/best-android-phones-under-300

"A 5,000 mAh battery is crammed inside of the Moto G Power, meaning you can get between two and three days of use out of the phone before needing to charge it up. In a world where a lot of $1,000 flagships need to charge every night, that's darn impressive. In addition to the long endurance, the Moto G Power (2020) also shines with its 6.4-inch Full HD+ display, reliable performance, and three rear cameras that are a lot of fun to shoot with."

thats a quote not from me ... 

[OneMoreFarang]

30 minutes ago, dj230 said:

I don't blame you on not being able to recommend a 10k baht phone, I wouldn't be able to find one either worth buying

I throw one in the ring, the Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro

I bought this (with the higher memory spec) maybe a year ago for about 8500 THB. IMHO it is a pretty good phone.

I am not planning to defend this phone against all others. I bought it because I think it is good but I didn't spend days to look at all available options of other phones. Maybe there are better phones for less money. I wanted a "good" phone for a reasonable price. I guess I would have been able to find similar other phones in the <10k region but it wasn't important enough for me to find "the best" for that price.

 

Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro - Full phone specifications (gsmarena.com)

 

 

[sezze]

https://www.techadvisor.com/test-centre/mobile-phone/best-mid-range-phone-3627209/

"Not everyone can afford a flagship phone like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or iPhone 13 Pro, but the good news is that plenty of cheaper devices offer an excellent experience all the same." 

also not a quote from me ...

[HighPriority]

Needing to charge a phone EVERY DAY !!

Ohh the tyranny of it all !

[Jeffr2]

I don't buy Apple products, but do get the best available from Samsung.  Always top of the line, and always very satisfied.  Why?  Display is great, camera is first class, speed is great, easy connectivity, etc, etc, etc.  I could care less what others think.  But for a bit more money, its a world of difference.

 

I tried a cheap phone 6 years ago. Lasted a week with it and gave it away.

 

Can't wait for the new Samsung line up to be released!  Just a few weeks now.  They're looking awesome.

[tonray]

On 2/6/2022 at 2:04 PM, audaciousnomad said:

For most, mid-range is the best. If you buy "expensive" phone, get previous year's version. You will save a lot and have 95% of the same features as the current year.

I used to do that...but in reality if you use any financial/banking apps...you'll likely need to replace phone before it's useful life due to the apps not working on old Android version down the line. Save up front and pay to replace earlier

[pomchop]

On 2/4/2022 at 4:45 AM, robblok said:

I just at times get caught out in the rain on the motorbike.  Cant be helped its not as if I do it on purpose.

plastic sandwich bag...problem solved

[sezze]

7 minutes ago, tonray said:

I used to do that...but in reality if you use any financial/banking apps...you'll likely need to replace phone before it's useful life due to the apps not working on old Android version down the line. Save up front and pay to replace earlier

I did change my 5y old phone last year , i could still do all banking i wanted or everything else for that matter . I only wanted a new phone ... and yes i bought a cheap Samsung A41 , which is certainly not top model , but i wanted the smaller display and there aren't a lot of phones on the market with smaller screen . ( yes not everybody likes a 7-10 inch display to carry with them ) .

[BE88]

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/sumsung-galaxy-5g-note30plus-75-ram16gb-rom512gb-6800mah-thai-bank-smart-phone-not30mini-i3262110120-s12116273479.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlistcategory.list.50.5add52819OqXcp&search=1

 

฿978.00

 

What else ? ????

 

 

[EVENKEEL]

I didn't need the S-21, the old lady has an Iphone 12 pro so I figured why can't I have an expensive one. I don't do any banking with cel phone, but I do like the camera on S-21. Up until 3 yrs ago I had a nokia which worked just fine.

[OneMoreFarang]

4 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

I don't buy Apple products, but do get the best available from Samsung.  Always top of the line, and always very satisfied.  Why?  Display is great, camera is first class, speed is great, easy connectivity, etc, etc, etc.  I could care less what others think.  But for a bit more money, its a world of difference.

 

I tried a cheap phone 6 years ago. Lasted a week with it and gave it away.

 

Can't wait for the new Samsung line up to be released!  Just a few weeks now.  They're looking awesome.

It seems you buy whenever possible the newest Samsung phone - because they look awesome. Ok.

And then you claim they are so much better than all the rest. But it seems the last time you used anything else was 6 years ago.

Obviously you can do what you want to do. But what you write is not really a convincing argument that expensive phones are so much better.

[BritManToo]

5 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

I don't buy Apple products, but do get the best available from Samsung.  Always top of the line, and always very satisfied.  Why?  Display is great, camera is first class, speed is great, easy connectivity, etc, etc, etc.  I could care less what others think.  But for a bit more money, its a world of difference.

I tried a cheap phone 6 years ago. Lasted a week with it and gave it away.

Can't wait for the new Samsung line up to be released!  Just a few weeks now.  They're looking awesome.

If your existing phone is so good ........ why can't you wait to buy a new one?

The only reason I buy a new phone, is because the battery in the old phone is failing (2-3 years), or I smashed the screen.

 

I stopped buying all Samsung products 4 years back when they started failing really quickly.

[dj230]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I throw one in the ring, the Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro

I bought this (with the higher memory spec) maybe a year ago for about 8500 THB. IMHO it is a pretty good phone.

I am not planning to defend this phone against all others. I bought it because I think it is good but I didn't spend days to look at all available options of other phones. Maybe there are better phones for less money. I wanted a "good" phone for a reasonable price. I guess I would have been able to find similar other phones in the <10k region but it wasn't important enough for me to find "the best" for that price.

 

Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro - Full phone specifications (gsmarena.com)

 

 

So as my original post states, almost all held true, there are significant differences

 

Just comparison to iPhone 12 Pro Max as that is the same year/release dates

5G vs LTE, Better screen (OLED vs LCD, better resolution/PPI, better brightness almost 2x higher nits), faster (CPU/GPU, about 2-3x faster + more efficient), better internet (wifi 6, so faster hotspot + download speeds), cameras are surprisingly better on the iPhone usually iPhones don't have the best cameras, also has better security (iMessage, secure enclave, find my iPhone, faceID), better UI/operating system, has e-Sim capabilities, water resistance vs splash resistance, Apple Pay, these are hardware/software differences.

 

In terms of company's, I have no experience with Xiaomi, but real Xiaomi stops updating their software for prior phone models so I've read, so it will only last a few years. In terms of warranty, apple has a great warranty, not sure about Xiaomi's. 

 

So it's more expensive but you get a lot for what you pay for, some don't need it, but to say theres minimal differences...

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, dj230 said:

So as my original post states, almost all held true, there are significant differences

 

Just comparison to iPhone 12 Pro Max as that is the same year/release dates

5G vs LTE, Better screen (OLED vs LCD, better resolution/PPI, better brightness almost 2x higher nits), faster (CPU/GPU, about 2-3x faster + more efficient), better internet (wifi 6, so faster hotspot + download speeds), cameras are surprisingly better on the iPhone usually iPhones don't have the best cameras, also has better security (iMessage, secure enclave, find my iPhone, faceID), better UI/operating system, has e-Sim capabilities, water resistance vs splash resistance, Apple Pay, these are hardware/software differences.

 

In terms of company's, I have no experience with Xiaomi, but real Xiaomi stops updating their software for prior phone models so I've read, so it will only last a few years. In terms of warranty, apple has a great warranty, not sure about Xiaomi's. 

 

So it's more expensive but you get a lot for what you pay for, some don't need it, but to say theres minimal differences...

For me it seems you are comparing technical data, and that is fair enough.

But that reminds me of new generations of RAM modules for PCs every couple of years. Like they are double as fast. Yes, they are, but even with double speed a user often doesn't notice any difference at all.

Like I wrote above, I have that phone. Until now I could easily read and recognize everything on the screen, the screen was never not bright enough, I never had to wait a considerable time (maybe 0.2 seconds compared to 0.1 second, but I don't see that as a problem). Similar with download speed, who needs high internet speed on a mobile phone? For what? I never had to wait for a long download because I can't remember I ever downloaded a huge file on my phone.

I am sure there will be a few users who really need the faster CPU and download speed, etc. But I am also pretty sure most users wouldn't notice any difference even if the speed would be 10 times as fast. We won't read or type or watch videos 10 times faster...