Last year the mid-rangers “brought it” big time. With the One Plus 3, One Plus 3T, ZTE Axon 7, Alcatel Idol S4, Asus Zenfone 3, Nexus 5X, Honor 8. These are just SOME of the supposed mid-rangers that continued the trend from 2015 of more affordable, well-built Android phones. All of a sudden, these so-called, non-flagship phones were challenging for a piece of the ‘flagship’ market.
With Samsung offering the beautiful Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge (putting aside the Note 7 fiasco) and Google entering the high-end market with the awesome Pixel and Pixel XL, one would have thought that the OEM’s with $300 to $500 phones would be left behind. But, not so. ZTE, One Plus, Huawei, Alcatel, Asus and a number of other manufacturers stepped up their game with Android phones containing great speakers, cameras, displays and battery life for a price that didn’t approach the $700 to $900 range of the big players.
And this year, the trend is already continuing with really good, pocket-friendly phones under $300. These phones, both from last year and 2017, are not low-end, cheaply made devices, but quality, even flagship level. The ZTE Blade V8 Pro ($229) and Honor 6X ($250) are already being offered with more to come. I now that I’ve left other great phones and manufacturers off the list but, you get the idea.
And I shouldn’t leave out the already flagship, quality offering of the Huawei Mate 9 at $599. Not cheap, but also not Pixel and Galaxy S7 price levels. One would be hard pressed to buy a better phone at any price and IMHO and it’s worth every cent.
A number of OEM’s have come to believe that the best, most sustainable way to ensure future success and profitability is to listen to their consumers and give them what they want for a decent price. I, for one, expect and hope that this trend will continue. Myself along with many other tech writers and You Tubers will certainly continue to purchase Galaxy and Pixel level phones but, I expect, we and much of the general smartphone-buying public will more and more look forward to affordable, high quality handsets from manufacturers that want to make money, while giving customers what they want at a reasonable price. They are proving that both can be achieved and I say, “keep it up.”
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Began writing for Bane-Tech August 2014, due to an ever-growing passion for mobile and Android in particular.
Computer programmer 1981 to 2015. Currently retired. Active You Tuber (Mobile Geezer:
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Sax player and singer in various bands (rock and R&R) since the mid 60's. Avid motorcycle rider (Gold Wing), bicyclist and exercise enthusiast. Extreme lover of driving and biking (motorcycle). The more thousand miles the trip, the happier I am as the driver.
Dedicated, Bible-believing Christian who makes no judgments on others .
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