Smartphone Upgrade: The rising cost of smartphones is posing a challenge for companies. To address this, companies may compromise on features rather than making cheaper models more expensive.

Companies may downgrade less talked-about features to adjust prices.

Smartphone Upgrade: This year is proving to be quite challenging for the smartphone industry. A shortage of memory chips and the rising cost of other components are driving phone prices steadily higher. This has impacted shipments. Due to the high prices, people are now postponing their phone purchases. Market trends suggest that there's no hope for any immediate relief. Companies are reducing features in affordable phones to maintain their margins, especially in the entry-level segment. If you're looking to buy a new, affordable Android phone, it's not necessary that every component be upgraded. Some components aren't being upgraded, and even new phones are offering older versions.

The iPhone 17 series and Samsung Galaxy S26 series have sold well over the past year. Consequently, chipmakers like Qualcomm and MediaTek are focusing more on developing processors for flagship phones. Meanwhile, demand for entry- and mid-range smartphones has declined. This means that phones priced under ₹40,000 may be equipped with last year's chipset instead of a new one. This means that even though you're paying a premium for a new phone, its processor performance will remain the same as a year-old phone. Even if companies offer a new processor, the performance impact won't be significant. Therefore, if you're buying a low-cost Android phone, you shouldn't expect a significant upgrade.

Wireless modems

Along with the processor, the modem chip is also crucial in a smartphone. It enables the phone to connect to 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless connectivity. Modem chips are generally not talked about much, so many consumers don't pay attention to them. Now, the concern with new models is that companies may compromise on lesser-known components like modems to save costs. This means that older modems may be used in new phones instead of the latest ones. This could impact network quality, calling, and internet speeds.

display

Full HD (1080p) OLED displays are common in phones priced around ₹40,000, but now cheaper phones may see compromises on their display panels. Older LCD displays may return in models priced under ₹20,000. Rising RAM prices are bound to make phones more expensive. Therefore, to minimize price increases, companies may offer LCD displays in cheaper phones. However, the silver lining is that the supply of budget OLED displays is currently stable, so they won't disappear completely from the market.
 

Camera

To adjust the price, companies may compromise on the camera, along with other components. For budget phones, companies may still offer additional 2MP or 5MP sensors. These provide a slight boost to the main camera, but they don't significantly impact photo quality. This means that while companies may increase the number of camera sensors on a phone for marketing purposes, these cameras won't be as useful in terms of photo quality. Similarly, phones priced under ₹40,000 may offer 50MP or 64MP cameras, which, while impressive in terms of specifications, may have smaller sensor sizes. This impacts color accuracy and low-light photography. Overall, even buying a new phone could mean you'll miss out on an upgrade.