GoKawiilPaul Jones / Android Authority
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These are strange times in the smartphone world. For as long as I can remember, recommending a new smartphone was fairly simple. If you wanted a premium smartphone without spending over a thousand dollars, an Android phone was almost always the better bet. While the absolute top-end of the market remains up for debate, Samsung, Google, and a plethora of Chinese OEMs competed on price and value to make Android phones the obvious choice in that sweet $700–$800 segment.
That’s no longer true.
Right now, the standard iPhone 17 starts at $799, while both the Google Pixel 11 and Samsung Galaxy S26 start at $899. And if the rumors around Apple pushing the standard iPhone 18’s launch to next spring are true, that $100 price gap is likely to stick around for quite some time.
That makes the iPhone 17 a surprisingly easy recommendation. In fact, if you are simply looking for the best flagship phone for your money, the answer right now might be the one phone no Android enthusiast would expect.
Is $100 a big enough difference to change your smartphone choice? 16 votes Absolutely. I'll take the savings. 19 % Somewhat. I'll definitely consider the options. 25 % Not really, it's too hard to leave my platform of choice. 38 % No. The price gap isn't enough. 19 %
Android flagships have become too expensive
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
I get it, Google, Samsung, and the wider smartphone industry have their reasons for raising prices. The ongoing RAMageddon means that chip prices have shot up, both for RAM and even storage. And as both companies are putting more money into on-device AI features, the return on those investments, too, has to come from the cost of the device.
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