what is needed are cheaper chips

Let’s face it, I’ve been using high-end phones for more than a decade, but I tend to test mid-range phones quite frequently and it’s been clear to me for a long time that you can buy a smartphone for 300 euros and have decent performance for standard use. Obviously, not for a gamer or a demanding user, but for the average user. Hence the mobile phones that I most recommend They cost between 300 and 500 euros.

This upward range has two explanations: the first, that in addition to performance, it is common for “a good camera” to appear on many people’s wish lists. And here, the Google Pixel A is the king. The second is a market where the price increase is inevitable because everything goes up, but especially components like memory or storagewhich can lead to the tragic news of recover 4GB of RAM.

Qualcomm is the manufacturer that equips most of the premium Android phones on the market and according to rumorsits next flagship will arrive twice: a Pro version for the ultra-premium range and another for the pure high-end. The difference between the two would be the type of RAM supported and the GPU configuration, similar to what Apple does with its iPhones.

Surely their benchmarks are printable, but More than its advantages, what worries me is the price. The cost of current Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 They are around 280 dollars and for the following ones everything indicates that They will overcome the barrier of 300 dollars. This means that for many manufacturers, just purchasing the processor will account for a third of the RRP of their devices.

Google shows that another path is possible

Meanwhile, Google is going its own way within the ecosystem: Your Tensors are never at the top of performance and not only do they not seem to care, but they continue to offer seven years of updates even in their A versions. For more ridicule, their new Google Pixel 10A even repeats processor. And nothing happens: any mid-range from the last three years will allow you to successfully use messaging, social networks or browse the internet.

It is true that there are specific use scenarios where continuing to add more and better hardware can be differential, such as ray tracing, moving games with a certain cadence, or AI. But on the one hand it is something niche and on the other, current models can still give a fight. And I’m not just talking about the high-end. Google Product Manager, Toni Urban, makes quite a statement of intent:

We had to make difficult engineering decisions to maintain that price of 549 euros, which we have maintained for four generations. The chipset is part of that consideration. We knew we could still deliver the best of Google’s AI and the best camera experience with the chip we had; We didn’t feel like we were sacrificing quality, and we still continued to incorporate important improvements.

If a medium range of a couple of years can continue to carry out normal and current tasks in a solvent manner, with a veteran high-end, even better. It is rare to find someone who renews a high-end one for another citing performance reasons. The bottleneck is another: it could be the camera, thermal management or the battery and its performance, because performance is a problem solved years ago on mobile phones.

Google’s decision not only seems right from a price point of view, but also from a balance point of view: performance tests take a backseat when factors such as temperature or battery life act as limitations. Not obsessing over performance allows manufacturers to differentiate themselves in other areas or simply maintain their prices. And that is no small thing.

In Xataka | The best mobile phones (2026), we have tested them and here are their analyzes

In Xataka | Best mobile phones in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and seven recommended models