The current top models from smartphone manufacturers are great. They are fast, take great photos, have a lot of memory and, above all, they are expensive. So it sounds logical to go for the previous year’s model, after all it’s no longer up to date and the manufacturers should actually offer it cheaper. And what was great last year is far from outdated. The idea sounds good and logical – but is that really true? We have looked at the most important top models and use the cheapest available versions to show where the calculation works and where it doesn’t.
one plus
Last year’s top model is called Oneplus 9 Pro (test report) , the current model Oneplus 10 Pro (test report) . Not much has actually happened, which we more or less criticized when testing the current top model. In particular, we were a bit disappointed with the little further development of the camera. The current model is still far from bad, after all it is faster and the battery lasts longer and can be charged faster. That costs – with 819 to 598 euros, the new model is just around 220 euros more expensive. Our recommendation: The predecessor is definitely worth it!
xiaomi
Last year the top model was called the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (test report) , this year… it doesn’t exist, at least not in Germany. Because that would be the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which is only sold in Asia, in this country there is only the Xiaomi 12 Pro (test report) . Therefore, the choice is easy at first glance: The Mi 11 Ultra has the larger OLED display and a second one on the back, offers an additional telephoto lens, more RAM, the nominally stronger battery and also IP certification. The problem: The Mi 11 Ultra is almost impossible to get anymore – and if it is, it costs almost twice as much as the Xiaomi 12 Pro, which costs around 575 euros. So the choice is really difficult here.
Sony
Sony hasn’t achieved large sales figures with its top models for a long time – the high sales price is certainly not entirely to blame for this. The predecessor model Sony Xperia 1 III (test report) still costs at least 904 euros at the time of writing, the successor Sony Xperia 1 IV (test report) is currently 1117 euros. The differences are rather difficult to identify: The new model offers the currently unique real optical zoom instead of a fixed focal length for telephoto shots, the faster chipset and the longer-lasting battery. On the other hand, the 200 euro surcharge for the newer model is fine – also with regard to the update supply in the future. We would – given the wherewithal – take the newer model.
Samsung
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra (test report) from last year did a lot right, but the current Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (test report) goes a step further in several places. The main differences are the revised camera, the stronger chipset, the faster charging battery with better battery life and the stylus integrated into the device. If you look at the money, this progress hardly costs any extra: The cheapest S21 Ultra is currently 849 euros, the cheapest S22 Ultra at 899 euros. The choice in favor of the current top model is easy. However, it should not be concealed that the cheapest S21 Ultra model at the time of the test offered 12 instead of 8 GB of memory. But we don’t think that’s crucial.
Apple
With Apple, the choice is definitely easy: At the time of the article, the iPhone 12 Pro Max cost 1109 euros, the same applied to the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The differences speak for the new model: 120 Hz on the display, faster chipset and a more powerful battery. At the same price nobody has to think twice.
live
With Vivo, the decision is also quite easy at first glance. Because before the current X80 Pro, there was only the X60 Pro in Germany, which is significantly weaker. The current model offers the larger OLED display, a significantly revised camera with two telephoto lenses, USB 3.1, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 instead of Snapdragon 870 and a more powerful battery that also charges much faster. In addition, the new model is waterproof according to IP68. When you look at the price, the choice may not be so easy after all. While the older model cost around 699 euros at the time of testing, the current top model cost 1049 euros – a difference of 33 percent!
oppo
Oppo is similar to Vivo, at least in terms of naming: the predecessor to the current Find X5 Pro available in Germany is not the Find X4 Pro, but the Find X3 Pro (test report) . Unlike the Vivo, however, it was already a top model with top-of-the-line equipment, so the choice here is more difficult. The main arguments in favor of the newer model are the revised camera, the faster chipset (SD 8 Gen 1 instead of SD 888) and the stronger and faster-charging battery. Is that worth the surcharge from 639 to 1049 euros? In our eyes not.
Google makes it easy for prospective buyers. If you are interested in the current Google Pixel 6 Pro (test report) , you won’t even get a direct predecessor, because there was no Pro version in the 5 generation. The competitor would then be the Google Pixel 5 (test report) and that cannot keep up with the new Pro model. Because it offers the smaller, lower-resolution display with 90 instead of 120 Hz, a camera without a telephoto lens, Wifi-5 instead of Wifi-6e, the slower Snapdragon 765G instead of the powerful Google Tensor, 8 instead of 12 GB of RAM and the slightly weaker and slower-loading one Battery pack. Since the old model is hardly available anymore, the price is also much too high: 794 to 699 euros – the choice is clearly in favor of the new model.
Conclusion
Predecessor or current top model? This is probably rarely a purely objective decision, because the latest top smartphones are fascinating and trigger the “want-to-have” reflex that is so typical of people. It looks different when you look at the account, where last year’s model can certainly provide financial relief. In our article, this applies most to the models from Oneplus and Oppo, because here interested parties not only saved almost 30 or almost 40 percent, but the predecessor is not that much worse compared to the current top model in relation to the price. It’s different with Vivo: Here you save around a third of the acquisition costs, but the current model offers significantly better technology.
The Xiaomi model also makes it difficult. Of course, the older model is technically clearly better in most respects, but the comparison is limping: the 2022 Ultra model is not officially sold in Germany, and the predecessor is hardly available anymore. Interested parties will therefore inevitably grab the current model and save a lot at the same time – the current top model is about 90 percent cheaper.
Prospective buyers like Samsung, Apple, Google and even Sony make it easy. At Samsung and Apple, the price difference between last year’s and the current top model is so small that reaching for the old device isn’t worthwhile. At just under 20 percent, Sony’s new smartphone is so little more expensive that, in our opinion, the current model is the better choice here as well. And Google? If you want the maximum here, you have to take the current model from 2022 – and even save money due to the lack of availability and much too high prices of the predecessor. The decision couldn’t be easier.
If you want to spend even less money, you should take a look at our leaderboards for smartphones up to 300 euros , 400 euros or 500 euros.
