Even if you do not wish to laminate your iPhone 12 Pro Max with gold, like some actually do, you will still be paying £1100+ for a new one all the same! Sure, a carrier’s contract-based installments might make the blow feel less severe, but in reality, you will end up paying a lot more, albeit over a longer period of time. On the other hand, what if you are not an Apple fan and you do not care for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2’s twin screens and £1800 price tag? Does it mean you will have to sacrifice on performance and quality of usage?

If the same question were put forward even just a few years ago, the answer would be a sad yes. Today, however, we can enjoy high-performance smartphones without having to pay exorbitant amounts of money for them. In case you are wondering how that’s possible, read on as we discuss a few crucial pointers that will not only curb your initial expense of buying a smartphone but also your continuing expenses, aka, pesky phone bills.

Look beyond the brands you know

In the UK and a large section of the western world, not everyone is completely aware of their choices in regards to smartphones yet. It is true that brands such as Samsung, Apple and Google have established themselves as trusted names in the smartphone business. Still, customers have to ask the question, at what price point does a flagship smartphone become too expensive for that trust and brand value to matter anymore? If you are paying more for a smartphone than your laptop, then it is time to look beyond the brands you know, and towards international brands which are huge in their own markets but do not put exorbitant price tags on delivering products that perform almost at par, and sometimes better than the Samsung Galaxy Notes and the iPhones.

OnePlus, Vivo and Xiaomi are a few good examples of alternative brands that are quite popular in the UK nowadays on account of selling superb flagship smartphones at almost half the price of similarly graded flagship smartphones from the bigger OEMs. Read a few reviews and comparisons, check out the ones that are not online exclusives at a local store, and determine which ones are praised the most and for what. Choose an alternative brand’s product this time around, and you might be surprised by how good it feels to use a super-fast, flagship smartphone without paying what you previously thought you would have to pay for such an experience.

Look for the best SIM-only deals

SIM-only deals are not just more affordable than carrier contracts, but you can practically control every term of the plan while also enjoying the power to cancel any plan at any point of time in the future. After comparing Lebara SIM only deals on their site, we found that even their most basic £5 per month (30 days) plan offers amazing value for money. With this option, you will get 2GB of Data, 1000 UK minutes, 1000 UK texts and 100 international minutes to 41 countries. However, depending on your needs, for £10 you can also get unlimited UK minutes, unlimited UK texts and 10 GB of data.

These are not even the best SIM-only deals that they have, which is part of the reason why independent SIM cards offer a better and more affordable deal than carrier-locked SIMs. You cannot overspend due to the capped, pre-set limits, and you can fit these SIMs inside any smartphone of your choice, irrespective of the brand. Lebara SIMs get their tower coverage from Vodafone, so rest assured that signal strength will never be an issue either. Compare SIM-only deals from the providers extensively, and choose a plan that helps you to maximise your new flagship smartphone’s capabilities, without having to feel the bill every month!

Get to know a bit about smartphones

They say that the average consumer has become a lot more aware, and yet, so many consumers never research the right stuff and as a result, never really know what to look for in a smartphone. For example, OLED displays produce better and more vibrant colours than even the more expensive LED panels. Once you use a smartphone which sports an OLED display, you will know the difference instantly upon holding any smartphone that has an LED panel. However, if you do not know which phones have an OLED panel and which ones do not, you would be left unsatisfied after buying a new smartphone that has an LED panel.

It is entirely possible that the customer may not even know what OLEDs and LEDs are. However, they will still be able to catch the difference between the two easily because it is a visual experience that does not require prior knowledge to make sense. If, on the other hand, they did know that Organic Light Emitting Diodes or OLEDs are capable of infinite contrast by separately controlling the luminescence of each individual pixel, it would be easy for them to Google something such as “smartphones with OLED displays” and find models which are both in their budget and are likely to provide them with a vibrant visual experience that OLED panels are famous for.

The same applies to smartphone processors, camera sensors, and other features as well. In order to look past the marketing, consumers must have at least some basic knowledge about smartphones. Given how much information about everything related to smartphones is available today on the web, that should not be a problem. In place of relying on second-hand opinions and marketing materials, use your knowledge and intelligence to pick the right phone for yourself.

Sacrifice in some areas to gain in others

There is almost always a trade-off, irrespective of what you are trying to buy. This is precisely why you should have your list of priorities for the new smartphone listed down and ready. For example, if you are outdoorsy and love to take photos, a good rear camera should be your priority, along with a long battery life. What you can sacrifice on, however, is processing power. You do not need a flagship Snapdragon 865+ in a camera phone, which will let you buy something like the Pixel 4A; a phone that isn’t a flagship, but sports flagship cameras nonetheless.

On the flip side, a gamer should be looking for the most powerful, overclocked processor available, preferably supported with a heavy-duty battery, and a gorgeous, 90Hz – 120Hz display. As you will often see in gaming phones, they sacrifice the form factor and camera quality to achieve those goals for their target audience, allowing them to keep the price from becoming too high.

We live in the age of technology, but more importantly than that, we live in an age of options. As a smart consumer, it is quite possible to maximise those options and spend one’s hard-earned money in the most cost-effective manner. This holds true everywhere today, and not just with smartphones and SIM cards, but given how dependent we are on them, this particular choice can indeed make a huge difference. The best part is, we do not necessarily have to spend a fortune to improve that experience either, not anymore.

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