Current high-end smartphones from major brands have become 16 times more expensive in ten years than the basic models from the same manufacturers: for many premium models there is a good 1,000 euros between the flagships from 2014 and those of today. Last but not least, the explosion in memory makes the devices more expensive – the surcharge for larger memory variants is often in the three-digit range. The current market analysis by the comparison portal Verivox shows the biggest hardware price drivers.
High-end segment has grown strongly
While the most expensive iPhone 5s cost 899 euros in 2014, today the iPhone 15 Pro Max costs up to 1,949 euros. The difference is even bigger at Samsung: While the Galaxy S5 cost 699 euros ten years ago, the high-end version of the Galaxy S24 costs 1,809 euros today. The major manufacturers now often even offer several luxury model series, from “Pro” or “Plus” to “Max” or “Ultra”. There are correspondingly many high-quality devices on the market today; Such a broad high-end portfolio was still completely unknown in 2014.
Marketing is a major cost driver
“Germany is a very attractive market for smartphone manufacturers, where high marketing budgets flow,” says Jens-Uwe Theumer, Vice President Telecommunications at Verivox. “Large brands invest significantly more than smaller ones – that drives up the end customer price.” Ten years ago, an average of 729 euros was due for a high-end model from the market leaders – today it is 1,333 euros, i.e. 83 percent more than in 2014. This means that the price increase is well above general inflation. The situation is completely different with the basic models from the same manufacturers: these have only increased in price by 5 percent over the past ten years.
Tip: Buy your smartphone separately and use it for longer
“We observe a high affinity for top smartphone models, especially among young people. Often the tariff is just a vehicle to get the device supposedly cheaply,” says Theumer. “But as a rule, purchasing the smartphone and tariff separately is the much cheaper option. The cost savings are on average 22 percent and are highest with average data consumption.”
If you want to save even more and act sustainably, you can use existing devices for longer or rely on professionally refurbished devices. Modern smartphones are so technically sophisticated that the differences to previous models are becoming smaller and smaller.
Larger device storage is much more expensive than cloud solution
Compared to the top models of 2014, today’s high-end devices from Samsung, Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi have an average of 15 times larger memory on board: At that time, 16 GB was standard; today up to 1,000 GB are possible (Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max). But manufacturers usually pay dearly for larger memories: for example, the iPhone 15 with 512 GB costs 380 euros more than the basic model with 128 GB.
In the cloud, however, there is additional storage space for significantly less money: 50 GB costs around 12 euros per year at Apple; Google charges 24 euros for 100 GB (reduced to just under 20 euros). 2,000 GB costs less than 120 euros per year for both cloud solutions. Another advantage: The additional storage space in the cloud can be shared with up to five people.
“The high surcharges for larger device memories only have a marginal cost background,” says Theumer. “In fact, they are a consciously used customer loyalty instrument: If a customer decides on cloud storage, they remain in the ecosystem of Apple, Samsung & Co. This makes a possible manufacturer or system change all the more difficult.”
methodology
The prices of the new smartphone releases from the manufacturers with the largest market shares were determined from March 2013 to March 2014 (Apple, Samsung, Sony, HTC) and from March 2023 to March 2024 (Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei). The premium models include the flagship series of the upper class, the basic models the cheapest standard model series from the same manufacturers. Data as of April 29, 2024.