Analysis of Xiaomi Mi 10/OnePlus 8 to see the cost trade-offs in the 5G era

There is a saying that goes "If you are willing to sacrifice your life, you can dethrone the emperor." On the one hand, it expresses the courage and ability to dethrone the emperor, but on the other hand, it also means paying the price of "sacrifice." In this year's 5G mobile phone field, facing the super flagships with top configuration and price, if you want to become a flagship killer, you will undoubtedly need to pay a little more price, a small price of compromising on hardware configuration.

Flagship killers in the 5G era

The 5G flagship phones released in the spring of 2020, in addition to constantly topping the DxOMark rankings, also have more powerful performance, more comprehensive network support capabilities, and of course amazing prices. The Samsung Galaxy S20 series is priced at 6,999 yuan in China, and the top-of-the-line Galaxy S20 Ultra is priced at 10,000 yuan. However, although not all PC users must buy i9 when buying high-end computers, if mobile phone users want to buy high-end models, they still hope to buy a Snapdragon 8 series model. Otherwise, Samsung users in some regions may not have launched a joint petition online because the models sold in their area have Orion built in, rather than the Snapdragon mobile platform.

Therefore, flagship killers also took a fancy to all these entry points, making Snapdragon 865 the standard configuration in mobile phones, and then worked hard to lower the price to a level that most consumers can accept. Speaking of the term flagship killer, OnePlus, which has always been advertised as such, is an example. Especially in the eyes of foreign media, OnePlus phones have always had a good price-performance ratio, and the recently launched OnePlus 8 phone is also priced at 3,999 yuan. Also in the 4,000 yuan range, Xiaomi 10, which always borrows the title of "flagship goalkeeper" mentioned by unknown netizens, also locked the price at 3,999 yuan in February.

Redmi has also begun to use the term "flagship killer" for marketing in recent years, and even used the letter K in the word "Killer" as the product name. With the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform, the starting price of the K30 Pro 5G is locked at 2,999 yuan. While the big brother is guarding the 4,000 yuan city, the younger brother wants to defend the 3,000 yuan position. Previously, the price of the iQOO 3 5G version has also dropped to 3,598 yuan from the Snapdragon 865 model.

The relatively affordable price and the standard configuration of a super flagship mobile platform such as Snapdragon 865 have undoubtedly attracted the attention of many consumers. However, there are gains and losses. Based on cost considerations, the flagship killers have to cut back on some hardware, which is inevitably a small regret for some consumers when purchasing.

Three major hardware cost trade-offs

To see how flagship killers make trade-offs in hardware configuration, let's first take a look at the BOM cost lists of two known models given by TechInsights, namely the Galaxy S20 Ultra, a representative of the super flagship level, and the Xiaomi Mi 10, a representative of the flagship killer level. The material cost of the Samsung S20 Ultra is $528.50, of which the most expensive component is the camera, which costs $107.50, followed by the Snapdragon 865 at $81, and the third is the screen at $67. The material cost of the Xiaomi Mi 10 is $440, of which the most expensive component is the Snapdragon 865 at $81, followed by the camera at $67, and the third is the screen at $48.

Obviously, while keeping the $81 cost of the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform unchanged, Xiaomi 10 has significantly controlled the costs of cameras and screens, and finally succeeded in standing in front of the "goal line" and becoming a "goalkeeper" at a price of 3,999 yuan.

Just like the comparison of the three major hardware costs above, when the flagship killers take the $81 Snapdragon 865 mobile platform as a must-have, the camera and screen naturally become the hardware costs that need to be considered for reduction. In terms of camera, flagship killers generally choose to make more cuts. For example, the main lens of Xiaomi 10 is a 7P lens, and it is not equipped with a telephoto lens. The pixels of each lens are also lower than those of flagship products. The shooting ability of the OnePlus 8, which costs 3,999 yuan, is generally not regarded as the highlight of the product by the outside world, especially in terms of night shooting ability, which is relatively average.

The gap between the screens is more obvious, and even directly affects the smoothness of operation during use. The Xiaomi 10 and OnePlus 8 in the 4,000 yuan range both chose screens with a 90Hz refresh rate, while the current flagship models have begun to come standard with screens with a 120Hz refresh rate. Looking at the K30 Pro 5G and iQOO 3 5G in the 3,000 yuan range, the screen refresh rate is only 60Hz. In terms of the smoothness of sliding, there is a visible difference compared to the screens with a 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate. In addition, flagship killers generally lower the screen resolution slightly, and the maximum brightness and color performance of the screen are also different from those of flagship products. This undoubtedly effectively controls the hardware cost on the screen in the era of large-screen mobile phones.

A small regret for the flagship killers

Flagship killers also made trade-offs in some product details to maintain costs, but this also brought some small regrets to consumers who like it.

For example, many generations of Xiaomi phones do not have IP68 waterproof and dustproof capabilities, but this capability has actually become the standard for current flagship models. In 2020, Xiaomi finally added the P2i waterproof function, but this splash-proof capability is still far from the IP68 ability to be immersed in water above 1 meter for 30 minutes. Just like the different waterproof coatings in outdoor clothing, the waterproof performance of fabrics that only support DWR water-repellent compared to GORE-TEX fabrics that can withstand heavy rain in dealing with bad weather is very different, and there is also a huge difference in price. The flagship killer OnePlus 8 at the same price level does not support IP68 certification.

In addition, the RAM of OnePlus 8 uses LPDDR4X, which is a small trade-off compared to the LPDDR5 currently used by most Snapdragon 865 models, although it is not easy to perceive in actual experience. However, OnePlus 8 does not support wireless charging, which is a big pity. You should know that this function is already standard in many mid-range models, and flagship models have already moved towards wireless fast charging.

It is a pity for many people that Xiaomi models do not support video transmission via Type-C to HDMI, because the interface is still USB2.0. However, flagship models have begun to dig deeper into this function. Samsung's DeX and Huawei's computer mode have begun to further hope to use the powerful computing and connection capabilities of mobile phones to make mobile phones a productivity tool. Even if users are not interested in productivity, they hope to transfer the video content in their mobile phones to a larger screen through a simple connection when traveling or on business trips.