The cost of smartphones on average, it's no secret, has generally been tumbling around the world in the last couple of years. With many OEMs scrambling to cram specification sheets at lower and lower prices, competition in the low end of the smartphone segment is hotter than ever.
This isn't always how it was, though - nor how it necessarily is in every country. Here in the good old US of A, for example, good cheap smartphones still remain a relative rarity aside from Motorola's Moto G and Moto E. This is a result of market conditions created by American cell phone carriers, who subsidize or finance (JUMP!, Next, Edge, etc.) the cost of devices in order to offset the sticker shock of, say, a nearly $1000 iPhone. While the iPhone remains the single most popular model of smartphone in America, Samsung's Galaxy S series and, increasingly, LG's G phones are also seemingly big sellers. None of these devices retail for less than $500 off contract. Google's own Nexus 6 costs $650, a dramatic departure from the $350 Nexus 5.
But elsewhere in the world, the likes of ZTE, Huwei, Xiaomi, Motorola, ASUS, Meizu, and many other smartphone makers are battling it out viciously in the sub-$400 range, all the way down to $100 or below. The thing is, these phones are also getting a lot better. ASUS' new Zenfone 2 looks pretty great, the Moto G G2 is always a good bet, and Huawei's low-cost, high-power Honor brand is headed to the US soon.
This brings me to this week's question: how much do you expect your next smartphone will cost (MSRP - so not including subsidies). That is to say, how much do you plan on spending? If you plan on financing (JUMP/Next/Edge, etc.), vote based on the total cost, not the monthly payment.
For those of you with other currencies, simply use a Google conversion from USD (I realize this isn't perfect, but it's close enough for something like this).
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[Weekend Poll] How Much Do You Expect To Pay For Your Next Smartphone?
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