---
title: 'New Budget vs. Old Flagship: Which Is Worth It?'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=HGYThIM3IIc'
video_id: 'HGYThIM3IIc'
date: 2026-07-11
duration_sec: 849
---

# New Budget vs. Old Flagship: Which Is Worth It?

> Source: [New Budget vs. Old Flagship: Which Is Worth It?](https://youtube.com/watch?v=HGYThIM3IIc)

## Summary

This video compares brand new budget devices against older flagship models across laptops, headphones, smartphones, tablets, and gaming PCs. The hosts evaluate performance, features, and value to determine which option is more worthwhile.

### Key Points

- **Laptop Comparison: MacBook Neo vs M2 MacBook Air** [00:13] — Both have similar displays and performance. The MacBook Air with 16GB RAM is recommended for better longevity and usability.
- **Headphones: New Budget vs Old Flagship** [02:31] — Sony WH-1000XM3 (old flagship) vs new budget headphones. XM3s have better noise cancellation, sound quality, and ambient sound.
- **Smartphones: Galaxy A37 vs S21 Ultra** [05:33] — S21 Ultra has a much better camera (108MP, ultrawide, zoom), but the A37 gets updates until 2032. S21 Ultra costs ~$250 used, A37 is $450 new.
- **iPads: M1 iPad Pro vs Base iPad** [08:10] — M1 iPad Pro has a better laminated display, speakers, and cameras. Base iPad is cheaper but has a non-laminated screen. Used M1 iPad Pro is ~$450.
- **Gaming PCs: New Budget vs Old Flagship** [10:33] — New budget: Ryzen 5 9600X + RTX 5060 (~$600). Old flagship: Ryzen 9 7900X + RTX 3080 (~$620). Performance is nearly identical, but the old flagship has more VRAM.

### Conclusion

For most categories, buying a used flagship device offers better value than a new budget option, especially in terms of features and build quality. However, consider software support and battery life when deciding.

## Transcript

Who wants to spend $3,000 on a brand new laptop So today, we're gonna be going through to see what's actually worth it.
should have roughly equivalent performance. to take something like MacBook Neo, compared to this, an M2 MacBook Air.
right off the rip, they're actually super similar, right? Both have, I would say, broadly similar displays, so this will probably get updates for longer.
it might feel better for longer, So the spec here is this is a MacBook Neo, So the MacBook Neo, there's only two options besides color,
So like performance-wise, it's gonna be the same. - [Alex] Yes, it is. I would lean toward a MacBook Air
with 16 gigs of RAM, for as long, but that's gonna feel much more usable, right? is enough for basically everybody, right?
as we've looked at many times in videos before, the quality levels vary based on where you buy them from. you buy from eBay, you buy from something like Back Market.
Broadly speaking, what is an M2 Air - [Alex] So it is highly variable, you could find one between 5 and $600.
- [Alex] It will most likely be slightly cheaper. by the time this video goes live, typically, it brings used prices up along with it.
All right, round one, I mean, both are good options though. but the thing is, Apple silicon is so good
that even going a few generations old still feels fantastic. Next up, we have headphones? I assumed you're going to pick like AirPods
- [Alex] Yeah. kind of like a the phones where it's like- - [Alex] This is the cheapest like wireless headphone
- Okay, so what do these run, - [Alex] These headphones retail for $170.
- So not a lot in the box, just USB-C to A They're very lightweight, a little plasticky.
so you have your power button, you have your volume, As far as the flagship, these are 1000XM4s? this is kind of a little bit subjective,
but I think that the XM3s are kind of like the hallmark. when they first came out. - [Alex] The ones that like are not just completely gross,
I think you could find a pretty decent pair of these So this is now the same price, do you want the older flagship or the newer budget?
of the comparisons we've done yet. how good is the Transparency mode? So I'm gonna switch over, so Transparency.
but being very, very loud. - [Alex] Hey, we're making noise now. - [Alex] Excuse me?
The noise cancellation is, I would say, acceptable. Out of the box with no tuning, It's very like kinda you're losing a lot of the detail.
it definitely kinda helps to pull more out of the music. They're fine, but they're not fantastic. because these are old school.
we are using LDAC, which should sound better. the passive isolation is actually really good. putting these on, I think it's quieter than these
That's not great for the new stuff. And, oh yeah, ambient sound is also a lot better. No wonder everyone liked these back in the day, these slap.
If you're comparing new budget compared to old flagship, Next up, we have smartphones. So for our brand new device, we have the Galaxy A37 5G,
and for our used device, this is an S21 Ultra? 'cause that's a five-year-old phone? The A37- - [Austin] Yeah.
- [Alex] Pretty much is a brand new mid-tier phone for Samsung, - [Austin] Yeah, from just performance, performance, yeah. and the performance is roughly on par with each other.
I have to ask, is the S21 still supported? So the S21 Ultra just released so in the very beginning of 2026.
- Massive, massive L right off the rip. But the S21 Ultra is a much nicer phone, so this has ultrawide, it has the...
Yeah, 108 megapixel sensor. and it also has the crazy zoom. It's a triple camera setup,
- [Alex] Yes, so it has a wide, ultrawide, and a, - It's fine. but the camera's probably the biggest W for the S21 Ultra.
- [Alex] It retails for $450, but it retails for $450. So this is a phone that came out this year,
this should get firmware updates until 2032? And then, obviously, security updates on top of that.
'Cause this was a $1,200 phone, but that was five years ago. - [Alex] Oh yeah, you can find this thing for around $250.
It has a worse camera, but performance is still good, I don't think this is the move.
When it comes to iPads, because iPads have some really good things going for them So this is a 2021 M1 iPad,
specifically, it's an iPad Pro 12.9, so it is the big boy. And on this side, we have, this is a brand new 11th Gen. the most recent iPad is the base model.
But I would still say that the iPad Pro The iPad base model of updates compared to this guy.
but if anyone else wanted to pick one up on eBay, they kind of fluctuate in the $450 range - For the M1?
It was a little bit below MSRP when we bought this thing. - It's normally $350? - [Speaker] No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
so it doesn't have a laminated display, there's a little bit of a sort of gap in the glass which means that viewing angles aren't quite so nice.
The iPad Pro on the other hand So I think screen and speakers are both an area also does have two rear-facing cameras.
- Hang on. The base iPad is, You walk into an Apple Store pretty much anywhere,
or someone who just needs something that's basic and simple. There's a lot more options out there And again, I was able to buy this
Like there's enough of these out there, This may get an extra year or two of software updates, because it has more RAM.
We're doing gaming PCs for this? one of them is using newer components? that directly translate to performance,
that are the budget and flagship. the other one's also matched to 4K and also 89, wait. 89.5 versus 89.2 FPS?
to get two different systems to come that close. Wait, so the new budget system is an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X with an RTX 5060.
maybe like 200 bucks now at some point? for a little bit below that. we know that.
- [Alex] I'm talking flagship, baby. So these systems, just to make it as fair as possible, - [Austin] Same motherboard equivalent, SSD.
- So yeah, so basically, you build these the main difference is just CPU and GPU and price, right? as it could possibly get.
- [Alex] So for context, we already talked about the 9600. - [Alex] The 5060, there's so many different versions
I would say you could get one for like $350, $360 pretty like- - So we're talking about, let's say $600 for the new budget components, just CPU and GPU.
a 7900X, that's still a very new chip, - Like that's 300 bucks? - [Alex] When it first came out retail, it was $550.
- [Alex] And you can get one now on sale for roughly around $320, like kind of mid 300s. six cores is a little bit weak,
So, okay, so a little more for the CPU. - [Alex] You can find one, like a pretty decent one, $280, $300. - Oh, you buy that, do that.
I think I could go with the old school. based on how used or not used things are, you've got a GPU, which I would slightly take
I think the VRAM, it's such a classic card. I'm gonna go flagship from 2018/2023, I guess. has pushed so many brand new components so expensive,
that it really makes a lot of the math For me, I've largely picked the old school products, right?
that's a big, big deal. But bang for the buck, go a few years old, as long as it's been like well taken care of.
Would you rather go and buy a brand new budget device or do you tend to lean more toward the old school flagship? subscribe to the channel, and ring-a-ling that ding-a-ling.
is gonna go take a nap (Alex laughing) (upbeat music)