Would you buy a flagship smartphone with no AI features?

Gone are the days of affordable smartphones. With rising component costs and ongoing political pressures in key parts of the globe, we likely won’t see any price drops for new smartphones in the foreseeable future.

Booming prices are usually passed on to consumers, but rising component costs are also negatively affecting manufacturers. Just this week, news broke that Samsung has entered “emergency management” mode due to the current global financial climate. It appears that the company’s mobile experience unit could incur a deficit this financial year, despite the Galaxy S26 series selling well.

This raises the question: Is there anything companies can do to decrease prices for themselves and their consumers?

Well, culling free AI features could be a good start.

According to a recent Seoul Economic Daily report, Samsung spends over $69 million daily on R&D, with a significant portion likely dedicated to AI development. It spends even more on AI-focused capital expenditure. But what if every Galaxy AI feature were paywalled, rather than included on every device? This approach could theoretically reduce the R&D workload focused on developing AI tools while generating more revenue from users willing to pay for them.

Although these measures are small in the grand scheme of things, they could help reduce the demands on consumers who don’t require AI capabilities.

Of course, this means plenty of change, including how companies bring AI features to consumers. With this framework, flagship phones will offer users no free AI features. If you need video or photo editing, predictive smarts, or any generative powers, you’ll need to pay to unlock them. This would probably rub some consumers the wrong way. However, based on the sentiment I’ve seen on various forums since the dawn of the AI revolution, I feel that many would welcome this change.

What do you think? Would you prefer to spend less on a flagship smartphone without AI features, or pay for the AI features you genuinely want? Do you prefer the current status quo? Let’s discuss in the comments section.

Here are some more questions:

• Have AI features become essential, or can you still imagine using a smartphone without them?
• Would you be willing to pay for AI features? If so, which ones?
• Should AI features on smartphones be paywalled if the overall price of smartphones remains unchanged?
• Do you find AI features genuinely useful, or are they more of an afterthought on your device?
• How important are AI features on your smartphone to you, on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the most important?

👇 And if you have a specific comment related to your poll choice, or want to answer any of the questions posed above, be sure to have your say in the comments below.