Flagship literally means the flag bearing device, meaning the cream of the lineup with best features available. However, that does not make it the best device in the entire lineup as a lot of factors come into play. While it may be the best performance wise, it may not make sense to many from value for money perspective. So, the best mobile in any brand's lineup will be the one that would perfectly meet your requirements, it may or may not be the flagship. But, if budget is not an issue and you’re a big fan of a brand, you should go for its flagship. All said, flagships certainly push the time to replace your phone too far (if you’re a hard core mobile user). But again, you need a phone, not a jet pack. As an average user, you need photos of your friends and family or record exciting moments of your life. An average smartphone camera is enough to handle that. Professional cameras are there to take care of the rest. The same applies to your other needs. Keep your data in the cloud, why you have to carry a 1 TB storage in your pocket all the time. You don’t need iMAX, a Full HD screen is enough. The gap between mid-range and premium phones is reducing with time.