When a Newer Model Is Not the Better Buy

Update, 12 November 2026. We listed the iPad Air M4 as not yet scored. It has had three published scores since 9 March 2026: Tom’s Guide, Trusted Reviews and TechRadar each gave it four and a half out of five, an average of 9.0 against the M3’s 8.7. So the successor scored higher in two of the five cases we now compare, not one of four, and the dek, table, claims and text below are corrected to match. The iPad is also the one successor here that scored higher at the same launch price. Only the iPad was re-checked for this update.

Update, 21 September 2026. The TV shortlist was re-read on 21 September, and two of the comparisons here changed. TechRadar and Tom’s Guide each give the Hisense U8N four and a half out of five, not four, and What Hi-Fi?'s score no longer counts for the U8QG because What Hi-Fi? reviewed a different UK set; with PCMag added to both, the U8N averages 8.8 and its successor 8.3. We had reported the U8QG as the one clean win. PCMag’s four for the LG C6 also brings it to 9.3 against the C5’s 9.8. So the successor scored higher in one of four comparable cases, not two, and the page is rewritten to say so. Prices are unchanged.

The newer model scored higher in two of the five cases we could compare, and it costs more in most of them. We audited every pick on this site against its successor. Four of the six we could price cost more than the model they replace, two cost the same, and none cost less.

That is the fact worth carrying into a sale. When last year’s model is the one being discounted, the discount is being measured against a machine that in three of these five cases scored higher than the thing replacing it.

The seven, and what happened

Replaced	By	Averaged score	Launch price
Amazfit Active 2	Active 3 Premium	8.7 → 9.0	$99 → $169.99
Hisense U8N	U8QG (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	8.8 → 8.3	not comparable
LG C5	C6	9.8 → 9.3	unchanged
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8	Watch 9 (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	lower at both shared outlets	$349 → $380
Apple iPad Air M3	iPad Air M4 (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	8.7 → 9.0	unchanged
Apple Mac mini M4	Mac mini M6	unscored on 3 Sep; not re-checked	$599 → $899
ROG Xbox Ally X	Ally X20	unscored on 3 Sep; not re-checked	$999.99 → $1,299

Averaged scores use three or more published outlet scores per model, normalised to ten; the higher of each pair is in bold. Prices are what each maker announced at launch, not what anything costs today.

The two the successor won

The Amazfit Active 3 Premium scored higher, 9.0 against 8.7, and it also costs 72 per cent more. Both facts are true at once, and which one matters depends entirely on your budget. The older Active 2 is still on our smartwatch page at $99 for exactly that reason.

The iPad Air M4 scored higher at the same launch price. Tom’s Guide, Trusted Reviews and TechRadar each gave it four and a half out of five, an average of 9.0 against the M3’s 8.7, and Apple launched it at the M3’s starting price. It is the one clean win in this set, and it has replaced the M3 on our tablet shortlist. The reviewers still call the step small: Trusted Reviews sees little reason to move from an M2 or M3.

The three the successor lost

The LG C6 scores lower than the LG C5 at the same launch price. 9.3 against 9.8, from the same four outlets: TechRadar and What Hi-Fi? gave both five stars, while Tom’s Guide and PCMag each scored the C6 half a star below the C5. The direction matters when the C5 is the set on sale: you are not being offered a compromise, you are being offered the higher-scoring television.

The Hisense U8QG replaced the U8N and averages 8.3 against 8.8. This page first reported it the other way round, as the clean win, on scores that turned out to be misread. At the three outlets that scored both, the U8QG never scored higher: TechRadar gave each four and a half, while Tom’s Guide and PCMag gave the U8QG four against the U8N’s four and a half. It is the brighter set — PCMag measured 3,200 nits against 2,755 on an 18% window — and PCMag also lists its higher price as a drawback.

The Galaxy Watch 9 scores lower than the Watch 8 and costs $31 more. Both outlets that reviewed the pair marked the newer one down. Tom’s Guide wore it for a month and published under a headline saying the new health tools impress but that does not mean you should upgrade, which is about as direct as review writing gets.

The two compared on price alone

When this page was written, the Mac mini M6 and the ROG Xbox Ally X20 had not accumulated three published outlet scores, so it does not rank them; they were not re-checked in the 12 November update.

What can be said is what the makers themselves published. The Mac mini went from $599 to $899, a 50 per cent rise, and the Ally X20 lists 30 per cent higher than the Ally X while running the same processor. The Ally’s change is a screen, from an FHD LCD to a 7.4-inch OLED, which is the most visible upgrade a handheld can get and is not a performance one.

What to actually do

• Look up what the outgoing model scored before you accept it as a compromise. In three of the five cases we could compare, it scored higher than its replacement.
• Check whether the price moved, and by how much. Four of six rose. A successor arriving is often what makes the old model a good deal, and occasionally what makes the new one a bad one.
• Treat “same chip, new screen” as a different product, not a new generation. It may still be worth buying. It is not an upgrade in the sense the marketing implies.
• Read the spec sheet line by line against last year’s. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 FE keeps its predecessor’s battery, screen and cameras at $50 more.
• Give a brand-new model a few months before you trust a number about it. Three of these seven could not be scored when we audited them, and one of those, the iPad Air M4, has since scored higher than its predecessor. That is a limit on this page and on every buying guide that pretends otherwise.