Most OEMs like to say that they have the very best. And unfortunately, software just keeps bloating, making it more useful to have a higher end chip.

However, this dynamic has changed somewhat in recent years as the price of flagship SoCs has skyrocketed by ~4x in 5 years. More high-end phones are releasing with not quite the best chip, like the base iPhone, the Pixel, and the Galaxy S25/S25+ (due to Exynos).