> For smaller OEMs, selling 150k flagships extra yearly is a pretty sizable increase.

It is but the cost of making that phone is nearly the same for Samsung and Motorola. You're discounting the fixed costs here.

If it takes $10M to produce a phone, the numbers need to make sense before it makes profit. And you need to have deep pockets to keep doing it until it becomes good.

So yes, 150k in first year might be red, but you must be willing to put up another $10M next year and another .. to slowly get to say $500k in year 5 before it turns profitable. Will Motorola have that appetite? maybe not.