In our list for the month of August, we take a look at some of the best phones across each price segment that is worth your money.
It has been a pretty busy past few months with Android OEMs launching a number of phones around the world and in India. Most mainstream brands have launched their 2018 flagships while some others are nearing their major unveiling in a couple of months. We have also seen a number of notched phones and phones that keep to a more traditional design language. The options right now are plenty across various segments of the market, which is why a little list compiling the best of the best should come in handy.
In our list for the month of August, we take a look at some of the best phones, across each price segment, that is worth your money depending on your budget. This list will include phones from Xiaomi, Nokia, Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo and Apple among others that have managed to impress in terms of all-round performance. These phones are worth every penny that you can shell out and are worth considering if you’re in the market right now.
Doesn’t seem like Xiaomi’s Redmi 5A ( Review) is planning on calling it quits anytime soon. There’s practically no competition right now in the entry-level segment that can take on the Redmi 5A. The budget offering from Xiaomi is not a looker or offer spectacular specs. But it offers just a little more than what most other can at this price point.
The Redmi 5A sports a 5-inch HD IPS display and is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor coupled with Adreno 308 GPU. The dual-SIM phones runs Android Nougat-based MIUI 9 out-of-the-box and supports 4G LTE (VoLTE-ready) connectivity. Optics for the Redmi 5A includes a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.2 aperture, Phase Detection Auto-focus and LED flash. Up front you get a 5-megapixel selfie camera. The handset houses a 3,000mAh battery that the company claims will offer up to 8 days of standby time.
Xiaomi continues to hold a strong position in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. Not only does the Redmi 5A take the entry-level spot, there’s also the Redmi Note 5 ( Review) which comes in just under Rs 10,000 and offers so much more in terms of performance and design. The phone takes everything that made the Redmi Note 4 so successful in India and adds a more 2018 look and feel to it.
Much like the Redmi Note 4, the Redmi Note 5 is powered by a 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset with Adreno 506 GPU. Similarly, it comes in two variants – one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, expandable up to 128GB via a hybrid microSD card slot. The biggest difference is that unlike the Redmi Note 4, the Redmi Note 5 sports 5.99-inch FHD+ (1080×2160) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio.
Asus has had a pretty good 2018 so far after launching two very impressive smartphones. The first one is the affordable ZenFone Max Pro M1 which comes with an 18:9 display, solid performance and some really good cameras along with stock Android Oreo and a massive 5,000mAh battery at just Rs 10,999.
The ZenFone Max Pro M1 ( Review) is powered by a very capable and powerful Snapdragon 636 chipset, which is the same chip that powers the Redmi Note 5 Pro as well. The phone sports a 5.99-inch FHD+ display and comes with up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage which is expandable up to 256GB via microSD. The dual-SIM phone supports 4G LTE (VoLTE-ready) and also USB OTG. The dual rear camera system includes one 13-megapixel camera (f/2.2 aperture) and a secondary 5-megapixel camera for depth sensing. The cameras are assisted by PDAF and LED flash, and are capable of shooting 4K videos as well. On the front, you get an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash.
The Realme 1 ( Review) is the first smartphone to come out of Oppo’s sub-brand Realme (which recently announced it will act as a standalone brand under Oppo). Realme’s ideology is based on offering good-looking phones with impressive specs at an affordable price and the Realme 1 is the result of that. The phone has done impressively in India and this week the company announced it sold over 400,000 units of the Realme 1 in 40 days. Additionally, Realme promised that the device will receive Android P in the future.
The RealMe 1 sports a 5.99-inch FHD+ display and 18:9 aspect ratio, similar to the Redmi Note 5 and Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1. It is powered by a powerful and energy efficient octa-core Helio P60 chipset and runs Android 8.1 Oreo with Oppo’s custom ColorOS 5.0 on top. The phone supports dual 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-FI 802.11ac, among other things. The high-end variant, which is priced at Rs 13,999, is offered with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Apart from Diamond Black, the Realme 1 is also offered in Silver and Solar Red variants.
We were hoping the Mi A2 would make it to this list, but after using the latest Android One device, we still feel the Redmi Note 5 Pro ( Review) is a better value for money offering. The Redmi Note 5 Pro has proved to be a beast to watch out for in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment. The phones comes with pretty much everything you could want from a low-cost mid-range phone including an 18:9 display, a powerful chipset, a massive battery life and excellent cameras for its price.
The Redmi Note 5 Pro sports a 5.99-inch FHD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by a Snapdragon 636 processor which brings Qualcomm’s Kryo 260 CPU cores that will deliver around 40 per cent more power than the Snapdragon 630. This is coupled with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM along with 64GB of internal storage. Thanks to a powerful as well as a power efficient chipset, the Redmi Note 5 Pro is a smooth and fast phone no matter what you throw at it.
Apart from a solid performance, the Redmi Note 5 Pro also comes with some of the best cameras in this segment. The 12MP + 5MP dual camera setup on the back manages to capture some crisp and detailed photos under good light and more importantly they also manage to hold well under low-light. While the Redmi Note 5 Pro ships with Android Nougat with MIUI on top, it can be upgraded to Oreo now.
HMD Global has brought out some really impressive Nokia phones this year and it shows the company is keen on not only reviving the Nokia brand but taking it to the top as well. The Nokia 7 Plus ( Review) is one our best-reviewed Nokia phones right now. What’s not to like about a phone that looks premium and is built like a tank, brings an 18:9 display and dual cameras, and a powrerful chipset combined with a well-optimised Android One software.
The Nokia 7 Plus sports a 6-inch FHD+ IPS display with Gorilla Glass on top. Powering the phone is a Snapdragon 660 SoC, making it the first phone with the chipset in the country. This is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The phone runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and can be updated to Android 8.1 Oreo as well.
I reviewed the phone and found it to be a stellar offering at this price segment. The only thing that the phone gets wrong is the Zeiss-branded cameras, which perform poorly in low-light. But if cameras are important, then the Asus ZenFone 5Z should be your choice in this segment.
It’s getting harder for OnePlus to keep the “flagship killer” title to itself considering how some of its competition are acing the company at its own game. Take Asus which not only launched the impressive ZenFone Max M1, but also the ZenFone 5Z ( Review), which comes with some of the best that 2018 has to offer at a price that betters OnePlus.
The ZenFone brings a tall 6.2-inch FHD+ display with a 19:9 aspect ratio. The base variant comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The ZenFone 5Z houses a 3,300mAh battery with fast charging support, supports stereo speakers and High-Res audio, among other things. The phone runs Android Oreo-based ZenUI and Asus says it has cut down on a lot of bloatware, keeping things cleaner and simpler.
The dual camera setup includes a primary 12-megapixel sensor with large 1.4um pixels, f/1.8 aperture, dual-pixel phase detection autofocus, four-axis OIS and EIS. The secondary camera comes with an 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor for depth of field shots. Up front, the ZenFone 5Z sports an 8-megapixel sensor and the camera also supports Face Unlock and what Asus calls ZeniMoji, which is a take on Apple’s Animoji feature.
