Best Screen
Photo: Samsung
The latest of Samsung's largest phones, which is primarily praised for its 5.7-inch screen of some absolutely transcendent clarity. A resolution of 1440 x 2560 and 515 dpi is despite the fact that 400 dots seems to be enough to make the image seem printed on glossy paper (we add that its version of the Galaxy Note Edge for 50 thousand rubles has this screen, and it’s not entirely clear why it bends sideways). If the Galaxy Note 4 is being nibbled at, it's for pointless options like a heart rate monitor, a trashy TouchWiz shell interface, and design in general - but that's a common Samsung story. In general, it seems that the beauty and simplicity of iOS is the only argument left for Apple lovers to say that the iPhone 6 is still cooler. Let's say the last time: before they joked about phablets. Laughed at their gigantic size, laughed at the stylus. A couple of years ago, tech blogs warned that with such a phone you would look like a fool and eventually die of despair and longing. Now all manufacturers produce phablets. Giant phones - with a diagonal of more than 5.5 inches - predict a third of the market in a couple of years. The stylus also turns out to be an extremely useful thing when it comes to working with tables, small text or two windows open on the screen at the same time (Samsung can do that too). And now The New York Times announces that Galaxy Note 4 gives us nothing less than a glimpse of the future of personal computers.
Nexus 6
best pure android
Photo: Motorola
However, there is an opinion that in a month the press will call this phone, made by Motorola by order of Google, the phablet of the year. Its screen is slightly worse than that of the Galaxy Note 4, but even larger - 6 inches, that is, with a diagonal, like that of small tablets. In general, its characteristics are more or less the same, but the main reason why people buy google phones is the Android operating system without any modifications, shells and other things. They are the first to receive android updates, and, say, they will immediately install a new version of Android Lollipop on the Nexus 6. Well, it will cost less than the Galaxy Note 4.
Huawei Ascend Mate7
Best shovel interface
Photo: Huawei
Once again, a giant with a 6-inch screen, an impressive specification and, among other things, a very large 4100 mAh battery - users are promised two days without recharging. It is worth paying attention to at least two more circumstances. The first is the Emotion UI interface, which Huawei uses in its phones to turn Android into iOS a bit. Its most noticeable feature is the absence of an internal android folder with applications, which usually drives control freaks crazy: all applications are placed simply on the home desktop. The second is the prices of the Chinese companies Huawei, which started with the supply of some units for cellular networks, and now, together with Samsung and Apple, is one of the three largest global phone manufacturers. Huawei offers about the same great androids as the rest, just a little cheaper. That is, if you don’t like this Ascend or seem expensive (it’s really not exactly cheap, but it’s more of an exception), look at their previous phablets for 15-17 thousand rubles.
One Plus One
Best Experiment
Photo: OnePlus One
Against the background of the above, this phablet looks more modest, if only because its diagonal is only 5.5 inches. In short, this is a fairly powerful pocket computer with a very good camera, slightly worse or slightly better than others; more importantly, the most expensive 64 GB OnePlus One model costs only $350 (you can buy it from Russian resellers for 18,000 rubles). The second achievement of the Chinese startup OnePlus lies more in the field of experimental distribution. Their only phone is now officially on invitation-only. That is, through acquaintances, as if we are talking about access to a new site or application. Hence the buzz on the internet, which is a feat in itself considering how hard it is to draw attention to an unknown phone maker from China.
- Sales for everyone (in some countries, but hardly in Russia) for a limited time - October 27
- Price basic (16 gigabytes of memory) model - $300
- Site www.oneplus.net
Galaxy Alpha
Best Samsung iPhone
Photo: Samsung
A fresh and extremely neat Samsung phone from the category of expensive ones. It has a 4.7-inch diagonal (like the iPhone 6), a metal frame and, in general, an appearance reminiscent of who knows. If we talk about technical indicators, then in general the Galaxy Alpha is even better. The phone supports LTE Advanced (the fastest wireless connection, speeds up to 300 Mbps), shoots 4K video and, despite a relatively small battery, keeps a charge all day like the flagship Samsung Galaxy S5. However, there is a suspicion that not everyone chooses phones based on numbers and records, otherwise how can one explain the relative success of HTC One, Moto X and other average androids with a human screen size. Therefore, one must think that among the striking things there is still a metal frame, compactness and everything that made The Verge call the Galaxy Alpha "the most beautiful Samsung phone."
Mi 4
The best Chinese iPhone
Photo: Xiaomi
The latest release from Xiaomi (“xiaomi”, if you follow the traditional Russian-Chinese transcription, although there is an equally popular version of “shaomi”) and, probably, the android of the year among phones with a diagonal of 5 inches or so. Recall for those who missed: Xiaomi is called the Chinese Apple for outstanding devices, human interfaces (talking about MIUI, another firmware for android that pretends to be iOS), crazy sales growth and last but not least for the fad on the design and details of its founder Ley June, known for his jeans, black turtleneck and presentations, where he sometimes repeats the phrase "One more thing" after Jobs. There is, however, one important difference - the Mi 4 phone is twice cheaper than the iPhone 6, even if you buy in Russia from speculators.
YotaPhone 2
Best Second Screen
Photo: YotaPhone
Invented in Russia, a phone of medium characteristics and size with an amazing detail - a second screen made of electronic paper. It displays text, maps, memos, incoming and other data, which are then available to the user if the phone runs out of power. YotaPhone was warmly welcomed by foreign journalists, the phone was awarded prizes for innovation, but sales of the first model were, to put it mildly, modest. The starting price of 20,000 rubles was probably too high, and the second screen was not very convenient: it is controlled using a separate panel. The shortcomings should be corrected by the next YotaPhone 2 model. In particular, its paper screen will be fully touch and you can even make calls from it.
Amazon Fire Phone
Best phone concept
Photo: Amazon
The creators of the Amazon phone came up with and implemented many interesting ideas to make a local hit, comparable to, say, the Kindle Fire tablet: a three-dimensional screen, video chat with a live consultant, unlimited cloud storage for photos. Even more interesting is their attempt to rethink the purpose of the mobile device. Fire Phone is not even a phone, but an Amazon portable payment terminal. It allows you to order things in the store that the user photographed on the street. However, the Fire Phone does not seem to have become a hit. The company does not disclose sales statistics, but has already reduced the price to one dollar with a contract, and the newspapers suggest that the phone is being bought sluggishly.
Lumia 930
Best Windows Phone
Photo: Microsoft Mobile Devices
It seems to be one of the first Lumia phones released by Microsoft Mobile Devices after the purchase of Nokia, it is also the flagship of the series with the latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 (if anything, it had a cheap model 830 in September). The phone has a 5-inch Full HD screen, a 20-megapixel camera with optical stabilization, wireless charging function and so on. In general, another excellent Lumia with well-known pluses (tiled interface, connection with the Microsoft cloud) and minuses (fewer applications compared to the App Store and Google Play). Should I switch to it from an android or an iPhone? Yes, God knows. The answer will take more than one page and will still be from the field of faith, hope and love. But it might be worth waiting until early next year to see what the new Windows 10 looks like on phones.
Blackberry Passport
The best square phone
Photo: blackberry
The recently released and absolutely amazing Blackberry smartphone. After a not too successful attempt to release a touchscreen (model Z10), the company apparently decided to return to its roots and again make a mobile phone with buttons for business people. The new Blackberry Passport has a physical QWERTY keyboard, but with support for some gestures, impressive parameters (for example, a 13-megapixel camera and a 3450 mAh battery) and a completely square touch screen with a resolution of 1440 x 1440. Formally, you can’t call it a phablet (diagonal only 4.5 inches), but with one hand you definitely can’t handle it. Reviews in tech blogs so far, alas, are mostly mocking.
Nokia 515
Best feature phone
Photo: Nokia
Oddly enough, manufacturers are still producing, and someone is happy to buy phones that do not have a touch screen and access to the App Store, but have physical buttons and the battery lasts a week or more. One of the most decent - last year's Nokia 515 with a metal case, two slots for SIM cards, a 5-megapixel camera and 3G support (for checking mail). If the Internet and the camera are not needed, the Microsoft store still sells feature phones for a thousand rubles like the Nokia 106 with a flashlight. And finally, if you need a completely radical option for pensioners or children, with large distinct buttons, an unpretentious interface and an almost endless working time, then nothing better than Just5 or SpareOne has yet to be invented.
