Flagship phones. Best camera: Google Pixel

Before, every new flagship smartphone was "wow" and "super". Now it is just rational evolution, with very few exceptions. At the same time, the emergence of a new top-end smartphone makes last year's flagship fall in price. Then it's time to buy it: the gadget didn't really have time to become outdated, and it already costs 1.5 times cheaper than at the start of sales. In this article, we have collected excellent smartphones from 2016, which have seriously fallen in price in 2017. And they are still wow!

Xiaomi Mi5S

While fans of the most beloved by geeks Chinese smartphone manufacturer confess their love for Xiaomi Mi6, last year's Mi5S managed to fall in price to an impressive 16,000 rubles. Of course, the price is not official, but on the other hand, there is no need to wait until the device arrives from China - this is how much Russian "gray" sellers ask for it.

For this money, we get a quite nice device with a metal case, a worthy Snapdragon 820 processor, 3 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory. And also with normal autonomy (3200 mAh battery) and a pretty decent camera. But there are also disadvantages: you may not be lucky with the firmware and you will have to change it yourself.

Honor 8

Last year, Huawei's Honor 8 was one of the best value for money smartphones. Now he has come to replace him, and the G8 has dropped from 27 thousand rubles to 22. Yes, this is the official price with a full guarantee.

For the money comes out "average", but in fact the owner gets much more. Firstly, the classy build quality and the spectacularly iridescent glass body (it is, however, easily soiled and slippery). Secondly, good performance. Thirdly, a remarkable dual camera for this price category. Plus one of the best fingerprint scanners, a decent screen and a confident day of work from morning to evening without recharging.

Huawei P9

Huawei P9 is the "big brother" of the Honor 9 described just above. It also has a very cool design (as opposed to the "iPhone-like" one), but instead of glass - metal, so the gadget is stronger. The performance is about the same, but the camera is much better: much faster and with full optical stabilization.

In general, there is something for which to pay a thousand rubles on top of the price of Honor 8. And, yes, these 23,000 rubles are also the official price with all the advantages that follow from this.

OnePlus 3T

Once this mighty "Chinese" flaunted at the top of the AnTuTu benchmark rating with the mark "the most powerful smartphone in the world." Now, of course, this is no longer the case, but the phone is still relevant. Initially, the product is "geeky", but of high quality - without problems with the software, as in Xiaomi. So it can be safely recommended to ordinary users who just want to buy a reliable piece of hardware and never dance with a tambourine next to it.

The body of the gadget is metal, at the heart of the screen is an AMOLED panel, inside is a Snapdragon 821 and 6 GB of RAM. Power consumption is well optimized, and the battery capacity is decent - 3400 mAh. Even from the old Sony IMX 298 photomodule, the engineers were able to squeeze out a lot - the phone takes off with dignity. One problem is that there is no microSD slot, but 64 GB of memory in the basic version automatically solves this problem for many. The price of the issue is 25,000 rubles unofficially or 31,000 with a full guarantee.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Samsung Galaxy S8 and - the best flagships of this year, but alas, very expensive. However, last year's Galaxy S7 is still good too. Yes, there is no less powerful and frameless screen, but otherwise a cool phone!

Here you have protection from water, and a gorgeous AMOLED display, and a new convenient Grace UI shell, and support for Samsung Pay. The camera is completely the same as in the S8 and S8 +, the Koreans did not change the photo module this year - they just improved the software processing algorithms. And it is still one of the best in the premium class!

In general, if you are not afraid of unofficial suppliers, then today you will not find a more suitable smartphone for 28,000 rubles. Except, perhaps, the S7 edge - it looks more impressive than a regular S7, due to the curved edges of the display and the battery there is "fatter" - 3600 versus 3000 mAh. It costs only 2 thousand more.

Sony Xperia XZ

Sony as a big global company is great. But for Sony as a smartphone manufacturer, things are not going very well: the conservative approach of the Japanese to everything does not allow them to make such a breakthrough phone as the Xperia Z once became.

However, some people still like it. And if for the full price last year's Xperia XZ there was no point in buying at all, then for the unofficial 32-33 thousand this is quite an option. Pros: protection against water, interesting colors, branded "square" design, good screen, normal (but far from the best among the flagships of 2016) camera. Cons: weak battery and strong heat under load.

Huawei Mate 9

Do you love really big smartphones? Then here's another Huawei for you. The Chinese in Russia did not start selling their flagship Mate 9 with a 5.9-inch screen officially, but this did not prevent it from falling in price quite quickly. Now for this cool shovel "gray" sellers ask for less than 30,000 rubles.

Here, exactly the same filling as in the flagship Huawei P10 and the same camera: also double with a resolution of 12 + 20 MP. Excellent macro shots, great black and white photos, can blur the background programmatically and is equipped with 2x optical zoom. And all this in a minimalist, masculine strict metal case. Large but comfortable.

iPhone SE

Well, if even 5 inches is also a "shovel" for you, then there is only one salvation: nowadays only Apple makes compact and powerful flagships. The iPhone SE, introduced in March 2016, simply does not have the same high-quality competitors with 4- or even 4.5-inch screens. In the Android world, life starts from those five inches.

I advise you not to look in the direction of the younger modification with 16 GB of internal memory - modern applications are very heavy, operating system updates, too, and there is no file system or memory card slot in iPhones. A reasonable minimum is 32 GB for quite an official 20,000 rubles with a full guarantee.

Over the past couple of years, Chinese brands have completely changed the way we look at flagship smartphones. Companies like OnePlus, Xiaomi and Meizu have shown us that you don't have to pay $ 700 for a smartphone to get the best performance. This year, even more companies are proving this point of view and are producing really high quality products at a reasonable price.

So, here is a list of the best end-2016 Chinese flagship smartphones in the $ 300-770 price range. You can buy these smartphones right now.

Almost everyone would agree that the list of Chinese flagship smartphones is not complete without smartphones from OnePlus. Over the past 3 years, the company has managed to occupy its niche in the market, releasing flagships that have everything you need. This good tradition comes from year to year. At the moment, the OnePlus 3T is one of the best value for money options.

The smartphone comes with the most powerful processor from Qualcomm - the Snapdragon 821. The OnePlus 3T has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The main camera is pretty good - 16 MP, with phase detection autofocus and image stabilization. But the highlight of the flagship is the front camera - 16 MP with f / 2.0 aperture. A smartphone is indispensable for selfie lovers.

The 3400 mAh battery guarantees full functionality of the smartphone all day long. And thanks to Dash Charge fast charging, the battery will be replenished by 60% in just 30 minutes.

This is definitely a great flagship at just $ 439.

Xiaomi smartphones have always been affordable and are great for people looking to buy a new smartphone on a price / quality basis. The company has worked hard lately to create a high-end flagship. As a result, this review is updated with three excellent smartphones at a good price.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 opens this list thanks to its excellent technical performance and dual curved display.

This flagship Xiaomi is slightly different from the rest of the smartphones reviewed in this article, primarily due to its 5.7-inch 1080p display. The large display is great for gaming and watching videos. Inside the Snapdragon 821 smartphone, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The smartphone has a 22.5 MP 1 / 2.6 "sensor with EIS (software with gyroscope), PDAF and dual LED flash. In addition, the smartphone is equipped with a 4070 mAh battery, with QC 3.0 (charges 82% of the battery in 30 minutes).

The official price starts at $ 413 and goes up to $ 516 for the model with 6 GB of RAM. As you know, top-grade equipment is always $ 50- $ 100 more expensive than the base one.

Xiaomi Mi 5S

In search of a compact and powerful Chinese flagship, you should pay attention to this particular option. The smartphone is equipped with a 5.15-inch display with 3D Touch function and 4GB / 128GB storage.

It is thin, weighs only 145 grams, just a good compact flagship. The smartphone has good technical characteristics: Snapdragon 821 with Adreno 530 GPU and 1 / 2.3 "matrix of 12 MP, F / 2.0. The camera allows you to take high-quality photos even in poorly lit areas. And a 3200 mAh battery with QC 3.0 fast charging, helps all day keep the phone running.

In China, the price starts at $ 300 and goes up to $ 350 for the 128GB version.

Xiaomi Mi Mix

One of the biggest surprises of 2016 is the Xiaomi Mi Mix. However, due to its huge display, which occupies 91% of the body. This smartphone surprised by the fact that it has thin frames and the entire area where the earpiece is usually located (above the display) is occupied by the display. Of course, even in this case, a smartphone with a 6.4-inch display with a 1080p resolution will not be to everyone's liking, because it is a full-fledged phablet in size.

But if large screens are not intimidating, then it is the Mi Mix that is one of the best options to buy today. The device is powered by Snapdragon 821 and even comes with 256GB + 6GB of RAM.

On the other hand, its 16MP camera with EIS and PDAF is not the best option on the market. But in any case, the photos will be of fairly high quality. The battery is large - 4400 mAh and allows you to use your smartphone throughout the day.

The product is limited and therefore, unfortunately, the price exceeds the official price tag of $ 516. Due to the ceramic case, the manufacturer is slowly releasing new batches, and demand exceeds supply.

Despite the fact that the smartphone entered the market rather late, LeEco has provided the best value for money to date. And this is Le Pro 3 with Snapdragon 821 chip.

In fact, the smartphone comes in "full stuffing", which only exists today. This is 128 GB of memory and 6 GB of RAM, and a large 4070 mAh battery, as well as an excellent 16 MP camera with PDAF. The device is very thin - 7.5 mm. However, the main distinguishing feature of this smartphone is the lack of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The smartphone is equipped with USB Type-C CDLA, which is much better than the classic one.

If this distinctive feature doesn't scare you, the Le Pro 3 is the best choice possible.

Pricing in China starts at $ 270 and goes up to $ 300 for the 6GB model.

When looking for a great metal smartphone, look no further than the Mate 9. It comes with everything you need and even has dual rear cameras (20MP and 12MP). Huawei P9 owns one of the best cameras in the segment and the Mate 9 takes this figure to the next level.

This flagship comes with a 5.9-inch display with 1080p resolution. The smartphone operates on its personal Hisilicon Kirin 960 chipset. To date, the model does not have 6 GB of RAM, only 4 + 64 GB of hard drive, with support for microSD up to 256 GB.

The smartphone has an excellent dual camera at 20 MP and 12 MP, 2.2 aperture, 2x zoom and laser autofocus. The front camera takes great selfies thanks to its 8MP and 1.9 aperture. The smartphone is equipped with a large 4000 mAh battery.

The price of this flagship is quite high and starts at $ 700. However, for this money, everyone will receive a smartphone of first-class high-quality assembly, powerful hardware and premium cameras. Later, the newer flagship model Huawei Mate 9 Pro was introduced, but at the time of writing it has not yet gone on sale.

These were the best flagship smartphones in the market that were available at the end of 2016. I would like to add to this list the 6 GB version of the ZUK Z2 Pro and, of course, the ZTE Axon 7, but they cannot compete with their higher quality competitors listed above.

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2016 is coming to an end, it's time to take stock. Among mobile devices, smartphones are the most interesting. Let's talk about them now. I must say right away that each device from this collection is not just a piece of iron from the outgoing year. All smartphones are decent and have a decent margin of safety. That's why they are the best.

This collection does not claim to be the most objective and complete. Of course, I could not cover the entire market of mobile devices. Something, for one reason or another, passed me by, but some device is worthy, but it is not sold here and is not interesting to compatriots. We will also disregard such devices.

I communicated with all the devices presented here in one way or another. Therefore, I advise you to pay attention to them when choosing your mobile assistant.

We will line up all our heroes in a certain gradation. Let's break down the selection into nominations. There are expensive devices, there are mid-range ones, and there are also budget models. In each segment, we have the leader in the first place, the device in second, and then it is clear. Go!

Tops. From 40,000 rubles

The most expensive and high quality devices of this year. Buying them, you get a full minced meat, the maximum possible. The manufacturers of such devices usually provide the best service to their customers, and that also costs some money. That is why, spending 45 thousand rubles and more on a smartphone, you should not squeeze another 5-10 thousand and it is better to buy a gadget from an official delivery, with full service and a guarantee. Do not agree? Well, God is your judge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

A truly chic smartphone with a large, curved display at the edges. I did not share the well-deserved first place with his younger brother (the usual one), because he looks somewhat cartoonish against the background of a large and serious "edge".

Samsung, as always (last 2-3 years), managed to create the most technologically advanced device. If you want to be at the peak of progress, get the best display, a camera that plugs a digital camera worth up to 20 kilo rubles, and the most sophisticated software - take the S7 Edge. An uncompromising solution from all sides, with a corresponding cost - 59,990 rubles.

iPhone 7

This device has begun another two-year cycle of the company's smartphones, which means that it offers an interesting design and characteristics of a qualitatively new level than its predecessor.

You can treat Apple as you like, scold it endlessly, call it "cake" or vice versa, worship and mindlessly buy up all the new items. But we have to admit the objective reality - everyone wants an iPhone. Young people only talk about him. In the advertisement of the washing powder there is an iPhone on the housewife's table, on the advertising brochure in the passage of a bank specialist at the workplace, too, an iPhone. In the next newfangled TV series, your favorite hero has what? The iPhone, of course! He is everywhere and whether we want it or not, but it is a symbol of our time.

For those who did not understand. Samsung and Apple smartphones are useless and pointless to compare with each other. The first one is bought because it is a technologically perfect device, the second one because society insists on the “right” choice. And these are two different worlds: logic reigns in one, emotions, psychology and product placement in the other. Nevertheless, smartphones are iconic and unambiguously dictate the rules for the entire market.

Former A-brands

There were no more top-end, and most importantly, iconic devices for the whole year. Sony makes nice but weird smartphones. Everything seems to be good, cool, but you start comparing, you realize that they are asking for the same amount of money as for the Galaxy S7 / iPhone 7. In general, well, in fig.

LG is generally one big experiment that only causes bewilderment. Last year there was a very interesting G4, this one.

HTC - what kind of company is this?

At the end of the year, we were presented with a fierce device that is not really sold anywhere yet and no one can boast of the experience of close communication with it. Hence, the 9th "mate" does not participate in our selection and, most likely, will be able to claim the title of one of the best market players in the first half of 2017.

Flagships are cheaper. 30,000 - 40,000 rubles

Quite frankly, this is the most meaningless category. Smartphones at this level are all odd. They fall short of flagship and expensive devices (read iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge) for various reasons. And in comparison with the rest of the market, they all lose in price. Take, for example, the HTC One 10 - a boring, seemingly productive, but unforgivably expensive smartphone. For the same OnePlus 3, it is never a competitor.

Nevertheless, I still managed to find three devices that are worth paying attention to. Anyway…

Oneplus 3

The smartphone was released this summer and, unlike the previous, second generation, regained the status of the "killer" of flagships. In my opinion. He has a gorgeous build, slim, sleek design, monstrous filling (6 GB of "RAM", for a minute), an excellent camera, but most importantly software. Perhaps, there are no devices in the world so excavated along and across, where you can install not one, not two, but several dozen quite high-quality and amusing firmware.

Disclaimer. Why am I mentioning the Letyshops service? And because, firstly, I myself have not tried anything else, and secondly, I want you to save money. This collection is not only entertaining, it should also be useful. This is my extended answer to you on the topic: "What to buy for ... rubles?" Use it to your health!

And thirdly, yes, I get a small percentage from Letyshops. So these three reasons coincided successfully at once.

Nubia z11

Official delivery

Smartphones from the "went and bought on the way home from work" series. Gadgets are perfect for several important criteria for many: there is a certain amount of money, you want it here and now, with a guarantee and so that there is no bullshit without the Russian language and normal firmware.

Asus Zenfone 3

Zenfone series surprises me extremely positively. Or rather, only one model -. I have not reached the others yet, but by analogy with the previous generation, I estimate that they will not really suit me.

ZE520KL is perhaps the most balanced, powerful, beautiful and officially sold device in our company. If you take something within 25,000 rubles, then only him.

Last year I was really pleased with the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML. It was sold for 18,000 rubles and for this money it was impossible to buy something even close in quality and performance. I have recommended it to so many people. Almost everyone obeyed, bought and were satisfied. All this I mean is that this year the situation is repeating itself. So I have high hopes for the next Zenfon.

Actual cost: 23 990 rubles

Huawei Nova

If not the third Zenfone, then definitely Nova. Almost the same, with very minor differences, with the same excellent camera and a very promising Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. A thing for those who for some reason did not like Asus.

Price: 22 990 rubles

Top state employees. 10,000 - 18,000 rubles

Buying any device from this category, we spend little money, we get a lot of goodies. Unfortunately, we will not find anything interesting in official retail here. All smartphones will have to be ordered from China. So much the better - more savings.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro

Success of the year. If people order a smartphone from China, then it is XRN3 Pro, because in terms of the ratio of characteristics and cost, we have a top-end gadget. And it remains so now. It is not for nothing that many online stores continue to make various promotions on it. By the way, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor is a good start for the future. Its performance will last for a year, and there already the Note 5 will arrive in time to replace it.

Current price: 10,000 rubles

Nice appearance, good screen and processor, excellent software optimization - all this creates the feeling that the device is worth more than it actually is. And the sensations are true, I must admit.

Price: 5,000 rubles

Conclusion and predictions

In 2016, a lot of smartphones came out. New names have entered the market and Huawei has become the world's third largest smart mobile device provider. In the meantime, Apple and Samsung have made several strategic mistakes. And if the misses of the Cupertinians will be noticeable only tomorrow, then the negative and very serious consequences of the South Korean giant felt almost instantly.

All this I mean that we live in a very interesting time and are witnessing events of a truly planetary scale, albeit within the framework of one sphere of human life. In just one year, so many things have happened, so many phenomena have influenced the development of the market, which means that everything is accelerating and will continue to accelerate in 2017.

In any case, the purpose of this article is to help you make the right choice. I hope this collection and our site as a whole is useful to you. In the meantime, I wish all readers a Happy New Year! Health, happiness and wellbeing!

2016 was a real breakthrough in the field of smartphone technology. All manufacturers have done their best to release high-quality novelties, equipped with the latest technologies and modern design, on the market. This year, special attention was paid to the volume of built-in and RAM, the quality of the camera and display, the innovators also took care of the price-quality ratio. By tradition, the best smartphones of different classes were presented: budget, medium and top.

Popular trends for 2016 include curved displays, which were pioneered by South Korean innovators Samsung and LG and have given a huge boost.

Curved models have conquered the world with their novelty and innovation, with their help you can expand the capabilities of the display by placing additional icons on the curved part.

Another feature of modern flagships is that plastic and plastic are used for their manufacture, because they are convenient and practical. These smartphones can handle falls better and are much easier and cheaper to repair. Also, this year manufacturers began to pay great attention to the design of their devices, they began to release flagships in several colors at once. Gone are the days when you could choose between white and black.

Which manufacturers pioneered in 2016?

Every year, a huge number of smartphone manufacturers appear on the market, but only a few of them are able to offer the world truly new technologies, and not just produce analogs of popular models, these include: Apple, Samsung, LG, Huawei, Lenovo, ASUS, HTC, LeEco and Xiaomi. Among the listed brands, there are also Chinese manufacturers, some may be confused, but now Chinese smartphones are not inferior to their more popular American or South Korean counterparts, they are of high quality and democratic in price. Next, a ranking of 15 smartphones will be presented, broken down into price categories.

Material on the topic:

TOP 15 best smartphones in 2016

Now let's get to the fun part. In this collection you will find the best-selling and therefore popular smartphones. Let's start with expensive models (from 32 to 70 thousand rubles):

Apple iPhone 7

The average price reaches 70 thousand rubles.

The Apple iPhone 7 is a new product from Apple this year. The smartphone was released in two versions: Apple iPhone 7 (standard model) and 7 Plus (larger model with additional camera). The advantages of a smartphone include:

the latest OS iOS 10;
the battery capacity reaches 2900 mAh, which allows the battery to keep a charge all day with active use;
models are protected from water ingress;
the presence of an additional camera (7 Plus), which is equipped with an optical specialization and built-in lenses, they allow you to create a photo video with a resolution of 4K;
excellent quality of the front camera (7 MP, more than the main counterparts);
wide range of built-in memory from 16 to 256 GB;
wide enough screen with a resolution of 4.7 and 5.5 inches.

The disadvantages include the lack of support for a memory card and an additional SIM card, as well as the inability to use standard headphones (7 Plus), now you need to purchase an adapter or expensive wireless headphones for the model. In the standard model, the amount of RAM reaches only 2 GB, while even the budget Chinese counterparts have 3 GB.