TOP 10 best smartphones before

The average consumer remembers well how only 4-5 years ago for 30 thousand you could buy a flagship smartphone. Today top-end devices cost 2-3, and sometimes even 4 times more! But does this list of the best smartphones become a compromise solution for consumers on a budget? Not at all, because in this segment you can find flagship and sub-flagship devices that can bypass the best phones of the past in terms of quality, design and power. In addition, usually the high price of smartphones is associated with unnecessary "chips" for the average user or overpayment for the brand.

Best smartphones before according to customer reviews

A detailed study of the technical characteristics of the smartphone and professional testing of the phone in the editorial office do not always guarantee correct conclusions. Sometimes the device looks just great at first glance, but in real use its disadvantages become noticeable, which are difficult to put up with. The opposite is also true, when the shortcomings highlighted in the reviews are completely unimportant for the average user. Therefore, we decided to draw up the first, largest category of the rating based on reviews from real buyers.

Read also:

• Best smartphones before
• Best Chinese smartphones
• Best Meizu smartphones

1.Samsung Galaxy A8 + SM-A730F / DS

The smartphone with the best selfie camera starts reviewing. Galaxy A8 + model is equipped with a pair of 16/8 MP front modules, allowing you to take portrait and wide-angle shots. There is only one rear sensor here and it takes good, but not impressive photos.

Note. In terms of characteristics, "A8 plus" is only slightly inferior to last year's flagship S8. For its price, this device is one of the best options for buying in Samsung's assortment and on the market as a whole.

The smartphone is equipped with a high-quality 6-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2220x1080 pixels, 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory (a little more than 22 GB is available to the user). Also, Galaxy A8 + has all modern wireless modules:

1. Wi-Fi 802.11ac;
2. Bluetooth 5.0;
3. NFC and ANT +.

The device is powered by a 3500 mAh battery, thanks to which a mobile phone can work for almost a day in talk mode and 50 hours with continuous listening to music. With mixed use, you can count on a day and a half of autonomy.

What we liked:

• one of the best displays on the market;
• great camera with artificial intelligence;
• nimble shell;
• the speed of the fingerprint scanner;
• good autonomy and fast charging;
• good hardware performance;

2.ASUS ZenFone 5 ZE620KL 4 / 64GB

ASUS has been producing its own smartphones for just over 10 years. However, even this time was enough for the manufacturer to confidently gain a foothold in the market. Moreover, the Taiwanese brand was even able to bypass more experienced players. The manufacturer secured such success with the release of excellent devices at an attractive price, including the ZenFone 5.
In terms of price and quality ratio, the smartphone is one of the best in the company's lineup. The smartphone uses a Snapdragon 636 processor with an Adreno 509 graphics accelerator and 4 gigabytes of RAM. This bundle is enough to run any games and applications.In order for the user to enjoy the consumed content, ZenFone 5 has a huge 6.2-inch screen with a resolution of 2246x1080 pixels.

For fans of mobile photography, ASUS ZenFon 5 is also perfect. The device has a dual main camera with a resolution of each module in 12 MP. She can write videos with resolutions up to 4K and frame rates up to 60 fps (at Full HD). But the front camera in the device is rather mediocre and hardly suitable for selfie lovers.

Advantages:

• stunning IPS screen;
• balanced "filling";
• excellent main camera;
• stereo speakers and headphone sound;
• there is NFC and a USB type C port;
• pretty nice shell.

Disadvantages:

• wide-angle camera resolution;
• the large screen drains the battery quickly.

3. Nokia 8 Dual sim

Want to buy a smartphone with a budget of up to , able to please with reliability and durability? Then Nokia 8 can be an excellent solution. The cost of this device starts from , and for this price he offers:

1. 5.3-inch screen with QHD resolution and high pixel density;
2. "Clean" Android with fast updates;
3. excellent performance and speed;
4. a good complete headset;
5. protection against splashes and dust according to the IP54 standard;
6. good main cameras;
7. as always, high build quality;
8. beautiful and high quality aluminum body.

Also, Nokia 8 has 2 main cameras of 13 MP each and a front camera with the same resolution. The rear sensors provide a very decent photo quality (for their price category), and also boast high-quality zoom and optical stabilization.

Of course, the smartphone also has NFC for contactless payment. The only significant drawback of the 8-ki is the 3090 mAh battery. For the selected resolution and hardware, this capacity is clearly not enough, so sometimes, with active use, the phone may not survive until the end of the day.

Small cons:

• Battery capacity;
• the fingerprint scanner does not always work the first time.

4. Xiaomi Mi8 6 / 128GB

The next in line is the most expensive and most advanced device in the ranking - Xiaomi Mi8. An excellent design reminiscent of current Apple models, a large 6.21-inch screen (2248 by 1080 pixels) made using AMOLED technology, as well as a powerful "filling" with an 845 "dragon" and Adreno 630 graphics are offered by the company for only .

Note. From the iPhone X, the manufacturer borrowed not only the design, but also the face unlock function. Moreover, for its work, similar scanners are used as in the devices of the "apple" brand, which excludes the possibility of deceiving the system using ordinary photography.

The storage in the excellent Xiaomi smartphone is not expandable, but there are as many as 128 gigabytes of memory available. There is also a lot of RAM in the device - 6 GB. For the autonomy of the Mi8, a 3400 mAh battery is responsible, which, thanks to Quick Charge 4+ support from Qualcomm, can be charged up to 100% in about an hour.

Advantages:

• good autonomy;
• fast charging;
• dual band GPS;
• modern design;
• 3D face scanning;
• the most powerful "iron";
• great cameras with a lot of settings.

Disadvantages:

• easily soiled and slippery;
• rejection of 3.5 mm jack.

Best smartphones under with a good camera

If you love to shoot, but you don't have the desire to constantly carry the camera with you, then you can get by with an ordinary smartphone. Fortunately, today even devices from the middle price category can take excellent photos, and not only flagship solutions with a price tag of 800-1000 dollars. The undisputed leader in this segment is Huawei, whose smartphones often lead the ratings of camera phones. It was this brand that took two of the three TOP positions. Decent competition, however, is made by several companies, but first of all, the attention of our editorial office was attracted by the Mi A2 model from Xiaomi.

1. Huawei Nova 3 4 / 128GB

When you need a balanced device up to 30 thousand, it is better to buy the Huawei Nova 3. It offers a large 6.3-inch screen with an aspect ratio of 19.5: 9 (2340 by 1080 pixels). The display of the device is well calibrated (coverage 85% NTSC) and pleases with a large margin of brightness.The device does not disappoint in terms of performance either:

1. modern Kirin 970 processor (4 cores at 2.36 GHz and 4 at 1.84 GHz);
2. Mali-G72 graphics (12 cores at 767 MHz);
3. 4 gigabytes of RAM (LPDDR4X @ 1833 MHz);
4. 128GB expandable storage.

A 3750 mAh battery is responsible for powering all this "hardware". Even if this is not a record value, such a battery always lasts for a day in almost any mode of use.

Note. The non-standard aspect ratio is convenient for browsing websites and conducting correspondence in instant messengers with a vertical orientation of the smartphone, as well as for modern games and other similar tasks.

For the main camera, the manufacturer chose two sensors: 16 MP color and 24 MP black and white. Both modules differ in f / 1.8 aperture and a focal length of 27 mm. The front camera also includes a pair of sensors (24 and 2 megapixels).

Advantages:

• the presence of a frontal flash;
• good indicator of autonomy;
• there is a fast battery charging;
• the quality of the front and rear cameras;
• excellent display;
• excellent volume of stereo speakers;
• system performance.

Disadvantages:

• very slippery on either side;
• there is no optical stabilization.

2. Xiaomi Mi A2 4 / 64GB

Do you want to pick up a smartphone before with the best cameras, spending a minimum of money on the purchase? Then we recommend choosing Mi A2 from Xiaomi. It is equipped with two main cameras of 12 (IMX486) and 20 (IMX376) megapixels manufactured by Sony. The device is able to take excellent pictures in any light, record HD video at 120 fps and 4K videos with a frame rate of 30 fps.

Advice! The manufacturer chose excellent main modules, but did not fully work out the software, which is why the photographic capabilities of the device are not fully revealed. We advise you to immediately install the Google camera application on Xiaomi Mi A2, which can provide a significant improvement in the quality of images in any conditions.

The same 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor is used as the front camera of the Mi A2. All this is complemented by a good hardware platform with a heart in the form of Snapdragon 660. The device has 64 GB of internal storage, but if you do not have enough, then expanding the storage with memory cards is impossible.

Among the unpleasant features of the smartphone, one can single out a rather modest battery (3010 mAh) and the absence of an audio jack. It is very strange that the manufacturer decided to abandon the 3.5 mm input in the relatively inexpensive Mi A2 model.

Advantages:

• flawless cameras for their price;
• good hardware;
• attractive appearance;
• "Pure" Android with fast updates;
• stability of GPS and Wi-Fi;
• very affordable cost.

Disadvantages:

• no 3.5 mm input;
• I would like to see an NFC module in the phone;
• battery capacity is not impressive.

3. Honor 10 4 / 64GB

Leading in the ranking of the best smartphones in the category before with an excellent camera tenth Honor. This device runs Android 8.1 out of the box, has all the interfaces the user needs, including IRDA and NFC, and is also equipped with a 3400 mAh battery with support for fast charging.

As for the cameras, their characteristics are as follows:

1. Main: 16-megapixel Sony IMX498 module and second Sony (IMX550) or OmniVision (OV24A1B) sensor with a resolution of 24 MP (monochrome).
2. Frontal: sensor with a resolution of 24 MP, a focal length of 26 mm, and a pixel size of 0.9 μm (Sony IMX576).

The sound of the smartphone will not disappoint buyers either, since the Ashai Kasei AK4376A DAC is used here. However, stereo speakers, unfortunately, were not "delivered" to the device. But the hardware platform of the 10 is similar to the Nova 3 described above, which allows you to enjoy any modern games and applications.

Advantages:

• rich and bright screen;
• work of NFC and other wireless modules;
• battery capacity and support for fast charging;
• attractive design;
• price-quality ratio;
• fingerprint scanner response speed;
• nice equipment;

Disadvantages:

• no tray for micro SD;
• slippery body.

Best smartphones before with powerful battery

One of the biggest problems with most modern Android smartphones is their modest battery life. Most smartphones need to be recharged every evening, and some are unable to even last a full day under average load. As a solution to this problem, manufacturers offer increased battery capacity. In this category, we have selected the top three devices on the market, and we invite you to familiarize yourself with them.

1. ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 ZB602KL 4 / 128GB

Do you want to buy an advanced smartphone with a powerful battery up to which has an NFC module? There is no better deal than ZenFon Max Pro M1 on the market yet! This device pleases with excellent technical characteristics:

1. processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 636;
2. graphics chip Adreno 509;
3. 4 gigabytes of RAM;
4. 128 GB storage.

The latter, by the way, can be increased with cards up to 2 TB. It is important that the micro SD slot is not combined with a pair of SIM cards, but is located separately. Buyers also have no complaints about the quality of the 6-inch display. The only drawback of the smartphone that users highlight is the mediocre cameras. But for its price, this shortcoming can be forgiven.

Advantages:

• two days of work at moderate load;
• powerful iron;
• there is an NFC module for contactless payment;
• excellent hardware platform;
• reasoned cost;
• separate slot for microSD.

Disadvantages:

• not the best cameras for their price.

2. DOOGEE S50 6 / 64GB

In second place is the DOOGEE S50. Good statements about the smartphone in the reviews made us pay attention to this device. After careful study, we came to the conclusion that the S50 is not in vain popular among consumers. The device looks nice and feels more expensive in the hands, which, by the way, starts from

Important! Although the combination of Helio P23 and Mali-G71 performs well on an HD display, for more comfortable use in games, we recommend choosing another device in the same category.

The device has a 5.7-inch matrix with a resolution of 1440x720 pixels, which, taking into account the selected hardware, can be called a competent decision. The main camera in the smartphone is double (16 and 13 MP) and its capabilities are quite enough for the average user. The front camera also shoots well, but you should not be seduced by a resolution of 16 MP, since selfies on the monitored device are about the same as at 8 MP for analogs.

Advantages:

• capacious 5180 mAh battery;
• price / performance ratio;
• pretty good cameras;
• attractive cost;
• there is a film in the kit.

Disadvantages:

• low speaker volume;
• low quality photo on the front camera.

3. Xiaomi Mi Max 3 4 / 64GB

The most interesting smartphone with the best battery up to is Mi Max 3 from the popular Chinese brand Xiaomi. Firstly, the device is equipped with productive hardware that perfectly copes with all modern games. Secondly, the smartphone has a large 6.9-inch display with a resolution of 2160x1080 pixels. It is convenient to watch movies and videos on the Internet on such a screen, read magazines and books, communicate in social networks and instant messengers, as well as play and visit your favorite sites.

Also, the smartphone Xiaomi Mi Max 3 has a good main camera for its price. Of course, it does not shoot very well in low light conditions, but during the day you can get excellent photos with it (especially when using third-party software). The device is powered by a huge 5500 mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging. In addition to this, the smartphone can please with the presence of an infrared port, which, together with the proprietary application, allows you to turn a mobile phone into a remote control, as well as the Face Unlock option, although it is implemented primarily for convenience, and not for security.

Advantages:

• stunning appearance;
• face unlock function;
• the convenience of the MIUI 10 shell;
• Hardware is great for games;
• huge and high-quality display;
• impressive autonomy.

Disadvantages:

• except that the lack of NFC.

Which phone before choose

When selecting devices in the ranking of smartphones up to we relied on many factors. First of all, for our editorial office, quality is, of course, important, so all the smartphones in the review can boast of reliability and durability. If you like to play, then almost any of the presented devices from the presented price category will be an excellent choice for you. But for the photo, you should choose Honor 10 or Xiaomi Mi A2. The products of the latter brand are leading in the categories of the best devices according to customer reviews and popular models with a capacious battery. In terms of attractiveness, Mi8 and Mi Max 3 in these groups really do not know much about competitors, but, nevertheless, solutions from Nokia and ASUS, the price of which is lower than their capabilities, should not be denied.