GSMArena smartphone buyer's guide: 2016 Holiday edition

22 October 2016
We've had an exciting year in the smartphone world and for those that haven't upgraded in a while, it's time to answer the question - what should you put in the letter to Santa? Sure, it might be a bit early for the holiday shopping, but we don't expect any new major phones launching to market this year so this buyer's guide will probably be the last one for 2016.

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  • h
  • husarz
  • pmt
  • 22 Oct 2016

Useless guide. Where did you get such prices? Many phones should be moved one or two categories up.

    I don't get your review on the Honor 8 GSm arena.The P9 has the same graphic card as Honor 8 and performs amazing in games.Honor 8 in many gaming reviews as well.So how come the Gpu performs bad ? Is it not optimized ? Do you have a faulty device ? How can a GPU on 1 phone also a flagship performs great ,on another not which is also a flagship ?

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 3SI
      • 22 Oct 2016

      vivid_future, 22 Oct 2016why there is no oneplus x in 200-300 section. it is still o... moreSD 801

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • 3SI
        • 22 Oct 2016

        AnonD-600084, 22 Oct 2016Xperia xz all the way -the fastest android phone for now(a... morecamera is really bad, watch the shootout

          • H
          • Haidy
          • gN@
          • 22 Oct 2016

          Why the hell Note5 is'nt present here?!
          Note7 has gone but thre should be Note5 as u added S6 here

            • j
            • joly
            • ixd
            • 22 Oct 2016

            The Xperia xz is the weakest and poorest in the above company

              • D
              • AnonD-524698
              • 6PV
              • 22 Oct 2016

              Xperia xa ultra is for me

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • Kh2
                • 22 Oct 2016

                Why the hell there is no Redmi Note 3 & zte axon 7 in the 400-500 category rather than being along with the OnePlus 3 at 300-400 category

                  • R
                  • Robbie
                  • 9Gb
                  • 22 Oct 2016

                  If the G5 was waterproof I'd choose that

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 3SI
                    • 22 Oct 2016

                    "This should make it easier for folks who can't tell Cortex-A57 apart from Super AMOLED." So basically all the samsung fanboys thinking a low end phone with Helio X10 is faster than iPhone 7.

                      • D
                      • AnonD-518667
                      • SHp
                      • 22 Oct 2016

                      I like HTC 10 and ZTE Axon 7 but I like researching heavily and it seems that the guys at XDA found out these 2 seemingly great phones have some serious issues with Wi-Fi range and strength of signal. Even Jaime Rivera at YouTube's Pocketnow mentioned HTC's Wi-Fi issues... Sad, but true.
                      Overall it's a good and comprehensive article.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-81014
                        • pr4
                        • 22 Oct 2016

                        iPhone SE "No scratch resistant glass"?
                        That isn't true

                          • D
                          • AnonD-85136
                          • 6PW
                          • 22 Oct 2016

                          Xperia xz is my choice

                            • w
                            • wai
                            • wce
                            • 22 Oct 2016

                            They have forgotten about ASUS?? Zenfone 3 series

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • f{t
                              • 22 Oct 2016

                              we rely on gray import & dont get OEM warranties. So we'll take xiaomis except for the very high end prices, where they dont have options

                                • B
                                • Blunder
                                • 9B@
                                • 22 Oct 2016

                                AnonD-600084, 22 Oct 2016Xperia xz all the way -the fastest android phone for now(a... moreThe UI of Sony is great, but its behind HTCs. But yeah, either one of the HTC and Sony are the top picks

                                  • v
                                  • vivid_future
                                  • tDS
                                  • 22 Oct 2016

                                  why there is no oneplus x in 200-300 section. it is still one of the best upper midranger til date

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-564674
                                    • 61q
                                    • 22 Oct 2016

                                    AnonD-287672, 22 Oct 2016Where's the Redmi note 3Agree with u bro... Redmi Note 3 Pro is the CHAMP in US$100-150 price area, so why not get mentioned?
                                    Also, I think Asus padfone S will fit the US$100-150 too, as it was a BEAST reigning at US$200-300 before with its SD801. It's the most affordable BEAST in my country as u can get it for just US$115 for 2GB RAM version (withour the tablet docking, ofc)

                                      • s
                                      • siera
                                      • ixd
                                      • 22 Oct 2016

                                      Read the article carefully. Conclusion : LG V20 is the best top smartphone so far very powerful excellent media device with superb Audio we always want.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-600084
                                        • PS6
                                        • 22 Oct 2016

                                        Xperia xz all the way
                                        -the fastest android phone for now(and the first android phone that can reach the same speed of ios a.k.a a10 fusion)

                                        -the best camera on phone for now rear and back(great photo quality the colour accuracy and fastest autofocus,also the video stabilisation that out of this world)

                                        -xperia is the most stable android platform(mean its ui super smooth and less problem like lag)

                                        -among the best quality smartphone(even samsung can't reach the quality that sony achieve)