GSMArena smartphone buyer's guide:January 2018 edition
January 2018 edition
Phones for €500-€600
The €500-€600 category has always been an interesting one. Its what we've regarded as the "budget flagship" realm. Although that has been twisted around quite a bit over the last few months, there is still a lot at play while competing in this segment.
Considering the ongoing gradual hike in prices for most so-called "budget flagship" devices, we deemed it only fitting to include a bunch of contenders priced right on the €500 mark in this category and let them play with the big boys, rather than bump them down a price bracket.
There are a few devices that fit that bill, starting off, naturally, with the popular OnePlus 5T. The latest, ultra-wide iteration of the phone that started the whole "affordable flagship" trend in the first place. Things have clearly changed since the glory days of the OnePlus One, but there is still a place under the sun for the OnePlus 5T.
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Big, 6-inch, Optic AMOLED, Snapdragon 835, up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and a strong dual camera setup - a flagship on a budget, as promised. However, if you are going to play in the big leagues, you better be prepared for some high level scrutiny and we can't fail to note that OnePlus still lacks ingress protection and wireless charging. While at it, we're not happy about the absence of a SD card slot.
The next €500 flagship worth considering is the Meizu Pro 7 Plus. Like the OnePlus 5T, it utilizes a crisp AMOLED panel. An excellent Samsung one, at that, hence the "Super" moniker. It is of a more traditional 16:9 aspect, but that does leave room for a home button an a classic navigation scheme, which many users still prefer.
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Besides, the primary panel is not really the main attraction of the Meizu Pro 7 Plus. It's the 2-inch AMOLED one on the back. It's definitely a different and head-turning look, even if the ticker display is a little under-utilized in its current implementation. The snappy Helio X30 chipset and great dual 12MP camera setup are more reasons to like the Pro 7 Plus.
We really should mention the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 here, since no other phone here deserves the "eye-catching" title quite like it does. Well, maybe with the exception of the original Mi Mix. Choosing between the two is no easy task. The Mix 2 is obviously based on newer hardware, has a more trendy design and display aspect, as well as a notably better camera than the original.
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Then again, few devices pull off 6.44 inches quite as gracefully and successfully as the original Mi Mix. Plus, it has come down in price nicely since its release. While both phones currently start at €550, it is way cheaper to get higher storage on the original - a potentially important purchasing factor.
Last of the €500 bunch and interestingly enough, also out of China, is the ZTE Nubia Z17s. What we have listed here is its much more Western-friendly re-brand, courtesy of Archos - the Diamond Omega.
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Besides the lack of an AMOLED panel and better image processing algorithm, the Archos Diamond Omega has few compromises to speak of. The Snapdragon 835 is accompanied by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. This is actually the top tier configuration available for the Nubia Z17s, which Archos somehow managed to offer for less than Nubia itself. Plus, shopping from the French company also guarantees an international ROM and a pretty cleaned-up and bloatware-free one at that.
On to a bit more Western-friendly devices then and a good compact option - the Nokia 8. Once again, there is not much to frown upon here. Despite its compact size, the 5.4-inch LCD panel on the Nokia 8 is even QHD and one of the best on the marker, making for incredibly sharp images. The 6000 series aluminum unibody on the phone is also a great touch and it even has an IP rating. Well, IP54, but it's still something.
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A Snapdragon 835, great main camera and class-leading selfie camera performance, plus nearly stock Android only sweeten the deal further.
Hovering right around the €550 mark, we find the HTC U11. While we still have our doubts regarding the durability of the new gradually curved, Gorilla Glass 5 back, there is no denying it's a looker. The HTC U11 has the total package: a nice display, excellent camera, an out-of-the-box audio experience that surpasses anything on the market right now, all wrapped in a very attractive package that's priced the same as the entry-level iPhone 7 and lower than the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8.
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Sure, it's missing a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the bundled earbuds with active noise canceling represent a justified tradeoff.
As another phone of distinctive looks, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium bets on a mirror finish that looks gorgeous - as long as you manage to keep the fingerprints away.
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And Sony really went all out with the camera department this year. Its special triple-stacked sensor with a RAM buffer chip allows for some really unique modes, like 960fps HD video and Predictive Capture. The XZ Premium has really plummeted in price recently, making its hardware offering all that more attractive.
There's an Apple device deal to be had for under €600 as well. Last year's iPhone 7 pair seems to currently offer more for your hard-earned cash, compared to the iPhone 7s, pardon us, we meant iPhone 8 duo.
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The iPhone 7 has IP67 certification, as well as stereo speakers - two quite important differentiations that place it further away from the iPhone 6 generation and closer to the iPhone 8. The bigger iPhone 7 Plus is also on our list, but it is still pricey enough to cross over into the next price tier.
Of course, no flagship list would be complete without a spot for Samsung. The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge is the most affordable of Samsung's curved screen flagships. And even though it's well over a year old now, its 5.5-inch QHD curved Super AMOLED panel is properly impressive.
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You can find plenty of other perks with the S7 edge as well: Gorilla Glass 4 on both sides, an IP68 certification, a powerful Exynos 8890 chipset and a 12MP Dual Pixel camera. That being said, just make sure not to overpay for a unit.
The S7 edge is one of those ex-flagship devices that hasn't exactly been following a normal depreciation pattern over the last few months. In fact, most places seem to be pricing it higher now than back in July. At the time of writing this, T-Mobile is charging €480 for a SIM-FREE unit and that really about as high as you should go.
The reason for that is simple. While the S7 edge has been holding its price steady, both the new Galaxy S8 and S8+ have been coming down in price surprisingly fast. So much so that the smaller S8 is now officially retailing below the €570 mark. Granted, the S8+ is more of an accurate alternative to the S7 edge, size-wise, but the S8 is still a stellar compact option.
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Samsung's Infinity Display really was the catalyst that finally shook things up in 2017 and rocked the tired old "slab" aesthetic we have been living with for years. And the beauty isn't skin deep. The only thing the S8 pair really skipped on this year was a dual camera setup. On every other aspect, the S8 is near perfect by current standards.
As for some devices that didn't make the cut, we were tempted to rope the new Galaxy A8 (2018) and A8+ (2018) into the fight, but at €500 and €600, respectively, we really don't see their mid-range specs sheets holding a candle to the S8 pair. The Huawei P10 Plus and original Pixel XL were also taken into consideration. However, both are still unreasonably pricey in most places to make our value cut.
Reader comments
- Tanase Adrian
- 10 Jan 2018
- SvB
having spent some more time with the device, i can't say that the camera is great and i don't any reason why dxomark gave it a better grade thana huawei mate 9,cause it is waay behind!! it overexposes a lot, photos lack contrast, no eay near those ta...
- AnonD-709656
- 08 Jan 2018
- Hxh
IKR. Mi Note 3 is possibly the most balanced phone of the year. Amazing camera like the HTC U11, good performance similar to OnePlus 3T, fast fingerprint scanner, good sound quality, etc.
- AnonD-709656
- 08 Jan 2018
- Hxh
A perfect phone in my opinion should have: A metal body and water resistance like the iPhone 7 Google Pixel 2's camera and LG V30's wide angle lens. Fingerprint scanner position like G6 and accuracy like the Mi 6 Front Firing speakers and 18:...