Smartphone buyer's guide: April 2016

April 2016

GSMArena team, 20 April, 2016.

€400-€500

This is a surprisingly busy chapter, we ended up recommending almost all phones that we had shortlisted. In this segment it's AMOLED-galore, big ones too.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is a year younger than the Note 3 (which was in the middle of the €200-€300 segment) and it feels much more like a modern smartphone.

The frame of the phone is now actual metal (instead of chrome-painted plastic) and the 5.7" Super AMOLED screen got sharper (to QHD resolution). The new panel offers higher image quality while the S Pen was redesigned to be slimmer yet with superior grip.

The camera has a big 16MP sensor (1/2.6") with optical image stabilization and 2160p video. You get modern goodies like a fingerprint reader and a heart rate monitor. Inside the Galaxy Note 4 is a faster chipset and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The removable battery offers a tangible bump in battery life.


Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Pros Cons
  • Metal frame
  • 5.7" Super AMOLED screen with 1,440 x 2,560px resolution (515ppi)
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • Quad-core processor or octa-core; 3GB RAM
  • 32GB storage; microSD slot (dedicated)
  • 16MP f/2.2 camera with OIS; 2160p videos; 3.7MP selfies
  • 3,220mAh battery (90h Endurance)
  • LTE (150Mbps/300Mbps)
  • Optional dual-SIM
  • Fingerprint read
Review

The LG V10 is the competing neighbor. It has a 5.7" QHD screen (an LCD, one of two on this page) and a precursor to the Always On screen that the G5 introduced, namely a dedicated strip on top that can stay on to display the time and notifications.

Next to this fairly unique strip of screen is a fairly unique dual-camera setup. Like the G5, the cameras are split into narrow (80°) and wide (120°) but, unlike it, this one is specifically for selfies. The main 16MP camera with f/1.8 aperture and OIS is a refinement of the LG G4 camera and not too different from the main LG G5 camera. You get a premium pair of AKG headphones in the box too!

The LG V10 may not be as pretty as the leather-backed G4, but some will appreciate its rugged looks. The phone is actually rugged too - not waterproof, but it has MIL-STD-810G certification for shock resistance. It earns this with two layers of Gorilla Glass 4 over the screen and internal bumpers, in short it was built to take a hit.


LG V10
Pros Cons
  • Metal frame; dual-layer GG4 glass; internal bumpers
  • Secondary 2.1" Always On screen
  • 5.7" IPS LCD screen with 1,440 x 2,560px resolution (515ppi)
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • Hexa-core processor; 4GB RAM
  • 32GB/64GB storage; microSD slot (dedicated)
  • 16MP f/1.8 camera with OIS; 2160p videos
  • Two 5MP selfie cameras (80° and 120°)
  • 3,000mAh battery (56h Endurance)
  • LTE (300Mbps)
  • Fingerprint reader
  • premium AKG headset (in some markets)
  • Unimpressive battery life; Always On screen drops Endurance to 46h
  • Above average screen contrast no match for AMOLED
Review

Motorola lost its Nexus gig, but not before producing the wonderful Nexus 6. The phone is relatively compact for its sizable 6" screen - a QHD AMOLED - even though it's flanked with stereo speakers.

Like the Note 4 and V10, we're looking at a metal frame and plastic back but this one has Motorola's basic water resistance (splashes are OK, but don't dunk it). Being a Nexus, of course you get a clean new Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Note that we'd go for the 64GB model as there's no microSD slot and often you don't save much cash by going with the 32GB model (we've seen as little as €10 difference).

The camera is a 13MP unit with 1.4µm pixels, smaller than the 1.55µm that the Nexus 6P got, but this one has OIS to help it in the dark along with a dual-LED ring.


Motorola Nexus 6
Pros Cons
  • Metal frame
  • 5.96" AMOLED screen with 1,440 x 2,560px resolution (493ppi)
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • Quad-core processor; 3GB RAM
  • 32GB/64GB storage
  • 13MP f/2.0 camera with OIS; 2160p videos; 2MP selfies
  • 3,220mAh battery (70h Endurance)
  • LTE (300Mbps)
  • Stereo speakers
  • Basic water resistance
  • No microSD slot
  • Mono sound for videos
  • Audio quality is a mixed back
Review

The Samsung Galaxy S6 caught a lot of flack for dropping the microSD slot, removable battery and water resistance of the S5. The new Galaxy S7 resolves two thirds of those issues, but it's still a good deal more expensive and you're getting mostly the same design and 5.1" QHD Super AMOLED screen.

The 16MP f/1.9 camera is quite good - not as good as the new 12MP camera on the S7 for night shooting but still - and the while the battery is a good deal smaller, the difference in battery life isn't that huge. You get a fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor, two-mode wireless charger and so on. If you can't afford to splash for an S7, the Galaxy S6 is a solid fallback.


Samsung Galaxy S6
Pros Cons
  • Metal frame
  • 5.1" Super AMOLED screen with 1,440 x 2,560px resolution (577ppi)
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • Octa-core processor; 3GB RAM
  • 32GB/64GB/128GB storage
  • 16MP f/1.9 camera with OIS; 2160p videos; 5MP selfies
  • 2,550mAh battery (73h Endurance)
  • LTE (300Mbps)
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Heart rate sensor
  • No microSD slot
  • Not water resistant Like S5 and S6
Review

For the camera-focused, the Microsoft Lumia 950 offers an alternative. It has a 20MP camera with f/1.9 Zeiss optics and optical image stabilization, but ups the ante with a triple-LED RGB flash. There are cinematic 24fps modes for video, four directional microphones for great audio and expandable storage to put it all on.

The Windows 10 Platform offers Continuum - a way to hook up the Lumia 950 as if it was a desktop computer, complete with windowed app support (you'll need a dock). There's no fingerprint reader, instead you get the more futuristic (but slower) iris scanner.

The phone has an excellent 5.2" AMOLED screen of QHD resolution, so the only disappointment is the battery life - 48h of Endurance.


Microsoft Lumia 950
Pros Cons
  • 5.2" AMOLED screen with 1,440 x 2,560px resolution (564ppi)
  • Windows 10 Mobile with Continuum
  • Hexa-core processor; 3GB RAM
  • 32GB storage; microSD slot (dedicated)
  • 20MP f/1.9 camera with triple-LED RGB flash; 2160p videos; 5MP selfies
  • 3,000mAh battery (48h Endurance)
  • LTE (300Mbps)
  • Iris scanner
Review

If you winced while reading about the 6" Nexus 6, then maybe the Apple iPhone SE is the one for you - a resurgence of the 4" iPhone. It combines the body and screen of the iPhone 5c with the camera and chipset of the iPhone 6s.

Some sacrifices were made - there's no 3D Touch, the fingerprint reader is the slower, older generation, the selfie camera is just 1.2MP. This is the only premium 4" phone left around (with the bezels, the Xperia Z5 Compact isn't much bigger). To be fair, the phone is €100 below what we expected it would cost, but you still have to pay that €100 premium to get the 64GB storage (iOS eats too much of the 16GB storage).


Apple iPhone SE
Pros Cons
  • Tiny metal phone
  • 4" IPS LCD screen with 640 x 1,136px resolution (326ppi)
  • iOS 9.3
  • Dual-core processor; 2GB RAM
  • 16GB/64GB storage
  • 12MP camera; 2160p videos; 1.2MP selfies
  • 1,624mAh battery (73h Endurance)
  • LTE (150Mbps)
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Expensive for the specs, especially since most won't be served by the 16GB model
Review

€400-€500 phones we skipped and why

We started off this section with the Meizu PRO 5 and as we were about to call it a dream phone, we realized we said the same of the Meizu MX5. Both have metal bodies, 1080p AMOLED screens, big-sensored 21MP cameras with 2160p videos, octa-core processor, fingerprint readers, dual-SIM connectivity and so on.

The PRO 5 is clearly the better phone - the screen is bigger (5.7" vs. 5.5"), the chipset is faster and crucially you get a microSD slot, plus the battery life is much better (95h vs. 55h).

Still, the Meizu PRO 5 costs more than double (!) what the MX5 costs. The PRO 5 is a solid alternative to the Note 5, V10 and Nexus, but if we're buying a Meizu, we'd get the MX5.

Meizu PRO 5
Meizu PRO 5

Reader comments

Time to update this segment guys. Its almost October, and we need a new, refreshed guide.

  • AnonD-541790
  • 27 May 2016
  • Hkt

If you love speed...... Get an iPhone.

  • AnonD-541790
  • 26 May 2016
  • Hkt

If you love speed...... Get an iPhone.