Geeks approve: TOP 5 smartphones with the best price-performance ratio

Xiaomi Mi-5X is the cheapest smartphone with a dual main camera, if you do not take into account third-rate Chinese brands with very bad cameras. Its closest pursuer — also a dual-camera Huawei GR5 2017 — costs about a quarter more expensive. In the Xiaomi model range, the newcomer Mi-5X should take an intermediate place between the Mi-5C and Mi-6.

Unlike the flagship Mi-6 with a dual camera based on Sony sensors, the Mi-5X uses slightly less high-quality (higher digital noise) Omnivision photo frames. Both have a resolution of 12 MP, but differ in light intensity: the first is wide-angle f/ 2.2, the second with a two-fold optical zoom f /2.7. Nevertheless, working in pairs, they are able to take quite good portrait shots with a beautifully blurred background (bokeh effect).

The screen with a diagonal of 5.5" and a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels Mi-5X resembles the Redmi Note 4X. Smartphones also have the same processor — the energy-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core. 4 GB of RAM is installed. But the battery capacity of the Mi-5X is less (3080 versus 4100 mAh), which, however, is explained by the small thickness of the metal case — only 7 mm. As a result, Xiaomi Mi-5X successfully combines new developments (two cameras, the freshest MIUI 9 graphics shell) with partially archaic, but still widely demanded functions that other smartphone manufacturers are massively abandoning (IR port, FM radio).

Perhaps it is the Motorola Moto Z2 Play that is the most geeky-pregik smartphone at the moment. If you look at the dry characteristics, then this is a typical average person with a 5.5-inch SuperAMOLED screen and a Snapdragon 626 processor (overclocked at 200 MHz version 625). Better than others, except that the thickness of the case is 6 mm against 7 for most analogues.

But the Moto Z2 Play still has its trump card, you can even say a full bag of trumps. At the bottom of the back cover of the smartphone there is a port for connecting various external modules. The most interesting of them are: Moto Insta-Share projector ($300), capable of producing an image with a diagonal of 70"; Hasselblad True Zoom camera ($300) with 10x optical zoom; JBL SoundBoost audio speaker ($70) and an additional 3500 mAh TurboPower Pack battery. Moto Style Shell decorative overlays made of leather, fabric or wood are also supported. At the same time, compatibility with modules for the first generation Moto Z is observed, and the number of new modules is gradually growing (gamepad, wireless charging, etc.).

You can also praise the Moto Z2 Play for the camera with a large Sony IMX362 sensor (1/2.55"), high f/1.7 aperture and Dual Pixel accelerated autofocus technology. Its only drawback is that it protrudes too much from the case to be able to shoot normally with attached modules. The front camera has its own flash. However, if you are only interested in a good-quality camera, it is cheaper to buy a Moto G5 Plus with a similar sensor. We can advise Moto Z2 Play to purchase only if you plan to buy more and actively use the modules.

The Meizu Pro 7 is the company's first smartphone with two main cameras and, even more surprisingly, two screens. The main front 5.2-inch display has FullHD resolution, while the additional rear 1.9-inch display has 536x240 pixels. Both screens are made using SuperAMOLED technology, and therefore consume relatively little electricity. In addition, the Meizu mCharge fast charging function is provided.

The second display is capable of displaying all kinds of notifications and quick access menus to frequently used applications, but perhaps its main role is the viewfinder when taking selfies on rear cameras. Because of this, it is not entirely clear why a smartphone needs a high-quality 16-megapixel front camera, except for video conferencing via Skype. A pair of rear cameras are represented by Sony IMX368 modules (1/2.9", f/2.0): one shoots in colour, the other in black and white mode (the same principle of operation for dual cameras of Huawei smartphones).

The MediaTek Helio P25 octa-core processor with integrated Mali-T880 MP2 graphics and 4 GB of RAM is responsible for the operation of the Meizu Pro 7. For comparison, the enlarged version of the Pro 7 Plus is based on an even more performant ten-core Helio X30 chip with PowerVR 7XTP-MT4 graphics, which is required primarily for 2K screen resolution. The disadvantage of the Meizu Pro 7, perhaps, is only one — the lack of a slot for a memory card. Therefore, if 64 GB in the basic version may not be enough for you, it is better to pay extra for a 128-gig modification.

Smartphones under the OnePlus brand (owned by the Chinese company BBK) are called "flagship killers" due to the best price-to-filling ratio on the market. This flattering metaphor is one hundred percent justified in relation to the brand new OnePlus 5. Even in the lower configuration it has 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of permanent memory, and in the older one — 8 and 128 GB, respectively. Whether a modern smartphone really needs so much RAM, you can argue for a long time, but as they say, "show-offs" are more expensive than money.

At the same time, the OnePlus 5 costs about the same as the flagship Huawei P10 and LG G6 with, at least on paper, worse characteristics, and is cheaper than HTC U11 and Samsung Galaxy S8. After the suspension of work on Cyanogen OS, the operating system of OnePlus smartphones became OxygenOS — an almost "pure" version of Android without a weighting graphical shell with only minimal software additions.

The processor in the OnePlus 5 is equipped with the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 of the ARM big.LITTLE architecture: four energy-efficient Cortex-A53 cores and the same number of high-performance Kryo 280 cores (6.35 DMIPS/MHz). There are three cameras: the main rear Sony IMX398 (16 megapixels, 1/2.8", f/1.7), the auxiliary rear with a dual zoom Sony IMX350 (20 megapixels, 1/2.8", f/2.6) and the front Sony IMX371 (16 megapixels, f/2.0). There is fast wired charging, but wireless charging, and even more so, OnePlus 5 does not have dust and water protection, and perhaps this is the only way it is inferior to the flagships of more widely known brands.

Last year's flagship phablet Samsung Galaxy Note 7 due to its "explosive" nature (a problem with overheating and possible ignition of the battery) it was urgently withdrawn from sale. But already this year, the "old new" Galaxy Note received a prefix in the name Fan Edition (model code N935 instead of N930F) and returned to the shelves.

The changes affected only two elements: the battery, as they say, lost weight from 3500 to 3200 mAh (the fast charging function remained in place), and the processor was updated from Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 to 821 (the integrated Adreno 540 graphics accelerator was slightly overclocked). Otherwise, it's still the same Galaxy Note 7 in a glass-metal case. The Galaxy Note FE display has a diagonal of 5.7" and a resolution of 2960x1440 pixels (density 556 PPI, elongated aspect ratio 2.6:1). It easily fits two virtual 720p screens in width, which makes it perfectly suitable for virtual reality glasses.

The twelve-megapixel Galaxy Note FE camera (Sony IMX260 sensor, 1/2.5", f/1.7, Dual Pixel) is still one of the best. Only a fellow Galaxy S8, and a Google Pixel with an iPhone 7, can compete with him in photo and especially video shooting. Taking into account the large diagonal of the screen, Samsung Galaxy Note FE acts as a direct competitor to the new Galaxy S8 Plus, but it costs less and is inferior only in theoretical processor performance. Even IP68 water protection, wireless charging of two standards (WPC and PMA) and a heart rate monitor are available.