5 most interesting and successful phablets (autumn 2015)

LG 8 GB

LG releases an affordable version of its flagship to the market every year. In 2015, this is the LG G4 Stylus — a smartphone with a large screen and a stylus. The screen of the G4 Stylus is impressive in size — 5.7" and is covered with Gorilla Glass of the 3rd generation. It is important that its resolution is HD, and this is the most modest option allowed for such a diagonal. So some users will be able to distinguish pixels on the screen. Those who are not very demanding of this indicator are more likely to appreciate that a smartphone with an HD screen consumes much less energy and works without recharging for several hours longer. By the way, about battery life — there is a battery of normal capacity (3000 mAh), so you are provided with a whole day of work, and maybe the smartphone will last even a day and a half of active use.

As the name implies, LG G4 Stylus has a capacitive stylus. It has not received the same good software support as its counterpart in the Galaxy Note series. Nevertheless, the stylus will perform its functions when the smartphone happens to be used in winter or for other specific purposes. And most importantly, the cost of this gadget is much more affordable than Samsung analogues.

This is not a flagship smartphone, so do not expect phenomenal results from its camera. However, it is good that a laser autofocus was added to the modest, by today's standards, 8 MP sensor to increase the speed and quality of focus. And the front camera received the current resolution of 5 MP.

The phablet runs on an eight-core MediaTek MT6592 system, which is quite enough for most everyday tasks, simple toys, or even 3D games (only on average graphics settings). The built—in memory is not enough — only 8 GB, and not the entire volume is predictably available to the user. The situation is saved by the support of microSD memory cards. When using it, there should be no problems with storing photos and videos on your smartphone.

Asus Zenfone 2 32 GB / 2 GB

Zenfone 2 is a relatively inexpensive flagship smartphone from Asus with a very good interface. The user may have only one complaint about a large display with a diagonal of 5.5" and a Full HD resolution — it has a low maximum brightness. Therefore, in the bright sun, the screen fades quite a lot and the image is difficult to distinguish. Otherwise, it meets the expectations of a gadget of such value.

The smartphone runs on the Intel Z3580 hardware platform. There is no need to worry about the performance of Atom chips, especially fresh models with a new microarchitecture — the test results and the experience of "live" use speak for themselves. The presence of the Power VR Rogue video accelerator makes the smartphone even faster in mobile games, which Intel's built-in graphics did not always cope with. The smartphone is not just quite weighty (its thickness is 10.9 mm) — it has a 3000 mAh battery installed. Usually its resource is enough for a day of active work with a smartphone.

Most of all I want to praise the smartphone for its user interface. The Asus development team managed to create an extremely "lightweight" launcher that is well optimized and works quickly on almost any hardware platform, and at the same time — stuff it with all sorts of additional functions. So, it has improved work with a locked smartphone, which can be brought out of sleep by double tapping on the screen or — even more interesting — by drawing certain symbols on the locked screen to launch specified applications. This way you save time without bothering to search for the right programme across all desktops or a list of applications. The interface is also good in the camera — there are many shooting modes, ranging from selfies, in which the programme will help you make a self-portrait on the main camera, and ending with a special mode for night photography and creating gif animations.

The "chip" of Asus Zenfone 2 is fast and smooth operation, which is provided by a combination of a powerful platform and a well-optimized interface. The only thing that can upset the user a little is the camera here at 8 MP and either the optics are not the best, or the image processor is mediocre, but photos often turn out unsaturated and not very sharp. So for Instagram posts, you will have to use filters to increase sharpness and contrast.

Meizu MX5 16 GB

Those who are not afraid to experiment with gadgets and already trust Chinese brands can appreciate the Meizu MX5. According to the parameters, it is a flagship that stands as a middle—class smartphone. The MediaTek Helio X10 64-bit octa-core processor is responsible for its performance. It is fast, performant and relatively cold even under heavy loads. 3 GB of RAM allows you to run many applications on your smartphone at once, and in games — they contribute to the smoothness of drawing graphics.

The camera uses a Sony sensor at 20.7 MP, so you can be sure of the high quality of the pictures. In addition to a good sensor, the camera received optics with an aperture of f/2.2 and laser autofocus, for fast and accurate focus on the shooting object . The video can be recorded as 4K, its quality is evaluated positively in reviews. The Meizu MX5 differs from many competitors in its AMOLED display. This is the solution traditionally for Samsung, and other companies are in no hurry to abandon IPS matrices for the sake of a richer black colour and better energy saving. The reason lies in the appearance of a green shade characteristic of AMOLED matrices at suboptimal viewing angles and a specific pixel construction scheme, which some users distinguish and perceive negatively. In a word, it's a matter of taste and it's better to make sure that you like the 5.5-inch Full HD screen of the MX5 before buying. But you should not worry about its security — it is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and oleophobic coating.

The Meizu MX5 has an Android 5 operating system with the Flyme OS user interface. Its peculiarity is the absence of a separate menu with all applications. It also has several useful improvements to simplify work — double—tap unlocking, instant application launch by swipe, etc. If you are concerned about the security of personal data, then the Meizu MX5 will dispel your anxiety — a fingerprint scanner is built into the button. So no one but you will be able to access the information on your smartphone.

Meizu MX5 is a phablet that you need to decide to buy. It's not so easy to trust a not yet reputable manufacturer, but the result is worth it — you get a really big and powerful smartphone for a very interesting price.

Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual 16 GB / 2 GB

The main feature of the Xperia C5 Ultra is a 13 MP front—facing camera, complemented by its own flash. In addition to the technical side of the issue, the corresponding software has been added to the "front-end", so with the PROselfie mode you will be the coolest selfyman who can shoot himself always and everywhere, with flash, HDR and other bonuses. Perhaps this is the answer to HTC Desire EYE from Sony. It would not be logical to make such a front-facing camera and not make a good main one. Therefore, it is also at 13 MP here and is also excellent — it's not for nothing that other manufacturers use Sony sensors in their best models. Do not forget about the rich modes of the camera interface of the Japanese company.

Externally, Xperia C5 Ultra tried to do as little as possible, minimizing the frames around the screen. And they did it very well — the smartphone shows one of the best ratios of the useful area of the screen to the body . The display here is huge — with a diagonal of 6" and a resolution of 1920x1080. There are many proprietary technologies to improve image quality — chips have been added to the standard IPS matrix, which are used in Sony Bravia TVs.

In general, the phablet design is quite recognizable for Sony smartphones. You can criticize the large weight of the device — 187 g. However, there are people who like phones whose weight is felt in the hand. The case here is not collapsible, and accordingly the battery does not change. The battery capacity — 2930 mAh — should be enough for a full day of work, especially considering the Stamina energy saving programme that works effectively.

The gadget is controlled by an 8-core MediaTek MT6752 processor with 2 GB of RAM. The potential of this "filling" is enough, for example, to run demanding games, and if you switch for a minute to answer a message, then when you return, you will find the game in the same place where you left off.

Apple iPhone 6S Plus 64 GB

Perhaps the most charismatic and expensive version of a smartphone with a large screen today is the new iPhone 6S Plus. Fans of the brand love the iPhone for every aspect. Starting with the design, which really hasn't changed much relative to the 6 Plus version. However, the manufacturer added the pink colour of the case, which the girls liked. But one claim can be made to the design — relatively large frames around the screen (the display/body ratio is worse than that of more affordable phablets). The manufacturer could place stereo speakers here so that such frames would be useful, or, conversely, make the smartphone at least a little smaller — with its dimensions, the extra millimetres are very noticeable.

The smartphone received a 5.5-inch IPS display with a Full HD matrix, which corresponds to the status of a Retina display with a high pixel density (401 per inch). In this version of the iPhone, the camera has been improved — instead of the 8 MP module that has become familiar, this time a 12 MP module has been installed, which also features 4K video recording. The 5 MP front camera is well suited for selfies, so the smartphone can become a favorite toy of video bloggers and selfie lovers.