Top class: five flagship smartphones come from China

Meizu 16th is the top product of the Chinese brand, finally on a Qualcomm chip, and right away on the most powerful Snapdragon 845 from the current family. However, this is not the only argument in favor of the model.

In appearance, the smartphone did not follow modern trends, retaining the original style features. Despite the absence of a “monobrow”, the gadget’s AMOLED screen is framed in the smallest possible frame. Spectacularly rounded edges give it a special charm. In other parameters, the display is characterized by a 6-inch diagonal and FullHD + resolution (2160x1080 pixels). It is noteworthy that a fingerprint sensor is embedded directly into the screen - the crown "chip" of the device.

Traditionally, the strength of Meizu's brainchild is a decent sound. The smartphone produces a loud and rich sound both through headphones and through slots for a pair of stereo speakers. And the branded ring flash in the camera assets of the model is also in a familiar position from the rear. For lovers of high-quality photos, Meizu 16th with a set of 12 + 20 MP cameras will definitely come in.

The only thing that the model did not work out with was the NFC chip, for which, for some reason, there was not a free piece of space in the “underhood stuffing” of the device. Its absence would be forgiven for the lion's share of middle-class devices, but a smartphone with serious flagship ambitions of an NFC chip is not enough for complete happiness. Otherwise, we are presented with an optimally balanced device in terms of price and functionality from the category of “everything with it”.

The glass flagship with a PRO-transparent back cover, through which the “offal” is visible, is a version of the original Xiaomi Mi 8 128 GB / 6 GB . Through the back of the smartphone, an overview is opened not on a real board, but on a bezel with beautifully spaced components, which, however, does not diminish the degree of originality of the device.

The key innovation that has found implementation on board the model is the equipment with an under-screen fingerprint sensor, which works like a watch, reacting, incl. wet fingerprints. At the same time, the 3D face recognition function has been put on guard for the protection of personal data - an IR sensor in a pair with a camera on the “monobrow” helps to authenticate the owner of the device even in complete darkness. It is also possible to create animated "emoji" with 3D scanning.

The screen of the gadget stretched diagonally by 6.21 inches. In its role, an AMOLED matrix with FullHD + resolution (2248x1080 pixels) and support for the HDR10 standard is used. Displaying the picture in a wide dynamic range allows you to see details on the screen in hitherto never seen dark and bright areas of the image.

In terms of hardware, Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro has no compromises - the high speed of the “flight” of the smartphone is provided by the 845th Snapdragon in combination with as much as 8 GB of RAM. The popular "toy" PUBG Mobile will use such a "stuffing" in the "maximum speed" mode - the model does not take up performance reserves, and with a view to the long term. But the volumes of the smartphone’s memory are not subject to “pumping” - “out of the box” the user is kindly provided with space only in the built-in drive, since there is a lot of it (128 GB).

Shoots Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro quite at the level of colleagues in the flagship workshop. The strong “spark” of 12 + 12 MP photomodules with an artificial intelligence system and an optical stub adopted for service is affecting. The smartphone saves photos in a “raw” RAW format, and video shooting is done at a frame rate of up to 960 fps (SuperSlow Motion mode), which allows you to completely freeze motion in the frame. Compared to the original version of the model, the flagship with the Pro prefix was reduced only by the battery capacity (3000 mAh versus 3400 mAh for Mi 8), but fast charging is in its right place here. Fortunately, Xiaomi engineers also did not forget about the NFC chip, one of the key additional attributes of a strong and independent modern smartphone.

"Bangs" on the screen does not come to everyone. However, this is not the case with OnePlus 6T, where instead of a huge “mono-brow” you can see a neat teardrop-shaped notch that does not catch your eye and fulfills the mission assigned to your shoulders – it provides space for a selfie camera module with a resolution of 16 MP.

The front panel of the device is entirely at the mercy of the Optic AMOLED display of FullHD + format with a diagonal of 6.41 inches. Wonderful color reproduction, chic viewing angles - the screen deserves flattering words on all fronts. Moreover, it has a fingerprint scanner with a claimed response time of 0.34 s. An additional method of user authentication is face unlock.

The most powerful processor of 2018, the “octa-core” Snapdragon 845, has been appointed to the role of commander in chief of the gadget’s hardware base. The smartphone is also doing well with memory capacities – 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of ROM(without the possibility of expansion due to the lack of a slot for microSD). Of course, the performance reserves of OnePlus 6T are more than enough to toss and turn the most "heavy" applications.

The model has a camera with a dual module 16 + 20 MP and f / 1.7 aperture optics. The additional assets of the leading sensor also include an optical stub and an advanced Dual Pixel autofocus system. One of the photographic highlights of the OnePlus 6T is the Nightscape night mode, aimed at minimizing noise and blurring in the frame when shooting at long exposures with handheld.

The power source for the device is a 3700 mAh rechargeable battery. Wireless charging was not delivered to her, but the complete 5V / 4A adapter for quick “refueling of tanks” is included in the package of the model “out of the box”. The gadget still claims to be the “flagship killer”, being one of the strongest Android smartphones at the turn of 2018-2019.

Today you won’t surprise anyone with top-end characteristics, but with an extraordinary appearance, it’s quite. However, Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 combines both in one bottle, attracting attention both due to the productive hardware base and due to the atypical form factor.

The model appears before the public in the role of a smartphone-slider. The device needed a sliding case in order not to spoil the appearance of the falling “bangs” - the slider mechanism hides a couple of “eyes” of the selfie camera (24 + 2 MP) and a conversational speaker from prying eyes. The resource of its operations is declared at the level of 300 thousand fidgeting back and forth.

As a result of the introduction of the retractable mechanism, the AMOLED screen managed to occupy over 93% of the usable area of the front panel of the mobile gadget. The display of the model, as it should be for a flagship, is at a height - with dimensions of 6.39 inches diagonally, the picture is displayed at a maximum resolution of 2340x1080 pixels. The screen turned out to be bright and contrasting, its color reproduction is excellent, besides, the display is framed by the thinnest frames. In the "iron" part of Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is equipped with the 845th "dragon" from Qualcomm and 8/256 GB of memory.

From the start, the smartphone burst into the top five best camera phones according to DxOMark. The merit of the strong photographic qualities of the model lies on the shoulders of a tandem of 12 + 12 MP image sensors from the rear, armed to the teeth with the most advanced "buns" in the manner of a 4-axis optical stub, Dual Pixel focusing system and, of course, artificial intelligence. "Smart" algorithms help to get a high-quality result regardless of the ambient lighting conditions and automatically adjust the shooting parameters for a specific story scene.

The belonging of the smartphone to the major league of mobile devices is also indicated by many minor "chips". One of these is support for fast and wireless charging of the battery, which compensates for its relatively modest capacity (3200 mAh). In pursuit, the smartphone has acquired an NFC chip for contactless payments. But the main thing in it is still the image, “seasoned” with an appetizing price tag by flagship standards.

The hit comes from the Celestial Empire Huawei P20 Pro is designed to compete on equal terms with top solutions from A-brands in the smartphone arena. Especially when the heart of the matter concerns photographic ability.

The smartphone looks at the world around it immediately in 4 “eyes”: a triple clip of photomodules with Leica optics is located at the back, and the front 24 MP camera is on the “bangs”. In addition to taking high-quality selfies with background blur, the front camera is used to unlock the device by the user's face. The first in line from the rear is an 8 MP telephoto camera with a 3x zoom, followed by a 40 MP module with a large 1 / 1.7 "matrix, and the last in the row is a 20 MP monochrome camera. The charms of this bundle can be painted indefinitely. The best confirmation of the high status of the main the gadget's cameras are the first line in the DxOMark rating, which the smartphone shares with its relative Huawei Mate 20 Pro 128 GB / 6 GB , ahead of the closest pursuers by several points.

The model is powered by a homegrown Kirin 970 chip with an NPU neural co-processor to accelerate tasks that are assisted by an artificial intelligence system. The next item on the programme is an OLED screen with 19:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2240x1080 pixels. The display is excellent in all respects, and the annoying "unibrow" on it can be hidden programmatically.

For the future, the smartphone also comes with dust and water protection according to the IP67 standard, high-speed charging of a 4000 mAh battery (up to 58% in half an hour at the outlet) and top-class design. That's just the glass case of the device often strives to slip out of the hands and actively collects fingerprints. But you really can’t take your eyes off him - the smartphone does not look faded against the background of competitors and, of course, works out every penny spent on it.