Younger flagship brothers: 5 "light" versions of top smartphones

Twin brother of the flagship Meizu 16th 64 GB / 6 GB is practically indistinguishable from the role model in appearance. Understanding that we have a cheaper version of a top-end device comes only with tactile sensations - instead of a glass case, as an attribute of a premium class smartphone, the 16X model is “dressed up” in metal armor, which, however, makes it more resistant to damage during falls.

Inside the “deputy” 16th beats the “iron” heart of the eight-core Snapdragon 710 chip, which is located at an intermediate level in the hierarchy of mobile processors between mid-range and top-level solutions. Strength to him in solving resource-intensive tasks is added by 6 GB of RAM. The vast majority of mobile applications “flies” on a smartphone without the slightest hint of lag and throttling in long gaming sessions. The internal storage on board the Meizu 16X has a capacity of 64 GB and is unfortunately not expandable via external microSD cards.

The model has at its disposal a wonderful Super AMOLED screen in FullHD + format (2160x1080 pixels). Without any "hairstyles" and flowing "bangs". The display of the gadget is framed by minimal frames and is notable for the in-display fingerprint scanner available in the arsenal. Even more respect deserves the mEngine 2.0 feedback system - a proprietary "chip" of the new generation of Meizu smartphones.

The rear dual camera Meizu 16X is based on photomodules with a resolution of 20 and 12 MP, “seasoned” with a ring flash. The smartphone takes high-quality pictures on them and shoots 4K video. Selfie frames the device “clicks” on the 20 MP front camera, which after that is a key link in the user’s face recognition system. The icing on the cake is the 3100 mAh fast battery charging. On a full "refueling" of its tanks, the smartphone "lives" offline throughout the day. For complete happiness, the model lacks only an NFC chip, however, even without it, the device captivates with one of the best price / functionality ratios on the modern mobile device market.

Smartphones under the banner of the Honor brand, which is run by Huawei, have bitten off a tidbit of the pie in the mid-budget arena. For relatively modest money, they are "charged", as they say, in full. A vivid confirmation of this is the "light" version of the flagship Honor 10 64 GB / 6 GB .

The model is a close relative of Honor 8X 64 GB / 6 GB and Huawei P Smart 2019 64 GB . With similar passport data, the key differences between this trinity lie mainly in appearance. The gadget uses a newfangled receiver with a teardrop-shaped display, which is assigned to the role of a 6.21-inch IPS-matrix with 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The screen is successfully calibrated out of the box and shows rich natural shades.

At the heart of the "iron" part of the device is the homegrown "octa-core" Kirin 710. In fact, it is very close in terms of performance with the "dragon" of the same name from Qualcomm. Together with 3 GB of RAM and ARM Mali-G51 MP4 graphics, the smartphone provides a confident launch of most applications from the Google Play Market and modern games. This is confirmed by the high results in “synthetics” – as part of the AnTuTu test, the model received over 138 thousand points.

Takes pictures of a smartphone on a “spark” of 13 + 2 MP cameras from the rear, flavored with artificial intelligence technologies, and a 24 MP front camera. Another fat plus of a mobile gadget is the NFC chip put into service. But for some reason there was no place for the dual-band Wi-Fi module in the plastic case of the model, as well as for the USB-C port, instead of which the obsolete microUSB is used here. Slightly smoothes the positive picture of the smartphone support for fast charging of the 3400 mAh battery. Frankly speaking, Huawei Honor 10 Lite turned out to be not without compromises, but for its price you can and even have to put up with them.

A light version of the top device Xiaomi Mi 9 64 GB / 6 GB created an unprecedented stir around her own person from the very moment of the announcement. It steps on the heels of current flagships and uses advanced developments in the smartphone industry, moreover, it costs absolutely adequate money.

The smartphone is assembled in a metal and glass case with a gradient overflow of the back, which gives the outer “wrapper” of the gadget even more charm. In front of the user, a 5.97-inch Super AMOLED screen occupies about 90% of the front panel of the smartphone. A small piece of the display was "sewn up" by a neat "droplet", in place of which the "eye" of a 20 MP selfie camera is installed. In addition to shooting self-portraits, the front camera is used to unlock the device in the face. Also, user authentication is performed by the under-screen fingerprint sensor.

On the fillet part of the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE case, you can see a protruding “tee” of photographic sensors with a 48 MP module at the head. Additional sensors are used for shooting with zoom (8 MP telephoto) and capturing as much of the environment as possible in the frame (13 MP ultra-wide). The camera allows you to take excellent pictures in good light conditions and gives an acceptable result in scenes with difficult light. To help in obtaining a high-quality result, artificial intelligence algorithms have been put in place that recognize the plot and automatically adapt the shooting parameters to it.

In the “engine compartment” part , the model got hold of a 10-nanometer Snapdragon 712 chip, working in conjunction with 6 GB of RAM and high-performance Adreno 616 graphics. The high speed of the "flight" of applications with such data is provided to the smartphone with an eye to the future. Among other usefulness, the device was “brought up” with an NFC chip and support for fast (27 W) and wireless charging (20 W) technologies. The only thing missing from the model is a memory expansion slot. However, instead of the 64 GB version of the gadget, you can always look at the configuration with an internal drive of 128 GB, which in the era of cloud storage services will be more than enough for the lion's share of users.

The youngest of the smartphones of the P30 family from the Chinese company Huawei belongs to the family of strong middlings. The model will please users with nimble responsiveness, balanced equipment and design “on the wave of style”.

Due to the glass case with a gradient back panel, the smartphone looks no worse than its colleagues in the line - uncompromising flagships Huawei P30 128 GB / 6 GB and Huawei P30 Pro 128 GB / 6 GB / Dual . Pluses in the model's karma are added by the "high" FullHD + screen, which broadcasts the picture at a resolution of 2312x1080 pixels. From a small cutout in the upper area of the display, the user is “spying” on the lens of a 32 MP selfie camera, which is used incl. to recognize the owner of the device by face. At the same time, the smartphone is unlocked in the classic way - by fingerprint pattern. The scanner for this case is placed on a glass back.

The main photographic tasks are shouldered by a triple “cage” of cameras from the rear: 24 MP of the leading module, 8 MP of the “width” with a viewing angle of about 120 ° and 2 MP of the sensor, which is responsible for analyzing the depth of the scene and blurring the background when shooting in portrait mode. By the standards of the mid-budget Huawei P30 Lite takes pictures at a very decent quality level both in the daytime and at night, for which the filming mode of the same name is provided. The quality of the footage is also guarded by artificial intelligence, which “adjusts” the shooting parameters to the scene in the frame.

The place "at the helm" of the gadget was taken by the Kirin 710 chip, which contains 8 cores with a clock frequency of up to 2.2 GHz. “In the base” the smartphone is offered with 4/128 GB of memory, in the extended configuration of the model, the amount of RAM is increased to 6 GB. The performance reserves of the “iron” bundle are not to be occupied, gamers will also like the proprietary technology GPU Turbo 2.0, thanks to which the smartphone keeps a consistently high frame rate in games without the slightest subsidence. Throw in an NFC chip, a 3300mAh 18W battery charger, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack, and as a result, the Huawei P30 Lite deserves the title of a potential bestseller in the sub-flagship arena, and the label “mid-range thunderstorm” sticks to it without question.

The entry-level flagship from the South Korean tech giant Samsung has taken the sought-after niche of compact smartphones with a powerful “heart” in the electronic “chest”.

Simplification in the design of the model, if we draw parallels with Samsung Galaxy S10 128 GB Price from 6 170 up to 40 848 ₴ and Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 128 GB / 8 GB Price from 11 995 up to 22 981 ₴, the screen, which lost its sloping sides and the built-in fingerprint sensor (it is now located at the top of the right side), as well as the camera, which got rid of the third photographic "eye", underwent. On all other fronts , the smartphone is “stuffed” with advanced components, sharpened in a glass case with IP68 water protection level.

The pride of the Samsung Galaxy S10e is a screen based on the Dynamic AMOLED matrix, showing a picture at a resolution of 2280x1080 pixels. In the upper right corner of the display, you can see a small “island” of the front camera (10 MP), which, according to the authoritative resource DxOMark, is named one of the best in the class of front photographic modules. The main camera of the device combines 12 + 16 MP image sensors: the first is armed with optics with a variable aperture f / 1.5-f / 2.4, and the second “looks at the world” with a viewing angle of about 123 °. The optical stable rear cameras were not delivered, instead, artificial intelligence acts as an ally in obtaining high-quality photographs.

When it comes to performance, the Samsung Galaxy S10e is ahead of the curve. The combination of the top-end Exynos 9820 chip and 6 GB of RAM sets the smartphone’s high response rate. In the version for the US market, the model is offered with an even more powerful Snapdragon 855 processor. Separate flattering words deserve the support of the device for fast and two-way wireless charging technologies for a 3100 mAh battery. It is this mini-flagship with top-end features that many have been missing since the expansion of the Compact series from Sony and the curtailment of production of the “baby” Apple iPhone SE 32 GB .