Choosing a mid-range smartphone for 2017

 

High-quality FullHD screen, good level of performance, fast fingerprint scanner, IR port for controlling equipment, long-term battery life, price.

 

 

Mediocre quality of photographs and videos.

 

The model with the Prime prefix is the maximum configuration in the Xiaomi Redmi 4 family of smartphones.

The external differences of the "pumped" model from the younger colleague are manifested only in the flash installation location: in the Prime version, it is located to the left of the main camera module, and in the regular one — to the right. The rest of the phones are used inside. So, the top version uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 3 GB of RAM and an Adreno 506 graphics accelerator as hardware — with such a hardware, the smartphone's performance level is a third ahead of similar indicators of the younger model. In fact, such an increase makes it possible to run any modern games at the maximum graphics parameters and allows you to forget about lags or interface slowdowns in daily operation.

Another difference lies in the screen. With a diagonal of 5", its resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels — the individual pixels from which the picture is built are not visible on the display with the naked eye. The increased resolution only affected the battery life of the gadget, but with a 4100 mAh battery, it did not decrease so significantly.

Of the 32 GB of internal memory, about 25 GB is available to the user. If this is not enough, a hybrid memory card slot combined with a SIM card slot will come to the rescue. In a separate line, Xiaomi is pleased with the habit of equipping its products with an IR port for controlling equipment — now you don't have to look for a remote control to urgently switch the TV channel. And a fast and accurate fingerprint sensor built into the back cover is responsible for the confidentiality of information in the phone.

Only the quality of photographs and videos does not deserve flattering words in the design of the model. When shooting on the main camera, a lack of dynamic range is often visible, which can be corrected by switching to HDR mode, and the front-facing images frankly do not shine with high quality. Nevertheless, the number of advantages of Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime significantly outweighs the scales in its favor. And a special factor that attracts attention to the smartphone is its relatively low cost.

 

High threshold of maximum screen brightness, flexible ZenUI shell, long-term battery life, the ability to charge gadgets via an OTG cable.

 

 

Mediocre sound quality of the external speaker, low sharpness in images from the front camera.

 

The next update of the ZenFone line from the Taiwanese company Asus brought to the public a bunch of different variations of the same smartphone, each of which has its own "highlight". The model with the Max index stands out among its fellows with an increased capacity battery (4130 mAh) and the ability to share the battery charge with other gadgets via an OTG cable.

The smartphone case consists of a symbiosis of metal and glass with plastic inserts in the upper and lower parts on the back side. During the operation of the smartphone, there are no creaks and backlashes of the case, which indicates an excellent assembly. A loud speaker with mediocre sound quality is built into the lower part of the phone cover, and closer to the middle there is a fingerprint sensor, which does not have a record speed of responsiveness. At the same time, he is able to perform not only the function of unlocking the gadget — when taking a selfie on the front camera, the fingerprint sensor replaces the shutter button.

The quality of images obtained with the help of a selfie camera cannot be called a reference — frames often lack sharpness and detail. But the built-in mode for smoothing the skin of the face will help to make a beautiful portrait. The main camera provides a much better result — the 13-megapixel module produces sharp images with correct colour reproduction and is able to shoot video in resolution up to FullHD (1920 x 1080 pixels). However, stabilization when shooting videos works only in HD format (1280x720 pixels).

HD resolution also appears in the characteristics of the model's screen, built on the basis of IPS technology. The strong side of the display is the high threshold of maximum brightness (400 cd/m²), thanks to which the picture remains distinguishable even under direct sunlight. The screen recognizes up to 5 simultaneous taps, which is useful both in everyday use and in games.

The 4-core processor of the Mediatek MT-6737 smartphone allows you to run almost all modern games, but it is not designed for record-breaking performance. The overall performance level of the smartphone is estimated by 40K points in the AnTuTu synthetic test. In conjunction with the flexible and customizable ZenUI 3.0 shell, hardware provides comfortable work with the vast majority of applications. Moreover, the battery life of the gadget is enough for 2 full days of operation.

As you know, the Chinese do not really like the number "4" because of its unfavorable consonance. That is why to replace the models Meizu M3 Note 16 GB / 2 GB and Meizu M3e 32 GB / 3 GB a smartphone with the M5 Note index has been released.

He inherited the design of the phone from his predecessors, as well as the hardware. The hardware of the smartphone consists of an 8-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor, 3 GB of RAM and a Mali-T860 graphics accelerator. The processor has its own peculiarity: 4 cores in its design are energy efficient and serve to perform simple tasks, and 4 more are connected when it is necessary to ensure high performance.

The screen of the Meizu M5 Note has a typical 5.5" diagonal for its class, and also has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. There are no claims to the brightness margin, colour rendering quality, and even more so to the viewing angles of the display. Perhaps the only complaints from users are caused by the operation of the camera in low light conditions — night pictures are spoiled by a significant amount of noise. In daylight, you can expect a better result, especially considering the possibility of setting manual settings.

One of the significant differences from previous models was the smartphone's support for fast charging technology (see the article "Brief educational programme on fast and wireless charging technologies"). The 4000 mAh battery will be able to replenish its reserves up to 80% in just 1 hour, and up to 100% in 1.5 hours. The built-in battery charge is enough for a day of active smartphone use (watching online videos, gaming, social networking, etc.).

The model boasts a multifunctional "Home" key. First, clicking on it returns to the main desktop. Secondly, a touch layer is applied to the button, by touching which a return occurs. And thirdly, a fast and responsive fingerprint scanner is built into the key.

Owners of the M3 Note and M3e models hardly need to upgrade to the "five". But to get acquainted with the Meizu brand, a smartphone is the best fit. It improved a little bit of everything, thanks to which it was possible to get a convenient device for everyday use, devoid of "childhood sores".

 

FullHD screen with rich colour reproduction and good viewing angles, all-metal body, functional and responsive MiFavor UI shell, remarkable design.

 

 

There is no fingerprint scanner, low performance in games, short battery life.

 

The products of ZTE, which recently broke into the east european market, occupy the top lines in various popularity ratings around the world. The more interesting looks a strong middle-aged man from the model range of the Chinese brand 2016 with an all-metal case ZTE Blade V7.

First of all, the smartphone will please users with a FullHD screen with rich colour reproduction and excellent viewing angles, which is typical of most IPS format matrices. With a diagonal of 5.2" and thin frames, it is convenient to reach any point of the display with the fingers of one hand. According to the results of measurements during testing of the phone, the brightness range of the screen was 13-486 cd / m². For a simple layman, this indicates the possibility of comfortable use of the gadget both in complete darkness and on a bright sunny day.

There is not so much of its memory on board the phone — the built-in drive has a capacity of 16 GB. But if you replace one "SIM card" with a microSD memory card, the volume of data storage can be increased by another 128 GB. AnTuTu test data (about 36K "points") directly indicate that the device will not pull heavy games. He prefers to perform everyday tasks (browsing the Internet, watching online videos, communicating in messengers, etc.).

The responsive proprietary MiFavor UI shell has taken root in Android 6.0 OS, which is expressed in the presence of a separate menu of desktop appearance settings and a gesture control system. As for the cameras, both modules are no different from the solutions of competitors in the class — the main 13-megapixel camera is equipped with LED flash and fast phase autofocus, and the front module has a resolution of 5 MP. The selfie camera looks a little strange against the background of the smartphone version ZTE Blade V7 Lite 16 GB / 2 GB — the younger model is equipped with a flash and boasts a resolution of 8 MP. Also, the "kid" has a fingerprint scanner in its arsenal, which the older version does not have.

A 2500 mAh battery is unlikely to be able to please smartphone owners with long-term battery life. Its charge will last exactly for a day of average activity. In general, the model does not stand out much among the hordes of competitors, but attention should be paid to it at least thanks to the remarkable design, thanks to which it is pleasant to hold a smartphone in your hand and not ashamed to put it on the table in a cafe.

 

A good level of performance, a fast fingerprint scanner, good cameras, 4K video recording, USB Type-C expansion.

 

 

The case is prone to scratches, mediocre sound quality.

 

At first glance, the brainchild of Huawei is easily confused with Huawei Nexus 6P 32 GB — the design of the smartphone is almost completely borrowed from a successful and memorable flagship developed in collaboration with Google.

The metal back of the mobile phone is diluted with a black pseudo-glass insert, in which the peephole of the main camera and the LED flash are hidden. Chinese engineers did not invent anything radically new and simply took as a basis the camera module of the current flagship model Huawei P9 32 GB / 3 GB — its resolution is 12 MP, and the maximum aperture is f/2.2. In addition to high-quality photos, the main camera can record video in resolution up to 4K. The front-facing camera also deserves high praise, since an 8-megapixel module with an f/2.0 aperture produces a highly detailed and sharp picture. In addition, a number of facial skin "improvers" are available to the user.

In terms of hardware, the smartphone is very similar to the more affordable Xiaomi Redmi 4 Pro 32 GB / 3 GB — it has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 3 GB of RAM and an Adreno 506 graphics accelerator. The results of synthetic tests once again confirm the similarity of both models — the performance of phones in the AnTuTu test is estimated at about 60K points, i.e. all modern games and applications will run at maximum settings without compromising performance.

The front part of the phone is covered with tempered 2.5D glass with an excellent oleophobic coating. A bright and contrasting IPS matrix with FullHD resolution is placed under it. With a 5-inch diagonal screen and an energy-efficient processor, the level of battery life of the gadget is 1.5-2 days. Fast charging was not delivered to him, but they took care of the convenience of replenishing energy reserves by installing a two-way USB Type-C connector.

Among the controversial sides of the model, the owners highlight the tendency of the smartphone case to scratches and mediocre sound quality (both the built-in speaker and when listening to music through headphones). Nevertheless, Huawei Nova is equipped with everything necessary for comfortable use, and in the speed of work it can easily compete with flagships, for which it is chosen by numerous users.