best ips lcd display phone 2021 free sample
What constitutes a great phone display? Is it the high resolution and pixel density? Well, that, and great screen quality test numbers, that"s why the Sony Xperia 1 IV specs with the 1644p 4K panel top our list. What about the high brightness and contrast that offer good outdoor visibility in the sun outdoors? That"s certainly important, but most of today"s flagships have HDR-certified panels that breach the 1000-nit barrier upwards to fit the standard, and their OLED tech ensures practically infinite contrast ratio, so it"s hard to pick on that merit alone.
Ditto for credible color gamut presentation, as per-unit display calibration is no longer a prerogative of Apple"s iPhones, while said HDR display flagships now cover both the standard RGB, and the wide P3 color gamut. Is it the actual white balance and DeltaE numbers then? It"s getting warmer, but throw in dynamically-adjusted refresh rate based on the content displayed, and you"ve narrowed it down to only a few choices when it comes to the best phone displays that we round up below.
Not only does Sony make the only phones with 4K display resolution, but it also calibrates them to a near perfect level. The flagship Sony Xperia 1 IV carries a 6.5" 4K display with the whopping 643 PPI pixel density, and our display benchmarks returned class-beating brightness, white balance and wide gamut color representation credibility levels, some of the best we"ve measured. Add the high dynamic refresh rate, and the Sony Xperia 1 IV has probably the best panel on a phone so far.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display"s color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The "x: CIE31" and "y: CIE31" values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. "Y" shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while "Target Y" is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, "ΔE 2000" is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display"s measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
Pay attention to that "brightest" part and the 1Hz-120Hz specs at the full 1440p resolution. Yes, that means that the S22 Ultra is equipped with the newest LTPO OLED display technology that allowed for both the record 1750nits of peak brightness, 15% less battery consumption than what"s on the S21/S21+, and the dynamically-allocated refresh rate that can go down to 1Hz when you are looking at static images, or rev up all the way to 120Hz when you scroll.
This brightness is what makes the S22 Ultra display, in particular, stand out, as the granularly adaptive refresh rate has been on Oppo and OnePlus phones before it.
As usual with Oppo, ever since its partnership with Pixelworks, there is a per-unit factory Delta E calibration, color-blindness presets, and camera-to-display wide color management system. The LTPO panel is factory-calibrated and delivers one of the best color credibility Delta measurements we"ve ever taken, with only Google"s Pixels being better here.
Moreover, the Find X5 Pro has the best white balance score, nearest to the 6500K reference point that means the screens colors are spot on in terms of warmth, neither too yellowish, nor cold and blueish. Adding the high typical or peak brightness levels, the company has managed to beat its own best phone displays record.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display"s color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The "x: CIE31" and "y: CIE31" values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. "Y" shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while "Target Y" is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, "ΔE 2000" is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display"s measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
To take full advantage of its excellent display panel"s abilities, the Find X5 Pro employs a "multi-brightness color calibration," meaning that the screen is as color-credible in all lighting conditions, be it on the beach or in the dark.
Google managed to catch up with factory calibration and its Pixel 6 Pro display now delivers not only one of the most feature-rich panels in the Android universe - 1440p resolution, dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, and high brightness, but it is also in the top three in terms of color representation in our display benchmark database.
Birds of a feather, the OnePlus 10 Pro and Oppo Find X5 Pro, as they sport the same 6.7" 1440p LTPO OLED panel with dynamic refresh rate and individual display calibration at the factory level courtesy of the imaging specialists from Pixelworks. Thus, you get a near-perfect color accuracy, wide gamut coverage, and high average brightness, all for less than $900 barring any running OnePlus 10 Pro deals.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display"s color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The "x: CIE31" and "y: CIE31" values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. "Y" shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while "Target Y" is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, "ΔE 2000" is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display"s measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays" CalMAN calibration software.The high dynamic refresh rate is the best thing that happened to mobile displays since the introduction of the OLED technology, and there is no looking back once you"ve tried it while browsing and scrolling. Here"s the answers on our question how does it all work exactly:
The display is also basically able to do what MEMC TVs do, automatically increasing frames in video to up the rate, and take better advantage of the high refresh rate even with content that is usually shot with 24fps or 30fps. Detailing the panel"s virtues in a blog post, the OnePlus CEO also mentioned that:
In order to reach industry-leading color accuracy standards, we have added an additional automatic color calibration machine to the production line. By adding an extra 30 seconds to the production time, each display panel is automatically calibrated for color accuracy before it’s released.
Apple"s finest finally found the 120Hz refresh feature (say that 3 times quickly) and if you are already invested in the iOS ecosystem, there is nothing better than the brightest, toughest displays on an iPhone so far, the one on the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro.
Apple advertises it as having a record for a phone peak brightness level of 2000 nits, or more typical brightness of 1600 nits when consuming HDR content and 1000 nits otherwise. This is exactly what we measured and these displays are so advanced that only Samsung can make them at the moment with its 12th-gen OLED technology.
As usual, Apple offers great individual color calibration and the Super Retina XDR panel is HDR certified to show 4K Dolby Vision HDR video recorded by the phone"s own cameras. The only ho-hum part is the just average greyscale representation, so while the iPhone 14 Pro Max may have the brightest phone screen it"s not the most accurate in terms of color credibility.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display"s color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The "x: CIE31" and "y: CIE31" values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. "Y" shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while "Target Y" is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, "ΔE 2000" is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display"s measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
Say what you will about Google entering the fray here but the Pixels have very well calibrated displays and the new Pixel 6a is no exception. First off, its color credibility is better than the more established calibration champs here (just look at those DeltaE numbers below). It is also sufficiently bright, so if you are looking for a compact 5G Android phone with a great camera and display that won"t break the bank, the Pixel 6a would fit your narrative.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display"s color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The "x: CIE31" and "y: CIE31" values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. "Y" shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while "Target Y" is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, "ΔE 2000" is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display"s measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
Market forces made us endure screens interrupted with various sorts of notches and cutouts for a considerable time, but that’s all about to end soon. In the last few years, we have seen the Android community evolve from hating notches to being indifferent towards them. But living with the new wave of bezel-less, full-view display phones has convinced us that the world is better off without notches and it’s imperative that natural order be restored to our phone screens. (हिंदी में पढ़िए)
For now, most of the true full-view and notch-less display phones use Pop-up cameras or sliders, but a few tech giants including Samsung, Oppo, and Xiaomi have already demonstrated prototypes or released phones that place the front camera behind the screen.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G is the world’s first commercially available phone with an under-display camera (UDC). The main screen of this foldable phone is a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a 22.5:18 aspect ratio, QXGA+ (2208 x 1768) resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 374ppi. Thanks to that UDC, you get a 88.57 % screen to body ratio.
Rest, the device runs on a Snapdragon 888 chipset, 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 256/512GB UFS 3.1 storage, 4400mAh with 25W fast charging, and a penta-camera setup.
Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 4 is yet another under-screen camera phone. It calls its implementation CUP (Camera Under Panel), but the mechanism is pretty much the same as the other under-display selfie cameras out there. Above its 20MP selfie camera lies 400ppi pixels of the screen. This display stretches 6.67-inches and sports 120Hz refresh rate.
It ships with Snapdragon 888+ processor, 8GB/12GB RAM, 128GB/512GB storage, 4,500mAh battery and has 120W wired charging, 108MP camera, and Harman/Kardon speakers.
Asus Zenfone 8 Flip has a 6.67-inch (2400 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ E4 AMOLED HDR10+ display with 90Hz refresh rate, 200Hz touch sampling rate, 110% DCI-P3 color coverage, up to 1000 nits brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection. This full screen fascia is possible thanks to a flip camera module.
Legion Duel 2 is a gaming smartphone from Lenovo that’s envisioned to be used in landscape orientation primarily. The screen is a 6.92-inch Full HD+ AMOLED panel with 144Hz refresh rate, 1300 nits peak brightness, 111.1% DCI-P3 color gamut support, and 20.5:9 aspect ratio.
The front camera is present within a pop-up camera that raises from the right-hand edge of the phone. The logic is to allow players to stream their gameplay while playing in the horizontal orientation.
OnePlus was one of the first few Android OEMs to usher in a notch, and it’s also one of the first in the premium segment to get rid with OnePlus 7 Pro (review). It further continued the trend with OnePlus 7T Pro which comes with a gorgeous true full-view display with extremely narrow bezels.
The 90Hz refresh rate makes it super smooth, the resolution goes all the way up to 2K, and, there are those slick curves at the edges. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 855 octa-core chipset paired with high-quality UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR4X RAM. On the downside, the 7 Pro is big and bulky, is missing the audio jack, and has a mediocre set of cameras.
The elevating module opens like a fin and also makes room for the earpiece and LED flash. Anyway, the result is an immersive full-view AMOLED display that extends edge to edge. The Reno 10X Zoom has flagship-grade specs, including the Snapdragon 855, but all the tech housed within makes it a tad thick and heavy.
The Galaxy A80 is the only phone from Samsung with an AMOLED screen that extends edge to edge. Yes, even the high-end S-series and Note-series flagships rely on cutouts or punch holes to accommodate the front camera.
The 6Z (globally known as the Zenfone 6) is one of the most impressive phones we have seen from Asus in India. The 6Z (review) has a gorgeous and well-calibrated IPS LCD display that covers the entire facia. The selfie camera is housed in a flip module and this glass body phone houses a massive 5000mAh battery while being reasonably manageable.
The 6.4-inch screen has Full HD resolution which is quite sharp considering this is an IPS LCD and not AMOLED screen. This competitively priced Snapdragon 855-powered phone also has stereo speakers, 48MP primary camera, and runs an extremely close-to-stock version of Zen UI.
Xiaomi’s Redmi K20 Pro (review) brandishes an impressive set of specs that you’d otherwise find on phones priced significantly higher. With the K20 Pro, Xiaomi pays due attention to design and the phone gets a full-view AMOLED display (6.4-inch, full HD+) with an in-display fingerprint sensor lying underneath.
As is the case with most other Xiaomi phones, the K20 Pro is a great value proposition. Key features include triple rear cameras, 4000mAh battery with fast charging support, and MIUI 10 interface with fewer ads.
Oppo Reno, which is a trimmed-down version of the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom, has the same design with shark-fin pop-up and is also slimmer and significantly lighter. The handset has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display (Full HD) with around 87% screen-to-body ratio that targets DCI-P3 color gamut and is shielded by Gorilla Glass variant.
This one is missing 10X lossless zoom and Snapdragon 855, but the 48MP primary rear camera and SD 710 chipset should still be a good deal for light and moderate user.
Motorola One Fusion Plus rocks a 6.5-inch full HD+ notch-less TFT-LCD screen. It’s pop-up camera houses a 16MP sensor. Pivot and by the back you get a 64MP quartet.
The phone is powered by Snapdragon 730G with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 5000mAh battery. There is support for 15W fast charging. There is Vanilla Stock Android software too in the mix.
The Realme X (review) is a very competent phone that includes trendy features like a full-view AMOLED screen with minimal bezels on three sides, in-display fingerprint sensor, and pop-up camera – all for a sub Rs. 20,000 price.
The handset also comes in catchy onion and garlic gradients that look extremely premium. Other highlights include VOOC 3.0 fast charging, 48MP rear camera, and Snapdragon 710 chipset.
Redmi K20 passes on most of what’s good with the Redmi K20 Pro at a lower price point. The handset has the same design as the Pro variant and the same immersive full-view AMOLED display.
The Redmi K20 is however driven by Snapdragon 730 and replaces the Sony 48MP sensor with a Samsung sensor of the same resolution. Other features include in-display fingerprint reader, Pop-up camera, and 4000mAh battery with fast charging.
The Vivo 15 Pro has been around for a while, but it’s still a relevant option, especially at the new price. Both the V15 Pro and V15 employ a pop-up front camera and have a full-view display. The Pro variant, however, benefits from a better AMOLED screen and is powered by Snapdragon 675.
Huawei Y9 Prime is the first Huawei phone in India to deliver a full-view screen. The IPS LCD display on the phone measures 6.59-inch and is full HD sharp.
The handset is powered by Kirin 710 octa-core chipset paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. Other features include triple rear cameras, 4000mAh battery, and Android Pie based EMUI 10 software.
Samsung has developed one of the best full-view display devices globally. One such example of the same is the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The smartphone has a 6.9-inch dynamic AMOLED display complemented with a 120HZ refresh rate. The device has 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 1TB via a microSD card. It is powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 9 series processor.
On the camera front, the smartphone has a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 108MP primary shooter and two 12MP shooters. On the front, it gets a 10MP sensor for the sake of selfies and video calls. The device packs a 4500mAh battery along with fast charging as well as wireless charging support.
iQOO took the whole market by storm with the launch of the iQOO 9 Pro 5G. The smartphone stands as a strong competitor of devices like the OnePlus 9 Pro in the market. It comes with a 6.78-inch AMOLED display that also has a 120Hz refresh rate to offer a smoother experience. The smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage in the high-end variant of the device.
For photography, the iQOO 9 Pro sports a triple rear camera setup including a 50MP primary shooter, 50MP ultra wide-angle shooter, and a 16MP tertiary shooter. The 16MP front sensor of the device makes sure that you get the best results while clicking selfies. The handset has a 4700mAh battery that also supports 120W fast charging. The charging tech of the device claims to fully fuel it up in less than 20 minutes.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro could be hailed as one of the best devices launched by the company so far. The smartphone has a 6.73-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate The smartphone works on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor for high-speed performance, It also has 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage to store all your data.
When it comes to the camera, the handset rocks a triple rear camera setup including a 50MP primary shooter, 50MP secondary shooter, and a 50MP tertiary shooter. No doubt the camera performance of the smartphone is better than most of its competitors. The smartphone draws power from a 4600mAh battery and also supports Hyper Charging 4.0.
The flagship devices by Vivo have always amazed the users in terms of camera prowess, performance, and display capabilities. Vivo X70 Pro follows the same trend with its 6.56-inch AMOLED display coupled with a 120Hz refresh rate. Though we will say that the smartphone lags behind in terms of the processor as it has a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor. Apart from that, it has 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage that cannot be expanded.
The smartphone rocks a quad rear camera setup consisting of a 50MP primary sensor, two 12MP sensors, and an 8MP sensor for delivering the best shots in both daylight and low light. On the front, the device has a 32MP front camera for clicking selfies and attending video calls. The handset is powered by a 4450mAh battery that comes with flash charging support.
The OnePlus 10 series failed to make an impact like the OnePlus 9 series due to the changes and experiments. Still, the OnePlus 10 Pro was something which the audience loved because of the specs. The device works on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. The smartphone comes equipped with a Fluid AMOLED display and 120Hz refresh rate.
Furthermore, it flaunts a triple rear camera setup including a 48MP primary snapper, 50MP ultra wide-angle snapper, and an 8MP tertiary snapper. The smartphone has a 32MP camera at the front and it offers decent selfie shots along with allowing the user to attend video calls in HD. The device has a highly durable 5000mAh battery along with 80W superfast charging that completely charges the smartphone in less than 30 minutes.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE packs a compact 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED display along with a 120Hz refresh rate. The device runs on the Samsung Exynos 2100 processor accompanied by 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage that is non-expandable in nature. The smartphone operates on the Android 12 operating system offering the user a snappy interface without lots of bloatware.
Thanks to OnePlus, 90Hz displays became a popular word amongst smartphone enthusiasts since 2019. High refresh rate monitors have been around for ages, but it’s only for the last couple of years that the tech has successfully transitioned to phones. (हिंदी में पढ़िए)
While most of us talk about the screen’s resolution, colors, PPI, and type, we never consider the display refresh rate a priority. Well, that has now changed and high refresh rate screens are now in demand.
Before we list phones with 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate displays, let’s talk about what’s refresh rate and how much of a practical impact it makes at the user end.
The term refresh rate, in layman terms, is the count of how many times the screen refreshes its image in one second. It is basically measured in Hz. At present, most smartphone displays have a 60Hz refresh rate, or in other words, even if you are viewing a static image, your display is redrawing the same picture or is pushing the same frame 60 times every second.
At times people tend to get confused between higher refresh rates and higher frame rates (Hz vs FPS). FPS is the count of how many frames are being pushed to the display every second. FPS is related to the content you run on the screen, which might be a video or a game.
So, ideally, if your video has been shot and packaged at 90 frames per second (FPS) and your display has a 90Hz refresh rate, your phone will be able to push all frames.
Not much content is available to take advantage of 90Hz, so most videos and games push only 60 frames per second. This is also why most high refresh rate phones are programmed to dial down to 60Hz refresh rate when you are watching videos.
If the touch refresh rate and the display refresh rate are both clocked at 60Hz, it means the tracking and refreshing coincide, and the animations are rendered one interval later.
However, say, if the touch refresh rate is 120Hz and the display refresh rate is 60Hz, animations will still be snappier and smoother, and your screen would still appear to be more responsive, but the overall experience won’t match the fluidity of having a 120Hz refresh rate screen.
Samsung recently announced its latest foldable devices – the Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G in India. Both these phones come with Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED displays which not just fold but also manage to deliver a 120Hz refresh rate.
This display called Infinity Flex Display folds in half and you get a 6.2-inch screen on the surface. That cover panel is plenty big to use as a regular phone. Turn on the screen, you would be greeted by the OneUI 3.1 based on Android 11 with tailored software tweaks.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G ships with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC paired with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage whereas the Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G comes with the same processor but only 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the first Samsung phone to include 120Hz refresh rate support at 2K resolution. The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ support a 120Hz refresh rate but the display maxes out at Full HD+ resolution. The refresh rate on all of these phones is dynamic, which is to say it can vary between 10Hz and 120Hz depending on the display content.
But whatever the specs might be, Samsung flagships have a brilliant display with that wow factor you’d expect for the price. The Exynos 2100 SoC lends a significant performance boost and it’s paired with up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
Asus ROG Phone 5 is one of the few phones with a 144Hz AMOLED display in the country. The gaming phone from Asus is driven by Qualcomm’s best – the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Speaking of the display, it’s a 6.78-inch Full HD+ AMOLED panel that’s protected by Gorilla Glass 6. It sports an optical under-display fingerprint scanner, DCI-P3 color scale, HDR10, and SDR to HDR upscaling.
The phone is powered by a beefy 6000mAh battery with 65W fast charging support. The heavy lifting is backed by up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
OnePlus can be credited with making high refresh rate screens on phones mainstream. The OnePlus 9 Pro enjoys a 120Hz fluidity at QHD (2K) resolution. The 6.7-inch AMOLED display is HDR10+ compliant and is shielded by Gorilla Glass 5.
It’s powered by Snapdragon 888 octa-core chipset with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.0 storage. With the 9 Pro, OnePlus finally has flagship-worthy cameras and the 4500mAh battery with 65W fast charging support is another highlight to look forward to.
Mi 11 Ultra is the latest flagship from the world of Xiaomi to enter the Indian market. The 2021 Mi flagship adheres to the virtual flagship standard of featuring a 120Hz display on the top.
Vivo X70 Pro Plus has a dual-curved edge AMOLED screen that’s well-calibrated and refreshes at 120Hz. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ chipset and has a gimbal camera that proved quite effective in improving lowlight photography.
The bezels surrounding the screen have been kept to the minimum endowing a 91.7% screen-to-body ratio. The left cornered punch-hole cutout also is unobtrusive. Rest, here under the display, you get a fingerprint reader and top Dragontail glass protection.
The Realme GT comes powered by Snapdragon 888 chipset coupled with 12GB LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 internal storage. It is packed with a 4500mAh battery with a 65W SuperDart charge. Other prominent feature of the GT 5G includes a 64MP sensor-led triple-rear camera, 16MP selfie camera, and 5G connectivity support.
The recent launch of Poco F3 GT spices up the things in the under Rs 30,000 segment. The Poco F3 Pro matches phones like OnePlus Nord 2 and iQOO 7 toe-to-toe.
Another thing that will draw specs nerds towards Poco X3 Pro is its 6.67-inch 120Hz display that supports full HD+ resolution. HDR10 support is also present on the device. While the F3 GT 5G display specs look staller, we found overall color chemistry slightly off from our taste.
Oppo Find X3 Pro brandishes a 6.7″ AMOLED display with dual curved edges. The LTPO panel clocks a 120Hz refresh rate support. It is Quad HD+ in resolution, with 525PPI pixel density, up to 1300 nits brightness, end-to-end 10-bit color support, 97% NTSC/100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top.
The handset has a Snapdragon 888 under the hood along with ultra-thin VC liquid cooling, up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM+ 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. The phone is running on a 4500mAh battery with 65W fast charging support. Other things in the mix are a 50MP quad-camera system, ColorOS 11.2 based on Android 11, 5G SA/ NSA, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2.
For media consumption, this display is DRM L1 rated for HD streaming on Netflix, Youtube, and Prime videos. And the presence of DC Dimming should relieve your eyes from the PWM flicker strain.
The Moto G60 (review) only has an LCD panel, but one that refreshes 120 times a second. It is 6.78 inches in size with FHD+ resolution and HDR10 colors and contrasts. Since G60 is a stock-ish Android phone, there are no heavy animations either. The display can get sufficiently bright too under the sun.
As of today, 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rate has become a mainstream feature. In fact, there are several mainstream phones that offer displays with a 144Hz refresh rate.
The iPhone 13 feels like the most boring of this year’s iPhone models. In many ways it’s identical to the iPhone 13 Mini, but at least the small model still has an air of novelty about it.
The updates in the iPhone 13 are absolutely fine and mean that you won’t be interested in its predecessor. But at the same time they are relatively minor.
The iPhone 13 has a larger camera group on the back, the “chin” at the top of the screen is a touch smaller, and the phone is now 0.2 mm thicker. And the latter is quite telling when it comes to the entire update. At the same time the expanded size means that the telephone has a much bigger battery than before. It’s quite noticeable after a long day or if you’ve pushed the phone hard.
The square iPhone design now has an aluminium frame around, which reduces the weight. This makes the phone much more comfortable to hold for longer periods than the almost identically designed Pro model with its steel frame. But the design is otherwise exactly the same as last year’s models.
On the inside you find the Apple A15 chip. The model in the Pro phones is a bit sharper, but ultimately it’s a very small performance improvement this year. Despite that, the iPhone 13 comes in at the top when we run performance tests, so there’s plenty of power here.
Other than the fact that the Pro models now have support for LiDAR and a third lens, the camera bit is very similar on all four phones this year. This is good news for the iPhone 13.
For example, it has the new image stabilisation system, where the entire sensor sits in a kind of shock absorber. Last year this was only available on the Pro Max phone. The advantage of this is that it gives really good image stabilisation, particularly for video.
When it comes to taking photographs in daylight, however, it’s hard to see any quality difference between this year’s photos and last year’s. Both are really good. But in dark environments, the iPhone 13 is a step up. Both lenses are now much more light-sensitive, so in dark environments more details are captured and you get better colours.
And if you want to play about with the results, you can also try out the new cinematic mode for video, together with many more settings for taking still photos. These aren’t quite at the level of the iPhone 13 Pro, but much better than before.
If you have an iPhone 12, there’s no point updating to an iPhone 13 as they’re far too similar. But if you have an older iPhone, it may be worth replacing it. The Magsafe wireless magnetic charging system is very convenient and the new cameras together with the slightly larger battery make the iPhone 13 a useful piece of kit that offers most things you’ll need.
Screen: 6.8 inch LCD – 1440x30880 pixels 120 hz Processor: Exynos 2200 Camera: 108+10+10+12 Megapixel (wide, periscope tele, tele, ultrawide), selfie camera 40 megapixel Battery: 5,000 mAh Dimensions: 163.3x77.9x8.9 mm Weight: 228 g Operating system: Android 12 Other: On-screen fingerprint sensor, integrated S Pen, IP68
There was a time when we could expect that Samsung’s Note model of the year would give us everything that Samsung was able to offer in a phone. Then came the spring’s Ultra models of the S series, and Note was divided into several models before dying completely. With Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, we dare say that Samsung has finally found its way back, and is offering a phone that is both unique and incredibly confident as a flagship model.
Unlike last year’s S21 Ultra, not only is Samsung’s S Pen supported, but there is also a storage compartment for it. This means that, in practise, the S22 Ultra picks up where Galaxy Note left off, while at the same time making the phone relatively unique in terms of its features. The S Pen, and its areas of application, quite honestly remain at about the same level as last time, but at the same time there are so many features by now that we would still not have room to list them here.
The S22 Ultra also stands out in terms of design, as it both borrows the design language from the previous Note series, but also stands out on its own. Primarily the camera package stands out here, as it skips the raised camera island of the other S22 models, and places all the lenses directly on the back of the phone.
The cameras are exactly what we expected from both an Ultra model and a Note: class leaders. Samsung’s top models have always been among the best mobile cameras in the industry at the time of their release, and of course the same applies to the S22 Ultra throughout.
Besides the pen and camera, Samsung mainly delivers what we would expect from these types of phones. At the same time, it’s actually a bit rough around the edges when we really examine the details. We get an amazing display with Samsung"s typical top-class performance. While an update rate of 120 hertz is sufficient, it still feels a bit dull, especially now that cheaper phones can also offer 144 hertz. Not that this is really noticed in practise, but still. The same applies to the charging capabilities. With wired and wireless charging, Samsung provides 45 and 15 watts respectively, which is currently quite slow overall. As a “know it all, do it all” phone, the IR port should also have made a comeback, and perhaps even the headphone port.
That said, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is still a fantastic phone with a class-leading camera and a unique position with the pen. If you don"t need a pen, the phone may feel a bit expensive. But overall. this is a very competent machine.
As Xiaomi is releasing more headphones than we count, including the previous 11 Lite, “NE” should be seen as a New Edition. Slightly crazy, but sure, why not.
The rest of the phone is just right and fully sufficient. You get a rather large screen that can both tick off being Amoled and an update rate of 90 hertz. It feels really luxurious in the class below SEK 3,000.
Inside, you’ll find one of Qualcomm’s more modern mid-range chips, which will undoubtedly last for all kinds of everyday tasks. It also goes a long way for many types of games, so it doesn"t lack power.
In addition to this, there"s a built-in IR remote control, so that the phone can act as a multi-remote if you wish. Rapid charging is not the fastest by far, but enough to fill up the battery somewhat quickly. The mentioned battery also maintains enough charge without disappointing us. But unusually, we also get dust and water protection in the form of IP53, which is not common in this class (albeit slightly low). Wireless charging and a fingerprint reader in the display are all that are missing from more luxurious features. The reader is instead located on the power button on the side.
The smartphone segment is no longer quite what it was, so expensive phone models with "extra everything" no longer get the same level of attention they used to. But if you’re still looking for a really superior phone, you’ll find it difficult to find beat the new Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, at least during the first half of 2021.
For the smartphone segment, this is what an extra large pizza is for your diet. Maybe not quite what you need, but so good. Everything – and by that we really mean everything – is maximised. Let"s start with the screen, which is a full 6.8 inches and thus can be classified as almost tablet sized. And what a screen! We’re talking AMOLED with Quad HD resolution, with colours and brightness that no other phone on the market can match. In addition to that, the phone also has an image refresh rate of 120 Hz, which makes it almost feel like you’re dealing with interactive paper rather than a phone screen. Impressive. And Samsung have cleverly made that refresh frequency adaptive as well, which means the phone tunes down to the refresh frequency you actually need. This saves on battery, while still giving you a silky smooth effect when you need it.
On the camera side too, the Galaxy S21 Ultra impresses. The main sensor is a full 108 megapixels and the phone has double telephoto lenses, which allows for 100x zoom. That extreme zoom is really something of a gimmick, but there’s no doubt that the phone has a truly superior zoom in general. The dynamic range of the cameras is also quite magnificent and the night mode leaves very little to be desired (only the iPhone 12 Pro Max can compete in this respect).
In terms of performance, this phone is also a real monster. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has Samsung"s own Exynos 2100 chip, which basically means that nothing is ever going to be a problem due to poor performance. If you choose the variant with 512 GB of storage space, you also get 16 GB of RAM, while the 128 and 256 GB alternatives have to settle for 12 GB of RAM. In other words, plenty. One detail Samsung have left out – probably in order to keep the price down a bit – is a Micro SD card slot. In other words, you should take into account what storage needs you may have in the long run.
The battery is rated at 5000 mAh and provides a full day of use without any problems, even if you use it quite intensively. However, you may find yourself charging at night, if you aren"t the type who barely touches your phone during the day. Because Samsung have chosen to follow in Apple"s footsteps and no longer include a mains adapter, so if you want one of those you need to buy it separately or use an older one. When it comes to fast charging, there’s currently only support for 25-watt chargers. According to Samsung, these should be so optimised that they"re basically no different to 45 watts, but we haven"t tested this.
In summary, whilst this is a very expensive phone, it also really delivers. If you want the latest cool thing in a smartphone, this is the one you should be looking at. You get a fantastic screen, incredibly good cameras and performance that’s out of this world. And you also get a fair sized hole in your bank account.
The slightly slower chip and storage aren"t noticeable in practice, as everything we throw at it works as it should. It’s only by doing a direct comparison with faster phones that the speed difference becomes clear.
The iPhone 13 Pro is both a normal upgrade and a completely new experience. On paper, it’s a very modest upgrade that you’ll barely notice. But once you’ve started using it, it’s very difficult to go back to something older.
The outside is almost the same as before. The dimensions of both the phone and the camera have altered and grown a few millimetres in each direction – enough so that your old iPhone 12 Pro shell won’t fit (and the same applies to the screen protector). It’s the same square but unexpectedly comfortable design as last year, but with a distinctly higher weight this time. And the cameras haven’t merely grown wider, but also taller, which means they stick out of a normal-thickness shell.
The screen has two new features, but is otherwise identical with the predecessor’s really good screen, with insanely impact-resistant glass on top. For example, the “chin”, with the selfie camera and the technology for FaceID facial recognition, is a little smaller. It’s still there, however, so the fact that it’s shrunk a bit doesn’t make much difference. But the other new feature is the refresh rate. This is adjusted automatically depending on what you’re doing, from a low 10 Hz up to an amazing 120 Hz. This gives a completely different feel in the screen, both when you touch it and, for example, when you scroll through a website. It isn’t exactly an essential function, but once you use a telephone with a higher refresh rate than the normal 60 Hz, it feels like everything else is lagging. At the same time, the iPhone finally has this function, which has been present on other top models for several years.
Naturally, Magsafe, which was introduced last year, is concealed on the back of the iPhone 13 Pro. Wireless charging that fits together using magnets and can also be used as a magnetic bracket for the phone is still really clever. We’d have preferred the Lightning port to have bowed out in favour of USB-C this time, at least in the Pro editions. But we didn’t get that. At the same time, we’d have liked to see slightly quicker support for charging – both wireless and wired. But you do get a really substantial update to the battery, which actually does let you squeeze a lot more out of the phone for everyday use than last year’s model.
And in both Pro models, we find the faster variant of the A15 chip – an extra graphic core compared to the normal iPhone 13, but still. Performance is almost exactly the same as last year’s iPhones. But it still faster than most Android flagships and more power than you need for most things.
Perhaps the biggest new thing is the cameras. Other than the fact that they’re physically larger, the entire package has been updated. Image stabilisation via sensor shift, which last year was only available on the Pro Max, is also here and works extremely well. At the same time, the image sensors have become much larger, which gives much better photos in darker conditions. Overall, the image quality has been significantly updated in all modes and produces a very even result, just like iPhones have done previously. The automatic image processing is set to ensure that it looks as natural as possible. But if you still want to fiddle with the settings to make the more to your own personal taste, there are plenty of settings that allow you to do so.
Later in the autumn, ProRaw mode, which is only available for the Pro models, will be joined by the ProRes video mode. This will only be available for the Pro models with at least 265 GB of RAM. If you have the knowledge to exploit this, it’s something that adds a whole load more “Pro” to the iPhone 13 Pro. Right from the start it includes the new Cinematic mode, which shifts the focus between objects in the image. This is nice, when it works. In darker environments it disappears completely and it often feels both sluggish and choppy. But when it works it’s really good.
The iPhone 13 Pro makes last year’s Pro model uninteresting as a purchase, unless you can find it in a bargain bin. The iPhone 12 Pro was an extremely competent phone and the iPhone 13 Pro has grown even more into its Pro suit, so to speak. The updates aren’t revolutionary, but when you use them everything that came before feels old-fashioned.
Ever since Oneplus divided their phones into “normal” and “Pro”, the normal model has often seemed the most interesting, simply because it"s exciting to see how much of the flagship model they can squeeze into a cheaper model. Surprise, surprise! The Oneplus 9 is no exception.
The inside of the phone runs on the same Snapdragon 888 chip as its big brother, which means the performance is top notch for Android mobiles in 2021, with 5G built-in. The Oneplus 9 also has support for wireless charging, although not at the same turbo speed as the Pro model (wired fast charging is available, however).
And if we hadn’t read up on it, we wouldn’t have noticed any difference in the build quality. This is a well-built phone throughout, but with a plastic frame all around instead of aluminium. The camera unit on the back protrudes a bit as per usual, but at the same time it does give the phone a fairly characteristic look.
The camera package consists of two parts, two large lenses and one smaller one. In the Pro version, there’s also an additional smaller lens and laser autofocus. That’s a small, but important detail. The new collaboration with Hasselblad only applies to the two large lenses, which are identical on the two phones. Here, the camera legends have tinkered with and altered the settings to provide a better image and colour reproduction.
At the same time, the Oneplus 9 suffers from the same uneven quality as the Pro model. At its best, the image quality is phenomenal, but only a moment or so later, the colours can become strange or the whole image tinted blue. Like the Oneplus 9 Pro, the Oneplus 9 was bombarded with almost daily system updates during our test period. These have gradually fixed some of the problems, but many still remain. It feels a bit like the phone was released prematurely.
Price range: Medium Screen: 6.7 in IPS LCD, 90 Hz – 1080x2520 pixels Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G (1x3.2 GHz, 3x2.42 GHz & 4x1.8 GHz) Camera: 64+16+2 megapixels (wide, telephoto, ultrawide, macro, depth), 16+8 megapixels selfie camera Battery: 5000 mAh Dimensions: 168.4x74x9.7 mm Weight: 207 g Android version: 11 Miscellaneous: Fingerprint reader in screen, Water-repellent design
The Motorola Moto G100 is an affordable phone from the upper segment of mid-range phones. It also has two “special” functions, and if these are interesting for you, it’s a really good buy.
The cable allows you to quickly and easily connect your phone to a monitor. Connect your keyboard and mouse too, via Bluetooth, and you’re up and running with a PC-like desktop experience via your phone. Although Motorola kind of mess things up with four different profiles, all of which actually lead to the same desktop anyway, we’re amazed by how well and smoothly the whole thing actually works. Of course with mobile apps in separate windows on the screen and a few loading problems in some of them, but overall “PC mode” works very well. To us, this actually feels like something which should be standard in Android.
The desk stand makes it easier to use the camera for video conferencing (unfortunately only the front camera) while holding the phone steady. Unfortunately, the stand is also equipped with an incredibly annoying and constantly whirring fan, so we’d recommend another solution for your video calls.
With “Ready For”, the Motorola Moto G100 really does offer a glimpse into the future. The function doesn’t always work trouble-free, but it still works so well that we miss it in other phones. The rest of the phone offers decent performance for the price, even if the camera isn’t very exciting.
The Oneplus Nord CE 5G is part of a confusing series of models from Oneplus. Whether the confusion is because the owner company Oppo want to be more visible or for other reasons remains to be seen. Nord CE, (Core Edition), is supposed to function as a kind of stripped-down variant of the already cheap (and confusing) Nord series. Just a month after its release, Oneplus also released the Nord 2, with basically the same specifications, except for the system chip and a few design details. So yes, the series is quite confusing. But the CE, or Core Edition, isn’t a bad phone.
Oneplus’ recent top models promised a lot and struggled to deliver, but it’s the opposite with the CE. Many other manufacturers have mid-range phones in or around this price class. And with most of them it’s a question of choosing between features such as an OLED screen, a 90 Hz refresh rate and a slightly better performance, because in this price class those things are rarely all offered together.
Of course, 5G is also included, and Oneplus promises two major Android updates and three years of security updates before the phone is abandoned. This phone isn’t the best of the best, but it’s still a very good buy in this price class.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is something of a double comeback for Samsung. Firstly, they’ve learned from the relatively unsuccessful S20 Ultra. And secondly it makes the Note series interesting again, which it hasn’t been for a few years. In other words, it’s a worthy winner of the Best Premium Choice title.
The Note series have always been enormous phones, which has made them rather tricky to handle. With the Note 20 Ultra, Samsung have succeeded in making even an enormous telephone feel well balanced and relatively ergonomic. It’s light years from the equally large S20 Ultra, which just wasn’t at all comfortable to use.
On the inside, there’s a lot that’s familiar from the S20 telephones, which by 2020 standards definitely isn’t a bad thing. Although it’s not exactly top of the class when it comes to speed.
As is always true for the Note series, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra isn’t the right phone for everyone. You have to see the point of the pen and all of its functions for it to be worth the price. But at the same time, the Note 20 Ultra has the same price tag as the S20 Ultra, and if you"re choosing between the two models it’s definitely the Note 20 Ultra you should be going for. If you want ultra luxury and are happy to pay for extra functions, there’s actually nothing to beat it just now, which makes the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra our Best Premium Choice.
These differences begin with the case, which is made of a ceramic material. Chinese manufacturers like to use ceramics to emphasise the luxury aspect of a phone, and it does give the whole phone a really nice premium feel. At the same time, the phone has a bit of a problem in terms of balance, as the large camera housing makes it feel a bit heavy. This is a shame, because it’s otherwise a really well-built phone, with a nice, fast screen and – despite its size – quite good ergonomics.
At the same time, Xiaomi do seem to have problems with cooling. Both in the Mi 11 Ultra and other phones in the series, we unexpectedly, and quite quickly, encounter warning messages about overheating when we start pushing the phone. The Snapdragon 888 chip that powers the phone is prone to getting hot, but other phones tested with the same chip haven’t been as quick to complain.
Most of all the Mi 11 Ultra is exclusively about the rear camera. The camera housing is without a doubt the largest we"ve seen on a phone, which also has the unexpected advantage that the phone lies flat against a table without wobbling when you touch the screen.
There are three really good cameras next to the small screen. Regardless of whether you leave the AI enhancement of images on or not, the images can feel a bit cold. At the same time, you get an insane dynamic range and amazingly good details in both daylight and darker environments. What’s particularly nice is that all three lenses have received about the same amount of love, which means that, for example, there’s no competition for evening 5x zoom on this phone.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is a model phone that’s almost consistently at the same level as other "ultra-phones". Xiaomi doesn’t really have the whole ecosystem quite there, but otherwise they’re clearly on the same level as the other big players in the mobile market.
Price class: Budget Screen: 6.53 inch IPS, 1080x2340 pixels Processor: Mediatek Helio G90T, 2x2.05 GHz+6x2 GHz Camera: 64+8+2+2 Megapixel (wide, ultrawide, macro, depth), selfie camera 20 megapixel Battery: 4500 mAh Dimensions: 161.4x76.4x8.8 mm Weight: 200 g Android version: 9 Miscellaneous: Fingerprint reader
Xiaomi seem to work to Samsung’s plan of releasing so many mobile phones that it’s hard to distinguish between them. This includes having two “Note” series. While the Mi Note is a slightly more high-quality product, the Redmi Note has always offered almost ridiculous levels of bang for the buck. And the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro is definitely not an exception to this rule.
It’s difficult to find a Xiaomi phone that gives a poor impression in terms of build quality, except perhaps their very cheapest models. And the Note 8 Pro doesn’t disappoint, with the exception of the enormous protruding camera housing.
This is a fast mobile phone given its price. Even though the processor in the phone doesn’t come from Qualcomm like the majority of top models, it’s still one of budget rival Mediatek’s faster chips and this makes a big difference to the performance. Consequently this is a mobile phone with medium class performance for a budget price. For everyday use it’s not likely to appear slow.
And the same applies to other parts of the innards. 64 GB of storage is generous for the price class and can always be expanded with an extra memory card if you sacrifice the second SIM card slot. The battery also lasts really well – a whole day, or even more depending on how much you use the phone.
The only thing that’s a slight negative is the LCD screen, where competing phones in roughly the same price class from Samsung have AMOLED screens, with correspondingly better colours. But at the same time it’s not a bad screen in any way.
The Lenovo Legion Duel is an unapologetic smartphone that performs fantastically well. This is a phone for gamers – and it comes with all the tweaks you can think of. Which means this isn’t a phone for everyone – but no one can accuse Lenovo of not doing their best with the Legion Duel.
As soon as you open the box, you’re met by a built-in sound effect, which kind of sets the scene for this phone. Once the phone is out of the box, it turns out to be a monster in every way.
On the other long side of the phone, and also on the short side, you have USB-C ports for charging. These are on both sides so you can easily choose a charging port for more comfortable gaming, or so you can plug in a cable at both points and turbo charge the phone. The power adapter that comes with the phone also has two sockets for this.
The back of the phone has cameras placed in the centre along with the Lenovo Legion logo that glows in angry neon colours. These can be set to your own preference. The camera is fine, but nothing special. But the idea with this camera isn"t that it should be great at taking pictures. Other things have been prioritised instead.
Once up and running, you’re greeted by Lenovo"s own Legion interface and a question as to whether you want to connect up a mouse and keyboard for gaming. This is followed by an introductory video which, if nothing else, clearly demonstrates the solid stereo sound. You get a sound level and a sense of space more akin to a smaller laptop than a phone.
On the inside, you’ve got today"s fastest chip for Android phones – the Snapdragon 865+. This, in combination with dual cooling systems, gives you the highest performance figures we’ve yet seen from an Android phone. And nor have we run into maxing out the graphics in the games that offer different graphics levels. At the same time, the cooling systems and the chip make the whole phone feel warmer than many competitors.
The substantial screen also suffers a bit from a slightly lower resolution than other manufacturers" top models. But on the plus side, you do get good colours with the AMOLED technology and, since this a gaming phone we’re talking about, a 144 Hz refresh rate.
The Lenovo Legion Duel is a great gaming phone. Neither the size nor the design will appeal to everyone and there are a few flaws. But for gaming, especially using a dual charger, nothing really beats it. If we’d had an award for the best gaming phone, the Lenovo would have won it hands down.
It’s time to admit it. Most of us have phones whose performance and specifications far exceed what we actually need. For some, it’s true, their phone is a status symbol. And in such cases, a phone needs to have everything and a bit more besides. But really, for most of us, it’s actually the middle segment that’s the sensible choice, because phones in this sort of price class have become so powerful they can often compete with the flagships when it comes to everyday use.
Samsung"s Galaxy A42 5G is an excellent example of exactly that. Unless you"re planning to make a movie using your camera, this is a phone that basically leaves nothing to be desired.
The Galaxy A42 5G is equipped with a 6.6 inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. It also has a really nice camera module with four sensors (a 48 megapixel main camera, an ultra-wide-angle lens of 8 megapixels, a macro lens of 5 megapixels and a depth sensor of 5 megapixels). On the front, a 20-megapixel selfie camera is housed in a teardrop-shaped sensor panel. The video part supports both slow motion and hyperlapse. And, as the icing on the cake, the phone is even equipped with 5G support. The phone also comes with up to 8 GB of RAM , 128 GB of storage space and it has a screen-based fingerprint reader.
In truth, apart from slightly lower screen resolution and the camera, the difference is mainly just the system chip. Under the bonnet there’s a Snapdragon 750G chip, which simply can’t compete with either the Exynos or Snapdragon chips the top range phones all have but which, nevertheless, and thanks to its eight processor cores, can still be classified as really powerful. In recent years, the mid-segment chip from Qualcomm has approached flagship performance, and users who can actually perceive any significant difference between the top chip and the 7-series are undoubtedly very few.
Another detail that distinguishes this phone from the absolute top phones is the feeling of quality. The Galaxy A42 5G simply doesn’t feel like a premium phone when you hold it and instead feels a bit plasticky and very light. This is due to two things: That it’s made of plastic – and that it’s very light. The latter is actually an advantage in many ways, but also contributes to the feeling that you aren"t dealing with a flagship. However, the phone feels very comfortable in your hand, and you get a firm and good grip without any problems. The design of the back in four shades, on the other hand, is unlikely to win any design awards. But one big plus is that the camera module barely protrudes at all.
The screen, on the other hand, is both razor sharp and extremely compliant and responsive, something that feels unusual in this segment. And it feels as if both the pixel density and the refresh rate are significantly higher than what’s stated. This phone simply has a very screen. To test the phone we switched between this model and an iPhone 11 Pro, and although Apple"s phone certainly felt a tad sharper, there wasn"t any major difference.
5G is without a doubt the future, but buying a phone with only 5G at the moment is probably a bit daft. We tested this phone in Stockholm, in places where there’s supposed to be very good 5G coverage. But the best we get was about 77 Mbit/second, and that was only in one very limited location. If other places, with a clear view in all directions, we only got 44 Mbit/second, when we finally did manage to capture the elusive 5G signal. So clearly we all need to wait for the frequency auctions to start and for the networks to be ready before 5G becomes a powerful buying argument.
At the same time, it’s an well-built smartphone with a luxurious feel. The same applies to the large screen that, true to form, is top class in all modes. The fingerprint reader under the screen glass has improved since the S10 series in the spring, but it can still be rather frustrating to use as an unlocking method for privacy.
And we can continue across the board. Everything in this phone is a little bit better than the already really good S10 series. The camera is one of the best you can find in a mobile today and now you can also film with bokeh around objects if you want.
You can focus the sound during videos, which works really well. Sound during playback through the mobile’s speaker is also very good, even though it doesn’t quite equal our experience with the iPhone 11 Pro, for example.
And the battery life is also decent. If you use lots of the functions it does drain constantly, but despite quite h