GeekSnipper Tech Awards 2017 – Smartphones Of The Year !

0

 

2017 has finally came to an ending & we think this is the right time to for our Tech Awards to come out. So, we’re starting with Smartphones & we’ll be picking one winner in each category & we actually have several categories here. So, let’s get started right away.

 

The Best Industrial Design: Essential Phone

The Essential Phone was one of the best phones in terms of Design this year. That Display with that Camera notch on on top in our opinion looks quite awesome. Also, the frame of the phone is made out of Titanium Alloy what doesn’t just makes the phone look good but, also much durable compared to Aluminium Alloy. The Ceramic Back also looks very good & the best thing is there is no logo or branding anywhere. So, with all these unique design elements without compromising on durability makes the Essential Phone our pick for the Best Industrial Design in any smartphone of 2017.

The runner up will be the iPhone X for that Beautiful Display on the Front and we know many of you expected it to win. But, other than the Screen,there is noting much to like a bout the design & on the back, that Camera hump looks pretty unappealing. So, these things stopped the iPhone X to reach the No. 1 spot in out list in terms of design.

 

The Best Display: Galaxy Note 8

Samsung Galaxy Note 8- Best Display

When it comes to Display, Samsung almost tops everywhere for their awesome AMOLED Displays and it is no surprise that they have also secured the 1st spot in our Our List in terms of Display. So, the Displays on the S8 & S8+ are straight up awesome but, we’ll give the crown to the Galaxy Note 8.

We feel like that Super AMOLED Display is slightly better compared to the ones on the S8 & S8+ and it is also extremely bright at 1000 nit and that’s a huge deal for any Display using OLED Technology. So, that’s why the Note 8 is our pick for the Best Display on any smartphone in 2017.

Runner up, you know it. It’s the Galaxy S8 & S8+. But, this time they were really close in terms of quality.

 

The Best Cameras: Google Pixel 2/XL

Google Pixel 2 And Pixel 2 XL Renders Leaked Out With Pricing Details

Oh hey, we are talking Cameras right now & we have seen a ton of devices coming out with Great Cameras this year. The Galaxy S8/S8+, LG G6, Galaxy Note 8, LG V30, HTC U11/U11+, ASUS Zenfone 4 Pro & Huawei Mate 10 pro, all of these have great Cameras but just like last year, the new Pixels or I may say, Google Pixel 2/ Pixel 2 XL has taken the crown for the Best Cameras on any smartphone of 2017.

So, unlike every other major Flagship this year, Google has decided to go with a Single Camera setup on the Back but, the Pictures coming out of it are straight up amazing. Better than the Note 8. The Portrait Mode is also surprisingly very good & Google is doing all of this with AI or better to say Machine Learning. So, they have portrait modes on both the Rear & the Front Cameras which work really good when other manufacturers are struggling to produce good results even with a secondary lens. So, that Exceptionally Good Camera makes the Gogle Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL  our top pick(s) for the Best Cameras on  any smartphone in 2017.

 

The Best Selfie Focused Device: ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro

ASUS Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro Review

Selfie focused phones are big game players for 2017 & it’s even hard to count the total number of Selfie Phones that came out this year. Companies like OPPO & VIVO were all over this game & we even saw brands like Huawei making phones like the Honor 9i that was mainly for  selfie freaks. But, ASUS came out of nowhere with their Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro & took the first place straight away.

The Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro packs a 12MP Sony IMX362 Sensor which is a Flagship Grade sensor that ASUS uses in the Zenfone 3 Zoom’s main Rear Camera which is a Camera focused device. So, the sensor isn’t just taking Good Selfies With Beautification or stuff like that but, it is also capable of taking actual Good Quality Natural Selfies without Beautification. It can shoot 4K @30FPS from the main Front Camera & also, that f-1.8 Aperture helps in Low-light situations. But, surprisingly it also comes with a decent hardware. So, where other manufacturers are kinda making the rest of the Hardware idiotic, ASUS has managed to fit an AMOLED Display, the 14nm Snapdragon 625 & the Rear Camera is also pretty good with the IMX351 sensor in it. So, that’s why the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro our top pick for the Best Selfie Focused Device of 2017.

The Best Hardware Performance: Apple iPhone X

Virgin Mobile USA Is Offering iPhone X Through Inner Circle With Pre-orders Starting November 3

When it comes to raw performance, it’s the iPhone X without any question. The Apple A11 Bionic is undoubtedly the best Smartphone CPU of 2017. Apple nailed it this time with the amount of Performance they were able to pull from that SOC. The GPU is also great which is able to compliment the performance of the CPU. The UI still feels a little immature but, it’s improving with time & software updates so, it’s not really a hardware thing.

The FaceID Hardware is also very good. It’s not perfect but, it’s actually pretty secure compared to any other Android Flagship that is using Face Unlock. So, what Apple has done with the iPhone X hardware will definitely push companies like Samsung & Qualcomm to push their boundaries even further. So without any doubt, the iPhone X has the Best Hardware performance in 2017.

 

The Best Videography Device: LG V30

LG V30 Was Just Announced At IFA 2017

LG has been nailing Smartphone Videography since the days of the V20 & those capabilities have seen reached a new hight with the LG V30. There are a huge amount of controls in Video but, the biggest thing that no other Smartphonecurrently does is, shooting RAW Video. Though, the bitrate is pretty low but at least there is that option to shoot in RAW & apply color grading by preference in a Video Editing Software afterwards. Even if users want their footage to look more cinematic & don’t want to take the time to color grade later, LG has also included some pre-defined presets to shoot with. There is even options to record Hi-Fi Audio alongside.

So, without any doubt the LG V30 is our top pick for the Best Videography Smartphone of 2017.

 

The Best Flagship Mid Ranger: OnePlus 5T

This category is definitely a scoring ground for OnePlus & Honor. They made some amazing Mid rangers in 2017. The OnePlus 5 & Honor 8 Pro were definitely great devices. But, recently we got the OnePlus 5T & the Honor V10 which were even better. But, the crown definitely goes to the OnePlus 5T.

The OnePlus 5T came at exactly the same price point of the OnePlus 5 but, it has that new 18:9 Display & that updated Dual Camera system. There is also, flagship hardware including Snapdragon 835, 8GB RAM, 128 Gigs of Internal storage & more. All of this costs  much less from something like a Galaxy S8 or LG V30. And the Display, the Cameras, the Battery Life, the Dash Charging everything is kinda great. So, that makes the OnePlus 5T, our top pick for the Best Flagship Mid Ranger.

 

The Unexpected Surprise: Razer Phone

Razer Has Actual Reasons For Removing The Headphone Jack

The RazerPhone Came out of nowhere & it had some of the best components beating every other Smartphone out there. These Components are the 120 Hz Display & the Front Facing Dual Speakers. Razer is the first company to fit a 120Hz IGZO panel in a Smartphone & their variable Frame-rate Technology helps to give battery life by not using all that refresh rate when you absolutely don’t need it.

The front facing dual stereo Speakers are THX certified. They are the loudest speakers available & they also have great sound quality. The Audio via. the USB Type C port (Headphone Jack is also really good. Overall it’s a made for gaming Smartphone that is also able to find a sweet spot as daily driver.  So, that’s why the Razer Phone is our top pick, for the Unexpected Surprise of 2017.

 

The Best Budget Smartphone: Mi A1

Android One Is Slowly Moving To Mid Range Devices

The Mi A1 launched with Android One initiative by Google. That means it was running Stock Android at a price of 14999  INR (around 232.4 USD). And the hardware isn’t bad either. The Snapdragon 625, 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage, Dual 12MP Rear Cameras & 3000 mAh Battery.

With the Good Hardware & Stock Android with promise of a couple of Android Upgrades, the Mi A1 is some serious value for Money. So, that makes it our top pick for the Best Budget Smartphone of 2017.

 

The Best Super Low Budget Smartphone: Redmi 5A

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A Will Bring Several Improvements Over The Redmi 4A

There is not much we have when we talk about Super Low budget Smartphones. But, Xiaomi has a taken a step further & launched the Redmi 5A  with the Snapdragon 425, 2GB RAM, 16GB Storage, 13MP Rear shooter, 5MP Front shooter & a 3000 mAh Battery at a freaking price of 4999 INR (around 77.5 USD) in India.

 

The Best Battery Life Smartphone: ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom (Zenfone Zoom S)

There are a ton of Smartphones available with Big Batteries but, most of them have serious compromises in the Other segments so, we wanted to find a phone that has great Battery life while not having a complete disadvantage in other segments. Hence we chose Zenfone 3 Zoom (aka Zenfone Zoom s) as our winner. It has a big 5000 mAh Battery & it is powered by the 14nm Snapdragon 625. This combination gives a massive battery life that can easily last upto Two days in Casual use & if the user is in Photography what the device, is made for, it can still last with some Battery at the end of the Day.

So, with the Balanced Hardware & Great Battery Life, the Zenfone 3 Zoom finds it’s place to the top as the Best Battery Life Smartphone of 2017.

That wraps up our list for the Smartphones Of The Year. Congratulations to all the OEMs whose devices were selected for the Geeksnipper Tech Awards 2017. Stay tuned as we have more to come from the Tech awards this year.

 

Leave A Reply