The way the Android smartphone ecosystem has developed this year, there is a very clear flagship price bracket (usually upwards of Rs.40,000; the sky is the limit), but there is also a second rung of more affordable smartphones that pack in powerful hardware and want to replicate the experience the more expensive phones offer. The latter, also known as flagship killers, are a good option for those who don’t have a big budget, but want the same experience. Here are some of the flagship killers that you may like.
Moto X Play
Rs.19,999
Motorola’s Moto X Play isn’t really eye-catching, but blends that consistent design well with smart ergonomics which make it a very usable big screen phone. The phone fits into the palm comfortably despite weighing 169g. The Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor paired with 3GB RAM handles multi-tasking and games as efficiently as a flagship would. One of the reasons for this is that the Android 5.1 operating system runs the default Android interface without any resource hogging customisations or unnecessary features. The 5.5-inch display has a Full HD resolution (1920x1080) which is great for watching movies and playing games. The 21-megapixel camera handles detail and colour brilliantly, but requires a bit of cajoling for the autofocus to work well. The real highlight is the 3650mAh battery, which easily lasts two days.
Asus Zenfone 2
Rs.20,499
Asus has a lot of smartphones under the Zenfone branding umbrella, which does make things a bit confusing. More so because most of them look almost the same. However, look for the top-spec version, and you get a very powerful Zenfone 2 phone that can match up with flagships in terms of performance. It has been designed well—the curved back fits into the palm comfortably despite its big size and weight of 170g. This version runs Intel’s Atom quad-core processor with 4GB RAM—a combination that can handle multi-tasking and games with ease. The 5.5-inch Full HD screen (1920x1080) is sharp and colours look quite vivid. The phone runs Android 5.1 with the ZenUI, which we feel is a tad bit cluttered and takes some getting used to. The 13-megapixel camera is better than most rivals, particularly in low-light conditions. The 3,000mAh battery lasts a day and a half with ease.
OnePlus 2
Rs.24,999
OnePlus took a lot of inspiration from the One smartphone when designing the OnePlus 2. The addition of the magnesium frame to the sandstone finish battery cover option adds more in terms of the visual appeal. It is also one of the first phones to feature the USB Type-C standard, which allows faster data transfer and charges the device faster. However, the fast charge feature will be available when the phone gets Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), which should happen some time in the first half of 2016. OnePlus uses Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 810 processor and pairs it with 4GB of RAM. No wonder the phone handles multi-tasking so well, although the metal side spines heat up quickly. The phone runs on Oxygen OS, a slightly modified version of plain Android with more customisation. The 5.5-inch display has a screen resolution of 1920x1080p. The 13-megapixel camera is fast and captures colours and detail brilliantly. The 3,300mah battery can last a day, and while that should have been more, the heating does have a negative impact.
Samsung Galaxy A8
Rs.31,490
The extremely sleek Galaxy A8 is thinner (5.9mm) than many flagship phones. It looks sharp and has a premium design. The chamfered metal frame and the 151g weight makes it surprisingly handy for a smartphone with a big 5.7-inch display. The Full HD AMOLED display looks sharp and vivid, more than all other phone displays we compared this with. It is driven by Samsung’s own Exynos octa-core processor with 2GB RAM. It runs Android 5.1 with a more refined TouchWiz user interface, which is smoother and doesn’t overwhelm the user with features. It has a fairly good 16-megapixel camera. The 3,050mAh battery lasts a day and a half on a single charge. The dual SIM is an added feature that is usually not seen in high-end smartphones.
Moto X Style
Rs.31,999
The design of the X Style is very similar to the X Play. But the Style also has a water repellent coating for protection from rain and accidental spills. It has a sharp 5.7-inch 4k display with 2560x1440 resolution, which is perhaps the biggest reason for upgrading to this. The Snapdragon 808 processor is paired with 3GB of RAM, and this combination is adequately powerful and doesn’t slow down the phone when you open a bunch of apps together. The 3,000mAh battery lasts a day and a bit more—it could have been better, but the extra pixels of the screen resolution drain the battery quicker than a Full HD screen would. The 21-megapixel camera, despite the inconsistent autofocus, can capture good amount of detail and rich colours.
