Top 5 smartphones of 2017

Mobile smartphone technology is constantly evolving and improving. Due to the rapid rate of innovation, smartphone manufacturers are now pushing out flagship devices on a regular basis in an attempt to beat their rivals by bringing first to market innovations with each new device.

I like to analogise the smartphone race to that of the Cold War, where the United States of America and Russia were locked in an infamous arms race in an attempt to become the worlds ultimate superpower. In this instance, however, it is the device superpowers, such as Samsung and Apple, who battle it out for the market share by attempting to produce the best devices possible, with each trying to outdo one another in what seems to be a never-ending battle.

In 2017 it was no different, a plethora of flagship devices were released by various manufacturers, each with the goal of standing out from one another with new features and innovations driving these smartphone releases. As expected, the price of the devices has risen with the rise in technology and yet again this shows no signs of slowing down.

With all this in mind, IT News Africa selected these 5 smartphones as the best of 2017:

iPhone X
The iPhone X was released to much anticipation in October 2017, although it is still to hit the shelves in many markets across the globe. The device was revealed at the same time as the iPhone 8 at a launch event in September 2017 and caused a global stir as it was the first smartphone to be priced at $1000.

The phone is packed with all the specs you would expect from a device at this price range and has seen Apple customers across the globe rush to order their own. As Apple's flagship device for 2017, the iPhone X is one of the top high-end devices of 2017.

Specs:

• Body Dimensions: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 in)
• Weight: 174 g (6.14 oz)
• IP67 certified - dust and water resistant
• Display: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colours
• Screen size: 5.8 inches, 84.4 cm2 (~82.9% screen-to-body ratio)
• Resolution: 1125 x 2436 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density)
• OS: iOS 11.1.1
  Chipset Apple A11 Bionic
• CPU: Hexa-core 2.39 GHz (2x Monsoon + 4x Mistral)
• Memory card slot: No
• Internal: 64/256 GB, 3 GB RAM
• Rear camera: Primary Dual 12 MP (f/1.8, 28mm) + 12 MP (f/2.4, 52mm),
• Rear camera features: Geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 8MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR (photo/panorama)
• Video: 2160p@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, check quality
• Front camera: 7 MP (f/2.2, 32mm), 1080p@30fps, 720p@240fps, face detection, HDR
• 3.5mm jack: No
• Fast battery charging: 50% in 30 min
• Qi wireless charging
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 2716 mAh battery (10.35 Wh)

Samsung S8
The Samsung Galaxy S8 was initially revealed in March 2017 before hitting stores in April 2018. Samsung, who got a jump on the year by releasing a device so early, made a dent in its competitors market share in early 2017 due to the success of the Galaxy S8.

The device is sleek, lightweight and packed with all the high-end specs that is common in this range of devices. The device retails for roughly $750 and certainly has a place in this list of the top smartphones of 2018.

Specs:

• Body dimensions: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm (5.86 x 2.68 x 0.31 in)
• Weight 155 g (5.47 oz)
• SIM Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• IP68 certified - dust/water proof over 1.5 meter and 30 minutes
• Display: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
• Screen size: 5.8 inches, 84.8 cm2 (~83.6% screen-to-body ratio)
• Resolution: 1440 x 2960 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~570 ppi density)
• OS: Android 7.0 (Nougat)
• Chipset: Exynos 8895 Octa - EMEA Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 - USA & China
• CPU: Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz & 4x1.7 GHz) - EMEA Octa-core (4x2.35 GHz Kryo & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo) - USA & China
• Memory card slot: microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) - dual SIM model only
• Internal 64 GB, 4 GB RAM
• Rear camera: 12 MP (f/1.7, 26mm, 1/2.5", 1.4 µm, Dual Pixel PDAF)
• Rear camera features: Geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, Auto HDR, panorama
• Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR, dual-video rec., check quality
• Front CameraSecondary 8 MP, f/1.7, autofocus, 1440p@30fps, dual video call, Auto HDR
• 3.5mm jack: Yes
•  Samsung DeX (desktop experience support)
• Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 2.0)
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery

Nokia 8
The Nokia 8 was revealed in September 2017 before the worldwide release in October of the same year. Nokia, who has a distribution agreement with HMD Global, positioned the device as the first flagship device in the Nokia/HMD Global journey.

The device features a number of top-notch specs, as well as some innovative features such as the bothie camera which allows consumers to use the front and back camera simultaneously. The device retails for around $600 and is a noteworthy inclusion in this list of the top smartphones of 2017.

Specs: 

• Body dimensions: 151.5 x 73.7 x 7.9 mm (5.96 x 2.90 x 0.31 in)
• Weight 160 g (5.64 oz)
• SIM Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• IP54 certified - splash proof
• Display: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
• Screen size: 5.3 inches, 77.4 cm2 (~69.4% screen-to-body ratio)
• Resolution 1440 x 2560 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~554 ppi density)
• OS Android 7.1.1 (Nougat), upgradable to Android 8.0 (Oreo)
• Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
• CPU Octa-core (4x2.5 GHz Kryo & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo)
• Memory Card slot: microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
• Internal 128 GB, 6 GB RAM or 64 GB, 4 GB RAM
• Rear camera: Dual 13 MP (f/2.0, 1.12 µm),
• Rear camera features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama
• Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, check quality
• Front Camera: 13 MP (f/2.0, 1.12 µm), 2160p, PDAF
• 3.5mm jack Yes
• Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 3.0)
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 3090 mAh battery

Huawei Mate 10 Pro
The Huawei Mate 10 Pro was released in November 2017 after initially being announced in October earlier in the year. The device is positioned as Huawei's top end device's sitting just above the P series, and the latest addition to that series the P10. Huawei believes that this device is the worlds first Artificial Intelligence enabled device and it has the chip and processing power behind it to back that claim.

The device will be available for around $940 dollars and shows Huawei's improvement on the global stage by making it into this list of the best smartphones of 2017.

Specs:

• Body Dimensions 154.2 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm (6.07 x 2.93 x 0.31 in)
• Weight 178 g (6.28 oz)
• SIM Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• IP67 certified - dust and water resistant
• Display: AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colours
• Screen size: 6.0 inches, 92.9 cm2 (~80.9% screen-to-body ratio)
• Resolution: 1080 x 2160 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~402 ppi density)
• Platform: OS Android 8.0 (Oreo)
• Chipset Hisilicon Kirin 970
• CPU Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53)
• Memory Card slot: No
• Internal 128 GB, 6 GB RAM or 64 GB, 4 GB RAM
• Rear camera:  Dual camera 20 MP + 12 MP, f/1.6, OIS, 2x lossless zoom, Leica optics, phase detection & laser autofocus, dual-LED dual-tone flash, check quality
• Rear camera features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR
• Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, check quality
• Front Camera: Secondary 8 MP, f/2.0
• 3.5mm jack: No
• Fast battery charging 4.5V/5A (58% in 30 min)
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery

LG G6
The LG G6 was announced in February 2017 and then released to the public in March 2017. The device is LG's answer to the high-end device market and features a number of impressive features and a build quality.

The device is seen as the company's move to enter the competitive high-end device market after a number of quiet years. The LG G6 retails for around $750 and is a deserved entry on this list of 2017 best smartphones.

Specs:

• Body dimensions: 148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm (5.86 x 2.83 x 0.31 in)
• Weight 163 g (5.75 oz)
• SIM Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• IP68 certified - dust/waterproof over 1.5 meters and 30 minutes
• Display: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colours
• Screen size: 5.7 inches, 84.1 cm2 (~78.6% screen-to-body ratio)
• Resolution 1440 x 2880 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~564 ppi density)
• OS Android 7.0 (Nougat)
• Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821
• CPU Quad-core (2x2.35 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo)
• Memory card slot: microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) - dual SIM model only
• Internal 32/64/128 GB, 4 GB RAM
• Rear Camera: Dual 13 MP (f/1.8, 1/3", 1.12 µm, 3-axis OIS, PDAF) + 13 MP (f/2.4, no AF)
• Rear camera features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR
• Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, HDR, 24-bit/192kHz stereo sound rec., check quality
• Front camera: 5 MP, f/2.2, 1080p
• 3.5mm jack Yes
•  Fast battery charging: 50% in 30 min (Quick Charge 3.0)
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 3300 mAh battery

By Dean Workman
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