New Korean flagship with Full Vision display
At the end of February, during an exhibition in Barcelona, LG Electronics presented its new top-end smartphone LG G6 with a new Full Vision display format with an aspect ratio of 18:9, unusual for a smartphone. But in addition to the unusual screen, the new product has something to brag about: the G6 received the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 hardware platform, uses heat-pipe heat dissipation technology, and has IP68 protection from dust and moisture. In addition, the LG G6 supports Dolby Vision and HDR 10 standards, and also received a new user interface UX 6.0 and an advanced audio system based on a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC. At the same time, the device lost the controversial modular design LG G5.
Key Features of LG G6 (Model LG-H870DS)
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, 4 Kryo cores @2.0/2.34 GHz
- GPU Adreno 530 @652 MHz
- operating system Android 7.0 Nougat, UX 6.0
- Touch display IPS 5.7″, 2880×1440, 564 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB, internal memory 32/64 GB
- Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
- MicroSD support up to 2 TB
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- WCDMA/HSPA+ networks (900/2100 MHz)
- LTE FDD networks (B3/7/20); TDD (B38/40)
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz)
- Bluetooth 4.2 A2DP, LE, apt-X
- GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
- USB Type-C, USB OTG
- Main camera 13 MP (f/1.8) + 13 MP (f/2.4), autofocus, 4K video
- Front camera 5 MP, f/2.2, fixed. focus
- 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC
- Proximity sensor, lighting, magnetic field, fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, pressure, step detector
- Battery 3300 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0
- Dimensions 149×72×7.9 mm
- Weight 163 g
Appearance and ease of use
The body of the LG G6 is made of metal and glass, there is no plastic here. A massive metal almost flat frame connects the two glass panels- front and back. Moreover, the display glass here is Gorilla Glass 3, and Gorilla Glass 5 is used as a coating for the back cover.
The front panel of the smartphone is absolutely flat, without sloping edges, but the back has small bevels on the sides, making it easy to lift the smartphone from flat surfaces. There is a colored substrate under the glass; in the case of the silver version of the case, its texture and color resembles real metal, so from a distance the back of such a smartphone looks as if it is not made of glass, but of polished shiny metal.
In general, the LG G6 body looks quite unusual and attractive, and due to the unusual combination of display sides (not 16:9, but 18:9), it turned out to be more elongated in height. At the same time, the thin frame on the sides made it possible to make the body so narrow that it is quite comfortable to hold in the hand even with such a large screen diagonal (5.7 inches). True, the device is quite slippery due to the matte metal sides. The back cover will not peel off so quickly; the Gorilla Glass 5 coating is generally resistant to fingerprints.
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The cover of the removable slide on which the cards are placed has a rubberized gasket, since the smartphone meets the IP68 protection category. The case is fully protected from dust and can be submerged in water to a depth of 1.5 m for 30 minutes. The developers claim that the LG G6 is designed to withstand harsh operating conditions and that the device has even received a MIL-STD-810G (Military Standard) certification.
The connector itself is hybrid, that is, you can install either two Nano-SIM cards, or one SIM card and one microSD memory card. The sled is made of flexible plastic, which is quite unusual since they are usually made of metal. At the same time, it is convenient: the cards are secured in the slots and held on the slide without the need to hold them with your fingers during installation. The device itself reports the need to tightly close the connector cover, and it reboots the system after installing the SIM cards.
It is curious that the card slot is installed on the right, and the volume buttons are moved to the left side. The keys are metal, quite large, quite comfortable to use, and easy to feel blindly.
The power key, as usual for LG, is located on the back side. It is combined with the fingerprint sensor platform. It was a rather dubious step on the part of the developers to place such a functional element flush with the surface; the button is almost impossible to find by touch.
Here on the rear panel there is a dual camera with two 13-megapixel modules, and a bright flash of two LEDs is embedded between the lenses. None of the elements protrude beyond the surface; all of them are flush with the lid and covered with glass. It is noteworthy that the camera lenses are covered with Gorilla Glass 3, and the rest of the glass on the back surface is Gorilla Glass 5.
The entire front panel is covered with Gorilla Glass 3. The glass is absolutely flat and has no sloping edges or sides. Despite the very thin frame around the screen, the developers did not forget to install a full set of elements above the screen, including the LED event indicator. There are no touch buttons under the screen; all the buttons are on the screen.
The bottom end contains a USB Type-C connector, a single grille covering the main speaker, and a small hole for a conversational microphone.
The top end is given over to a 3.5 mm headphone output jack. Here you can also find the hole for the second, auxiliary microphone for the noise reduction system.
The LG G6 comes in three colors: gray (Icy Platinum), black (Cosmic Black) and white (Mystic White). In each of the options, the front panel under the glass is painted in the same color as the body.
Screen
The LG G6 features an IPS display with flat Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection without sloping edges. The physical dimensions of the screen are 65x130 mm with a diagonal of 5.7 inches, aspect ratio 18:9 (Full Vision display). The screen resolution is 2880x1440, the pixel density is about 564 ppi.
Not only the display itself has unusual proportions, but also the frame around it: on the sides its width is 3 mm, at the bottom - 10 mm, and at the top - only 8 mm. That is, the margins at the top and bottom compared to conventional smartphones can be called record small. Coupled with the rounded corners of the screen, it all looks unusual and quite fresh.
You can manually adjust the display brightness or set automatic settings based on the ambient light sensor. The AnTuTu test diagnoses support for 10 simultaneous multi-touch touches. There is a vision protection mode (preventing eye fatigue). It is possible to activate the display by double tapping. There is an Always-on mode, in which the switched-off screen contains information about the current time and date, as well as about missed events in a monochrome display.
The developers also claim that the LG G6 is the world's first smartphone to support Dolby Vision technology. However, it supports not only the Dolby Vision standard, but also HDR 10. Both of these standards allow you to work with images that have an extended dynamic range (High Dynamic Range, HDR).
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the section editor “ Monitors" And " Projectors and TV » Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the screen Google Nexus 7 (2013)(hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - LG G6, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the LG G6 is noticeably darker (brightness according to photographs is 100 versus 114 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the LG G6 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, even slightly better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.
With manual brightness control and when the white field was displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was 510 cd/m², the minimum was 3.9 cd/m². The maximum brightness is very high, which means, given the excellent anti-glare properties of the screen, readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at good level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). IN automatic mode When external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider, with which the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If you do not interfere, then in complete darkness the automatic brightness adjustment function reduces the brightness to 8.5 cd/m² (maybe a little dark), in an office illuminated by artificial light (about 550 lux) it sets it to 210 cd/m² (normal), in very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight- 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 610 cd/m² (which is even higher than with manual adjustment). For conditions of complete darkness, we adjusted the brightness to a comfortable level, and obtained the following values for the three lighting conditions indicated above: 17, 250 and 610 cd/m². It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. Only at the lowest brightness level does significant backlight modulation appear, but its frequency is high, approximately 2.3 kHz, so there is no visible screen flickering under any conditions.
This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs (if you look closely) show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, you can see microphoto gallery screens used in mobile technology.
The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the LG G6 and Nexus 7 screens, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K.
There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:
We note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (although it did not cover the entire screen). And a test picture:
Saturation in the case of LG G6 is clearly overestimated. As additional tests have shown, this overestimation is achieved both due to wide coverage and due to a slight increase in color contrast. We also note that the red color has a slightly unnatural tint (visually this is noticeably better than in the photograph).
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens; the contrast on the LG G6 screen remained at a good level.
And a white field:
The brightness at an angle of the screens decreased (at least five times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of the LG G6 the brightness decreased less. When deviated diagonally, the black field is lightened weakly and acquires a slight bluish tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is approximately the same for the screens!):
And from another angle:
When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is excellent (in the photo below we further increased the backlight brightness of the LG G6):
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 1390:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 18 ms (9 ms on + 9 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 32 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.38, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates slightly from the power-law dependence:
This smartphone has a non-switchable dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the displayed image. Therefore, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. Let us show the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time when switching from a black field to a white field in half of the screen alternately, while the average brightness does not change and dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness does not work (graph 50%/50% ). And the same dependence, but with alternate display of fields in full screen (graph 100% ), while the average brightness is already changing and dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness does its job:
In general, such non-switchable brightness correction does nothing but harm, since constantly changing the screen brightness can, at a minimum, cause some discomfort, reduce the visibility of gradations in shadows in the case of dark images, and impair screen readability in bright light.
The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB:
Let's look at the spectra:
We have encountered such people since Sony Xperia Z2. The manufacturer presents the expansion of the color gamut as an undeniable advantage, but this is a marketing ploy designed for the average person who believes that bigger is always better. In fact, it’s not better, since as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and the vast majority of them) have an unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photo above. The situation could be corrected by the ability to select a mode with sRGB coverage or support for color profiles, but in this device there is neither one nor the other.
The balance of shades on the gray scale is average, since the color temperature is noticeably higher than 6500 K, but at least the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature changes little from shade to shade - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since there is no color balance of great importance, and the measurement error color characteristics at low brightness it is large.)
To summarize: the screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. The automatic brightness adjustment function works adequately and allows the user to adjust its operation, while in very bright light the screen brightness increases to very large size, which ensures good readability even in such conditions. The advantages of the screen include the presence of an effective oleophobic coating, high contrast, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker, as well as high black stability to deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane and excellent uniformity of the black field. Among the significant shortcomings we consider the average color rendering quality, as well as the non-switchable dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the quality of the screen can be considered very high.
Camera
The front 5-megapixel camera has a lens with a viewing angle of 100°, f/2.2 aperture, fixed focus and without its own flash. As a front flash, traditionally for LG smartphones, a bright fill-in illumination of the screen around the virtual viewfinder window is used. There is a portrait decoration mode, it is possible to control shooting using voice commands and gestures, and automatic face recognition. There is a stabilization function, you can add a signature to photos, make a mirror image, and add geotags.
The front camera takes good selfie-level photos: there are no complaints about detail, sharpness across the entire field of the frame, or color rendition. The dynamic range is a little lacking even in auto-HDR mode; in harsh backlighting, details can be lost in overexposed areas, but for a selfie camera this is forgivable. In the brightest lighting, the automation sets the light sensitivity to a minimum value of ISO 50. The focal length of the lens is 1.6 mm, the maximum photo resolution is 5 megapixels.
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The main camera uses, according to the official description, two modules with 13-megapixel matrices. One of them is a 13-megapixel standard camera with OIS 2.0 optical stabilizer (f/1.8, 71°), and the other is also 13-megapixel, but wide-angle (f/2.4, 125°). True, in the case of the test sample sent to us, all three modules, including the front one, had the same fixed aperture of f/2.0. There is also fast phase detection autofocus, an optical stabilization system and a not very bright flash of two LEDs. It is curious that in the case of a wide-angle lens, the maximum image resolution is only 8 megapixels, and not 13 megapixels, as when shooting with a regular module. Here are examples of photographs taken from one position with a regular lens and then with a wide-angle lens:
Also, the dual camera of the LG G6 allows you to take impressive panoramic shots with a 360° view. The size of such a photo is 92 megapixels, weight - 32 MB.
Here, too, the developers have found use for a more elongated display with an unusual aspect ratio. The LG G6 has added a special “square camera” mode, when activated, the display is divided into two parts. In one of the parts you can view already taken pictures, and in the second, the viewfinder is displayed at this time to search for a new subject. Or you can put together collages of two (or even four) photographs.
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As usual, the settings have automatic and professional shooting modes, both for photo and video shooting. If you turn on the professional mode, sliders will appear with variable values for shutter speed, ISO (up to 3200), metering method, focusing options, white balance and exposure compensation scale. Using the Camera2 API you can transfer camera control third party applications, and it is also possible to save pictures in RAW.
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The camera can shoot video in 4K resolution (3840x2160), as well as at 60 fps, but the latter is only in Full HD (1920x1080). There is also a shooting mode of 720p at 120 fps. There is an optical stabilization function. In any resolution, the camera copes well with video shooting: sharpness, color rendition and detail are normal, there is also enough brightness, the video is smooth thanks to optical stabilization, you can even shoot handheld on the go. There are practically no complaints about sound recording: the sound is clear, loud, and the noise reduction system adequately copes with wind noise.
- Video No. 1(87 MB, 3840×2160@30 fps, H.264, AAC)
- Video No. 2(43 MB, 3840×2160@30 fps, H.264, AAC)
- Video No. 3(37 MB, 1920×1080@60 fps, H.264, AAC)
- Video No. 4(88 MB, 1280×720@120 fps, H.264, AAC)
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Good sharpness across the field and plans. |
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In wide-angle mode, detail drops noticeably, but this is quite natural, especially at lower resolutions. |
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Good sharpness across the field and plans. |
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The camera does excellent macro photography. |
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Another example of good macro. |
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The text is well done. |
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The car number is clearly visible. |
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Even in such compositions, the camera somehow manages to work out the long shot. |
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The car numbers are barely visible. Sharpness drops a little in the corners. |
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Sharpness drops noticeably towards the edges of the frame. |
The camera turned out to be good and even flagship. You can notice light zones blurring at the edges of the frame, but they occur quite rarely. In ultra-wide-angle mode, sharpness drops a little, but this is a completely natural price to pay for such a focal length. Detailing in distant plans is not bad, and in medium ones it is even very good. From time to time you can notice some artifacts of the program, but it is likely that they will be corrected. As a result, the camera copes well with many scenarios - both documentary and fiction, and the ultra-wide angle, which was implemented quite well, looks like a rather interesting feature.
Telephone and communications
The communication capabilities of the LG G6 include support for advanced LTE Advanced technology, all three LTE FDD frequency bands of interest to us are supported (Band 3, 7, 20), and there is also support for two TDD LTE bands (Band 38 and 40). In the city limits of the Moscow region, the device behaves confidently, the quality of signal reception does not cause any complaints. It supports two Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), has Bluetooth 4.2, and you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The device has an NFC module; it supports working with electronic travel cards. The USB Type-C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode. The data transfer speed between a computer and a smartphone using a cable via USB 3.1 Type-C ports is about 24 MB/s.
The navigation module works with GPS (with A-GPS), with the domestic Glonass and the Chinese Beidou. During a cold start, the first satellites are detected within the first seconds, and the positioning clarity is satisfactory. There is a magnetic compass.
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In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor is clearly recognizable, there is no extraneous noise, the sound is natural, clear, and there is enough volume reserve. There are separately switchable noise reduction and speech intelligibility systems. VoLTE (voice over LTE) is supported, but both phones must be connected to LTE networks to ensure high-quality calls. There is a voice recorder with changeable settings and adjustable microphone sensitivity, and there is also an FM radio with the ability to record broadcasts. The vibration alert is above average in power; its intensity can be changed according to three parameters.
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LG G6 supports active standby of both SIM cards in 3G/4G simultaneously. That is, the second card can be actively waiting on the network not only in 2G, but also in 3G, even if a different slot is assigned for data transmission in 3G/4G.
The choice between two SIM cards for making calls, sending SMS, etc. is traditionally carried out for LG devices using a separate button for quickly switching the priority card, located in a row of virtual control buttons. The smartphone supports two SIM cards using the Dual standard SIM Dual Standby.
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Software and multimedia
As a software platform, the LG G6 uses Android OS version 7.0 Nougat with its own proprietary shell UX 6.0 with the ability to update over the air.
First of all, it should be noted that the enlarged Full Vision display with an aspect ratio of 18:9 (2:1) and Quad HD Plus resolution provides more space for any information, text or graphic, and the developers decided to make full use of this. In addition to the specific “square mode” of the camera, they added the ability to change the display scale on the screen of literally any of the applications, including third-party ones downloaded from the Google Play store.
By default, the interface of applications and videos in the player is displayed with black stripes at the ends, but by scaling the image can be stretched to the very edges of the screen, and the black stripes and the strip with virtual buttons will disappear. You can also use multi-window mode, in which some applications (not all) can be displayed in square halves on the screen in two windows simultaneously. This was possible before, it’s just that now more information fits into each of the two windows.
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In the new version of the proprietary shell, even more attention is paid to customizing the appearance and organizing the display of various menus. You can customize anything to your taste, from full-fledged design themes to specific icon shapes, the size of the grid of application icons, not to mention the sorting and search methods. Here we will also mention the possibility of reducing the size of the working area of the virtual keyboard for ease of control with the fingers of one hand (the height of the keyboard can also be adjusted) and the use of proprietary QSlide features with detached windows, which can be placed anywhere on the screen, change their size and transparency, but in no more than two pieces at a time.
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You can change the number of virtual buttons on the panel and even change the layout of the virtual keyboard for typing. It is also possible to use mechanical hardware volume keys for advanced functions. The keyboard supports Swype-style input by default. A useful function has appeared for adjusting the size of all elements on the screen, and not just the font, which can be very useful with a large screen size. And yet, most of the above was transferred here from previous versions of the proprietary interface; to the owner of previous LG mobile devices, all this will seem quite familiar and familiar.
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There are few additional programs: not counting social network clients, these are utilities for diagnostics, optimization, regulation, file organization, search and communication with other devices. On-site proprietary software for tracking own health LG Health.
As for the voice assistant, the company decided not to create its own solution like Samsung's Bixby, but noted that "LG has worked closely with Google to make Google Assistant work great without the need for any pre-configuration."
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To listen to music, you use your own player with a familiar interface and familiar settings. You can use preset equalizer values, and you can also play with speed and tone, distorting familiar melodies beyond recognition. The LG G6 sounds excellent: high quality playback is ensured by the Hi-Fi Quad digital-to-analog converter, which makes the sound crisp and clear, bringing it as close as possible to the original. The standard player supports the FLAC format. You can also note the presence of support for aptX HD - using this protocol you can transfer music and other audio files in high quality.
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 is the most powerful platform; it is still the flagship of the manufacturer’s entire family of mobile SoCs. This platform delivers the highest numbers in benchmarks and confidently handles any task in real-world scenarios. Thanks to a powerful video accelerator, it performs well in the most demanding games. All the games we tested, including Dead Trigger 2, Modern Combat 5, Real Racing 3, Mortal Kombat X and GTA San Andreas, run without the slightest delay at maximum settings, not to mention less demanding projects like World of Tanks Blitz. The LG G6 is one of the most powerful smartphones available today and has plenty of performance headroom for future upgrades.
Testing in comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench:
For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:
When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
| LG G6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 821) |
Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) |
Huawei Mate 9 (HiSilicon Kirin 960) |
Meizu Pro 6 Plus (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
Meizu MX6 (MediaTek Helio X20 (MT6797)) |
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| 3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot ES 3.1 (more is better) |
2409 | 2676 | 2033 | 1869 | 969 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen, fps) | 12 | 31 | 22 | 13 | 10 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 24 | 32 | 20 | 24 | 10 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen, fps) | 38 | 59 | 59 | 52 | 34 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 61 | 92 | 64 | 71 | — |
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
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AndroBench memory speed test results:
Thermal photographs
Below is a thermal image of the rear surface taken after 10 minutes of running Epic Citadel in Guided Tour mode:
It can be seen that the heating is more localized in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 38 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is average heating.
Playing video
To test omnivorousness when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.
According to the test results, to our delight, the test subject was equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed to fully play most of the most common multimedia formats on the network, both audio (AC3, AAC) and video (H.264, H.265). To successfully play them, you don’t even have to resort to using a third-party player - for example, MX Player. And there will be no need to manually install additional custom codecs, everything works by default.
Further testing of video playback was performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.
The LG G6 does not support SlimPort (or Mobility DisplayPort) adapters, which is indicated by a message when you connect such an adapter. Using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see " Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)") we checked how the video is displayed on the smartphone screen. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied: 1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels and frame rates of 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. In this test, we used the MX Player video player in Hardware mode. The results of this test are summarized in the table:
| File | Uniformity | Passes |
| 4K/60p (H.265) | Fine | No |
| 4K/50p (H.265) | Fine | No |
| 4K/30p (H.265) | Fine | No |
| 4K/25p (H.265) | Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.
Advantages: - long time work in standby mode. It takes 5-6 percent per night. This is despite the fact that almost everything is included, except wi-fi. Battery life during active use isn't that stellar, but overall it's good for the performance and screen. - excellent cameras, I especially liked the wide-angle one due to the ability to film the entire situation up close. A bunch of manual settings, stabilization of the first camera, excellent photo and video quality. The video records sound very clearly. - both practical and beautiful case. A 5.7 screen fits into a small size, but there are still small frames and no curves on the side of the screen, this is convenient in terms of the absence of false positives and there is a higher chance that the screen will survive a fall. Convenient to hold with 1 hand and carry in a jeans pocket. - a bunch of convenient features: face unlock, always on display (by the way, it turns itself off and does not eat up the battery if the phone is in the dark in your pocket, or is lying face down), fast charging which is super convenient, turning on the phone by double tapping the screen, turning on the camera by double pressing the volume down and a bunch of other things, very convenient. - doesn’t overheat, even when you’re charging and watching a video at the same time, just a little warm. - quite loud speaker. On my previous phone, even without water protection, the sound was quieter. Disadvantages: - the light sensor does not work as well as on some other models. That is, you set the auto-brightness at medium illumination as you need, move to a darker place and it dims the screen more than you would like, and sharply, but it doesn’t do it right away, it thinks for a long time. And it constantly jumps somehow jerkily. But this is only in battery saving mode. - the interface is ugly in some places or somehow unorganized and disproportionately designed. Ugly design of the dialer, for example. Some other brands have much nicer ones for my taste. In general, the interface gives a feeling of some kind of heterogeneity - for example, I wanted to change the fonts to suit myself, but it still turns out that in some places the fonts are too large, in others too small. There is no feeling of wholeness. - some minor software inconveniences. Personally for me. For example, if the energy saving mode is turned on, you put it on charge for a couple of minutes to maintain the charge level so that later it will be enough, the saving mode turns off and when you remove it from charging it does not come back, you need to manually return it. Comment: Overall the phone is excellent. I bought it for 38 thousand on prepayment with a discount. For this price, I think there are no competitors, and despite minor shortcomings (is there anything perfect? ) overall the best phone on the market. No one else has such offers to immediately have an audio DAC, an IP68, and the penultimate processor, and good cameras, one of which is wide, and all sorts of chips like fast charging, and a bunch of other things. And at the same time, a normal screen without any of this rounded absurdity when the screen goes onto the sides, jack 3.5, all the advantages of android in the form open system, memory cards, 2 sim. By the way, the rounding of the screen in the corners practically does not affect anything, but it looks interesting. And the 18:9 screen format doesn’t really affect anything, except that small black bars appear on the side on YouTube in full-screen mode. Overall, the phone is very convenient and pleasant to use. It simply performs all the functions and there are no compromises like some - it seems to be a fast and good device, but there is no water protection, you are afraid of getting caught in the rain or spilling water... Or everything is fine, but there is no 3.5 jack and good audio. Or something else. And here everything is. And it works, at least for now, quickly, smoothly, pleasantly and efficiently. Update: I was recently at a concert. Lighting is very difficult. Everyone who took a photo nearby received an overexposed disgusting picture when the stage light simply White spot instead of a face. LG, using manual settings, managed to get very high quality photo, all other phones in auto mode have photos that look like they’re from the 90s. It also records video and sound perfectly, was next to the speakers and despite this there was no overload or wheezing, unlike most phones when the powerful sound of a concert overloads the microphone and as a result it’s not the sound, but wheezing
Previously, users did not want to hear anything about mobile phones Chinese-made, thinking that it would be a waste of money and it would not yield anything useful, but now, smartphones made in China have become very popular in modern times and a huge list of people has appeared who were ready to buy smartphones from Chinese manufacturers within a reasonable price. One of the advantages is probably that you can actually buy an inexpensive but good smartphone, the parameters of which will be equal to branded devices, the price of which is much higher. Therefore, the rating of the best Chinese smartphones under $100 for 2017 will be useful for those who do not want to overpay for the name, and who are only interested in the functionality of the purchased device, and not its origin.
Alcatel POP 4 Plus 5056D
Alcatel is a Chinese company that was founded quite a long time ago, but smartphones with a large screen from this company were rarely released. And now, in 2017, when the world met a new model with good sound - Alcatel POP 4 Plus 5056D, everyone was happy, and all this is due to the fact that this smartphone was truly one of the most incomparable. Although the smartphone is in tenth place in the ranking, the number of its advantages is quite high, and therefore it is also recommended for purchase.
Main characteristics:
- Android – 6.0;
- 5.5-inch screen;
- Screen resolution – 1280×720;
- Camera – 8 MP;
- Battery – 2500 mAh;
- RAM – 1.5 GB;
- Memory – 16 gigabytes;
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 MSM8909;
- Video accelerator – Adreno 304;
Pros:
- The battery holds a charge for a long time;
- This smartphone is light for its size;
- There is a front flash;
- Loud speaker;
Minuses:
- Very easily soiled body;
- Poor quality camera;
Blackview E7s
Previously, only smartphones with a small screen were popular, but now, when a huge number of huge devices have appeared, people gradually began to attract them. And therefore, the standing cellular phone with a large screen, Blackview E7s, made an indelible impression on big number of people. According to all the characteristics, this smartphone can be one of the current ones, and therefore it is preferred by many.
Main characteristics:
- ROM – 16 GB, RAM – 2;
- Android 6.0;
- Main camera – 8 MP;
- Battery – 2700 mAh;
- Graphics – Mali-400 MP2;
- Processor – MediaTek MT6580;
Pros:
- Both SIM cards have good communication;
- Looks perfect;
- Juicy and bright screen;
- High-quality assembly;
- Fast scanner response;
Minuses:
- Small battery capacity;
- No 4G support;
ZTE Blade A510
This is another Chinese-made smartphone that has amazed many people. It has taken the mobile device market by storm, bringing joy to everyone. The announcement of this smartphone took place in 2016 and within a few months this very reliable smartphone has gained the respect of many citizens. Everyone even forgot that they were interacting with a smartphone from Chinese developers. It looks more expensive than its price and seems to be a phone from a well-promoted brand.
Main characteristics:
- Battery – 2200 mAh;
- Android – 6.0;
- RAM – 1 gigabyte;
- ROM – 8 GB;
- 4G support;
- 5-inch screen, resolution – 1280×720;
- Processor – MediaTek MT6580;
Pros:
- Comfortable in using;
- Good communication;
- The Internet works quickly due to 4G;
- Both cameras are of good quality;
Minuses:
- Poor build quality (back cover peels off);
- Speaker of poor quality;
- After prolonged use it begins to freeze;
Highscreen Razar
This reliable smartphone is able to interact correctly with two SIM cards, and which quickly shows itself in working on the Internet. It turned out that the presence of 4G is already important factor, and it is often paid attention to when purchasing, and therefore users are incredibly lucky that the developers of this Chinese company decided that it would be a very good thing to implement it in Highscreen Razar - 4G. That is why the smartphone began to be considered very excellent.
Main characteristics:
- Sixth Android;
- Screen 5 inches, resolution 1280×720;
- Battery 2500 mAh;
- Camera – 8 MP;
- Internal memory – 16 GB;
- RAM – 2 Gb;
- Graphics – Mali-T720 MP2;
- Processor – MediaTek MT6737T;
Pros:
- System performance;
- Rich screen with pleasant colors;
- Slim body;
- Stylish in appearance;
- The camera turns on with one button;
Minuses:
- Unfinished software;
- Not very ideal cameras;
- Poor performance in games;
ASUS ZenFone Go ZB450KL 8Gb
Speaking of budget smartphones, the ASUS ZenFone Go ZB450KL 8Gb comes into consideration. This powerful smartphone is different from all others because it boasts a compact size, and also because it is often used by office workers to carry out their tasks. For example, if a user needs to quickly create a presentation or type something in a text document, then an Asus smartphone is perfect for this purpose.
Main characteristics:
- 4.5-inch screen, display resolution – 854×480;
- Memory – 8 GB;
- RAM – 1 Gb;
- Video processor – Adreno 306;
- Battery – 2070 mAh;
- Android 6.0;
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916;
- Camera – 8 MP;
Pros:
- Low cost;
- Case quality;
- Availability of SDmicro slot;
- Convenient in size, fits well in your pocket;
Minuses:
- Lots of unnecessary applications;
- Small viewing angle;
- There are difficulties transferring files to the memory card;
DOOGEE Y6 16Gb
The Chinese brand DOOGEE is a newly founded company that has already provided a huge list of various devices in just one year. For example, if you want to buy a good smartphone at an affordable price, on which you can play games, watch video files and surf the Internet, then you should pay attention to the DOOGEE Y6 16Gb. He performs all these tasks skillfully. The device was included in the ranking of the best Chinese smartphones under $100 for 2017 because of its characteristics, which are very interesting for users.
Main characteristics:
- Android 6.0;
- Screen 5.5″, resolution 1280×720;
- Processor – MediaTek Helio P10;
- Battery 3200 mAh;
- Memory – 16 Gb, RAM – 2;
- Main camera – 13 MP;
- Graphics – Mali-T860 MP2;
Pros:
- Quite a fast processor;
- Bright screen even with minimal settings;
- Metal body;
- Fast-response fingerprint scanner;
Minuses:
- Combined second sim slot;
- No event indicator;
Huawei Y5 II
This time, Huawei has greatly distinguished itself by providing the world with a popular smartphone that can skillfully work with office documents, different tasks, which are found among workers in production, and so on. This smartphone is not designed to run resource-intensive games on it, and therefore it is used mainly for work purposes, knowing full well that running heavy games on it is useless, because they will still slow down greatly and a person will not have any pleasure from launching the game . Therefore, it is recommended to use this smartphone only when working with different editors that are installed from Google’s Play Market.
Main characteristics:
- Android 5.1;
- Camera – 8 MP;
- ROM – 8 gigabytes;
- RAM – 1 Gb;
- Battery – 2200 mAh;
- Processor – MediaTek MT6582;
- Front camera – 8 MP;
Pros:
- Perfect performance;
- Excellent sound in headphones;
- The battery works well;
- It has its own shell – EmUI;
- Many accessories available;
- Nice design of the device;
Minuses:
- The cost is too high;
- Not the newest hardware;
- Software errors;
Lenovo Vibe C2 8Gb
When choosing the best smartphone for yourself, the user must pay attention to many parameters. And it should be noted that the phone from Lenovo, which is included in this top, is an interesting solution that intrigues almost every buyer, and all due to the fact that almost every forum is filled with reviews about this smartphone, which contains the ideal filling, which has favorable appearance and differs from all others in the absence of critical disadvantages. Of course, like any other new product from Chinese manufacturers, this one has not proven itself so well that a fabulous number of users are buying it, but it is quickly and rapidly gaining popularity around the world.
Main characteristics:
- 5-inch screen, resolution 1280×720;
- RAM – 1 GB;
- Battery – 2750 mAh;
- Camera – 8 MP;
- Device memory – 8 gigabytes;
- Android 6.0;
- Processor – MediaTek MT6735P;
- Graphics – Mali-T720;
Pros:
- Affordable price;
- Attractive appearance;
Minuses:
- Due to the small RAM, I experience frequent freezes;
- Low resolution of both cameras;
- Weak battery;
Meizu M3 16Gb
Chinese development - Meizu M3 16Gb - is an ideal product from Meizu that can compete with more well-known models such as Samsung Galaxy S4 or Apple iPhone 5s. It turns out that this smartphone is considered one of the new products, and it has collected a bunch of different ratings regarding its performance. Like many budget smartphones, this gadget differs from well-known flagships in its low price, but the number of useful functions and various kinds of innovations present in this device demonstrate its high quality.
Main characteristics:
- Android 5.1;
- Processor – MediaTek MT6750;
- 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280×720;
- Camera – 13 MP;
- RAM – 2 Gb;
- Battery – 2870 mAh;
- Memory – 16 gigabytes;
- Video processor – Mali-T860 MP2;
Pros:
- The sound is of excellent quality;
- Nice to hold with one hand;
- Good camera;
- Excellent firmware;
Minuses:
- To install Google Play services, you need to understand the Hot Apps application;
- Few accessories per model;
Xiaomi Redmi 4A
This smartphone with a large battery, the capacity of which is 3120 mAh, has become the leader of our TOP. It contains a huge number of ideal characteristics, which are enough for work, as well as for running a variety of games that can be installed from the official application store. Among other things, this reliable smartphone stands out from the rest with its beautiful display, as well as the presence of today’s useful functions, which in operation prove to be excellent software, indispensable for the user.
Main characteristics:
- Android 6.0;
- Screen – 5 inches, resolution – 1280×720;
- Camera – 13 MP;
- Battery – 3120 mAh;
- Support – 4G;
- Device memory – 16 gigabytes;
- RAM – 2 Gb;
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917;
- Video processor – Adreno 308;
Pros:
- High-quality assembly;
- Adequate cost;
- Great smartphone design;
- The phone holds its charge flawlessly;
- Good camera;
- Mobile Internet works quickly, without any complaints;
Minuses:
- The software has problems;
- Not complete Russification of all settings items;
- The main camera has few settings;
Conclusion
And now that the rating of the best Chinese smartphones under $100 for 2017 has been completed, and all users have found the opportunity to understand which is the best smartphone to choose, we can conclude that Chinese developments in the mobile industry have good quality. Of course, not all smartphones produced by Chinese manufacturers are the best; there are also low-quality models, but this top contains only those devices that have already been tested by many people. They are recommended for purchase for good reason, because they are truly one of the most popular.
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