Street price: $700; MSRP: $750; deal price: $400 with codes
This deal involves stacking two codes and results in a huge $300 savings. First, you’ll go to the Moto X Pure page and select the 64GB storage option. Once you add it to your cart, use the code CLASSOF2016. Then, you’ll add the Moto 360 Sport to your cart and use the code JUNEMOTO360. The final total should be $400. While the Moto 360 Sport wasn’t one of our top picks in our smartwatch guide, it’s certainly worth it in this combo deal.
The Moto X Pure Edition is our customizable phablet pick in our best Android phones guide. Ryan Whitwam said, “Motorola’s latest flagship phone offers a great Android 6.0 software experience with customization options that other phones simply can’t match. You can choose from different colors and materials for the back, pick a metallic accent color, and even customize the startup message. It’s more comfortable to hold than other phablets despite its big, 5.7-inch LCD, plus it has a slot for a microSD card. If you take a lot of selfies, we have still more good news: This phone has a front-facing flash paired with a wide-angle 5-megapixel camera.”
TomTom Spark Music GPS Watch
Street price: $190; MSRP: $200; deal price: $150
The best price we’ve seen on this watch, which we’ve never seen drop below $180 until this deal. This price is available on all sizes and colors.
The TomTom Spark Music is our music playback pick for the best GPS running watch. Jim McDannald said, “If you love listening to music on the run and want to leave your smartphone or mp3 player at home, theTomTom Spark Music could be worth the trade-off in accuracy, fit, and features. Along with gathering GPS data about your run, the Spark Music transmits your music wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones for playback.”
Apple Watch Stainless Steel
Street price: $450; MSRP: $550; deal price: $350
While we’ve avoided posting deals on the stainless steel model of the Apple Watch in the past due to the price, we felt this drop was low enough to post. It’s down to $350 for the first time, and while you’d still save a substantial amount buying the Sport, if you prefer the look and feel of the stainless steel, this is a significant savings over the street price.
The Apple Watch Sport is our favorite smartwatch for iPhone users. Dan Frakes and Kevin Purdy said, “the Sport’s fit and finish are impressive, and the watch is lightweight and comfortable. It can use any of Apple’s many watch bands, and it has the exact same features and components—including the same OLED display at the same resolutions—as the more expensive Apple Watch (stainless steel) and Apple Watch Edition (gold).”
Wren V5BT Bluetooth Speaker
Street price: $200; MSRP: $400; deal price: $160 with code DG16
Make sure to use the code DG16 to get this price. This is the best price we’ve seen on this particular speaker, though it’s only available on the bamboo finish.
The Wren V5BT is our alternate pick for a home Bluetooth speaker in our best gifts for audiophiles guide. We wrote this about the Airplay model, though it also applies to the Bluetooth one, “If your giftee prefers AirPlay over Bluetooth, the Wren V5AP is the AirPlay speaker that strikes the best balance between affordability and compactness, plus it sounds great for its $250 price. It gets our recommendation because it sounds as good as any AirPlay speaker we’ve heard under $400 and even better than some products in the $600 range.”
Deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to The Wirecutter.com.
The new Sony Xperia E5 was a great update to the E4 from the screen resolution to processing power, from the memory to the camera performance.
The E5 have a definite sleeker design aesthetics with wider bezels and plastic body. Regardless of this exterior, the Xperia E5, have a power button that failed to copy the premium look of the Xperia X family. The 5-inch 720p display can make the 2700 mAh battery last up to 2 days out of regular use. The internals with 1.5Gb of RAM and 16Gb of storage is a good welcoming addition with the microSD card expansion. Together with a quad core MTK6735 SoC and dual SIM connectivity, the E5 is really a compelling option for an entry level smartphone.
The 13 MP primary camera and a 5 MP front-facing camera are truly amazing among the specs mentioned. The flash illumination and the rear auto-focus, HDR and clear image zoom are unique at this price range. Underneath all the hardware is an Android 6.0 Marshmallow butters up the user experience with smooth performance.
The Xperia E5 costs $222 in select locations such as Latin America, Middle East and Africa.
Picking the right smartphone can be tough. With Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC and plenty of other manufacturers releasing handsets at a steady clip, it can be difficult to keep up with each and every launch. We use our smartphones for work, play and everything in between, so it’s important to settle on the right blend of hardware, operating system and price tag that makes sense for you.
After all, you’re likely going to be spending anywhere from 18 months to two years of your life with your new handset, unless your budget allows you to upgrade on whim. Deciding between so many candidates can be a bit of a struggle, but we’re here to help with our guide to the best smartphones around.
Article prices are based on the RRP, but more up-to-date listings can be found in the buyers guide widget below.
Apple iPhone 6s
Score: 91/100
Apple’s follow-up to the iPhone 6 isn’t as much of an incremental update as some were expecting. The 6s is more powerful and carries a pressure-sensitive display, not to mention significant improvements in the camera department. As well as simply being another easy-to-use iOS device, new features include the “3D Touch” panel, which lets you “peek” inside apps, surfacing information and actions without opening the app fully. The upgraded 12-megapixel camera has a few tricks of its own, too, like the new 4K video mode and animated “Live Photos.” New Rose Gold option aside, though, the iPhone 6s is practically identical in looks to its predecessor. It’s not cheap either, so iPhone 6 owners might find it hard to justify an upgrade.
In a sentence: Apple’s iPhone 6s is a great phone and safe bet, especially for anyone moving from an older 5 or 5s.
Price: £539 and up
Samsung Galaxy S7
Score: 90/100
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 takes everything that made the S6 great and improves upon it. The outcome is a flagship with a gorgeous Quad HD display, outstanding performance and subtle design tweaks that make the marriage of metal and glass that bit more appealing. Those already leaning in Samsung’s direction will be thankful for the return of expandable storage, with cards of up to 200GB capacity finding a microSD slot to call home. An IP68 water- and dust-resistant rating only sweetens the proposition. Only minor progress has been made in the imaging department, but the S7 has a capable and versatile camera nonetheless. A steep price is one of the only downsides of the device, but you’re paying for premium.
In a sentence: Easily one of the best Android smartphones available.
Motorola’s made a name for itself putting out great devices at reasonable prices, and the Moto X Style is a perfect example of that philosophy. A fondness for larger displays is a must. If that’s the case you’ll get a pleasing 5.7-inch Quad HD display to poke at, and Moto Maker means you can customise an already expedient design with whatever colour and texture combination you see fit. Purists in particular will enjoy the vanilla Android build with a light drizzle of Motorola chocolate sauce on top. The Moto X Style has a great camera, too, even if it isn’t quite as good as those on some rival devices. Similarly, the handset offers flagship performance, but it’s not the most powerful device around. There are compromises, but none that should tempt you to overlook the Moto X Style considering its relatively low price.
In a sentence: An expert lesson in striking the balance between user experience and price.
Price: £369 and up
Apple iPhone SE
Score: 89/100 Many people felt left behind by Apple’s turn to bigger-screened iPhones, and the SE is an attempt to regain their favour. The 4-inch form factor feels both familiar and fresh in its design — like an iPhone 5s with softer curves — and the SE benefits from the inclusion of the same internals found in the iPhone 6s, meaning it’s lightning fast. The two also share the same, excellent camera, though the iPhone SE lacks “3D Touch” functionality and possesses an older, slower Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Still, it offers fantastic battery life and happens to be the cheapest iPhone Apple’s ever sold. Oh, and lest we forget: Rose Gold.
In a sentence: A no-brainer for champions of the 4-inch form factor wanting to upgrade from an older iPhone.
Price: £359 and up
HTC 10
Score: 88/100
The HTC 10 marks the end of a few uneventful years at the company, defined by a series of unremarkable flagships. But what a return to form. The HTC 10’s sleek, all-metal design packages a 5.2-inch Quad HD display and internals that are almost unmatched in their performance. While its competent 12-UltraPixel camera isn’t the best on the market and battery life is distinctly average, HTC has cleaned up its Android skin and included a few attractive extras like hi-res audio support and AirPlay compatibility. HTC has again created a flagship handset that can hang with the best of ’em, but that means you’re looking at premium pricing to match.
In a sentence: On the podium as one of the top Android smartphones on the market.
Price: £570
Google Nexus 6P
Score: 87/100
The Nexus 6P is another device for those who prefer a larger-than-average screen. The 5.7-inch, Wide Quad HD display isn’t all the handset has to offer, though, with an abundance of processing power and impressive battery life. Being a Google device, the Nexus 6P also receives Android updates as soon as they become available, so you’ll always be on the latest version. Combine all these features with a solid camera, and you get a large-screen smartphone at a pretty competitive price. However, it’s worth bearing in mind the Nexus 6P lacks a microSD slot to expand storage, and its all-metal design is like the smartphone equivalent of Marmite.
In a sentence: A great option for people who like a larger screen that also benefits from the most up-to-date Android software.
Price: £449 and up.
Moto G
Score: 87/100
When Motorola launched the first Moto G a few years ago, it immediately stood out as offering unparalleled value for money. Now in its third generation, the Moto G is still one of the best all-round smartphones for anyone on a budget, or those that would rather not pay for bells and whistles they’ll get little use out of. While it doesn’t excel in any one area and ignores flagship-grade components to keep costs down, there are no particularly uninviting compromises either. The Moto G’s outward appearance can also be heavily personalised using Moto Maker, at which point avid mobile gamers and users of more demanding apps might want to pay a little extra for more RAM and internal storage.
In a sentence: A decent, affordable Android smartphone that makes minimal sacrifices to hit its low price point.
Price: £149 and up.
OnePlus 2
Score: 86/100
OnePlus is in the business of making serious smartphones and selling them for a fraction of the price of competitors. Case in point: the OnePlus 2. It has all the guts and performance of a market-leading flagship, with style and build quality being far from an afterthought. Those features alone make the price tag easy to justify, and that’s without mentioning the versatile 13-megapixel camera. OnePlus has held back in a couple of areas, understandably, such as opting for a 5.5-inch 1080p display instead of a Quad HD panel. Other compromises include a lack of expandable storage and NFC, which are likely to be either deal-breakers or features you can easily live without.
In a sentence: A inexpensive, near-flagship device that prioritises performance and price.
Price: £249
LG G5
Score: 81/100
LG has released some excellent flagship smartphones in the past, but this year the company has skipped an incremental upgrade in favour of something much more adventurous. Top-tier performance and fun, flexible dual-camera array aside, the bottom bezel of the device is completely removable, making space for a couple of modular accessories LG calls “Friends.” These include a hi-res audio attachment and a camera grip that also extends battery life, which is pretty average otherwise. At this point, however, you have look beyond the few accessories currently available and hope others will explore the potential of the modular design even further.
In a sentence: A powerful Android smartphone that dares to be different
Price: £449
Sony Xperia Z5
Score: 80/100
The Xperia Z5 is either another of Sony’s beautiful, polished products, or a slightly lazy attempt to tweak its tired “Omnibalance” design. Regardless of which side of the fence you find yourself on, you can’t dispute the build quality and high waterproof rating. The Xperia Z5 offers the kind of performance you’d expect from a genuine flagship, but pairs that with a 5.2-inch 1080p display. Gorgeous it might be, but it does fall short of competitors’ higher-resolution screens. What your money is primarily going towards is the 23-megapixel rear camera, which happens to be one of the best on the market. The Xperia Z5 isn’t cheap, but it won’t disappoint serious smartphone photographers.
In a sentence: Another lovingly built Sony smartphone with one of the best cameras around.
Price: £469
Wileyfox Swift
Score: 79/100
Fledgling British brand Wileyfox has made an extremely good first impression with the Swift. Like the Moto G, the Swift is all about crafting a low-cost smartphone that still provides an excellent user experience. With a relatively charming, all-plastic design, a bright 5-inch, 720p display and easily customisable Cyanogen software, there’s plenty to like. You also get a decent amount of processing power for an affordable device, though the 13-megapixel camera leaves quite a lot to be desired. However, aside from its underwhelming camera, the Swift deserves serious consideration if you’re after a good smartphone that doesn’t weigh heavily on your wallet.
In a sentence: An affordable Android smartphone that represents excellent value for money.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 6 is destined to become more powerful than the flagship smartphone, Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Like the Note 5 being bulkier in specs than the older S6. The common denominator – more RAM.
The South Korean smartphone giant, Samsung, announced at a Mobile Solutions Forum in China about its 6Gb DRAM chip. Although some phone models like the LeEco Le Max 2 already have bigger memory, Samsung’s architecture surrounds the 10nm form factor of the DRAM chip. This means it’s more efficient than most of its competitors.
Despite of this news and announcement, the magic 6Gb of DRAM will not necessarily come to the Galaxy Note 6. However, there’s a good chance that it will. Just take the Galaxy Note 5 being more powerful than it’s smartphone counterpart, the Samsung Galaxy S6. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have 4Gb of RAM, this announcement is timely for the Note 6’s announcement on mid-August.
If this proves to be true, as what the rumors says, then the next Note would have a 5.8-inch QHD screen, a 2.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 823 processor and a massive 4200mAh battery. This means if you find the Galaxy S7 still lacks the power that you need out of it, then the phablet cousin could be the one for you.
It’s an Android TV device that have Bluetooth remote and voice activation, acts like a Chromecast for the living room and plays 4K video. Welcome, the Xiaomi 4K Mi Box.
Soon to be retailed in the US, the Xiaomi 4K Mi Box is a new competitor to the growing market of TV set top boxes. Unveiled at Google I/O, this device is surely exciting.
The 4K Mi Box will obviously be running the latest Android N with features picture-in-picture support, APIs for live video recording, and playback of High Dynamic Range content. To add up to the great potential of the 4K Mi Box, partners like CNN, Comedy Central, Disney, and ESPN is set to give support to these new devices.
Inputs for the 4K Mi Box are one HDMI out port, a USB port, and an AV port. The game pad for your Android games will be sold separately but prices of these devices are still yet to be released.
Google I/O 2016 came with the announcement of Daydream. This is Google’s first Virtual Reality platform and ecosystem dedicated to bringing more momentum to develop optimized apps for it’s upcoming VR headsets and controllers.
Two years ago, Google launched it’s experimental Google Cardboard for VR on existing user smartphones. For those of you who have not caught up with this hype, Google Cardboard was the first attempt to bring Virtual Reality to many people. The package was so easy to make, a couple of optical glass, some duct tape and an Android smartphone, it sure was a good ground to start this awesome revolution. As a result, many indie developers made apps for this thriving market – and then came the announcement of Daydream.
What is Daydream?
Daydream was a platform for Virtual Reality that is highly integrated with Android N. By the current stage of development, Daydream may not yet be competing with HTC Vive or the Oculus Rift software which are all PC-based software and hardware.
What are the features of Daydream?
Daydream is yet to be tested but let’s start with what we know are the early resemblance of what Daydream apps can do. YouTube started using 360 videos for desktop and mobile devices, Street View let’s you go to maps and places in a full 360 view. The Google Play Store, Play Movies, and Google Photos have been a testing ground for Virtual Reality. The New York Times, HBO, Netflix, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts are also on board to develop apps for Daydream.
If you like the features of the current apps that use VR on your devices, then think of Daydream as an official backbone to integrate Virtual Reality games and apps right into your smartphone.
Any Daydream headsets?
Yes, there are. In fact, Google’s announcement on the keynote revealed its reference design for a VR headset and controller. This design looks like an HTC Vive but a simplified version. It is said to be wireless, easy to take on and off, and comfortable to wear. Manufacturer partners already have given rights to this reference design for official manufacturing later this year.
Google I/O 2016 brings another batch of innovation to the world of communication. Right at the bare essential of the user experience, Google is trying to bring back the true essence of being connected – with Allo and Duo.
Meet Allo
The new messaging app Allo, but as what was said in the Google IO announcements, a smart messaging app that learns overtime. It means that the more you use Allo, it learns about you – when you give it permission of course. Allo connects with your phone number so you can use your existing contacts from your phonebook for you everyday chats. This messaging app is expressive and creative with Google Assistant built right into it.
Whisper Shout
Whisper Shout is a cool new feature that adds more emotion to your words to let them know how you really feel. Your message changes to a larger font to make a shout, changes to a smaller font to make a whisper.
Ink
Ink can still write directly on your photo before sending it but this time more seamless and optimized for faster performance.
Smart Reply
Smart Reply is built into conversations. It is simple and fast when replying with just one tap. A feature that can be very helpful when you are in a situation where you can’t really type to respond to a text message. Suggesting replies based on your pattern learned by Google Assistant overtime. Allo can provide Smart Replies to photos sent to you. Assessing what the photo is and in what context the photo is in. It can then offer options to make a restaurant reservation when you send a photo of food, for example.
One on One
One on One chat with Google is also useful when you just want an information right out of google without even opening a browser. Search info, play videos and audios, or even play a game with Google Assistant right inside the Allo app!
Incognito Mode
Incognito Mode is based on Google Chrome that let’s you have End2End or E2E Encryption, private notifications, and expiring chats for added privacy. Messages made and received in Incognito Mode will be deleted forever one your thread is deleted.
Meet Duo
Duo, for a start is a video calling app that can work with various phones models and specifications. Even working great on slow connections. This app also manages data signals from either Wi-Fi or cellular depending on what signal is better. And to make the app more intuitive and fast is by using the QUIC platform that makes the latency rate of video calls almost non-existent.
As a one to one video calling app for everyone, Duo is a video companion to Allo. It can work with both Android and iOS. It also have the Knock Knock feature that can make you see the ones who are calling you right before you answer!
Google IO or Google I/O (with a slash) is finally done for this year. Many have been rooting and predicting for a new voice assistant and was not disappointed. Google Assistant is now well-known as the Siri killer.
What is Google IO?
Google Assistant will be the new voice assistant for Android once it is released with the latest version of Android, the Android N.
This was presented on the Google I/O event as the best voice assistant for Android. To back this claim, Google engineers have some pretty tricks to make this one stand out and become a worthy successor to Google Now.
Features of the Google Assistant
More Natural
Google Assistant is more human in its interaction, following the context of your query, even uses your location to get more specific with its search results. Unlike any other voice assistant for Android, Google Assistant answers back to you, gives you follow up answers to your follow up questions for a very natural experience.
Integrations
Google Assistant is not only a search-based app but is also integrated to Allo and Echo, Google’s new chat and video chat apps respectively. An AI that provides a seamless combination of different devices while providing a learning assistant that gets better the more you use it.
Open
Google Assistant is open for integrations on current and new Google developers who would wish to use this AI technology in their own apps. It will be expected that Google Assistant will continue to surpass what Apple’s Siri has started many years ago.
At $50, we called Amazon’s Fire tablet “incredible value” and a device “that sets a benchmark for budget slates.” It was so cheap, in fact, that Amazon tried to sell them like a six-pack of beer. Now, the company is back with some new colors — magenta, blue and tangerine — and a 16GB option for those that want to download more than a handful of apps. To get the double storage, however, you’ll need to pay an extra $20 over the regular asking price. There’s also a new 16GB Kids Edition that costs $120.
Otherwise, you’re getting the same device as before. That means the same 7-inch IPS display (1,024 x 600), the same customized version of Android (Fire OS 5) and the same quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek processor. It’s nothing fancy, but for the absolute basics — browsing the web, checking emails and some video streaming — it should do the job just fine.
The ability to broadcast live video will soon be available to every Facebook user on iOS and Android. After its US debut on the iPhone, the company has slowly started to introduce the feature in other markets, including the UK. Now, it’s coming to Google’s mobile OS too, starting with users in the US today. “More countries will be coming soon,” Facebook said in a blog post. In addition, the company has announced that 30 countries now have access through the iOS app: “We’ll continue to roll this out to more people as well as Pages in countries around the world in the coming weeks.”
Once enabled, you can share a live video feed from your phone by tapping the “What’s on your mind?” field at the top of the News Feed, followed by the Live Video icon. Rattle off a quick description and you’re away, with the ability to respond to real-time comments and review how many people are watching. When it’s all over, the broadcast will be archived on your Timeline, where you can choose to keep it or delete it straightaway.
