We have three new iPhones, but if you judge by all the news and talk, you would think Apple had just unveiled one: the Apple iPhone X.
The new iPhone X is certainly the one that has everyone’s attention with its new edge-to-edge screen and compact size, but with a prohibitive starting price of $1,000 for the base 64GB model, you might wonder if there is an alternative.
Of course, there is! In fact, the iPhone X is late to the bezel-less screen game, and we round up 5 great Android options for a lower price, but with a similarly great design and cameras. With no further ado, here is our selection of the iPhone X bezel-less alternatives.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus were among the first phones in the “bezel-less” trend. They have one of the finest Super AMOLED screens out there with lively, vivid colors. The Note 8 is just like the other two, but bigger and with the accurate S Pen on board that allows you to quickly take notes or get creative with drawings.
The Galaxy S8 in particular is available at nearly half the price of the iPhone X and the other two are also great alternatives. One big downside with them? The fingerprint scanner. It’s positioned weirdly to the side of the camera, where it is hard to reach and you will often smudge the camera instead of the finger reader.
Google’s new Pixel 2 XL comes with one glaring issue: an OLED screen that gets very bluish once you tilt the phone just slightly, and it can suffer from a ghosting effect, but if you are not pedantic about having the absolute display. the Pixel 2 XL delivers. It’s a stunning phone: it has arguably the best camera ever put in a phone, a clean version of Android that already has the latest update and is guaranteed to be first in line in the future, it has solid battery life and it performs admirably well.
The Essential Phone is a true design gem with its ceramic back and a solid construction. It has an extremely high screen to body ratio with a very distinct, “notch” design where a tiny cutout at the top of the front is made for the front camera. It all blends together nicely when you have the notification bar at the top, or if you have a black screen, but is otherwise noticeable. The Essential Phone lacks branding, runs on a clean version of Android and comes with the promise for timely updates.
The LG V30 is the company’s best phone as of fall 2017. With a 6-inch display and an edge-to-edge display, the V30 is actually a little smaller than the 5.5-inch OnePlus 5 that has a traditional, 16:9 display with bezels on the top and bottom. And that’s quite the achievement. The V30 – unlike Samsung phones – has its fingerprint on the back, below the camera and properly centered, so it’s really easy for your finger to reach it.
The G6 has a 5.7-inch full-screen display, but it lacks some of the V30‘s media capabilities, and has a less refined camera experience. It makes up with a much lower price. It also looks a lot like the V30, though, and features a very sleek glass and metal build.
The bezel-less Huawei Mate 10 Pro features a sleek design and one of the finest cameras on Android. It performs good as well: equipped with Huawei’s own Kirin 970 system chip, this powerful phone is the first around with a neural engine built-in. Battery life is another strong point for the Mate 10 Pro.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix was certainly one of the most interesting products of 2016: in fact, one could argue it was the device that kickstarted the bezel-less design trend. In 2017, we have the much more practical and smaller in size Mi Mix 2 with even less bezel and a more refined look and feel. The Mi Mix 2 features a 6-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, narrower than the wide 17:9 screen on the original Mix. It runs top-grade silicon with the Snapdragon 835 chip on board and comes in three versions: 64GB, 128GB and 256 gigs. The phone also features an improved camera, now with the Sony IMX386 sensor and with 4-axis image stabilization.
Apple's iPhone 8 Plus takes on LG's G6 in our smartphone camera shootout. Let's look at color, clarity, exposure, and overall user experience.
We put the LG G6 and Apple iPhone 8 Plus head to head in a smartphone camera showdown.
Last year, Apple failed to take the top spot in our four-way smartphone camera shootout between the iPhone 7 Plus, LG V20, Google Pixel XL, and Samsung Galaxy S7. But this year’s iPhone 8 Plus includes some major improvements over the iPhone 7 Plus, and looks perfectly positioned to take on the LG G6, our current pick for best smartphone camera.
So which phone offers better camera performance—the latest iPhone or the G6? We took a ton of photos to find out. Oh, and in case you’re wondering where the Pixel 2 stands in this battle, just give us a few more days. We’re currently doing extra camera tests with Google’s amazing new phone, and will have definitive results soon.
We put both the Lg G6 and iPhone 8 Plus head-to-head in a wide variety of testing environments.
Specs
Apple’s iPhone cameras have been a bit stagnant in recent years, but the iPhone 8 Plus is turning that around with some huge changes under the hood. The sensor has been updated with “deeper” dual pixels, the lenses have new color filters, and Apple has switched to a proprietary image signal processor (ISP).
The camera might not look too different from last years model, but the improvements made to the iPhone 8 Plus are major.
The rest of the specs remain similar on paper. The dual-lens system features one normal lens and one telephoto, providing a 2x optical zoom. Both cameras have 12MP sensors, with the normal lens sporting an f/1.8 aperture and the telephoto lens stuck with a much lower f/2.8 aperture. Just like last year, Apple made the mistake of forgoing optical image stabilization (OIS) on the telephoto lens, including it only on the normal lens.
LG’s G6 has been through many camera shootouts and emmerged victorious.
LG’s G6 features better specs in its dual-lens system, and takes a different approach to its second camera. Most notably, LG pairs the G6’s normal lens with a super-wide-angle lens, allowing for more of a scene to be captured in a single frame. Both sensors are 13MP, with the normal lens rocking an f/1.8 aperture and the super-wide angle having an f/2.4 aperture. The G6 also has one of the best stock camera apps around, including a powerful and easy-to-use manual mode.
For this camera showdown, I’m going to focus mostly on the results from the main cameras for both phones. And I’ll use them the way most people do: straight out of the pocket, with the stock camera app, and HDR set to auto. Our testing categories are broken into four sections: color, clarity, exposure, and user experience. And for this shootout, we hired the beautiful model Valeria to help us with real-world testing.
Color
The first category we’re going to cover is color, and here I’m looking for accurate color balance, along with reproduction of natural skin tones.
The iPhone is a bit warmer where the G6 is cooler, but colors are spot-on compared to the naked eye.
Right off the bat, I can say that the iPhone 8 Plus and its new internals produce some of the most accurate color results I’ve seen in a smartphone camera. The new sensor and lens color filters are partially to thank, but the majority of this power comes from Apple’s new ISP.
Apple really made skin tone reproduction a focus with the 8 Plus.
The bluish hue of the G6 makes the concrete appear unnatural.
In low light, the bluish hue of the G6 negates the warm glow from the floresent bulbs, but has the effect of muting the skin tones.
Against this brick wall, the iPhone is actually a bit cooler than the G6. The color on the flowers is a bit too punched-up on the 8 Plus, but the white balance is on point.
Past iPhones have struggled in the color category, so it makes sense that Apple would put so much effort into correcting its faults. No matter what lighting scenario I threw at it, the 8 Plus performed more like a DSLR than a smartphone. The color battle is a blow-out for Apple, and easily goes to the iPhone 8 Plus.
Clarity
Next we’ll go over clarity, and these results are a bit more nuanced. Here I’m looking at the sharpness of each image, and how each camera decides to maintain a clear photo across multiple lighting scenarios. You’ll want to click on each image to see clarity flaws in detail.
Both phones hold their own and retain plenty of detail.
Zooming in reveals that the iPhone does produce a bit more detail compared to the G6.
The LG G6 stands up quite well to the iPhone 8 Plus and even outperforms it in a few scenarios, like far distances and macro. But the 8 Plus has the upper hand at normal shooting distances, so it’s suited quite well for day-to-day use.
A wide city shot looks fairly even.
But punching in on the bricks shows how each camera deals with compression and noise reduction. The G6 is a tad cleaner.
The iPhone has a great punch to it.
But upon closer inspection, the G6 is clearly superior here.
In normal shooting distances, the iPhone hits its sweet spot.
Zooming in shows a clear difference between the two books.
In low light, both phones stumble in different ways. The G6 holds a bit more dynamic range in the darkest of areas and has a very aggressive OIS system that helps maintain detail. But the 8 Plus has a more pleasing grain structure and super-quick autofocus.
In this superlow-light shot, neither photo is great.
And zooming in shows a bit more insight into the grain structure between the two.
Autofocus performance makes a huge difference, especially in low-light situations.
Not only was the G6 slower to focus, in this shot it missed focus all together.
In fact, I was stunned by the speed and accuracy of the iPhone’s autofocus system. That’s enough to give the iPhone 8 Plus the edge, and take the clarity category.
Exposure
For our exposure test results, I’m going over the dynamic range capabilities of each phone, and how they chose to expose for the scene. I’ll include a histogram in each shot so you can check out the graphs for yourself.
Both phones handle exposure very well, but fall down in some specific ways. The G6 chose to overexpose this street scene compared to the iPhone, but both blew out the sky.
The exposure category was a tight race, with both phones handling themselves very well in almost every lighting condition. The G6 has a flatter image, making the photos look washed-out when compared to the iPhone. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Having a flatter image allows for more flexibility in editing, and guards against bad exposure decisions.
The G6’s photo looks washed-out compared to the 8 Plus, but the exposure is accurate and keeps from clipping.
Most of the contrast can be added back into the image using even the most basic tools found in Instagram.
Both shots are accurate and have their advantages. The iPhone is just more aggressive in adding pop to the image.
Nonetheless, almost all of the exposure decisions the 8 Plus makes are spot-on. Basically, the iPhone maintains accuracy while retaining a nice punch, right out of the camera, with no editing. So it really comes down to personal preference on how you like your phone to handle processing. I support both approaches.
The G6 goes for less showy results, but leaves open the door for more editing flexibility. The iPhone has more wow factor, but doesn’t make bad exposure decisions. So I’m calling the exposure category a tie.
User experience
The last category to hit is user experience. Because even if the camera is amazing, it’s not worth using if the experience is horrible.
The G6 has great advantages, like the ability to quickly launch the camera app with a double-press to the volume key. I also believe LG has the best stock camera app you could ever want on a smartphone. For instance, you get a manual mode with a histogram, RAW photo support, and some really cool modes that leverage the G6’s dual camera system.
The iPhone, on the other hand, is snappy, straightforward, and easy to use. I never second-guessed the 8 Plus’s ability to accurately pull focus, even in low light.
The biggest difference between using both phones are their second cameras. The iPhone uses a telephoto lens that gives you an effective 2x zoom, which is good for capturing far-off subjects. But Apple’s Portrait Mode offers even more value from the telephoto lens. It uses the two-lens system to gather depth information, and introduces blur into the scene, providing stunning results.
Despite the shortcomings of the technology, Portrait Mode on the iPhone 8 Plus continues to impress.
On the LG side, we have a second lens with a super-wide field of view, allowing more of a scene to fit into the shot. As awesome as Portrait Mode is—especially when shooting with a model—I just found myself having way more need for a super-wide lens during day-to-day use.
I personally found way more uses for the wide-angle lens on the LG G6.
These features really boil down to personal preference. I’m only going to give the slight edge to the LG G6 in this category, mainly on the strength of its camera app features—you can just simply do more with LG’s camera.
Conclusion
So after four categories we have a clear winner: Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus!
The G6 beat some awesome phone cameras this year, and it’s been a great ride for LG. But after a couple of lackluster years, Apple finally stepped up to the plate and created a truly stunning camera system.
Photos shot with the iPhone 8 Plus have the most accurate colors I’ve seen from a smartphone camera. The accuracy approaches DSLR levels, even in low light. I believe the strength of this new system lies within the new ISP. If this phone is any indication, we should see even better results coming from Apple’s upcoming iPhone X.
In our Android Phone Guide, we rank the best Android phones for most people. We recognize that those phones, while good for most people, are not the best for all people. As a companion to the Best Android Phones, we’ve rounded up the Android Phones with the Best Battery Life. If you need a big battery to get through the day, these are the phones for you.
Note: These phones have been ranked by battery capacity, but that is not the only factor we considered for being included in the list.
The Huawei Mate 9 is huge, both in physical size and battery capacity. It has a gigantic 6-inch 1080p display to go along with the 4000 mAh battery. The display is super bright and gorgeous, and the battery life is exceptional. Huawei also includes a fingerprint scanner on the back sitting beneath a dual Leica setup, plus it comes with Android Nougat.
The Zenfone 3 Max has one of the biggest batteries available in a smartphone. All that battery makes for a hefty device, but it’s surprisingly thin. Just think of it like a permanent battery case. The Zenfone 3 Max also has a 16MP camera with laser focus, 720p display, 3Gb of RAM, and the Snapdragon 430 processor.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge takes the solid foundation built by the standard Galaxy S7 and improves upon it in a few important ways. Battery life is the main improvement. If you want the Galaxy S7, you should absolutely spend the extra money on the Edge model. You’ll thank yourself when you enjoy the all-day battery life.
The Moto Z Force’s 3,600mAh battery combined with top notch battery optimization means the device lasts long enough to keep you connected throughout a busy day. The device also has all the makings of a flagship, including an insane 21-megapixel camera, Snapdragon 820 chipset, and more. Those improvements over the Moto Z’s 2,600mAh battery pack makes it worth considering.
BlackBerry’s KEYone doesn’t have a whole lot of bells and whistles, but perhaps that’s to its benefit. Its 3,505 mAh pack combines with the power-sipping (and amazingly efficient) Snapdragon 625 chipset to provide battery life that should get any busy person through a day or two. Add that iconic BlackBerry keyboard and this is a BlackBerry fanatic’s dream come true.
Samsung took a hit on the chin with their 2016 smartphones in regards to battery life, but they’ve once again found a way to fit big batteries in a pocktable form factor. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is sporting a roomy 3,500mAh battery that help you achieve a full day of battery life with above moderate usage. Combine that with all the other great qualities — including a gorgeous Infinity Display — and you can feel comfortable with this one.
The Pixel XL has plenty of room inside its 3,450mAh battery pack to make it onto this list, and with the optimizations Google has made to Android — both in general and in their Pixel-specific tweaks — it’s one of the most impressive devices on the market in terms of longevity. Add even more quality traits in allmost every other area and this is once to consider if you need an all day beast.
The Nexus 6P is Huawei’s first attempt at a Nexus device, and they knocked it out of the park. This is the first time a Nexus can truly claim the title of best Android phone. It has an excellent camera, beautiful, big display, and a charming design. If you don’t mind big phones, this is the one to get.
The battery in LG’s latest phone benefits from improved engineering prowess. LG was able to fit a bigger battery in it than its predecessors despite having a similar overall profile. That, combined with a beautiful display, solid hardware, and efficient software make it a long-lasting contender.
The V20 sports a roomy battery pack to make sure it lasts all day. It also employs neat tricks like the use of always-on display and a secondary ticker display to keep you from having to turn your phone on every time a notification comes in, something that surprisedly does wonders for battery life.
Battery: 3200 mAh
Key Features:
Great dual camera
Sharp display
Innovative features
HONORABLE MENTION
There are plenty of Android phones that offer great battery life. We only have so much room in our list, but there are a few extra devices you should consider. Here are five phones that just missed the top ten.
The experiment failed for the LG G5, obviously. The market seem not so pleased with modular phones for now so LG is planning to make the G6 not modular too.
If there’s something LG had learned from the LG G5, that is the fact that the modular phones are not that hip anymore. It’s not winning and not what the market wants. According to Korea’s Electronic Times, LG will go back to a standard and integrated design for it’s next flagship, the LG G6. Modularity is a failure.
LG may seem to have big plans with it’s LG G5: nice modules to choose from. Batteries plus endless promised addition to an ecosystem. But it’s not just all bad stuff, there’s something to like about it too, yet more stuff also to hate. All from the modular design.
In June, consumers knew that the phone was not doing very well due to some complication of mass producing the device. Plus one major statistic – no one wants a modular phone anymore. One stat would have to be Google’s cancellation of Project Ara last September. Project Ara is the modular phone design directly marketed by Google. Again, modularity is dead. With just Lenovo’s Moto Z lineup of phones which still rocks these failing modularity concepts.
Electronic Times’ story is based on industry sources, who claim LG realized that people don’t like the complexity of swapping components, or the cost of those extra components. Instead ET reports LG will be “applying demands from its customers and markets rather than being buried in creating innovations.”
Creating innovations is all fun and games until someone gets buried!
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