“Mobile Phone Comparison: Ranking the Best Mid-Range and Flagship Models According to Performance, Price, and Features”

Before buying a mobile phone, it is advisable to determine what I expect from it, what I want to avoid and which parameters are important to me. The key is the price, this is where you should set it. The lower class of mobiles can suffer from random shortcomings, for example, sometimes the signal drops out, Wi-Fi does not work reliably or you encounter problems with the software. There is no doubt about the lower performance of the chipset or worse cameras, although even in this class you can find interesting models with an excellent price/performance ratio.

There are two types of mobile phones in the middle class – universal and focused on a certain way of use. It’s also evident in this test, with the gaming-oriented model in shared first place, but in other respects it remains slightly below average. The third is a universal one, which does not have such graphics or processing power, but is better in all other respects. So if you have very specific requirements, you can find a customized mobile phone in the middle class.

The higher class of mobile phones, i.e. the territory of flagships, is characterized by minimal compromises and maximum equipment. The differences are mainly in the cameras, but the performance is also higher, some displays have a higher resolution, and the sound is also of better quality. Flagships are usually good in everything, although they may have worse battery life compared to the mid-range. Typically, you can choose a mobile phone as a work tool in the middle class, but if the mobile phone is the center of your world and you spend long hours a day on it, it makes sense to look higher.

The chipset is both the heart and the brain

The first of the two critical parameters of a mobile phone is the chipset. At the same time, it is not so much about its raw performance, but about the technology it contains. The chipset decides whether the mobile phone is capable of 5G, whether it can record video in a resolution higher than Full HD, and also affects many seemingly unrelated topics such as charging speed (standard) or wireless connectivity.

If an older chipset is integrated in the mobile, it is very likely that such a phone will fall behind in many categories. At the same time, it is often about things below the surface that cannot be detected when browsing the parameters. It is therefore not necessary to look directly at the raw performance, but rather to reach for a more modern chipset that offers better technologies and operational characteristics.

Of course, gamers will think differently, they want the latest and most powerful chipset possible, and they may want, for example, rear cameras. They can also tolerate a less debugged system, as long as they don’t get hacked or just shut down games on their own. However, players also have specific requirements for the display, which represents the second critical component.

A typical mid-range mobile phone has two SIMs, although the iPhone only has the second one in the form of an eSIM. However, the possibility of memory expansion via microSDXC cards disappears, only Samsung offers them in the test

The display affects ergonomics

First, look at the display’s diagonal. You probably already have your favorite screen size that you know will fit your phone perfectly in your hand. Everyone has a different palm size, different users have different approaches to covers, which continue to change the dimensions of the device. It is therefore a very subjective topic that everyone must clarify for themselves before buying.

However, not only the diagonals are key for displays, but also the panel technology. We have OLED and IPS displays represented in the test. OLEDs enable the Always-on function without a significant increase in consumption, but typically have a slightly higher consumption compared to IPS, especially in bright mode. With IPS, the mode does not matter and characteristically they have less saturated and more accurate colors, on the other hand, they lack infinite contrast and perfect color rendering, and especially black from the side view.

With the front camera, not only its performance is important, but also how much space it takes up on the display surface, how it is integrated into it and how the system is adapted to it

Both technologies also differ in maximum and minimum brightness, but it is more about the way they are achieved than the measured values. IPS panels have fared a bit better in this regard, which is mainly due to their maturity as a technology and lower costs, so it is less of a problem for manufacturers to put a good IPS panel in a mobile phone than a quality OLED panel.

Again we come to gamers who will be looking at the refresh rate parameter. Higher is better, but it’s not just for players. The higher refresh rate of the displays will be used by everyone during normal activities such as reading texts, browsing social networks or when moving in the user interface of the mobile phone. The mobile has a better response, which will make the user experience more pleasant.

Charging adapters are not a given

A surprising topic in the middle class is the presence or absence of charging adapters. Why do we even need to consider it? Although it may seem that if one mobile phone has a maximum charging power of 25 W and the other phone has exactly the same data in the parameters, you can exchange their chargers and both will go to full power. It is not true. Manufacturers have their own fast charging technologies and there is not yet a single standard that would enable fast charging for all mobile phones.

It is not enough that the mobile phone has written in the parameters that it can handle fast charging with a certain power, you also need an appropriate adapter for the socket. Some manufacturers include large and powerful ones, others only supply a cable in the package

In short, it is not only the standardization of the connector on the mobile phone that is essential, but also the specific voltage, current and charging technology. In particular, manufacturers such as Samsung or Honor should therefore not try to remove charging adapters from mobile phones, but simply switch to one common charging standard so that they can afford this step in the first place. Not every user previously used a mobile phone of the same brand and was left with a working and sufficiently powerful adapter.

It is also slightly surprising when the manufacturer boasts about the environment and removes the problematic adapter instead of the USB-C cable, which probably everyone has at home these days. Anyway, for our test, this meant charging these mobiles with an unofficial adapter, as all tests are carried out in the most basic state and settings.

Charging speeds for Samsung, Honor and Apple, which also still uses the Lightning connector here, can be increased if you buy an official adapter. However, the duration per charge will remain the same. We bet on synthetic tests to a certain extent, because they are easily repeatable and simulating a certain way of use wouldn’t even make sense – everyone uses their mobile phone differently.

Construction and materials

For mobile phones in the middle class, manufacturers usually do not bet on more luxurious materials, because they have to allocate the budget for basic components such as a chipset or display, and they no longer have room for this. However, companies are even more creative when choosing colors or textures with interesting reflections. In this regard, you will find a varied offer in the middle class.

In any case, as a user, you have to ask yourself whether you will use the mobile phone with or without a cover. Because if you snap a back cover with your own texture and motif onto it, it doesn’t make much sense to search for an interesting color and quality materials. Otherwise, it’s nice to feel the coolness of the metal frame in your hand or the back with an interesting texture that provides enough grip to hold the phone firmly and comfortably. Depending on whether you buy an additional cover for your mobile phone, attach more or less importance to these parameters when choosing.

What can and cannot be read from the parameters

The construction of the mobile phone is also tricky in that it is often not possible to tell from the description or from the photos how the mobile phone fits in the hand or which color will be the most beautiful. However, other parameters such as cameras are also treacherous. From the number of megapixels or from the brightness, it is really impossible to determine whether it is a quality camera, the only usable guide remains the optical image stabilization (OIS). Therefore, it is better to go through the photos and read the reviews.

You can also find in the continuation for subscribers

Ranking of the tested group from objectively best to weakest.

Detailed tables with comparison of parameters.

We measured the battery, processor performance, brightness and color fidelity of the display.

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