Experts have been checking smartphones for more than ten years, spending a long time testing the latest batches of top-end flagship devices, including the latest iPhones and Android devices. The iPhone Xs now leads the phone's performance rating, thanks to its powerful A12 Bionic processor, beautiful design, and impressive camera setup. As an equivalent alternative to this expensive device, users can turn to OnePlus 6T. It has the same flagship features at an average price. Google Pixel 3 is also cheaper than the new iPhone, and it is the best affordable Android phone.
Apple iPhone Xs as a leader
Phone processor performance rating is led by iPhone Xs. It is a continuation of last year’s experimental iPhone X. It has the same size, design and price as the X, but includes improvements to the camera, chipset, and internal storage options.
The iPhone Xs has a full glass case with a stainless steel strip around the edges. It features a 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED screen that looks beautiful and displays very accurate colors thanks to True Tone technology, which adjusts the white balance of the screen to complement the surrounding light in your environment. The A12 Bionic processor is smaller and more efficient than its predecessor A11 in the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus. Starting with Model X, applications load faster, ARs become more exciting, the user interface more intuitive, and even photos get better.
The use of Xs “smart” HDR, bokeh, portrait filters, fast sensors, improvements in low light and variable depth of field creates stunning images. TrueDepth's front-facing camera, which includes FaceID, remains one of the best. However, iPhone improvements are not cheap. The Xs model costs from 68 thousand rubles with 64 GB of internal memory. It is also available with 256 GB for 80 thousand and 512 GB for 100 thousand. You can also choose the iPhone Xs Max, which has the same chipset and camera as the Xs, but has a 6.5-inch screen and a more capacious battery. Its cost is higher - from 98 thousand rubles. However, both versions of the latest iPhone do not have fast charging, unlike Android devices. It takes more than three hours to fully charge these gadgets.
OnePlus 6T
This device, released in November 2018, is among the top ten phones in Antutu performance rating. It is a noteworthy device, not only because it costs much less than other flagship smartphones (from 44 thousand rubles), but also thanks to its impressive performance characteristics and an innovative fingerprint sensor on the display.
6T is a continuation of the OnePlus 6 released earlier. Although the two phones share similar specifications, the 6T has a number of significant improvements over its predecessor. The most impressive thing is that it is the first Android smartphone with a fingerprint sensor on the display. During testing, the sensor works quickly and accurately, especially in combination with unlocking face recognition.
The 6.41-inch AMOLED display is beautiful and has a tiny notch in the upper central part, which houses a 16-megapixel front camera. The all-glass back cover accommodates dual 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel lenses. Although the phone is completely made of glass, it cannot be charged wirelessly. Nevertheless, he retained the superfast capabilities of fast charging of the previous iteration (only one hundred minutes), for which only the attached accessories are required. The downside of the 6T is its lack of a headphone jack.
Despite the fact that the company constantly produces excellent budget devices, the three main problems do not allow OnePlus to top the performance rating of mobile phones. First of all, gadgets still do not have protection against water. Secondly, OnePlus lags behind other devices in terms of camera quality. Finally, devices could previously be purchased only through the company's own store, although OnePlus 6T is now available at other points of sale.
Google pixel 3
Released in October 2018, the Pixel 3 is an intuitive device with unique, easy-to-use features. Its camera and AI options make it the best-performing Android phone.
The two most notable features of the Pixel 3 are the camera and the Call Screen feature. Although the Pixel 3 has one rear lens instead of two, like most flagships, it still takes incredible photos thanks to smart software, including Top Shot and Super Res Zoom. The first takes several pictures and selects the best option, and the second preserves the clarity of the details of the photo even when enlarged. The front camera has two lenses, including a wide-angle option for group selfies.
The Call Screen feature uses Google Assistant to check your calls so you don’t waste time answering spam. The above options are the main advantages of the device, while the Pixel 3 functions impressively. The phone’s performance is due to its fast Snapdragon 845 processor and the standard Android 9 OS. Since Google creates both the device and the operating system, they work intuitively, from Google Assistant integration to backup.
Pixel 3 shows some definite improvements compared to Pixel 2. Its design is much more modern and allows for wireless charging, has a smaller frame and a larger OLED screen. Nevertheless, the new phone has several disadvantages: shorter battery life, less storage space and lower screen brightness than many other smartphones tested by experts.
The 2920 mAh Pixel 3 battery lasted only eight hours and 27 minutes while testing web pages, compared to the 11-hour work of its predecessor. At the same time, the charging time is small - about 2 hours. Although not perfect, it's a great phone and the best Android device currently available. True, its cost cannot be called low - it is about 55 thousand rubles.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Everything about the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is pretty good: from the display to the battery, memory, and storage options. This smartphone is equipped with a beautiful 6.4-inch AMOLED display, a powerful 4000 mAh battery, 6 or 8 GB of RAM and 128 or 512 GB of internal memory, which makes it an ideal device. This gadget is at the top of many phone ratings for performance.
A feature that distinguishes Note 9 from the many large-sized smartphones on the market is the S Pen. This innovative accessory works like a programmable Bluetooth remote control that can take photos, open applications or take notes. The stylus button is also customizable, and you can program it to interact with compatible applications.
In the tests performed, the S Pen does not discharge for a long time, but if this happens, it can get enough charge for 30 minutes of use in just 40 seconds. In addition to this accessory, the Galaxy Note 9 has excellent phone processor performance. It has a large beautiful display, a dual rear lens for great photos in various lighting conditions, a fingerprint scanner and the Snapdragon 845 chipset.
This is a great phone for experienced users, due to the long battery life. In tests Note 9 runs 11 hours 26 minutes with constant web browsing. Moreover, its charging time is less than two hours. This device also has excellent storage and memory options: 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB for storage for 71 thousand, or 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB for 96 thousand. The biggest drawback of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is its Bixby voice assistant, which is not as intuitive or smart as the Google Assistant.
HTC U12 +
The performance rating of phones will be incomplete without HTC U12 +. This device has an amazing setup of photos from four cameras, but strange buttons and a disappointing battery life can scare some users away. However, its charging time is short - about two hours.
HTC U12 + is a large smartphone that has many similarities with large-sized devices on the market. It features a 6-inch LCD with no notch.
In design, the HTC smartphone is one of the most attractive devices available. The all-glass body and color finishes make it truly stunning. The biggest drawback is the unusual touch buttons on the phone. The keys are not pressed when pressed, they simulate a non-mechanical click. The problem with these strange buttons is that they are very easy to accidentally press. During testing, users often accidentally blocked the phone by simply moving the handle or moving the device.
The smartphone also has Edge Sense controls that allow you to interact with it by touching or squeezing the sides of its bottom. Of course, the main advantage in HTC U12 + is the camera setup. Its second front lens and realistic colors give you surprisingly accurate photos, although some people may prefer higher contrast or brighter results. The cost of the gadget is considerable - about 50 thousand rubles.
Budget options
If you compare the performance of phones, it might seem that only expensive gadgets have high specifications. In fact this is not true. The budget brand Xiaomi can offer powerful and equipped with numerous options devices at a modest price. New models today are practically not inferior to expensive flagships. In general, the performance rating of Xiaomi phones looks like this:
- Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 - for 30 thousand rubles you get a device with a powerful processor, 10 GB of RAM and the ability to quickly charge. The smartphone is equipped with 5G support, which is a definite plus.
- Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro - the phone's performance is very good: a new generation processor, 2 cameras with many settings, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, fast charging. However, its cost can hardly be called budget - about 40 thousand rubles.
- Xiaomi Mi 8 - for just 24 thousand wheels you can purchase a powerful device with a high-capacity battery. Testing shows that the device can work 13 hours in video viewing mode. It can be said that this is the best phone performance from the economy segment.
When the choice is already made
Think of your Android device as a computer. As you fill it with material: applications, photos, videos, files, and other data, it starts to become slow, the battery runs out faster, and it becomes more difficult for you to find what you need. If checking the phone's performance shows a clear deterioration, you should fix some of the disadvantages.
As with a computer, you must take care of your device: perform cleaning, backing up, uploading large files and unused applications, organize the contents, and take measures to improve security.
Below are a few tips to increase your phone’s performance. They should also be used regardless of who released your smartphone: Samsung, Google, Huawei, Xiaomi and others.
OS update
Updating Android OS to the latest version means not only access to the latest features, but also the most current security patches. Depending on the features of your device and the current operating system, this process will be slightly different, but in most cases it should be relatively easy.
Using the built-in file manager
How to increase phone performance using special services? If your device is already updated to the latest version of Android, you can use the built-in file manager. Previously, you had to download third-party applications to manage your device’s files. Now you can manage your files by going to the storage and USB settings sections of your device. There you can see how much free space you have left, and also have the opportunity to view all the applications installed on your phone and copy files to the cloud.
Free up space
Like a computer, your smartphone or tablet can become slow if too much data is loaded into it. In addition, the more your device is full, the more difficult it is to find important information or images when you need them. Fortunately, clearing space on an Android smartphone is relatively easy, even if it does not have a memory card. At the same time, you can back up data so that it can be transferred to a new device or restored in the event of a failure.
Let AutoCorrect work for you, not against you
When you type texts, emails and other messages from your smartphone all day, typos and inaccurate auto-corrections can slow down your work. You can save time by constantly working on auto-replace settings by updating the dictionary. It is also worth trying third-party keyboards, if their functions are more convenient for you.
Try to extend your battery life.
Nothing destroys performance like a discharged or discharged battery. There are two simple solutions: carry a portable charger with you or make your battery longer. There are several ways to preserve battery life: turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you are not using them, uninstall applications running in the background. You can also use the power-saving mode that was introduced in Lollipop.
Set default apps
Sometimes the device runs slower because it opens the wrong application or web browser when you click on the link or try to view the photo. This is easy to fix. Just go to the settings and see which applications are selected by default for certain actions. You can clear them and configure your own options.
Using Android Launcher
The Android interface is usually easy to use, but sometimes it can be changed by the manufacturer. If you have an HTC, LG, or Samsung device, it probably launches a slightly modified version of Android. There are two ways to handle this.
Firstly, you can switch to a smartphone that runs on the original Android (for example, Nexus or Motorola X). In addition, you can download the Android launcher, which allows you to customize your home screens and manage applications. Launchers give you more options. With them, you can personalize color schemes, organize applications more easily, and even resize elements on the screen.
When examining the rating of phones for performance before buying, do not lose sight of this fact.
Take security seriously
Finally, Android smartphones are prone to security vulnerabilities, so it is important to be aware and careful. Do not click on links or open attachments from unknown senders and make sure your device is updated with the latest security fixes. The “Device Manager” setting helps to lock the smartphone remotely, track its location or erase all data if you lose it. You can also encrypt your device for maximum privacy.