The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones

Lazada Philippines

Last year brought us a lot of great smartphones into the market from every brand, and we’ve already put a lot of them in this list. To compile everything as 2015 starts, here are the best smartphones of 2014 that you can buy.

bestphone2014-flagship

Nokia Lumia 930 (Php23,800 – Php29,990)

lumia-930-review

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the fusion of all the company’s hardware & software, from the design to the specs, and it’s currently the best thing that they offer so far. If you’re down for Nokia & Microsoft’s craftsmanship, there is no other choice.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Windows Phone 8.1
  • 20 megapixel PureView camera

HTC One M8 (Php23,200 – Php31,100)

htc-m8

The company’s presence may no longer be felt here in the country, but this phone is still available for grabs. It may not have a QHD display and a high-resolution main camera, but it does almost everything well, not to mention it is wrapped in wonderful aluminum and it packs mind-blowing front-facing BoomSound speakers.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Front-facing BoomSound speakers
  • Premium metal build

Samsung Galaxy S5 (Php22,800 – Php34,000)

galaxy-s5-manila

Water-resistance, a beautiful 1080p Super AMOLED display, a 16-megapixel camera, a heart rate monitor, and a fingerprint scanner – those are just a few things that the Galaxy S5 features, and we’re sure there are a lot more that a lot may like. However, not everyone is going to enjoy everything about the Galaxy S5 as well; the design being significantly one of them.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Water-resistance
  • Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Php33,900 – Php34,500)

note4-review

The Galaxy Note 4 is Samsung’s polishing of the Note line. It hasn’t changed much design-wise, but it does pack a metal casing now which adds a lot into the new premium feel. It also packs the latest hardware from the company which includes the heart rate monitor, the fingerprint scanner, the 16 megapixel camera, a QHD Super AMOLED display, and of course, the much improved stylus called the S-Pen.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 Super AMOLED display
  • Improved pair of cameras
  • S-Pen functionality
  • Heart rate monitor, fingerprint scanner
  • Better Samsung build

LG G3 (Php20,600 – Php33,990)

lgg3-reviewphilippines

The LG G3 wows a lot of people from the QHD display to its other fast internals. It also has laser autofocus for the camera and this plastic design that aims for a metallic look & feel. The QHD display, however, seems to be holding back the performance of the phone at times, but other than that, this smartphone is still one to beat.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 display
  • Laser autofocus

Apple iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus (Php38,500 – Php84,500)

iphone6plus-iphone6

Apple has now given people what they have been wanting for a long time – larger screens, and it’s plural because the company had two phones for you last year, and both do great.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Touch ID
  • iOS
  • Improved 8 megapixel iSight cameras

Sony Xperia Z3 (Php27,700 – Php27,800)

xperiaz3-review

The Xperia Z3 will get you to enjoy PS4 Remote Play, and for the rest of the experience, you’ll be enjoying a better display outdoors, good battery life, waterproofing, a wider angle lens, higher ISOs for shooting in the dark and more.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (Php20,800 – Php21,000)

Z3 compact

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact packs a very capable 720p display, the same waterproof design, the same 20 megapixel camera used in the Xperia Z3, and it’s all in a smaller and much more manageable form factor.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera
  • Compact construction

Blackberry Passport (Php32,000)

blackberry passport_2

The BlackBerry Passport is unsurprisingly the only flagship smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, for those that still want the BlackBerry experience.

Noteworthy elements:

  • QWERTY keyboard
  • BlackBerry OS

Starmobile Knight X (Php15,990)

STARMOBILE KNIGHT X

Starmobile ended the year with the Knight X as their flagship phone with an octa-core CPU and a 1080p display.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 3GB RAM compared to other local competitors

Cherry Mobile Omega Infinity (Php11,999)

omega-infinity-specs

The CM Omega Infinity remained as the company’s flagship phone until the end of 2014, packing a 5.5-inch 1080p display and an octa-core CPU.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Most affordable compared to other local competitors

MyPhone Infinity (Php12,999)

myphone infinity

MyPhone tops their own Iceberg phones with the Infinity, and as you’d expect, it packs a 1080p display with an octa-core CPU as well, having a decent balance of all things.

Xiaomi Mi3 (Php10,599)

mi3_1

The most surprising flagship phone of the year making it to the Philippines is the Xiaomi Mi3. This is because it packs everything you’d expect from a flagship phone above Php20k with half the price of just around Php10k.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Unbeatable package for its price

The post The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones

Lazada Philippines

Last year brought us a lot of great smartphones into the market from every brand, and we’ve already put a lot of them in this list. To compile everything as 2015 starts, here are the best smartphones of 2014 that you can buy.

bestphone2014-flagship

Nokia Lumia 930 (Php23,800 – Php29,990)

lumia-930-review

The Nokia Lumia 930 is the fusion of all the company’s hardware & software, from the design to the specs, and it’s currently the best thing that they offer so far. If you’re down for Nokia & Microsoft’s craftsmanship, there is no other choice.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Windows Phone 8.1
  • 20 megapixel PureView camera

HTC One M8 (Php23,200 – Php31,100)

htc-m8

The company’s presence may no longer be felt here in the country, but this phone is still available for grabs. It may not have a QHD display and a high-resolution main camera, but it does almost everything well, not to mention it is wrapped in wonderful aluminum and it packs mind-blowing front-facing BoomSound speakers.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Front-facing BoomSound speakers
  • Premium metal build

Samsung Galaxy S5 (Php22,800 – Php34,000)

galaxy-s5-manila

Water-resistance, a beautiful 1080p Super AMOLED display, a 16-megapixel camera, a heart rate monitor, and a fingerprint scanner – those are just a few things that the Galaxy S5 features, and we’re sure there are a lot more that a lot may like. However, not everyone is going to enjoy everything about the Galaxy S5 as well; the design being significantly one of them.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Water-resistance
  • Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Php33,900 – Php34,500)

note4-review

The Galaxy Note 4 is Samsung’s polishing of the Note line. It hasn’t changed much design-wise, but it does pack a metal casing now which adds a lot into the new premium feel. It also packs the latest hardware from the company which includes the heart rate monitor, the fingerprint scanner, the 16 megapixel camera, a QHD Super AMOLED display, and of course, the much improved stylus called the S-Pen.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 Super AMOLED display
  • Improved pair of cameras
  • S-Pen functionality
  • Heart rate monitor, fingerprint scanner
  • Better Samsung build

LG G3 (Php20,600 – Php33,990)

lgg3-reviewphilippines

The LG G3 wows a lot of people from the QHD display to its other fast internals. It also has laser autofocus for the camera and this plastic design that aims for a metallic look & feel. The QHD display, however, seems to be holding back the performance of the phone at times, but other than that, this smartphone is still one to beat.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 display
  • Laser autofocus

Apple iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus (Php38,500 – Php84,500)

iphone6plus-iphone6

Apple has now given people what they have been wanting for a long time – larger screens, and it’s plural because the company had two phones for you last year, and both do great.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Touch ID
  • iOS
  • Improved 8 megapixel iSight cameras

Sony Xperia Z3 (Php27,700 – Php27,800)

xperiaz3-review

The Xperia Z3 will get you to enjoy PS4 Remote Play, and for the rest of the experience, you’ll be enjoying a better display outdoors, good battery life, waterproofing, a wider angle lens, higher ISOs for shooting in the dark and more.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (Php20,800 – Php21,000)

Z3 compact

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact packs a very capable 720p display, the same waterproof design, the same 20 megapixel camera used in the Xperia Z3, and it’s all in a smaller and much more manageable form factor.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Waterproofing
  • Improved 20.7 megapixel Exmor RS camera
  • Compact construction

Blackberry Passport (Php32,000)

blackberry passport_2

The BlackBerry Passport is unsurprisingly the only flagship smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, for those that still want the BlackBerry experience.

Noteworthy elements:

  • QWERTY keyboard
  • BlackBerry OS

Starmobile Knight X (Php15,990)

STARMOBILE KNIGHT X

Starmobile ended the year with the Knight X as their flagship phone with an octa-core CPU and a 1080p display.

Noteworthy elements:

  • 3GB RAM compared to other local competitors

Cherry Mobile Omega Infinity (Php11,999)

omega-infinity-specs

The CM Omega Infinity remained as the company’s flagship phone until the end of 2014, packing a 5.5-inch 1080p display and an octa-core CPU.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Most affordable compared to other local competitors

MyPhone Infinity (Php12,999)

myphone infinity

MyPhone tops their own Iceberg phones with the Infinity, and as you’d expect, it packs a 1080p display with an octa-core CPU as well, having a decent balance of all things.

Xiaomi Mi3 (Php10,599)

mi3_1

The most surprising flagship phone of the year making it to the Philippines is the Xiaomi Mi3. This is because it packs everything you’d expect from a flagship phone above Php20k with half the price of just around Php10k.

Noteworthy elements:

  • Unbeatable package for its price

The post The Best of 2014: Flagship Smartphones appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Flagship Smartphones: Then and Now

Ever wondered how our current flagship smartphones looked like compared to its predecessors from years ago? If yes, then you might want to take a look at our visual comparison of popular flagship smartphones and their older counterparts and see how much have changed over the years.

The smartphones listed below are some of the current flagships that are already released in the market and their counterparts that was announced or released five years ago (2009).

Apple iPhone 3GSApple iPhone 5S

iphone 3gs_5s

HTC HeroHTC One M8

htc hero_one m8

LG KM900 ArenaLG G3

lg arena_g3

Nokia N97Nokia Lumia 930

nokia n97_lumia 930

Samsung Omnia IISamsung Galaxy S5

samsung omnia_galaxy s5

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10Sony Xperia Z2

sony x10_xperia z2

Motorola MilestoneMotorola Moto X

motorola milestone_moto x

BlackBerry Bold 9700BlackBerry Z30

blackberry bold 9700_z30

Bonus:

Google Nexus One (2010) – Google Nexus 5

google nexus 1_5

It’s amazing how much have changed in just the span of five years. From bulky bodies with 3 to 4-inch screens, our flagships now are slimmer, bigger, and more powerful that it kinda makes us wonder how much change the next five years will bring.

Image credits: PhoneArena.com

Got something to add? Feel free to share them in the comments field below.

The post Flagship Smartphones: Then and Now appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Flagship Smartphones: Then and Now

Ever wondered how our current flagship smartphones looked like compared to its predecessors from years ago? If yes, then you might want to take a look at our visual comparison of popular flagship smartphones and their older counterparts and see how much have changed over the years.

The smartphones listed below are some of the current flagships that are already released in the market and their counterparts that was announced or released five years ago (2009).

Apple iPhone 3GSApple iPhone 5S

iphone 3gs_5s

HTC HeroHTC One M8

htc hero_one m8

LG KM900 ArenaLG G3

lg arena_g3

Nokia N97Nokia Lumia 930

nokia n97_lumia 930

Samsung Omnia IISamsung Galaxy S5

samsung omnia_galaxy s5

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10Sony Xperia Z2

sony x10_xperia z2

Motorola MilestoneMotorola Moto G

motorola milestone_moto g

BlackBerry Bold 9700BlackBerry Z30

blackberry bold 9700_z30

It’s amazing how much have changed in just the span of five years. From bulky bodies with 3 to 4-inch screens, our flagships now are slimmer, bigger, and more powerful that it kinda makes us wonder how much change will the next five years bring.

Image credits: PhoneArena.com

Got something to add? Feel free to share them in the comments field below.

The post Flagship Smartphones: Then and Now appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.