From iPhone X to OnePlus 5T: A look at top 10 phones launched in 2017

Apple launched iPhone X in September 2017, 10 years since Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone way back in 2007. The ‘1000-dollar phone’ was unarguably, the most speculated phone of the year and man, did it fit the bill. While bezel-less wasn’t a new idea, iPhone X stepped up the tab and launched what can be termed as probably the only ‘all screen’ phone. The phone was loaded with features such as Face ID, the uber-fast bionic A11 chip, among other features. And then there is the Animoji, one of the best features of the phone, which has made communication cool again.

OnePlus 5T

Arguably, the best Android phone of the year. Launch of OnePlus 5T surprised one and all because its predecessor – OnePlus 5 – was still selling like hot cakes. So, when you take something which is already one of the best and add something better to it, what do you get? Something even better, right? Yes, OnePlus 5T was the company’s first bezel-less phone. At launch the phone featured the fastest processor in the market, the Snapdragon 835. The phone saw its highly acclaimed fingerprint sensor moved to the back. However, the company left the users with some solace by providing a really quick Face Unlock feature. Priced exactly the same as its predecessor, the phone gives its users the most bang for the buck.

Samsung Note 8

The next in the list, the mighty Samsung Note 8. With a 6.3 inch Super AMOLED bezel-less screen, Galaxy Note 8 easily is one of the best looking phones of the year. Note 8 was launched at a time when Samsung was slipping to new lows following the ‘exploding battery’ fiasco of Galaxy Note 7. Note 8 was the make or break phone for the company and Note 8 banked the phone when it was required the most. The phone runs on Snapdragon 835 chip and has a really gorgeous ‘Infinity Display’. Plus, you have the reinvigorated stylus S-Pen which has some cool tricks neatly rolled under its sleeves.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung launched Galaxy S8 as early as April 2017. One can say, it was S8 which made bezel-less cool. The phone had the most gorgeous screen on any phone when it was launched. With bezels almost missing at the top and bottom and a curved screen at the sides Galaxy S8 stays true to what is known as ‘Infinity Display’. Isn’t it commendable when one says even eight months after its launch any phone fails to beat it on the design front. Sporting a snappy octa-core Exynos 8895 processor, backed by a 4GB RAM and Mali-G71 MP20 GPU, the phone ranks high up on every performance benchmarks.

Pixel 2 XL

Google had launched Pixel 2 XL in October 2017. The phone sports a giant 6 inch P-OLED display. Apart from sporting thin bezels and the latest Snapdragon 835 processor, the USP of the phone is its excellent camera, great battery life and the built-in AI based Assistant.

In fact, the phone’s camera has been rated the best smartphone camera of all time by DxOmark beating even the mighty iPhone X and Galaxy flagship phones from Samsung. Interestingly, the phone achieved this mean feat while sporting a single back camera, whereas all other competition sported dual-back cameras. Google made this possible by implementing advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) on a software level which lets the phone to convert even a mediocre click into DLSR quality image. Though the phone is priced at Rs 67,999 and above, if you are a photography lover, this phone is definitely recommended.

LG V30+

LG launched its flagship V30+ phone in India to take-on other extremely popular flagships such as OnePlus 5T, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8. And in order to do that, LG has put a lot of effort into a display which is absolutely stunning ‘FullVision’ display. With extremely thin bezels and a curved sides the phone at times beats even the best in business – the Galaxy S8. Specs wise, like most flagships, the phone is again powered by Snapdragon 835, has a 6 inch quad HD+ resolution display. The phone also has a 16 megapixel dual-rear camera with an aperture rate of f/1.6, which again is the best among smartphones.

HTC U11

HTC’s flagship phone of 2017 and its best device till date. The phone impresses one and all with its mighty specs. Not only does the phone have Amazon’s Alexa as the virtual assistant but the phone also has one of the most innovative ideas incorporated into it – squeeze controls named ‘Edge Sense’. The phone also has a sports a two-tone colour design which is amazing.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor and is backed by 6GB RAM. With an internal memory of 128GB and expandable memory of upto 2TB (sadly, there are no memory cards which support 2TB memory) a user will never fall short of storage space with this phone. Apart from a good camera the phone also boosts of the best sound quality with Hi-Res audio capabilities.

Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Huawei Mate 10 Pro is one of the most value phones on the list. Not only is it the best phone from the company ever, but also one of the most powerful phones in the market today. To start off, the phone runs on Huawei’s home-grown Hisilicon Kirin 970, which has beaten the Snapdragon 835 on various benchmarks, which itself speaks volumes about the chip’s prowess. To top it Mate 10 Pro has a 4000 mAh battery with an AI guided power management system which makes the phone one of the best in terms of battery life. With 128GB internal memory and 6GB RAM, a very sharp and crisp 6.0 inch thin-bezel display and a stunning camera, the phone deserves to be on every top 10 phone list.

Mi Mix 2

When you talk about bezel-less display, the first phone that anybody might think of is the phablet sized Mi Mix 2. I mean Mi Mix 2 can probably be the only other phone, other than iPhone X which can claim to have an edge-to-edge screen. Not just looks, but the phone also is an excellent performer. Priced at Rs 35,999, Mi Mix 2 is not only one of the cheapest flagship phones, but also one of the cheapest phones which sport Snapdragon 835. With stunning looks, excellent battery life, a power-packed performance Mi Mix 2 is an excellent balanced phone at its price.

Razer Phone

If you could call a device a beast – Razer phone will fit the bill. To start off, it is a gaming phone and is not meant for the average or even the regular users. For the most part, I will have to struggle to refrain writing much about the phone. The biggest highlight of the phone remains its insane 120Hz display, which means the screen will refresh itself 120 times in a second. The display is so crisp and sharp that you can never go back to another phone after you have used this. Supporting it aptly is the front facing speakers which are so good that you don’t compare it with another phone, but laptop speakers. Other specs include Snapdragon 835 processor, 8 gigs or RAM, 4000 mAh battery. The only negative about the phone is the camera, which is not even bad, but average. But hey, who cares about a camera on a gaming phone.