58 OCTOBER 2019|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 380
SMARTPHONES
MOTOROLA MotoG7Power
★★★★★
£180 SIM-free; £14-per-month contract•
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com
There’s no shortage of MotoG7variants
to choose from, but the MotoG7Power
is easily the best value.Itfocuses on
battery lifeand is thus one of the longest-lasting
smartphones ever -and its performance,displayand rear
camera are all rather good forthe price,too.
PROCESSOROcta-core1.8GHzQualcommSnapdragon632•SCREENSIZE6.2in•SCREEN
RESOLUTION1,520x720•REARCAMERA12megapixels•STORAGE32GB•WIRELESSDATA4G•NFC
No•DIMENSIONS159x76x9.3mm•WEIGHT193g•OPERATINGSYSTEMAndroid9.0•WARRANTY
OneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.motorola.co.uk•PARTCODEPAE90019GB•FULLREVIEWJun2019
SAMSUNGGalaxyS10+
★★★★★
£759 SIM-free; £10 up front plus £59-per-month
contract•www.amzn.to/2E8ImVE (SIM-free);
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com (contract)
The dazzling 3K displaydominates a
sleek, luxurious-feeling design, while the
Exynos 9820 processor delivers some of
the fastest raw performance on any Android handset, ever.
PROCESSOROcta-core2.7GHzSamsungExynos9820•SCREENSIZE6.4in•SCREEN
RESOLUTION3,040x1,440•REARCAMERA12mgeapixels,12megapixels,16megapixels•
STORAGE128GB•WIRELESSDATA4G•NFCYes•DIMENSIONS158x74x7.8mm•WEIGHT175g•
OPERATINGSYSTEMAndroid9.0•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwwww.samsung.com•
PARTCODESM-G975FZKDBTU•FULLREVIEWJul2019
APPLEiPhoneXR
★★★★★
£749 SIM-free; £33-per-month contract•
http://www.debenhamsplus.com (SIM-free);
http://www.virginmedia.com (contract)
It’s still expensive,but the XR matches
the performance of the iPhone XS and
XS Max, despitecosting hundreds of
pounds less, and it has afantastic camera and display.
PROCESSORHexa-coreAppleA12Bionic•SCREENSIZE6.1in•SCREENRESOLUTION1,792x828
- REARCAMERA12megapixels•STORAGE64GB•WIRELESSDATA4G•NFCYes•
DIMENSIONS151x76x8.3mm•WEIGHT194g•OPERATINGSYSTEMiOS12•WARRANTYOne
yearRTB•DETAILSwww.apple.com•PARTCODEiPhoneXR•FULLREVIEWMar2019
GOOGLE Pixel3a
★★★★★
£349 SIM-free; £20-per-month contract•
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com
The Pixel 3a is awelcome return to
mid-range smartphones on Google’s
part. It’s essentially acheaper version of
the flagship Pixel 3, which means abit less horsepower
but the same clean, stock Android and superb camera.
PROCESSORQuad-core2.8GHzQualcommSnapdragon845•SCREENSIZE5.5in•
SCREENRESOLUTION2,160x1,080•REARCAMERA12.2megapixels•STORAGE64GB•
WIRELESSDATA4G•NFCYes•DIMENSIONS146x68x7.9mm•WEIGHT148g•OPERATING
SYSTEMAndroid9.0•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSstore.google.com•PARTCODE
Pixel3•FULLREVIEWAug2019
HONOR 7X
★★★★★
£199 SIM-free; £27-per-month contract•
http://www.amzn.to/2UUsvVg(SIM-free);
http://www.three.co.uk(contract)
Don’t fancy paying tons of cash foran
edge-to-edge,18:9 display? The Honor
7X is affordable but has avast, vibrant
screen, and comes with agreat dual-camera array.
PROCESSOROcta-core2.36GHzHiSiliconKirin659•SCREENSIZE6in•SCREENRESOLUTION
2,160x1,080•REARCAMERADual16megapixels•STORAGE64GB•WIRELESSDATA4G•NFCNo
- DIMENSIONS157x75x7.6mm•WEIGHT165g•OPERATINGSYSTEMAndroid7.0•WARRANTY
OneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.hihonor.com•PARTCODE51092ADQ•FULLREVIEWApr2018
01
Asmartphone’s operating system
(OS) dictates its basic features and
which third-party software you can install.
There are three main contenders: Apple’s
iOS, which is found on the iPhone,Google’s
Android, which is used by various handset
manufacturers, and Windows Phone,which
has fewoptions, especially since Microsoft
has discontinued support forits OS.
Apple iOS and Google Android both have
thousands of apps available.
02
All smartphones have colour screens,
buttheirresolutionsvary.Basicmodels
have 1,280x720 pixels, but text can be
indistinct. Look foradisplaythat has at least
1,920x1,080 pixels so it’s easier to read text
Choosinga... Smartphone
and watch Full HD videos. Don’t worry too
much about built-in media players or Office
documenteditors;youcanalwaysinstallapps
to replace these with better versions later.
The image quality of smartphone
cameras has improved tremendously in
recent years, and resolutions have
increased to as high as 20 megapixels.
03
Very fewmodern smartphones have
aphysical keyboard forentering text;
theyalmost exclusively use touchscreens
now.Physical keyboards can aid heavy
emailing, but today’s touchscreen
keyboards work just as well.
Android smartphones and iPhones
running iOS 9orabove allow you to install
avariety of custom onscreen keyboards so
you can find one that suits you.
04
Be careful when choosing acontract.
Look forone that includes alarge data
allowance if you want to use the internet
regularly or you’ve set your phone to
synchronise your contacts, calendar and
email through online services.
Built-in Wi-Fi can help you avoid high data
charges by connecting to the internet
through wireless hotspots when you’re out,
or your router when you’re at home.Android
and iPhone handsets can operateaswireless
hotspots, letting you connect your laptop to
the web over your mobile data connection.
There maybeanextra charge forthis.
XIAOMIPocophoneF1
★★★★★
£285 SIM-free; £28-per-month contract•www.amzn.
to/31LL5yz(SIM-free);www.buymobiles.net(contract)
PROCESSOROcta-core2.GHzQualcommSnapdragon845•SCREENSIZE6.2in•SCREEN
RESOLUTION2,246x1,080•REARCAMERA12megapixels,5megapixels•STORAGE64GB•
WIRELESSDATA4G•NFCNo•DIMENSIONS156x75x9mm•WEIGHT180g•OPERATINGSYSTEM
Android8.1•DETAILSwww.mi.com/uk•PARTCODEMZB6715EN•FULLREVIEWMar2019
The Pocophone F1 is aphenomenal
bargain: it has the same Snapdragon
845 chip as alot of premium
handsets, plus dual rear cameras, 64GB of storage
and a6.2in screen, all foramid-range price.
