What’s the best smartphone of 2017? Which one beat out all the competition to rule them all? Which ones are the best of the rest? On Monday, we set out to answer this with Best of Android 2017, and across 7 features, we’ve dissected ten of the best phones this year.
Now it’s time to reveal the winner, but before we do that, let’s recap Best of Android 2017 as a whole.
Hardcore hardware fans love to see mobile phones with more cores in their processors (if you know what we mean, and we think you do). Chinese-based Vernee is stepping up to the plate in that area, announcing it will show the Apollo 2, the first phone with MediaTek’s 10-core X30 processor, in two weeks at the 2017 Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain.
MediaTek's Finbarr Moynihan talks smartphones and more at CES 2017
Minion fans rejoice! A new title from Electronic Arts has just hit the Google Play Store and we are sure plenty of you little yellow fellow lovers will be rushing to download it. Minions Paradise was expected to be released this summer. That time came and went with no good news, but today we can finally get gaming.
For those of you who may be out of the loop, Minions Paradise is a build-harvest game in which users are tasked with overseeing the development of an island utopia.
LG unveiled two new phones at IFA, both sharing the name of the flagship G7, which debuted earlier in the year. The company’s first Android One phone is certainly an exciting prospect, but those hoping for an LG G7 with a more stock Android experience will be disappointed. LG isn’t going to be the new Nexus brand.
Despite appearances, there are a number of major differences between the LG G7 ThinQ and the LG G7 One and the G7 Fit.
Not everyone buys a flagship or premium smartphone. Brands like Xiaomi, Nokia, and Honor sell millions of devices a year in the mid-range market. A mid-range device is typically cheaper and has fewer features than a flagship or premium device. They generally use mobile processors with lower levels of performance compared to flagship processors, as these mid-range processors are cheaper and help reduce the overall price of the handsets.
A System-on-a-Chip (SoC) is made up of several different components including a multi-core CPU, a GPU, and a 4G LTE modem.
TL;DR
A leak suggests Samsung could be increasing the Galaxy S30 Plus’s battery capacity. This was corroborated by another leak, which also points to no change for the standard S30. Update, September 7, 2020 (2:10 AM ET): More details of the Samsung Galaxy S30 series’ batteries have now surfaced via China’s 3C certification agency.
Two battery models, namely EB-BG996ABY and EB-BG991ABY, have been spotted by MySmartPrice. Based on the model number, EB-BG996ABY likely belongs to the Galaxy S30 Plus and packs a rated capacity of 4,660mAh.
Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
TL;DR
The Personal Safety app, pre-installed on all of Google’s Pixel phones, just received an update. It adds a new feature, Emergency SOS, that’s activated when a person quickly presses the Pixel’s power button five times. When activated, this action can automatically call emergency services, record a video, and more. No one likes to think about it, but you may find yourself in a situation where you need to get help.
Update (03/08/18): Cytus II is now available on the Play Store. The game currently goes for $1.39, but that will go up to $1.99 once this sale period ends.
The base game includes 30 different tracks, each with three difficulties. You can buy three other DJs for $9.99 each, with the prices in line with the iOS version’s price structure.
Interestingly, Cytus II on Android includes Cherry, a DJ that is unavailable in the iOS version.
No smart home is complete without a control center. The Google Nest Hub is one of the premier tools for the task, and you can add it to your arsenal for just $49.99 with our exclusive promo code.
The Google Nest Hub is the key to a powerful smart home that you can control with your voice. However, the Hub also adds the benefit of a seven-inch touchscreen so that you can see the weather, your recipes, or the news hands-free.
Xiaomi thinks the future of smartphones is wraparound displays. The company just announced the Mi Mix Alpha and its screen wraps around its edges and goes to the back, achieving a screen-to-body ratio of 180.6%. Of course, this crazy-high number is achieved by some creative interpretation of what the screen-to-body ratio means. But that doesn’t take away from Xiaomi’s impressive achievement.
Read more: Here’s your first look at a real Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha (Video!