Mobile Computing

My Top 10 High-End Smartphones of this Year

Smartphones are the most sort after mobile gadgets due to the features and technology they come with. As 2017 business year draws to a close, I thought it wise to take a look at the New Generation Smartphones that were launched. Starting from the comeback of Nokia devices to the revelation of Apple’s iPhone X.

There are many mobile OEM’s that came up with really stunning High-end smartphones this year. This article will focus on the premium smartphones which were produced and launched within this year (2017) alone.

My Favourite High-End Flagship Smartphones of 2017

The devices I’ll be listing in this post are quite costly but worth the price. Sit back, relax and roll with me as I name my favorite high-end smartphones of 2017. They’ll rock until the 3rd quarter of 2018 even.

iPhone X (NGN477, 000)

The Apple’s iPhone X is the latest high-end smartphone breaking the internet ever since it was launched in October 2017. It comes with a strong security feature – Face ID feature, with this feature your apps, documents, and files are 100% secured.

It comes with a 5.8‑inch screen size with super Retina (AMOLED) display. iPhone X also packs a dual 12MP super clean cameras as its primary shooter and a 7MP awesome selfie camera at the front. The processor is quite astonishing and has support for wireless charging.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 5.8 Inches
Resolution 2436 x 1125-pixel resolution (458 ppi)
Weight 174
Display Super Retina HD display
Feature all-screen OLED Multi-Touch display, HDR display

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM (single sim)
Network GSM / HSPA / LTE
OS iOS 11.1

Storage and Chipset

RAM 3GB
Storage (ROM) 64/256 GB
Chipset Apple A11 Bionic
CPU Hexa-core (2x Monsoon + 4x Mistral)
GPU Apple GPU (three-core graphics)
Memory Card No card slot

Media

Camera Dual 12MP rear camera and a 7MP front shooter
Video 2160p@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes (Apple Pay Only)
USB 2.0
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
Sensors Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Battery

Capacity 2716 mAh Li-ion
Type Non-removable

 

LG V30 (NGN373, 000)

LG is one of the top leading Android mobile OEM’s. The company recently dropped a bombshell smartphone called the LG V30.

LG V30 looks so much like the Apple iPhone X but with a bigger screen size. It comes with a 6.0 inches screen and packs stunning features. V30 is among the biggest dudes in the mobile market right now.

Its features includes; 4K Video Recording at 30 FPS, IP68 Dust & Water Resistant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides (front and back), face recognition, knock code, fingerprint ID, and etc. See detailed specs and features below.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 6.0 Inches
Resolution 1440 x 2880 pixels (537 ppi)
Weight 158g
Display OLED FullVision Display
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5,

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM (single sim) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Network GSM / HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.1.2 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4GB
Storage (ROM) 64/128 GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
CPU Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 540
Memory Card MicroSD support up to 256 GB

Media

Camera Dual rear camera – 16MP  + 13MP, and a 5MP selfie shooter
Video 4K Video Recording at 30 FPS
Flash LED Flash
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1 – type C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO
Radio Yes – Stereo FM radio with RDS
Misc Screen Sharing (Miracast)

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
Sensors Face ID, Fingerprint (front mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Battery

Capacity Li-Po 3300 mAh
Quick Charge Yes – Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Type Non-removable

 

Google Pixel 2 XL (NGN300, 000)

Alphabet a.k.a Google is among the world leading Tech company. The introduction of Google’s Nexus smartphones created a great impact on Android users as it brought about a great stock UI experience. Google Pixels smartphone series are premium devices with great features and functions.

Pixel 2 XL comes with a sleek fantastic body design, made to fit into the palm smoothly. It comes with 6.0″ screen size and powered with by a 1.9GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. The RAM is 4GB and the internal storage is 64GB/128GB.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 6.0 Inches
Resolution 1440 x 2880 pixels (538 ppi)
Weight 175g
Display P-OLED capacitive touchscreen

Feature

Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM card & electronic SIM (e-sim)
Network GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
OS Android 8.0 (Oreo)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4GB
Storage (ROM) 64/128 GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
CPU Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 540
Memory Card NO

Media

Camera Rear camera – 12MP, and an 8MP selfie shooter
Video 4K Video Recording at 30 FPS
Flash Dual LED Flash
Earphone Jack

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1 – type C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO
Radio
Misc

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Sensors Fingerprint (front mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Battery

Capacity Li-Po 3520 mAh
Quick Charge *
Type Non-removable

 

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ (NGN260, 000)

All the latest smartphones released this year by top mobile giants seems to come with a similar physical appearance. They all come with an all-screen (edge-to-edge) bezeless display.

Galaxy S8 and S8+ are two premium devices from the renowned mobile OEM – Samsung. The duo has many common features. The differences between these two smartphones are few, they include; screen size, resolution, battery and price.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 5.8 Inches – Galaxy S8

6.2 Inches – Galaxy S8+

Resolution 1440 x 2960 pixels (570 ppi) – Galaxy S8

1440 x 2960 pixels (529 ppi) – Galaxy S8+

Weight 155g – Galaxy S8

173g – Galaxy S8+

Display Quad HD+ Super AMOLED, bezel-less, full-frontal, edge-to-edge screen.
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM (Single SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Network GSM/ HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.0 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4GB
Storage (ROM) 64GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835

Exynos 8895 Octa – EMEA

CPU Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo) – USA and China

Octa-core (4×2.3 GHz & 4×1.7 GHz) – EMEA

GPU Adreno 540 – USA and China

Mali-G71 MP20 – EMEA

Memory Card Yes, up to 256GB

Media

Camera Rear camera – Dual Pixel 12MP AF, and an 8MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps

1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps

720p HD video recording at 30 fps

Flash LED Flash
Earphone Jack

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1 – type C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO
Radio
Misc

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Sensors Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2

Battery

Capacity Li-Po 3500 mAh – Galaxy S8

Li-Po 3000 mAh – Galaxy S8

Quick Charge *
Type Non-removable

Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus (NGN 300, 000)

Apple smartphones are rated number one by 7/10 smartphone users. Of no doubt, Apple devices are all premium and they all beat their Android counterparts in the same category. iPhone 8 and 8+ were launched at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2017, the two devices plus the iPhone X were launched to mark the 10 years anniversary of Apple Inc.

Features of the duo (iPhone 8 and 8 plus) includes; Retina HD display, True Tone display, A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, Neural engine, Embedded M11 motion coprocessor and runs on the latest iOS version – iOS 11

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 4.7 Inches – iPhone 8

5.5 Inches – iPhone 8+

Resolution 1334 x 750 pixel (326 ppi) – iPhone 8

1920 x 1080 pixel (401 ppi) – iPhone 8X

Weight 148g – iPhone 8

202g – iPhone 8+

Display LCD Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
Feature True Tone display

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM
Network GSM/ HSPA / LTE
OS iOS 11

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4GB
Storage (ROM) 64/256GB
Chipset A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture
CPU Hexa-core (2x Monsoon + 4x Mistral)
GPU Apple GPU (3-core graphics)
Memory Card NO

Media

Camera Rear camera – 12MP, and a 7MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps

1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps

720p HD video recording at 30 fps

Flash Quad-LED True Tone flash, Retina flash (secondary)
Earphone Jack

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes (Apple Pay only)
USB 2.0
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
Radio

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Sensors Touch ID fingerprint sensor, Barometer, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor.

Battery

Capacity Li-Ion 2691 mAh
Quick Charge Wireless charging (works with Qi chargers10)
Type Non-removable

 

OnePlus 5(NGN175, 000)

OnePlus 5 is the latest flagship smartphone from OnePlus, it was launched in June 2017 during a keynote event. The device comes with an anodized metal body structure, 1080p AMOLED display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835  chipset clocked at 2.45 GHz, coupled with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage.

The powerhouse of this smartphone is quite impressive; it packs a 3300 mAh battery with the company’s Dash Charge technology.

Full specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 5.5 Inches
Resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) 401pp
Weight 202g
Display Optic AMOLED
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM (Dual)
Network GSM/ CDMA / HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.1.1 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 6/8GB
Storage (ROM) 64/128GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
CPU Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 540
Memory Card NO

Media

Camera Rear camera – Dual 16MP, and 16 MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps

1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps

720p HD video recording at 30 fps

Flash Quad-LED True Tone flash, Retina flash (secondary)
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 2.0, Type-C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Radio

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Sensors RGB LED notification light, Fingerprint, Hall, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity,

RGB Ambient Light Sensor, Electronic Compass, Sensor Hub

Battery

Capacity Li-Po 3300 mAh
Quick Charge Dash Charge (5V 4A)
Type Non-removable

HTC U11 (NGN290, 000)

With a stunning 3D liquid glass surface, HTC U11 is a smartphone you’ll always want to steal glances at. It comes with a personal voice assistant called “Alexa”.

With Alexa, you can send commands to your HTC U11 without pressing a button on the device. e.g: Alexa, what’s the weather today?” or “Alexa, turn on my living room lights.” Alexa will respond anywhere and anytime.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 5.5 Inches
Resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels) 534ppi
Weight 169g
Display Super LCD 5, Quad HD
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM (Dual)
Network GSM/ HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.1 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4/6GB
Storage (ROM) 64/128GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
CPU Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 540
Memory Card Yes up to 256GB

Media

Camera Rear camera – 12MP, and 16 MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps

1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps

720p HD video recording at 30 fps

Flash dual-LED (dual tone) flash
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V4.2
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1, Type-C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Radio

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Sensors Fingerprint (front-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Miscellaneous Chromecast, DLNA, AirPlay, Miracast.

Battery

Capacity Li-ion 3000 mAh
Quick Charge Quick Charge 3.0
Type Non-removable

Sony Xperia XZ Premium (NGN273, 000)

Sony is a top mobile OEM which produces high-end mobile devices, The company’s latest release is the Sony Xperia Z premium; a smartphone that features the new Motion Eye camera. This feature lets you take pictures of human beings and objects in motion and it’ll appear crystal clear. It is so advanced that it captures motion which the human eye can’t see.

It continues to feature world-leading latest Qualcomm chipset – Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835, Quad-core and powered by a Non-removable Li-Ion 3230 mAh battery.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 5.5 Inches
Resolution 3840 x 2160 pixels (807 ppi)
Weight 195g
Display 4K HDR Display, TRILUMINOS Display for mobile, X-Reality™ for mobile
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM
Network GSM/ HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.1 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4GB
Storage (ROM) 64GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
CPU Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 540
Memory Card Yes up to 256GB

Media

Camera Rear camera – 19MP, and 13 MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps
Flash LED flash
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1, Type-C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Radio

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
Sensors Fingerprint (side-mounted, region dependent), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compass, color spectrum

Battery

Capacity Li-ion 3230 mAh
Quick Charge Quick Charge 3.0
Type Non-removable

 

LG G6 (NGN 2000, 000)

LG G6 is a premium smartphone from LG, it comes with a full aluminum coated body structure. The device bags great specs inside its hood.

With the help of the dual 13MP cameras packed into this device, images and pictures taken with LG G6 are astonishing and really stunning.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 5.7 Inches
Resolution 2880 x 1440 pixels (564 ppi)
Weight 163g
Display FullVision Display
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM
Network GSM/ HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.0 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4GB
Storage (ROM) 32/64/128GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 821
CPU Quad-core (2×2.35 GHz Kryo & 2×1.6 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 530
Memory Card Yes up to 2TB

Media

Camera Rear camera – Dual 13MP, and 5 MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps
Flash Dual LED flash
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V4.2
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1, Type-C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Radio FM Radio

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Sensors Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Battery

Capacity Li-po 3300 mAh
Quick Charge
Type Non-removable

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (NGN 414, 000)

Galaxy Note 8 is yet another stunning smartphone flagged off this year by Samsung Mobile. It comes with a digital stylus, 6.3″ screen size with infinity display. It produces crystal clear photos with the aid of its dual 12MP sharp camera sited at the back of the device.

Note 8 packs the latest chipset and processor  – Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835, octa-core, and is powered by a Non-removable Li-Ion 3300 mAh battery.

Full Specifications.

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 6.3 Inches
Resolution 2880 x 1440 pixels (521 ppi)
Weight 195g
Display Quad HD+ Super AMOLED, infinity display
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM
Network GSM/ HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.1.1 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 6GB
Storage (ROM) 64/128/256GB
Chipset Exynos 8895 Octa – EMEA

Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 – USA & China

CPU Octa-core (4×2.3 GHz & 4×1.7 GHz) – EMEA

Octa-core (4×2.35 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo) – USA & China

GPU Mali-G71 MP20 – EMEA

Adreno 540 – USA & China

Memory Card Yes up to 256GB

Media

Camera Rear camera – Dual 12MP, and 8 MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps
Flash Dual LED flash
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1, Type-C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Radio

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Sensors Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2

Battery

Capacity Li-ion 3300 mAh
Quick Charge Yes
Type Non-removable

Nokia 8

Nokia is known for producing quality devices right from the and the Nokia 8 smartphone is another proof of quality from the Finish company.

The Nokia 8 smartphone allows you to take pictures using both front and rear cameras simultaneously with Dual-Sight mode.

Full Specifications

Display and Screen Properties

Screen Size 5.3 Inches
Resolution 2880 x 1440 pixels (554 ppi)
Weight 160g
Display 2K polarized display
Feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Network and SIM

SIM Nano-SIM
Network GSM/ HSPA / LTE
OS Android 7.1.1 (Nougat)

Storage and Chipset

RAM 4GB
Storage (ROM) 64GB
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
CPU Octa-core (4×2.35 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo)
GPU Adreno 540 – USA & China
Memory Card Yes up to 256GB

Media

Camera Rear camera – Dual 13MP, and 13 MP selfie shooter
Video 4K video recording at 30 fps
Flash Dual tone flash (LED)
Earphone Jack 3.5mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth V5.0
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
NFC Yes
USB 3.1, Type-C
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Radio

Features

Positioning A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Sensors Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, E-compass, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Sensor, Hall sensor, Barometer

Battery

Capacity Li-ion 3090 mAh
Quick Charge Quick Charge 3.0
Type Non-removable

 

Wrap Up

This is my pick on the latest High-end smartphones launched this year. The prices of these devices were sourced from different online stores and we gave the estimate of what it would cost in retail stores. For best deals on these smart phones, you can buy from Jumia, Yudala, Payporte, and Konga.

There are many other good smartphones launched this year (2017), but these are my favourite as they are unarguably the top BEST smartphones of 2017. Feel free to add yours if you think we missed some, and also share with friends. Thanks.

Samuel Ebuka Odamah

I'm a dedicated writer, an Android freak, a Tech ardent and a fashionista. I love playing around with gadgets, loves football and teamwork in everything I do. You can follow my updates here or on Twitter (@fwesh_finnest).

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Samuel Ebuka Odamah