While many flagship smartphones like the Nexus 6P and the Apple iPhone 6s have recently been launched, the ones that were launched in the first half of 2015 remain to be a good buy, even now. Alongside, a number of last year's smartphones too happen to be strong propositions, at present. Here's looking at a list of older generation flagship devices, in no particular order, that offer great value for money.
Samsung Galaxy S6
Rs. 36,000 (approx.)
Samsung Galaxy S6 is, no doubt, one of the best smartphones that Samsung has produced till date. The phone offer a 2K resolution, 5.1-inch S-AMOLED display that shows content in striking clarity. It also features one of the best rear cameras we have seen on a smartphone, in recent times. To add to that, the Exynos 7420 chipset powering the phone remains to be a formidable processor.
Quick Specs:
SoC: Exynos 7420
RAM: 3GB
Display: 5.1-inch, 2560x1440 pixels
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 16MP, 5MP
Battery: 2550mAh
LG G4
Price: Rs. 34,500 (approx)
This year, LG's flagship smartphone came with the best camera we have seen on a smartphone. Alongside, the display is equally outstanding. The LG G4 can be an excellent alternative to the new, LG-manufactured Nexus 5X, offering excellent display, camera, the same SoC and a user-replacable battery of bigger capacity.
Quick Specs:
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808
RAM: 3GB
Display: 5.5-inch, 2560x1440 pixels
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 16MP, 8MP
Battery: 3000mAh
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Price: Rs. 37,500 (approx)
If you are looking for a phablet, and happen to love the new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 but not have an astronomical budget, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has just seen its price being reduced, and at around Rs. 37,500, it is a very good deal. Apart from an updated processor and one extra gigabyte of RAM, the Galaxy Note 4 is quite comparable to its present generation sibling. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 sports a similar 2K resolution display, the same camera, and a larger battery.
Quick Specs:
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
RAM: 3GB
Display: 5.7-inch, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 16MP, 3.7MP
Battery: 3220mAh
Nexus 6
Price: Rs. 30,000 (approx)
This year’s Nexus 6P is big, almost as big as last year’s Nexus. If you happen to like large screen devices, you may consider the Moto Nexus 6, which will also get you the latest Android Marshmallow. Moreover, it is about 10k cheaper than the present generation Nexus by Huawei, and still remains to be a good performer, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC.
Quick Specs:
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
RAM: 3GB
Display: 5.96-inch, 2560x1440 pixels
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 13MP, 2MP
Battery: 3220mAh
Apple iPhone 6
Price: Rs. 39,000 (approx)
With the launch of the new iPhone 6S and the 6S Plus, the previous generation iPhone 6 has seen a considerable drop of price, bringing it down to the sub-40k market segment. If you were one looking to upgrade to the larger screen iPhones, and found the new iPhone 6s way above your wallet's limit, the iPhone 6 is the one for you. Additionally, you can always bluff people into believing that you are using the new iPhone, since they look almost the same.
Quick Specs:
SoC: Apple A8
RAM: 1GB
Display: 4.7-inch, 1334x750 pixels
Storage: 16GB
Camera: 8MP, 1.2MP
Battery: 1810mAh
Honor 7
Price: Rs. 22,999
If you are looking for a flagship smartphone at a cheaper price point, the Honor 7 makes for a very good choice. Powered by a powerful Kirin 935 SoC, this metal-clad smartphone offers almost everything that you would need – 32GB of storage, a rich 5.2-inch display and a crisp 20MP rear camera.
Quick Specs:
SoC: HiSilicon Kirin 935
RAM: 3GB
Display: 5.2-inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Storage: 16GB
Camera: 20MP, 8MP
Battery: 3100mAh
Meizu MX5
Price: Rs. 19,999
The Meizu MX5 is one of the best phones to consider when you are aiming to buy a smartphone under the 20k price mark. It offers flagship-like performance, a beautiful display and a decent camera, all packed in a very ergonomic metal shell.
Quick Specs:
SoC: MediaTek Helio X10
RAM: 3GB
Display: 5.5-inch, 1920x1080 pixels
Storage: 16GB
Camera: 20.7MP, 5MP
Battery: 3150mAh
OnePlus 2
Price: Rs. 24,999
Like the previous iteration, the OnePlus 2 brings flagship-class specifications at a much lower price, in comparison to all other flagship phones that are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810. Incidentally, all such smartphones are priced above the 30-35k price bracket. And it's not like OnePlus has compromised on anything to provide the lower price – fingerprint scanner, OIS for camera, large battery and metal body, it’s all here. The only issue – you need an 'invitation' to buy this.
Quick Specs:
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
RAM: 4GB
Display: 5.5-inch, 1920x1080 pixels
Storage: 64GB
Camera: 13MP, 5MP
Battery: 3300mAh