Nothing more: five smartphones with pure Android

The Plus prefix in the name of the fourth generation of strong state employees of the E series appears for a reason — it indicates both the diagonal of the screen increased in comparison with the basic modification of the smartphone (5.5" versus 5) and the high-capacity battery used (as much as 5000 mAh).

In general, the differences from the classic Motorola Moto E4 16 GB / 2 GB don't end there. The "plus" version, for example, boasts an atypical distribution of memory volumes (3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of ROM), equipped with an NFC chip and a more advanced set of cameras (13 MP main and 5 MP front with its own flash). It would seem that little things, but all of them together increase the convenience of everyday use of a smartphone.

From the front panel, a 5.5-inch IPS panel looks at the user with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels that is not the largest, as for such a diagonal. Part of the useful space of the display is taken away by on-screen navigation keys, which can be disposed of by assigning their commands to a fingerprint sensor with a touch layer. Management in this case is carried out by swipes on the fingerprint scanner.

The smartphone is not designed for heavy loads and begins to slow down in "heavy" applications. In this case, even 3 GB of RAM does not save, since the MediaTek MT6737 entry-level processor is simply not designed for turning resource-intensive programs. Its performance is enough for everyday tasks and the hardware platform is assisted in this matter by the software part, represented by the "bare" version of Android 7.1 with a minimum of pre-installed "out of the box" applications (the gallery, and that will need to be downloaded in a separate order). Nevertheless, the device fits perfectly into its niche, occupying if not leading positions in it, then one of the highest.

The transition of the Nokia brand under the wing of HMD Global marked the revival of the name of the once most popular mobile phone manufacturer. One of the first swallows of the reincarnated legend was the Nokia 6 model.

A close acquaintance with a smartphone leaves behind two impressions. On the one hand, when assembling the device, high-quality components are used, which are enclosed in a strong aluminium case. According to reviews, the phone calmly tolerates falls, but the "shock resistance" column in its technical characteristics remains blank. On the other hand, the smartphone did not get the latest hardware — an entry-level Snapdragon 430 chip in conjunction with 3/4 GB of RAM and 32/64 GB of permanent memory, as well as Adreno 505 graphics.

Despite the fact that many rivals in the class are equipped with more advanced hardware, Nokia 6 still does not graze the rear in terms of performance — the stock "operating system" Android 7.1 with the possibility of further updating to the Oreo version affects. In everyday work, applications load quickly, and slowdowns happen only when launching "heavy" games. However, on medium-low graphics settings, they will also go.

The greatest number of flattering words from the owners of the model is bothered by a high-quality 5.5-inch FullHD display. Yes, the frames around it cannot be called small, but they look harmonious and do not stand out from the general style of performance of the mobile gadget, emphasizing the brutal features of its character. There was a place under the screen for a nimble fingerprint sensor that protects personal data from unauthorized access.

The cameras on board the Nokia 6 are represented by a 16-megapixel main photo module and a front-facing camera with a resolution of 8 MP. Decent pictures with their help can be obtained in daylight, with a deterioration in the quality of illumination, the likelihood of smudging in the photos increases, since there is no optical or digital stable in the arsenal of cameras. To extract more details from the photo allows shooting in HDR mode, by the way, quite unhurried. But what else the smartphone is strong in is the sound of external speakers — a conversational speaker is involved in creating a stereo effect when playing music. In general, the device looks more expensive than it actually costs, and leaves a positive impression, delighting the adherents of the brand with a decent camback.

The younger brother of the flagship HTC U11 became the first smartphone of the Taiwanese company to be included in the Android One programme. Its participants are guaranteed the possibility of timely receiving OS updates to current versions.

Externally, the smartphone has retained the maximum similarity with the top—end modification — both an interesting design with a glass backdrop shimmering in the light and a crown "chip" in the form of sensitive side faces were borrowed from it. Edge Sense technology allows you to recognize the compression force of the sidewalls in three levels and perform one of the actions specified in the settings (for example, launching a flashlight or taking a screenshot of the screen).

According to the hardware, HTC U11 Life belongs to the category of strong middle-class people. A bunch of Snapdragon 630 chips and 3 GB of RAM is working "under the hood" of the device — a good "filling" for everyday use of the smartphone, and for "playing" (even if not at the maximum graphics settings in "heavy" games). In addition, the model's display is a reference to the middle class — a 5.2-inch Super LCD matrix (the main competitor to SuperAMOLED matrices) with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

In terms of photo capabilities, the smartphone turned out to be simpler than its colleagues in the line (basic modification and model HTC U11 Plus 64 GB / 4 GB ). Both in front and behind, it has 16-megapixel modules with a maximum aperture of f/2.0. The rear camera is traditionally a little better — it has support for recording 4K video, taking photos in HDR and has a tenacious laser autofocus.

Among the disadvantages of the model, it is worth highlighting the absence of a 3.5mm audio jack, a quiet speaker and the tendency of the glossy case to collect fingerprints along with other contaminants. You can get rid of traces on the case without much effort — it is enough to wash the smartphone under a stream of water. There is no need to fear for its failure, since HTC U11 Life is waterproof according to the IP67 standard. And the model costs twice as much as the flagship version, which increases its attractiveness in the eyes of potential buyers.

The purity of the Android OS has been inherited by Moto smartphones since the time when the world—famous search giant Google took over the rights to the brand, and then transferred them to Lenovo. However, the second generation of the smartphone designer Motorola Moto Z Play 32 GB / 3 GB it is interesting not only by the lack of a third-party proprietary shell.

The main "trump card" of the device is the support of external Moto Mods modules, which significantly "pump" the functionality of the device. So, the Hasselblad True Zoom overhead camera turns a smartphone into a full-fledged camera with a 10x optical zoom and an optical image stabilization system. The Insta-Share Projector module allows you to broadcast an image from a smartphone up to 70" diagonally to the wall. The JBL Soundboost 2 speaker makes the mobile gadget the centre of attraction for music lovers. Finally, the Turbo Power Pack with a built-in 3000 mAh battery increases the battery life of the smartphone by half.

Motorola Moto Z2 Play is worthy of attention without all of the above. The smartphone is almost on an equal footing with the current flagships, although its hardware platform is not particularly performant right away. It is based on the Snapdragon 626 processor overclocked to 2.2 GHz, which is accompanied by 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of permanent memory. The microSD card slot for increasing free space is taken out separately from the two seats for SIM cards. The device works quickly and responds clearly to all user commands, even if there are a lot of running applications hanging in the background.

The user should count on 5-6 hours of SuperAMOLED screen activity in mixed use mode. This is slightly less than the predecessor had (Motorola Moto Z Play 32 GB / 3 GB ), but still enough for a day of work without recharging. In which case, the support of fast charging technology comes to the rescue — the 3000 mAh battery tanks are half filled with energy in just half an hour at the outlet.

In the "naked" form, the smartphone has a significantly bulging main camera object (resolution 12 MP, maximum aperture f/1.7). You can hide it under the "clothes" of replaceable rear covers for every taste and colour or under external Moto Mods modules. Their support makes the model truly unique and without alternative, allowing the smartphone owner to stand out from the grey mass of conventional devices.

The second "Google phone" of the Pixel line is one of the most controversial models on the modern market. For some reason, he got a large "forehead" and "chin" on the front panel, which is against the background of an almost frameless Google Pixel 2 XL 64 GB looks amazing, and at the same time got the most powerful hardware along with a set of advanced cameras.

You can put up with the presence of large frames on top and bottom of the 5-inch display, because the space on them is not empty, but is given over to loud stereo speakers. But the glossy insert on the back of the gadget is a controversial element in the design, which many recognize. The object of the main camera with an aperture of f/1.8 is embedded directly into it, and the most ordinary one is not paired. Despite this, the Google Pixel 2 camera deservedly occupies the leading lines in terms of the quality of the shooting. She has at her disposal fast autofocus, an image stabilization system, as well as artificial intelligence for continuous improvement of shooting in portrait mode.

Blurring the background behind the shooting object is possible not only for the main camera, but also for the front camera, where a matrix with a resolution of 8 MP is installed. It is almost impossible to find her equal in drawing bokeh on selfie pictures. Also, an AMOLED display with the function of constantly showing time and notifications in the locked state (Always On) looks at the user from the front panel. As a bonus, the name of the artist and the name of the track are displayed on the screen when playing any music near the smartphone.

Technically, Google Pixel 2 is one of the strongest smartphones of our time — its hardware is based on the top-end Snapdragon 835 chip, working in conjunction with powerful Adreno 540 graphics and 4 GB of RAM. The built-in data storage has a capacity of 64 GB, support for memory cards was not delivered to the smartphone. But it doesn't matter, because users are given unlimited space in the "cloud" for photos and videos.

For the sake of water protection according to the IP67 standard, the device lost a 3.5mm jack for connecting headphones. But of the new technologies on board, the smartphone boasts compressible side faces (like HTC U11 64 GB / 4 GB ). Unfortunately, it is impossible to configure them, so the functionality of sensitive sidewalls is limited to support for calling Google Assistant and the ability to reset an incoming call. The last factor that can scare away from buying a smartphone is the high price. However, it can be justified by the record-breaking performance of the model and the guaranteed "arrival" of the latest updates of the stock Android OS.