Flipkart ranking: These top smartphones got buyers drooling in 2017

E-commerce major Flipkart ranks the best smartphones of the past year in their respective segments based on traction they got among online buyers

The year 2017 was a great one for the smartphone industry, despite the overall consumer market being somewhat slow in India. While some of the revolutionary features like the 18:9 aspect ratio screens and dual-camera set-ups excited the tech geeks as well as common buyers alike, futuristic technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence became mainstream in smartphones.

Simultaneously, there was seen a major shift in users’ preference, too – while buyers earlier were more after devices carrying powerful innards, the year 2017 saw them drifting more towards exciting features – along with top-tier specifications adding value to capable smartphones.

Home-grown e-commerce major on Friday released its pick of best smartphones in various segments, based on the shopping trends seen across online shoppers on its platform. The company claimed to have arrived at its selection “after analysing the shopping carts of over 100 million shoppers”.

“With the e-commerce landscape drastically growing in India, the smartphone category continues to be a frontrunner among online shoppers. Flipkart’s flagship sales events, exclusive partnerships and innovative schemes like ‘no-cost EMI’, ‘product exchange offers’ and ‘buy now, pay later’ has exponentially impacted the sales on the online smartphone category, specifically the budget and mid- range segment,” Flipkart said in a statement.

Here is a snapshot of Flipkart’s top picks in various segments:

Budget smartphones

#1. Lenovo K8 plus: Boasting a dual-camera set-up at its back, the Lenovo K8 Plus runs stock Google Android Nougat 7.1.1 (Nougat) out of the box. The smartphone went on sale starting September 7, exclusively on Flipkart. The K8 Plus’ dual camera set-up is the key feature of the device. The smartphone houses dual camera sensors of 13-megapixel and 5 MP that work in tandem to take shots with precise bokeh effect, which blurs the background and sharpens the focus on the object. There is an 8 MP selfie camera at the front that supports beautification filters and is assisted by LED flash. The device is powered by MediaTek Helio P25 processor, coupled with 32 GB internal storage and 3 GB RAM. The storage can further be expanded using dedicated card slot that support microSD chip of up to 128GB.

#2. Moto C Plus: Smartphone maker Motorola, now backed by Lenovo, launched the Moto C Plus in India at Rs 6,999. The smartphone, which went on sale from June 20, exclusively on Flipkart, is a dual-SIM, VoLTE-ready budget device for the price-conscious Indian consumer. In terms of specifications, the Moto C Plus sports a 5-inch HD (1280 x 720p) TFT screen and boots Android Nougat v7.0 operating system. It is powered by Mediatek MT6737 processor, which has four Cortex-A53 cores running at a frequency of 1.3 GHz each, coupled with Mali-T720MP2 graphic processing unit (GPU).

Mid-range smartphones

#1. Xiaomi Redmi Note 4: Following the success of its flagship device Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, with high-end specifications, Chinese electronics major Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 4, its first device of 2017. Similar to the predecessor, the Note 4 has an all-metal body. The premium-looking device fits well in the hands with slim borders and 2.5D curved-edge glass on front. The 5.5-inch device with full-HD IPS display returns sharp text, images and videos. Powered by the 2Ghz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor that makes gaming (Asphalt 8), the Xiaomi Note 4 is a charm for multitaskers.

#2. Xiaomi MI A1: The Xiaomi Mi A1 is the only mid-range smartphone that could challenge the might of pricier devices. That the smartphone is based on the Google Android One project could be one reason why the phone has exceptional camera performance – as seen in the flagship Google Pixel 2-series devices. The Mi A1 sports dual 12MP sensors with primary camera mated with telephoto lens. The camera delivers exceptional imaging capabilities, which could be compared with Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 6 smartphone. The telephoto lens allows 2x optical zoom and the Bokeh effect -- where background gets enhanced blur and the objects remain in focus – looks natural, unlike other budget dual-camera-based smartphones.

Flagship smartphones

#1. Google Pixel 2: The Google Pixel 2 is no masterpiece when it comes to design. But the smaller sibling of the duo in Pixel’s next-generation series exceeds expectations in terms of performance and imaging capabilities. A powerful device with a compact body form, the Pixel 2 feels solid in hand and premium in aesthetics. The smartphone also boasts some clever algorithms from Google that learn the user’s usage pattern and improve the camera performance to match the results, or even exceed in some cases, of smartphones with dual cameras. When compared with the Pixel 2 XL, this smartphone looks small and lets go of the 18:9 aspect ratio screen for a tradition 16:9 screen with fullHD resolution of 1920 x 1080. There are huge bezels on top and bottom – something reminiscent of HTC smartphones – that house powerful front-facing stereo speakers.

#2. Apple iPhone X: Also ranked the most good-looking smartphone of the year by Flipkart, the anniversary-edition iPhone X takes a break from traditional iPhone design, features and capabilities. The smartphone brings the best of technology in a compact yet mesmerising form factor. It houses industry first edge-to-edge screen on front – with a small cut-out on top for earpiece and sensors – augmented reality, animojis and dual-camera set-up.