Best Smartphones for $800
1# - OnePlus 7 Pro – 12GB RAM/256GB Storage - $749 LINK
Chipset – Snapdragon 855 (up to 2.84 GHz) – Adreno 640 GPU
This phone features a newly released 7nm process SoC, allowing for extended battery life and more instructions per cycle. The 855 uses a big.LITTLE CPU core design, which allows for switching between low power, high-efficiency cores and performance intensive cores for heavier workloads.
The Hexagon 690 DSP performs tasks relating to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This DSP is faster at processing vectors than a standard CPU core, meaning AI processing, image processing, voice processing and gaming is accelerated more efficiently.
The Spectra 380 Camera Image Signal Processor is present and uses two separate image signal processors that compute images in real time with 14-bit colour accuracy.
Memory
The OnePlus 7 Pro comes with 12GB of LPDDR4x RAM.
This is one of the highest RAM allocations on a phone, however this doesn’t provide a huge benefit as it is hard to utilise this much RAM on a mobile device.
This phone makes use of lightning fast UFS3.0 storage.
Camera
The OnePlus 7 Pro uses a triple array for the rear camera.
The main sensor is a Sony IMX 586, with a 48MP resolution, 1.6um 4-in-1 pixel size and OIS as well as EIS. The aperture of this sensor is f/1.6.
The second is a telephoto lens, with an 8MP resolution and 1um pixel size. It has OIS and a f/2.4 aperture.
The third lens is an ultra wide-angle lens, with a 16MP resolution and an f/2.2 aperture.
This setup allows for 3x optical zoom, alongside supporting Phase Detection Auto Focus, Linear Auto Focus and Continuous Auto Focus.
The front facing camera is a Sony IMX471 sensor, with a 16MP resolution and 1um pixel size. It has EIS, a fixed focus and f/2.0 aperture. This sensor allows for OnePlus’ fast face unlock feature.
Video
4K video recording at 30/60fps, 1080p HD video recording at 30/60/240fps, 720p video recording at 30/60/480fps
Battery, Display and other features
The OnePlus 7 Pro has a large 4000mAh battery which is bigger than the OnePlus 6T’s 3700mAh. There is also support for OnePlus’ proprietary Warp Charge feature, offering charging at 30 watt, 5V/6 amps.
The OnePlus 7 Pro has a glass front and back, which offers a good feel in the hand. The display is 6.67” in size, with a 3120x1440 QHD screen resolution. This results in a ppi of 516. The aspect ratio of the display is 19.5:9 and uses Fluid AMOLED screen technology. A standout feature here is the 90hz display refresh rate. This offers very smooth screen fluidity which is a joy to experience. The display makes use of an in-screen fingerprint sensor, which means that there is no need for rear mounted or chin mounted fingerprint sensors. This helps to increase the screen to body ratio of the phone.
Overall, there is the risk of the pop-up camera malfunctioning with use. The Pixel 3 XL and S10 have support for features like waterproofing and wireless charging, alongside a better camera setup, but the huge battery in the OnePlus and better (equivalent for S10) SoC mean that this device has more up to date specs for less money than the Pixel.
NFC Support.
A-GPS, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, SBAS, Beidou.
Bluetooth 5.0 support. aptX.
WiFi 2x2 MIMO 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4ghz and 5ghz)
LTE 4x4 MIMO Cat 18. 1.2Gbps download max.
2# - Galaxy S10 – 8GB RAM/128GB Storage - $800 LINK
Chipset – Snapdragon 855 (Adreno 640 GPU)
This phone has a brand new 7nm process SoC, providing better power efficiency per clock versus older 10nm chipsets. The 855 uses a big.LITTLE CPU core design, which allows for switching between low power, high efficiency cores and performance intensive cores for heavier workloads.
The Hexagon 690 DSP included with this SoC offloads a significant portion of vector processing from the main CPU, performing tasks relating to AI and Machine Learning. There is also a Hexagon Tensor Accelerator, Hexagon Voice Assistant, Hexagon Vector eXtensions (HVX) and All-Ways Aware. These all have niche functions that offload from the main CPU to save battery life and increase performance.
This is equivalent to the OnePlus 7 Pro.
Memory
The Galaxy S10 comes with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, meaning it benefits from using the latest DDR memory standard. Each DDR generation comes with performance and power efficiency improvements, such as lowered voltages and improved instructions per cycle.
The use of UFS2.1 storage means there is plenty of high-speed storage available, however there is the newer UFS3.0 standard that this phone has missed out on.
This is slower than the OnePlus 7 Pro and slows down app loading times and system response times.
Camera
The S10 has a triple rear camera array. The first lens is a 12MP Telephoto lens. It has PDAF and OIS, with a pixel size of 1.0um and an aperture of F/2.4.
The second lens is a dual aperture wide angle camera with a 12MP resolution. It supports dual-pixel autofocus, OIS, has a pixel size of 1.4um and a varying aperture of either f/1.5 or f/2.4 for close up and far away shots.
The third lens is a 16MP resolution ultra-wide. It has a pixel size of 1.0um and an aperture of F/2.2.
The front camera is a single 10MP selfie camera. It has dual-pixel autofocus, a 1.22um pixel size and an f/1.9 aperture. This camera also supports live focus.
This is better than the OnePlus 7 Pro when recording video, but is neck and neck otherwise.
Video
4K resolution video at 30/60 fps, 1080P resolution video at 30/60/240 fps, 720P resolution video at 30/960 fps. The phone has slow-mo functionality at 720p up to 960fps. 1080p is at 240fps.
Battery, Display and other features
The Samsung Galaxy S10 has a 3400mAh battery and is able to charge other wireless Qi compatible devices through its Wireless Powershare feature.
The display is 6.1” in size, with a 3040x1440 screen resolution. This results in a ppi of 550. The aspect ratio of the display is 19:9 and uses the AMOLED screen technology. Samsung use a hole-punch design for the camera, called Infinity-O. This results in a small cut-out for the camera, taking up less space than a notch. The display houses an in-screen fingerprint sensor, which negates the need for rear mounted or chin mounted fingerprint sensors. This helps to increase the screen to body ratio of the phone. The cut-out isn’t as good as the full screen display on the OnePlus 7 Pro.
There is support for expandable storage, with up to 512GB of SD Card storage being supported.
The phone weighs only 198g. It has waterproofing at an IP68 rating, meaning it can be fully submerged up to 3 meters. The OnePlus 7 Pro has no official waterproofing rating but has been shown to be submergible in reviews.
NFC Support.
GPS GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
Bluetooth 5.0 support, including aptX.
WiFi 4x4 MIMO 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4ghz and 5ghz), up to 1.2Gbps symmetrical speeds.
Up to 2Gbps LTE Cat.20
3# - Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – 6GB RAM/128GB Storage
Chipset – Snapdragon 845 (Adreno 630 GPU)
This phone has a second generation 10nm process SoC, providing better power efficiency per clock versus older chipsets. The 845 uses a big.LITTLE CPU core design, which allows for switching between low power, high-efficiency cores and performance intensive cores for heavier workloads.
The Hexagon 685 DSP included with this SoC helps to offload a significant portion of vector processing from the main processor cores, performing tasks relating to AI and Machine Learning. This DSP is faster than a CPU at processing vectors, meaning AI processing, image processing, voice processing and gaming is accelerated more efficiently.
This phone is slower than the Galaxy S10, our number 2 choice for this price point.
Memory
The Galaxy Note 9 comes with 6GB of LPDDR4X Dual Channel RAM, meaning it benefits from using the latest DDR memory standard. Each DDR generation comes with performance and power efficiency improvements, such as lowered voltages and improved instructions per cycle.
This is 2GB less than the S10, our #2 choice. This means the S10 can multitask better, thanks to more RAM availability.
The Note 9 uses UFS2.1 storage, meaning high-speed local storage for your files. This is the same as the newer S10.
Camera
The Note 9 has a dual sensor array for its primary camera. It supports up to 2x optical zoom, thanks to its second sensor.
The first lens is a super wide-angle speed dual pixel sensor, with a 12MP resolution. It has autofocus and a pixel size of 1.4um. The aperture can vary between f/1.5 and f/2.4 for close-ups and far away shots.
The second lens is a telephoto 12MP resolution sensor with autofocus. It has a pixel size of 1um and an f/2.4 aperture.
Overall, the S10 slightly improves on the Note 9 with an extra lens, setting it back a place on the leaderboard.
The front facing camera uses a single sensor. It has an 8MP resolution and a pixel size of 1.22um. There is an f/1.7 aperture on this lens. This is equivalent to the S10.
Video
4K resolution video at 30/60 fps, 1080P resolution video at 30/60/120/240/960 fps, 720P resolution video at 30/120/240/960 fps
Battery, Display and other features
The Galaxy Note 9 has a 4000mAh battery and supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2. It has a single downward firing speaker and uses the earpiece speaker to create stereo sound. The battery is bigger than the S10, offering slightly better battery life.
The display is 6.4” in size, with a 2960x1440 screen resolution. This results in a PPI of 516. The aspect ratio of the display is 18.5:9 and uses the AMOLED screen technology. The screen is coated in 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5. This is similar to the Galaxy S10, with the S10 being rated higher due to the higher pixels per inch thanks to its higher resolution screen in a smaller chassis. There is also a better screen to body ratio with the cut-out on the S10. The Infinity-O display on the S10 makes better use of the front side of the phone, coupled with an under-screen fingerprint scanner tipping this in the S10’s favour. The Note 9 weighs 201g, with the S-Pen accessory weighting 3.1g. This pen allows for up to 4096 pressure levels on the screen and allows for drawing and note taking on the device. This is the key selling feature of the Galaxy Note series.
NFC Support.
GPS GLONASS, QZSS, BeiDou, Galileo
Bluetooth 5.0 support, including aptX.
WiFi 4x4 MU-MIMO 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4ghz and 5ghz)
Up to 1Gbps LTE Cat.18.
4# - Pixel 3 XL – 4GB RAM/64GB Storage
Chipset – Snapdragon 845 (Adreno 630 GPU)
This phone has a Snapdragon 845 10nm process SoC, providing better power efficiency per clock versus older nanometer process chips. The 845 uses a big.LITTLE CPU core design, which allows for switching between low power, high-efficiency cores and performance intensive cores for heavier workloads.
The SoC also has an Adreno 630 GPU, which allows for high fidelity gaming on the go.
The Pixel also has the Pixel Visual Core and a Titan M security module. The Visual Core handles the information that needs processing when taking photos, offloading from the Snapdragon 845. The Titan M provides security features to ensure the safety of your data on the device.
This is equivalent to the Note 9.
Memory
The Pixel 3 XL comes with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM, meaning it benefits from using the latest DDR memory standard. Each DDR generation comes with performance and power efficiency improvements, such as lowered voltages and improved instructions per cycle. This is lower than the Note 9, making it worse for multitasking, despite Samsung’s One UI skin overlay.
The use of UFS2.1 storage means there is plenty of high-speed storage available on the Pixel 3 XL. There is less than the Note 9 again, coupled with no expandable storage.
Camera
The Pixel 3 XL has a single camera lens for photos. This is a dual-pixel 12.2MP resolution camera with a 1.4um pixel size and an f/1.8 aperture. While only having a single lens, the Pixel series benefits from leading software processing developed by Google, which regularly gives the best photos even when compared to dual and triple lens arrays on competitor devices. This is still one of the best rated cameras on the market, beating out the Note 9 even with its 2 sensors.
The front facing camera is a dual lens array, with the capability of providing ultra-wide selfies thanks to the wide-angle lens. Both lenses are 8MP in resolution, with one having an f/2.2 aperture and the other having an f/1.8 aperture. This beats the Note 9’s front camera setup, due to the wider angled lens and dual lens.
Video 4K/30fps, 1080p/30/60/120fps, 720p/30/60/240fps
Battery, Display and other features
The Pixel 3 XL has a 3430mAh battery, alongside dual front-facing stereo speakers which greatly improve sound quality compared to the Note 9’s stereo downward firing speaker and earpiece combo.
The display is 6.3” in size, with a 2960x1440 screen resolution. This results in a PPI of 523. The aspect ratio of the display is 18.5:9 and uses OLED screen technology. Due to the unsightly notch on this phone, it is ranked lower than the Note 9, which uses an Infinity Display.
The phone weighs a mere 184g, which is ideal when holding a device for extended periods.
NFC Support.
Bluetooth 5 support, including aptX and LDAC.
WiFi 4x4 MIMO 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4ghz and 5ghz)
Up to 1Gbps LTE Cat.16.
5# - Apple iPhone XR – 3GB RAM/64GB Storage
Chipset – A12 Bionic
The iPhone features an A12 Bionic custom SoC designed by Apple. The unit has 6 cores, with 2 being performance cores at up to 2.49Ghz and 4 being high-efficiency cores. The processor is manufactured on the latest 7nm process.
The A12 Neural Engine helps to accelerate operations relating to AI, Data Processing and more, offloading this work from the main CPU to save battery and increase performance.
This SoC is faster than the faster than all of these devices in the CPU department, but slower in the GPU department, meaning gaming will be slower on the XR.
Memory
The iPhone XR comes with 3GB of RAM, which is less than its Android counterparts. For the most part, this is fine as iOS is leaner than Android. When it comes to gaming, this may become a bottleneck in the future. This doesn’t futureproof the device well, compared to its Android counterparts.
Camera
The iPhone XR has a single lens primary camera. It is a 12MP resolution sensor with a f/1.8 aperture and a 1.4um pixel size. Optical Image Stabilisation is supported, alongside PDAF auto focus. The iPhone has a niche quad-LED dual tone flash which allows for better brightening of the environment you are taking photos of. This cannot compete with any of the Android cameras, and especially not the Pixel 3 XL.
The front facing camera has a 7MP resolution and an f/2.2 aperture. It supports software processing called Portrait mode, alongside 1080p up to 60fps video recording. Again, the Pixel 3 XL wins here. Video
4K video recording at 24/30/60fps, 1080p HD video recording at 30/60/120/240fps.
Battery, Display and other features
The iPhone XR has a 2942mAh battery. It supports 15W fast charging, giving 50% charge in 30 minutes over the Lighting Cable. It also supports Qi charging. This is the smallest battery in the bunch, despite having the same size screen as the S10, it is 400mAh smaller.
The iPhone XR has an aluminium frame with IP67 waterproofing, meaning it can be submerged up to 1m for 30 minutes.
The display is 6.1” in size, with a 1792x828 Retina screen resolution. This results in a PPI of 326, making this phone unsuitable for VR use cases. The aspect ratio of the display is 19.5:9 and uses LCD IPS screen technology. This is not comparable to the AMOLED screens on the other devices, leaving it in last place.
NFC Support ONLY for contactless payments.
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS.
Bluetooth 5.0 support. aptX.
WiFi 2X2 MIMO 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4ghz and 5ghz)
4G LTE Advanced