The fall isn’t just about replenishing your children’s wardrobes. This is one of the best times of the year to upgrade your smartphone or finally give into your pre-teen’s begging for their first smartphone experience. Here we look at five premium smartphones to add to your to-buy list.
The next generation of Samsung’s beloved phablet (phone-tablet hybrid) is ready for pre-order and will be available in Canada beginning Aug. 19. The Galaxy Note 7 builds on the previous generation, boasting dual-curved edges and iris-scanning technology. It also features a USB Type-C port, 12MP rear-facing camera, 4 GB of RAM, has 64GB of internal storage, is water resistant, and comes with the updated S Pen that’s 60 percent smaller than the previous version. And, of course, its 5.7-inch display hits that perfect balance between providing enough space to work and being compact enough to fit in your pocket or bag. However, if this isn’t quite your thing, Samsung’s heralded Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge should fit the bill.
Of course, any talk of high-end smartphones will undoubtedly include Apple’s flagship iPhone 6S Plus. The brand’s 3D Touch adds something they call “Peek and Pop,” which allows you to take a peek at something (e.g. an email) without having to fully open it—but enables you to pop it open if you need to take a closer look. The feature also responds with “subtle taps.” This enhances their already-great multi-touch gestures and adds to its stats that include 4K video, retina HD display, 5-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, an alloy body and much more powered by a 64-bit A9 chip. Available in 16 MB, 64 MB and 128 MB models.
It was a bit of struggle to know where to place Motorola’s Moto X Play phone. It’s not a true high-end smartphone when compared to the likes of the Galaxy S7, but it’s certainly a step above entry-level smartphones. So, it finds itself in this list as the bargain choice—a wonderful smartphone with some upscale features at a lower cost than the rest on this page. It features a 21MP rear camera, a water-repellant design that saves against rain and light spills, full HD resolution and a 3630mAh battery that can last up to two days.
The G5 is LG’s newest flagship in its smartphone lineup. One of the big boons for this model is its modular design. This allows you to transform the G5 into much more than a phone. For example, the Cam Plus module turns it into a point-and-shoot camera complete with a zoom wheel. Its adaptability could make this the smartphone for you if you’re hoping to have one that can do just about anything—especially if modular design is the future and more applications are created for it.
This is Sony’s top dog smartphone, with the Z5 Premium taking a step over their Z5. It has a great 5.5-inch 4K display, is water resistant, features a whopping 23 MP camera for all your Instagram needs, 3GB of RAM and lots more. Its minimalist design will appeal to those who don’t care for a flashy show-stopping smartphone, but rather one that works extremely well without needing to let everyone know about it.
