Top 10 trending phones of week 21

Nothing much happened this week in our Top 10 charts - the Moto G4 Plus holds a tight grip on 1st place. The regular Moto G4 (formerly 8th) tumbled out of the charts.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 held on to second place. Third is the Samsung Galaxy J7, after that is its successor, the Galaxy J7 (2016). Basically, the top four phones in our charts have 5.5" screens, which suggests this is the most popular screen size at the moment.

Motorola Moto G4 Plus

 

RANK: 1

WAS: 1

specs gallery

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3

 

RANK: 2

WAS: 2

specs review

Samsung Galaxy J7

 

RANK: 3

WAS: 3

specs review

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)

 

RANK: 4

WAS: 4

specs gallery

Samsung Galaxy J5

 

RANK: 5

WAS: 5

specs review

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)

 

RANK: 6

WAS: 6

specs gallery

Samsung Galaxy S7

 

RANK: 7

WAS: 7

specs review

Apple iPhone 5s

 

RANK: 8

NEW IN

specs review

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

 

RANK: 9

WAS: 10

specs review

Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)

 

RANK: 10

NEW IN

specs review

New devices of the week

The past week was jam-packed with new device announcements. Samsung's even added a brand new Galaxy "C" family to its lineup.

The Korean giant kicked things off within its new metal lineup with the Galaxy C5 and shortly after, the Galaxy C7. Both can be considered mid-range offers and the only difference between the otherwise indistinguishable "C" pair is the size (5.2-inches and 5.7-inches), as well as a small processor upgrade.

Moving on to another exciting release - ZTE Axon 7. With all the bells and whistles, like a 5.5-inch AMOLED QHD display, Snapdragon 820 SoC and up to 6GB of RAM, it is definitely going after the big boys. Coupled with the newly announced ZTE VR headset and plans for a quite a few new brick and mortar stores, ZTE seems to be going in full on assault mode this year.

    
ZTE Axon 7 Quartz Grey

LG showcased two new devices this week, although, not particularly high-end ones. First, there is the LG G Pad III 8.0 - an 8-inch tablet with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixel and an octa-core SoC on board. The other newcomer is the LG Stylus 2 Plus - a 5.7-inch FullHD phablet, powered by a Snapdragon 430 chip, 3GB of RAM and a 3,000 mAh battery. It also has a 16MP primary camera, LTE, dual-SIM support and boots Android Marshmallow. It even has a stylus and all that for $340.

  
LG Stylus 2 Plus press renders

Further down the list, we find the Acer Liquid Zest Plus. With a 5.5-inch HD display, 2 GB of RAM, MediaTek's MT6735 and a spacious 5,000 mAh battery, it seems to offer quite a bit for its $199 price tag.

And last, but not least, Jolla - the young Finnish company founded by ex-Nokia and MeeGo employees, has launched its second smartphone - the Jolla C.

Asus announces ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and ZenFone 3 Ultra

Asus has announced the new ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and ZenFone 3 Ultra at Computex 2016.

The Asus ZenFone 3 is the most basic model of the three. It has an aluminum frame body with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass on the front and back. On the front is a 5.5-inch 1080p Super IPS+ display with up to 500 nits brightness and 77.3% screen to body ratio.

The Zenfone 3 also has a 16 megapixel camera on the back with ASUS TriTech autofocus that combines second generation laser autofocus, phase detection autofocus and contrast detection autofocus to achieve focus in 0.03 seconds.

The handset runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 and has up to 4GB of RAM. There is also a fingerprint sensor on the back.

The ZenFone 3 Deluxe is the flagship model. It has a full metal body with no visible antenna lines and 4.2mm edges. It is built around a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with over 100% NTSC color gamut and 79% screen to body ratio.

The phone runs on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 with up to 6GB of RAM. On the back is a 23 megapixel Sony IMX318 camera with f2.0 aperture, 4-axis optical image stabilization, and 4K video with the same TriTech autofocus system as on the ZenFone 3.

The ZenFone 3 Deluxe uses a USB Type-C connector with USB 3.0 and Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support. The phone also has a fingerprint sensor on the back. Lastly, there is also a single five-magnet speaker and Hi-Res Audio support.

Finally, there is the ZenFone 3 Ultra. It has a massive 6.8-inch 1080p display with 95% NTSC color gamut support, 79% screen to body ratio, and what ASUS calls Tru2Life+ Video technology that uses a high-end 4K UHD TV-grade image processor. The ZenFone 3 also has two five-magnet speakers, Hi-Res Audio support, and also the first phone to have virtual 7.1 channel surround sound with DTS Headphone: X.

On the back is the same 23 megapixel camera as on the ZenFone 3 Deluxe. The phablet is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 with up to 4GB of RAM, and a 4600mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support.

The Zenfone 3 Deluxe can also charge other devices with a 1.5A output. Lastly, there is a fingerprint sensor on the front of the device. All packed in a full metal body with no visible antenna lines.

Prices start at $249 for the ZenFone 3, $499 for the ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and $479 for the ZenFone 3 Ultra.

Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus diagrams reveal a Smart Connector on board

New diagrams allegedly show the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus measurements and ports and fuel fresh excitement for the upcoming devices. The schematics reveal the new crop of Apple flagships will be 1mm thicker than the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Potentially, this could translate into a larger battery, but there's no confirmation of this just yet.

As per the diagrams, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be just as wide and tall as their predecessors. Interestingly, the iPhone 7 Plus will have a dual camera setup whereas the iPhone 7 will only have a single sensor at the back.

  
Apple iPhone 7 • Apple iPhone 7 Plus diagrams

Lastly, the diagram show a Smart Connector port at the rear of the iPhone 7 Plus. It's very likely that Apple likes iPad Pro users who've bought the Smart Keyboard to be able to use it on the iPhone 7 Plus as well.

We have a general idea of what the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will look like thanks to a render based on confirmed schematics. In the latest diagrams, the 3.5mm headphone jack is missing.

LG G Pad III 8.0 with octa-core CPU, 8-inch display

LG has launched a new tablet. Dubbed G Pad III 8.0, the device is powered by an octa-core processor, and sports an 8-inch (1920 x 1200 pixel resolution) display. It offers 16GB of storage (expandable up to 2TB), and features a 5MP rear camera.

Measuring 210.7 x 124.1 x 7.9mm and weighing in at 309g, the tablet runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The LG G Pad III 8.0 is available for purchase in Canada, where Rogers and Fido are currently offering it for CAD 240, or around $185.

As per Rogers, the tablet is targeted towards "youth and young adults looking for the best value device that encompasses the latest productivity."

ZTE Axon 7 to cost $449 in the US, €409 in Europe

Yesterday ZTE took the wraps off the Axon 7, its new flagship smartphone. And while we got the full list of its specs, and quite a few official images, the company remained mum on the pricing of the handset.

However, a report from its home country of China now comes to settle things in that regard too. According to this yet-unconfirmed claim, the Axon 7 will start at $449 in the US and €409 in Europe, in unlocked form of course.

For those prices you'll get the version with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. You'll obviously have to pay more for the top of the line model that sports 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but it's still unclear how much of a premium that will set you back.

Apparently the high-end iteration of the Axon 7 also comes with 3D Touch-like functionality, thanks to a pressure-sensitive display. A release timeline for the phone in the US and Europe hasn't been provided yet, officially or not. That said, we assume it will be out at some point in the coming weeks, since it's already been unveiled.

Garmin Fenix 3 HR rugged multi-sport training GPS watch

Garmin India has launched Fenix 3 HR, the company’s latest multisport smart watch with Garmin Elevate wrist-based heart rate technology, all new additional activity profiles and a black silicon band. “The watch has updated software with new activity trackers for golf, stand up paddle boarding and rowing, as well as the latest advanced running dynamics and physiological measurements,” said the company.

Access to the Connect IQ platform allows customization of watch faces and data fields and provides downloadable widgets and apps.

Garmin Fenix 3 HR features and specifications

• Omni-directional stainless steel EXO antenna with GPS/GLONASS satellite reception, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• Elevate wrist heart rate technology
• Fitness training features like advanced running dynamics with vertical oscillation and vertical ratio, VO2 max, recovery advisor and more
• 1.2-inch (218 x 218 pixels) sunlight-readable Garmin Chroma Display with high-strength domed sapphire lens
• Water resistant up to 100 meters or 10 ATM
• Vertical oscillation and ratio, Ground contact time and balance, Cadence – number of steps per minute, Stride length, Stress score and Performance condition
• Outdoor navigation features like 3-axis compass, altimeter and barometer and TracBack feature
• 300mAh battery with battery life of up to 40 hours in UltraTrac battery saver mode, 16 hours in GPS mode and up to 2 weeks in smartwatch mode

The Garmin Fenix 3 HR comes in Grey color, is priced at Rs. 52,999 and is available exclusively from Amazon.in for Rs. 52,999.

Acer Liquid Zest Plus

Acer has announced that its Liquid Zest Plus smartphone, which was made official last month, will go on sale in the month of July. The device will carry a price tag of $199 in the US, and will cost €199 in the EMEA region.

It's worth mentioning that when the device was unveiled, it's price for the US market was announced to be $250. There's currently no information on why the company decided to drop the price, although it could well be because of the delay between the unveiling and the launch.

Anyway, for under $200, you get a phone powered by MediaTek's MT6735 chipset with quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A53 CPU and Mali-T720 GPU, and featuring a 5.5" HD display. RAM is 2GB, while internal storage is 16GB. A mammoth 5,000mAh battery is there to keep the lights on.

The camera department is handled by a 13MP rear unit and a 5MP front shooter. The device runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box.