Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Does a Cheap 2018 Smartphone beat a 2016 Flagship?”.
Okay, today, we are gon na try and solve a bit of an age-old dilemma. You’Ve got two hundred and fifty dollars. Do you buy a cheap phone from the current year or do you spring for a flagship from a couple of years ago and to help us out with this? We’Ve got two of the best phones in each category. The brand-new Xiaomi me a two about $ 250 brand-new and the Google pixel about two hundred and fifty dollars refurb with a warranty. So I actually picked the pixel because it’s stock software lends itself to not just being fast but also staying fast. It’S powered by the Snapdragon 820 one and four gigabytes of RAM and still has that day. One silky, smooth performance and performance is always a really interesting point of comparison because, with the newer phone you’re getting a newer chip, but one that is in a lower tier in this case be snapdragon 616. This more recent chip on the me a 2 actually has slightly faster CPU performance than the pixel and as an eight-core chip versus the four, but it loses out big-time in terms of graphics. You see, Qualcomm has always reserved a big chunk of graphics performance exclusively for their 8 series flagship chips.
So, even though the phone is 2 years older, the pixel doubles the graphics performance of the nee 8. So you will notice a performance disparity on some top games, but having said that, the me a2 is still far from a slouch and it’s not like it’s a case where there are some games that this phone can play, that this phone can’t display quality is a Really interesting area, because so much has changed even in the last 2 years, rewind to 2016 and barely any smart phones have at all 18 to 9 screens that have now become standard, not to mention ones as large as 6 inches, which is what we find on The me 8, the pixel, doesn’t have rounded corners, nor does it have this modern, high screen to body ratio. The resolution is comparable, but the contrast produced by its AMOLED display blitzes charmese LCD, and this is the general trend you’ll observe by comparing 2016 flagships to 2018 mid-range ferns you’ll, get a better form factor and a better screen to body ratio on the newer phones. But you will almost definitely lose out on display quality.
Personally, I would prioritize screen real estate, so the amount of screen you have and I’d go with the me a2, but I’m sure there are people out there who put more weight on the colors and the contrast, in which case the pixel is the clear winner, the General build quality is a tough one because there’s a lot of individual variation between handsets, but the me a2 is a perfect example of how now in 2018, companies are squeezing more and more out of phones in this budget segment. It is made from a solid chunk of aluminium similar to the pixel and a lot of other 2016 flag ships and, in terms of a specific comparison between the two, the meteor actually feels nicer, enhance the Xiaomi is the slimmer and the more ergonomically curved device. Even if you really wanted a glass phone, something that was typically reserved for flagships in 2018, you can get that on a budget device enter the Moto G 6. So I would say, on balance, there’s a negligible difference between the build quality and the materials between phones. In these two categories, but the cameras were maybe the most curious comparison of all Google’s imaging softwares top of the line, not to mention the hardware on this phone is also quite a bit more capable just in terms of sheer sensor, quality and pixel size photos. Do look more refined and while both can shoot 4k video, the pixels end product is steadier, but you do miss out on having a dual camera in a lot of 2016 phones and that’s a win for sure me, because this is what allows that reliable, DSLR like Bokeh effect now the Google pixel did also introduce something that the company calls lens blur, which works better than I thought it would. But it needs you to take a photo and then slowly raise the phone which is not exactly intuitive and even then it doesn’t work. Quite as consistently as just having a dual camera, however, there is always a, but when a company is building a phone to a strict budget, the question goes from: what features do people want to what features are a priority and what features do we need to put In there – and this is one of the biggest factors chanst buying a budget phone, whilst things like CPU power can keep up due to the tech becoming cheaper, it’s the extras.
It’S the little things that eventually don’t make the cut things like fast charging, splash resistance and wireless charging, and while this isn’t the best example because the pixel doesn’t have any IP certification or wireless charging, this is more of an exception to the rule and most 2016 Flag ships would have those features, whereas the budget, 2018 phones consistently, don’t and speaking of exceptions to rules software, because, generally speaking aside from Google’s own phones, any 2016 flagship is probably already going to be out to date. In terms of software. Compare that to the Xiaomi me a2, which has already got Android 8.1, bundled in with a 9.0 update coming soon I mean flagships, do tend to get updates more often, but even then not enough to be able to compensate from being released two years earlier. But I would say that, whilst it is comforting to have the latest version of Android, as well as the aesthetic and efficiency upgrades that come with it, I wouldn’t put too much weight on this and average user probably wouldn’t notice the difference.
A lot of the time, especially on phones where you’ve got manufacturers skins on top something else. That is a crucial factor in this argument and, at the same time, something that is commonly overlooked is that, if you’re planning on ordering an older refurb phone that often comes with its own set of complications, these phones are more likely to go wrong. There’S a good chance, the battery won’t last as long as when it was new, and you might just get some scuffs and marks with it as we have done here. So with this in mind, unless you’re getting an exceptional deal on an older flagship, I would generally say side with the newer phone you’ll likely lose out on display quality, graphics performance and little features like water resistance and wireless charging. But most of the other aspects of the phone experience will be at least as good, if not better, not to mention you can avoid the hassle of dealing with a used device, especially in 2018. We are seeing the $ 250 price point becoming increasingly competitive and right now, firms like the me a two firms like the Moto G six. They are hitting a real sweet spot where you’re not spending a lot of money but you’re getting pretty much everything you want in a firm thanks for watching guys. I really hope you enjoyed the video. My name is Erin. This is mr.
Yu’s, boss and I’ll catch. You guys next time, .