This year saw a revolution in the smartphone industry, we saw Huawei take the smartphone industry by surprise, giving Apple and Samsung a run for their money.
2016 also saw a lot of innovative smartphones released into the market. Some new contenders in the smartphone industry really caught our attention like the Huawei P9 which was dubbed the best camera smartphone of 2016, the Google Pixel phone which has 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL.
It’s no secret however that the anticipated Samsung Note 7 had a rough start, but did this blow its chances of making it unto our list? You will find out soon enough.
Now since Christmas is fast approaching and the year is running out, let’s give you the top smartphone MVP list of 2016, in case you’re thinking of being someone’s Secret Santa
iPhone 7 Plus
We’ll start with the iPhone 7 Plus, dubbed the best-looking smartphone. Although its size does make it tricky to hold, the IPhone 7 comes with an A10 Fusion processor. The camera comes slightly upgraded from its predecessor the iPhone 6s with two 12MP sensors capable of 2x optical zoom. Although the iPhone 7Plus may be too expensive and too large for some, it is indeed one of the great smartphones that hit the market in 2016.
Huawei Mate 9 Porsche
The Huawei Mate 9 is one smartphone that is highly anticipated to be a perfect rival to Apple’s iPhone. The Mate 9 Porsche was co-designed with luxury automobile brand Porsche, and comes equipped with the latest Kirin 960 chipset. The Mate 9 Porsche is also the first smartphone to have a fingerprint sensor on the front, allowing ease of access.
The phone’s supercharge technology also safely charges it for a full day’s power in 20 minutes. Equipped with outstanding battery life, thanks to its large 4,000 mAH battery unit and its ultra-smart power-saving technology, users can enjoy two days’ use on just one full charge
For photo lovers, the Mate 9 is also rumored to take over the best smartphone camera spot from the Huawei P9 because with the Mate 9 camera by Leica, you get 12-megapixel RGB colour lens as well as a 20-megapixel monochrome lens, which work together to produce sharp, detail-packed photos.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge was so close to being the best smartphone this year with its brilliant dual curved display that, combined with an amazing display, decent battery life and camera, made it stand out. Unfortunately the image of the Samsung Edge, and in general Samsung phones, took a hit when the incidents of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone began to make the headlines.
Huawei P9
Yes Huawei topped our list a second time. They earned it. Huawei is the one smartphone manufacturer that really took the android market by storm in 2016. The Huawei P9 co-engineered with renowned camera company, Leica, won the award for the best ‘European Consumer Smartphone 2016-17’ by the European Image and Sound Association (EISA).
The camera of the P9 was also dubbed the best smartphone camera in 2016.
Apart from the P9 and Mate 9, some other phones in Huawei’s range such as the Y6II made a good impression.
iPhone SE
Small but with great battery life and the old boxy design 16GB storage base model, the iPhone SE is yet another smartphone from Apple that should be on this list. Most smartphones, if not all latest smartphones, have 5+ inch screens. But what if you have small hands and can’t reach all four corners of the screen?
Although not a large number, some people just prefer smaller phones but don’t want to sacrifice high-end specs. If in this category, then the iPhone SE is for you. With a 4-inch screen, the 12MP rear camera, 2GB RAM, Apple Pay, Retina display the iPhone SE is a size friendly powerful smartphone.
This year the industry seems to have matured and we witnessed a shift whereby consumers became less influenced by popularity and more influenced by value and quality when it comes to smartphone selection.
We wait to see what 2017 will bring in terms of smartphone innovation, especially from Apple and Huawei. For Samsung, it will be interesting to see how the brand will bounce back from the Galaxy Note 7 catastrophe.
