Many technology enthusiasts here look forward to a special occasion every 2 years – expiration of our mobile phone subscription contracts! When that happens biannually, we get to shop around for a new smartphone to go along with contract renewals. Oh, it’s possible to be on a mobile plan without being tied down to a two year contract, but who would pass up an opportunity to renew with a new phone? And one nice thing about Singtel -is that its customers are eligible for re-contracting after 1 year 9 months and not 24 months without having to pay an early recontract fee.
My current plan with Singtel is ending in a few months. Funnily, and for the first time since I’ve been on biannual mobile contract plans, I actually don’t feel a particularly strong compulsion to upgrade this time. It’s a nice opportunity to that I’ll likely still take up. But the Samsung Note 5 I’ve had for coming to two years now still looks as pristine as it did at purchase – a characteristic that we routinely associate more with Apple products than other manufacturers’ products. Specification-wise, the Note 5 was as high-end as one could buy back then, and it still holds its own today: Quad HD and Super AMOLED screen, still decent battery life, RAW support for its camera, 4K video recording etc. Incredibly, the Note 5 is still sold on retail in large part I suspect because of the Note 7 fiasco, and its prices haven’t dropped by too much either.
Still, it’s a chance for a new phone – so why not. The Mi Max – which has only been lightly used since picking it up last year – might had been a suitable replacement were it not for the fact that I prefer my main day to day device to have a Quad HD screen – the full HD screen on the Max struggles against its 6.4″ huge screen – and better video/imaging abilities. And so:
At least equal or larger than the Note 5’s 5.7″ display;
Either 64GB built-in storage or support for a microSD card expansion. I’m not a smartphone gamer, but the phone does triple-up duty as a video recorder and also MP3 player, functions which gobble storage space.
Decent imaging that’s on par with the Note 5’s;
4000mAh battery or higher. Those huge displays suck juice;
NFC support for mobile payment systems.
And of preferences:
Quad HD screen;
Stylus support;
Thumbprint scanner;
Dedicated capacitive physical and not on-screen buttons.
Looking at what’s currently out there:
Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro: huge 6″ AMOLED screen + thumbprint scanner + dedicated buttons + NFC + crazy 5000mAh sized battery + microSD card support + dual SIM- hooray! Full HD screen only though, and no 4K video recording. Slightly cheaper than the others below too.
Huawei Mate 9: almost a bumped up version of the A9 Pro above – large 5.9″ screen + thumbprint scanner + NFC + 4000mAh battery + microSD card support + dual SIM + 4K video recording – hooray. Reportedly fantastic dual-lens camera too. But also full HD screen only. Bleh.
Oppo R9s Plus: huge 6″ AMOLED screen + 4000mAh battery + a whopping 6GB system RAM + dedicated buttons and sharing the same characteristics and limitations as the others in the list so far. Does not support Android Pay – oh no.:( And lastly, it’s a pretty new phone, so there aren’t many reviews of this phone out there at the moment.
Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra: humongous 6.8″ screen that’s even larger than the Max’s. 4600mAh battery + 4K video recording. But just too large for it to be pocketable!
Going with the list above, I’m leaning towards the A9 Pro followed by the R9s Plus. The A9 Pro – if I go with that later – won’t actually be a significant upgrade from the Note 5 though, on account of its lower resolution screen, lack of stylus and support for wireless charging, and 4K video recording.
But it’ll still be a new phone, so a decision to make in the next couple of months!
Recent comments