With 2016 coming to a close, let's compare the 4 best smartphones of the year against each other!
Design
The Apple iPhone 7 is quite unique with its design. Although unsurprisingly there’s nothing drastic evident here compared to the predecessor. Its all metal body and the inclusion of a new ‘Jet Black’ color variant makes it stand out from the rest of the competition.
The Galaxy S7 is yet another device which needs no introduction to the design segment. One of the most glamorous looking Android smartphones out there, Samsung has finally gotten design right, although the trend originally started with the Galaxy S6 last year.
The OnePlus 3T is more of the same really. We say this because it doesn’t bring any major changes compared to the OnePlus 3. Since most of the changes are happening under the hood here, we don't think the device warrants any additional mention in the design department.
Google’s smaller Pixel handset is quite the looker actually. Available in Very Silver and Quite Black variants, this HTC made phone doesn’t disappoint smartphone design enthusiasts. In fact, all four handsets on this list have impressive design, so there’s very little to complain about here.
Read : TechRadar India Special: BEST TECH OF 2016
Display
The Apple iPhone 7 is using a 4.7-inch (1334x750) Retina Display with a pixel density of 326 ppi.
OnePlus is using the same 5.5-inch Full HD (1920x1080) Optic AMOLED display as the predecessor, packing a pixel density of 401 ppi.
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 packs a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560x1440 (Quad HD). This translates to a pixel density of 577 ppi.
The Pixel comes with a 5-inch Full HD (1920x1080) AMOLED display, bearing a pixel density of 441 ppi. Clearly, the Galaxy S7 is the winner here, thanks to its gorgeous Quad HD Super AMOLED display.
Camera
The camera on the Galaxy S7 has been rated to be the best in the business. That was until the Google Pixel came to the picture. Google claims that its optics allow for excellent low light photos, something that we’re yet to ascertain.
The OnePlus 3T is not up there when it comes to camera performance, but it surely gets the job done. The company is using a 16MP front camera, though, which will significantly boost its selfie credentials.
The iPhone 7, as with any iPhone, is surely one of the best camera phones available right now. So let’s just call this a tie between all four phones.
Camera specifications
iPhone 7 - 12MP rear camera, 7MP front camera
OnePlus 3T: 16MP rear camera, 16MP front camera
Galaxy S7: 12MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
Pixel: 12.3MP rear camera, 8MP front camera
Performance
Since the Pixel and the OnePlus 3T were launched recently, they were able to procure the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (quad-core) chipset, while the Galaxy S7 had to settle for the Snapdragon 820 quad-core SoC.
There’s one caveat here, however. The Galaxy S7 features the Snapdragon 820 only in western markets, while the Indian units are equipped with the octa-core Exynos 8890 processor. The Apple iPhone 7 is using the company’s custom Apple A10 Fusion (quad-core) chipset with six-core graphics.
Battery
While the iPhone’s battery has always been dodgy, Apple has done some pretty good work with iOS 10 to increase efficiency. Keeping this in mind, customers can expect pretty decent usage on the device and even better standby times.
As for the Android devices on this list, going by what’s on paper, we can say that the OnePlus 3T will probably last the longest thanks to its 3,400mAh battery underneath. The Galaxy S7 and the Pixel come with 3,000mAh and 2,770mAh batteries respectively, which might not necessarily last as long as the OnePlus 3T.
Storage/RAM
Pixel: 32/128GB storage + 4GB RAM (no card slot)
iPhone 7: 32/128/256GB storage + 2GB RAM (no card slot)
OnePlus 3T: 64/128GB storage + 6GB RAM (no card slot)
Galaxy S7: 32GB storage (expandable) + 4GB RAM
Pricing
Pixel: Rs 57,000/66,000
Apple iPhone 7: Rs 60,000/70,000/80,000
OnePlus 3T: Rs 29,999/34,999
Galaxy S7: Rs 43,299 (approx)