Top 5 High-end Smartphones In India: The Very Best In The Business Today!

In an earlier post we addressed the top 5 4G LTE budget phones in India, but the Indian smartphone market has also seen some amazing high-end smartphones being released over the last few years. Let’s take a look at the top 5 high-end smartphones in India, in no particular order, as of today.

Samsung Galaxy S6

Earlier this year Samsung, at the Mobile World Congress, announced the launch of their new flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S6. This is truly the phone that could make or break Samsung’s mobile division. The Galaxy S6 has a 5.1 inch display with around 577 ppi in pixel density. Powered by an Android 5.0.2 Lollilop OS, this beast from Samsung boasts of a Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57 CPU, and an Exynos 7420 chipset. The 3GB RAM on-board and the 32 GB internal memory add to these spectacular specs.

The Galaxy S6 comes with a 16 megapixel primary camera with optical image stabilization, autofocus, and LED flash. The secondary 5 megapixel camera comes with dual-video call and auto HDR. Interestingly the S6 comes with a battery of 2550 mAh, not the best in the business currently, in terms of specs, but it does last long enough for it to be deemed acceptable by consumers. The Samsung Galaxy S6 32 GB model is currently available on Snapdeal for Rs. 49,900.

Apple iPhone 6

The iPhone 6, with a 4.7 inch display, has clearly been a consumer favorite since its launch last year. It has brought back the aura around Apple products that was missing for the last couple of years. The iPhone 6 comes with iOS 8 and a dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone CPU coupled with PowerVR GX6450 quad-core graphics, running on an Apple A8 chipset. The varying iPhone 6 models provide internal memory starting from a 16 GB model right up to a 128 GB model. The RAM on-board the iPhone 6 is a 1 GB RAM.

The battery on the iPhone 6 is a Li-Po 1810 mAh battery and the primary camera is an 8 megapixel camera with phase detection autofocus and dual-LED flash, with a 1.2 megapixel secondary camera that has face detection, HDR, and FaceTime over Wi-Fi or cellular network.

While the specs on-board the iPhone 6 aren’t the most competitive specs in the market when compared to some of its Android counterparts, the fact is that this is the only other high quality non-Android experience available in the market. The 16 GB model of the iPhone 6 is available through ShopClues for Rs. 44,949.

HTC One M8

While the HTC One M8 has now been around for a year it still is one of the most desirable smartphones in the market. The HTC One M8 initially came with the Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS but it is also upgradable to Android Lollipop. Bundled with a 2.5 GHz CPU which is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 chipset, the HTC One M8 was one of the top performers of 2014. It comes with 16 GB and 32 GB internal memory models accompanied by a microSD up to 128 GB running on a 2 GB RAM.

The HTC One M8 came with a radically different approach to the primary camera option when it offered 4 megapixel duo camera as primary cameras and a 5 megapixel secondary camera. A 5 inch display and a pixel density of 441 ppi were also some of the top specs in the market at the time of its release in 2014. In fact these are still extremely competitive specs when compared to some of the other smartphones in the high-end category. The HTC One M8 came with a Li-Po 2600 mAh battery in early 2014, which kind of makes the Samsung Galaxy S6 battery specs a year later look slightly outdated.

The HTC One M8 already has a successor in the HTC One M9 coming through but there is no doubt that it is still an extremely worthy competitor to the rest of the high-end smartphone brigade. The HTC One M8 is currently available through ShopClues for Rs. 33,000.

OnePlus One

Released in mid-2014 the OnePlus One brand came to India with much fanfare and expectations following the infiltration of the online sales market by its Chinese rival Xiaomi. The OnePlus brand didn’t disappoint with its first flagship offering in India, the OnePlus One.

With a display of 5.5 inches, the OnePlus also has a presence in the phablet category. At the time of its launch the OnePlus One came with the Android v4.4.2 KitKat OS which received an upgrade to v4.4.4. The OnePlus One comes with a quad-core 2.5 GHz CPU powered by a Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 chipset, running on a 3 GB RAM. It also offers internal memory starting at 16 GB. The primary camera of the OnePlus is a terrific 13 megapixel beast which also offers autofocus and dual-LED flash. The secondary camera is a very decent 5 megapixel camera.

The battery on-board the OnePlus One is an industry benchmark at 3100 mAh. This spec surely makes the rest of the high-end pack look a little out of sync with the times, which isn’t really the case because it’s extremely hard to offer such a high spec on the battery, so full credit to OnePlus One for providing the customer this amazing spec. Now comes the best part about the OnePlus, the price. Available at ebay for an incredible Rs. 19,991, for its 16 GB model, the OnePlus One clearly scores over its rivals in this respect. However, it is important to mention that this has only been made possible due to the latest trend of online-only sales that a number of e-commerce marketplaces have facilitated in the last year or so in India.

Xiaomi Mi 4

The last smartphone on our list of the top 5 high-end smartphones currently available in India is the groundbreaking Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi‘s flagship product, the Mi 4. The Mi 4 is the successor to Xiaomi’s previous flagship, the Mi 3.

The Mi 4 came with impressive specs: 5 inch display, 2.5 GHz processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, 3 GB RAM, 13 megapixel rear camera, 8 megapixel front camera, and Android 4.4, 3080 mAh battery. But Xiaomi brings a lot more to the table than just the specs on the hardware, it also brings its amazing app ecosystem called the MIUI and the Mi 4 came with the latest version of the MIUI, the MIUI 6.

Also, after Motorola, Xiaomi was the first brand to truly capture the public’s imagination with online pre-booking on e-commerce platforms. With Xiaomi’s brilliant marketing strategy bearing great results, the Mi 4 further helped Xiaomi cement its place as one of the world’s leading smartphone companies. The 16 GB model of the Xiaomi Mi 4 is currently available through Flipkart for just Rs. 19,999.