Top Smartphones Above Php20K (Mid-2017)

We’ve officially kicked off our mid-year guide on the top smartphones you can buy here in the Philippines for a specific budget. Yesterday, we’ve shared the Top Smartphones Above Php30K and today, we bring down the price range to phones that cost no less than Php20K. Let’s begin!

Author’s note: The smartphones listed below are those that have officially launched in the Philippines from January to June 2017. The list is arranged in alphabetical order.

ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom

The ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom is not the company’s first “zoom” smartphone. In 2015, they released the original Zenfone Zoom, however, it didn’t get enough traction considering the price and competition. After two years, ASUS revived the Zenfone 3 Zoom with a fairly strong combination of premium build, dual rear cameras, capable specs, and large battery.

ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom (ZE553KL) specs:
5.5-inch Super AMOLED display @ 1920 x 1080 pixels
2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core CPU
Adreno 506 GPU
4GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB, 64GB, 128GB internal storage
Expandable via microSD, up to 2TB (uses SIM 2 slot)
Dual 12MP laser AF rear camera (2.3x optical zoom) w/ dual-LED flash, OIS
13-megapixel front-facing camera
Dual SIM
4G LTE
FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 26, 28)
TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
WCDMA (Bands 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 19)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS with aGPS support, GLONAS, BDSS
Fingerprint scanner
USB Type-C
5,000mAh Li-Ion battery w/ quick charging, reverse charging
Android 6.0 Marshmallow w/ Zen UI 3.0
154.3 x 77 x 7.99 mm (dimensions)
170 grams (weight)
Navy Black, Glacier Silver, Rose Gold

BlackBerry KeyOne

The BlackBerry KeyOne is one of the first smartphones announced during MWC week. It has a 4.5-inch display, Snapdragon 625 CPU, 3,505mAh battery, Android 7.1 Nougat, and a physical keyboard. It is being offered at online store Widget City for under Php28K.

BlackBerry KeyOne specs:
4.5-inch IPS LCD display @ 1620×1080 pixels, 434ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 2.0GHz octa-core chip
Adreno 605 graphics
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage
Up to 256GB via microSD card
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.2
NFC
12MP f/2.0 PDAF rear camera (Sony IMX378 sensor), dual-LED, dual-tone flash
8MP front-facing camera
GPS with aGPS support, GLONASS
FM radio tuner
USB Type C
Fingerprint sensor
3505mAh Li-Ion battery
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Android 7.1 Nougat
149.3 x 72.5 x 9.4 mm
180 g
Price: Php27,950 (Widget City)

Honor V9

Back in February, Huawei’s Honor brand launched a new smartphone for the Chinese market that packs a 5.7-inch QHD display, Kirin 960 CPU, up to 6GB RAM, dual 12MP rear cameras, and 4,000mAh battery – the Honor V9. It’s not officially available in the Philippines but it has made its way here through online stores.

Honor V9 specs:
5.7-inch QHD LTPS display, 515ppi
2.4GHz HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core CPU
Mali-G71 MP8 GPU
4GB RAM + 64GB storage
6GB RAM + 64GB / 128GB storage
microSD up to 128GB (via SIM 2)
Dual 12MP rear camera PDAF + Laser AF, dual-tone flash
8MP front camera
4G LTE, VoLTE Dual-SIM (Nano)
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
NFC
USB 2.0 Type-C
Fingerprint scanner
Android 7.0 Nougat w/ EMUI 5.0
4,000mAh non-removable battery
157 x 77.5 x 6.97 mm
184g
Price: Php24,500 (Widget City)

Huawei P10

Huawei made a splash in this year’s Mobile World Congress when it announced their newest flagship handsets, the Huawei P10 and the P10 Plus. As a successor to P9, the Huawei P10 introduced a few more improvements both in the design aspect as well as in the hardware department.

Huawei P10 specs:
5.1-inch full HD display @ 1920×1080 pixels, 431ppi
Gorilla Glass 5
HiSilicon Kirin 960 2.4GHz octa-core processor
4 x ARM Cortex-A73 2.4GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53 1.8GHz
Mali-G71MP8 GPU
4GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB, 64GB internal storage
Expandable to 256GB via microSD card (hybrid — uses SIM2 slot)
Dual-SIM, Dual Standby
4G LTE
20MP monochrome + 12MP color f/2.2 dual rear cameras with dual-LED Flash, OIS
8MP f/1.9 front camera
WiFi 802.11ac (2×2 MiMo)
Bluetooth 4.2 LE
GPS (Huawei Geo Technology), GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
NFC
Fingerprint Scanner
Android Nougat with EMUI 5.1
3,200mAh Li-Ion battery with Super Charge
145.3 x 69.3 x 7mm (dimensions)
145 grams (weight)
Price: Php28,990 (64GB)

OnePlus 5 

OnePlus has just announced its latest flagship smartphone that sports high-end specs. With a powerful Snapdragon 835 CPU, up to 8GB RAM, up to 128GB storage, and dual rear cameras, this is the company’s ‘flagship killer’ for 2017.

OnePlus 5 specs:
5.5-inch Optic AMOLED @ 1920 x 1080 pixels, 401ppi
2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
2.45GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core CPU
Adreno 540 GPU
6GB / 8GB RAM LPDDR4X 64GB / 128GB UFS 2.1 Dual Lane storage
16MP f/1.7 Sony IMX398 + 20MP f/2.6 2x telephoto rear cameras w/ dual LED flash
16MP front-facing camera
Dual-SIM (Nano)
LTE-A Cat12
Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2×2 MIMO
Bluetooth 5.0
NFC
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
USB Type-C (USB 2.0)
Fingerprint sensor
Dirac HD Sound
Dirac Power Sound
3300mAh battery w/ Dash Charge (5V 4A)
Oxygen OS based on Android Nougat
152.7 x 74.7 x 7.25 mm
153 g
Midnight Black, Slate Gray
Price: Php27,300 (6GB + 64GB Gray)

OPPO F3 Plus

This selfie-centric phone from OPPO is one of its biggest handsets yet. It’s got a large display and powerful specs but the main attraction is its dual front-facing camera. As a likely successor to the F1 Plus, OPPO jumps onto the dual camera wagon with two front shooters combining a narrow and a wide FOV.

OPPO F3 Plus specs:
6-inch Full HD IPS LCD display @ 1920 x 1080 pixels
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 1.9GHz octa-core processor (MSM8976 Pro)
Adreno 510 Graphics
4GB LPDDR4 RAM
64GB internal storage
Expandable via microSD up to 256GB (uses SIM2 slot)
16MP f/2.0 normal + 8MP 120-degree wide-angle front cameras
16MP f/1.7 rear AF camera with Dual-tone LED Flash, Dual PDAF, 4K video support
4G LTE
Dual SIM (nano, hybrid)
Dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS w/ aGPS
Gyroscope
OPPO ColorOS 3.0 (Android 6.0 Marshmallow)
4,000mAh Li-Ion battery (non-removable) with VOOC fast charging
163.63 x 80.8 x 7.35mm (dimensions)
185g (weight)
Price: Php23,990

Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro

It’s not only OnePlus 3/3T who gets the fame of having 6GB of RAM on an Android smartphone as Samsung also has one. They have a 6-inch handset and they packed it with decent internals inside a familiar chassis.

Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro specs:
6-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, 367ppi
1.95GHz Snapdragon 653 octa-core processor
Adreno 510 GPU
6GB RAM
64GB internal storage
Expandable to 256GB via microSD card
16MP PDAF rear camera with f/1.9 aperture and dual-tone LED flash
16MP front camera with f/1.9 aperture
Dual-SIM (Nano)
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
USB Type-C
Cirrus Hi-Fi audio codec
Samsung Pay via NFC and MST
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
4,000mAh non-removable battery
162.9 x 80.7 x 6.9mm
189 grams
Price: Php27,990

Xiaomi Mi 6

If you’ve been searching for a smartphone with Snapdragon 835 that doesn’t break the bank, all you have to search for is Xiaomi. Launched just last April, the handset has 2017 flagship features you’d expect but not as expensive as the others.

Xiaomi Mi 6 specs:
5.15-inch IPS LCD @ 1920 x 1080 pixels, 428ppi
2.45GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core CPU
Adreno 540 GPU
6GB LPDDR4x RAM
64GB/128GB UFS internal storage
Dual 12MP (27mm, f/1.8, 4-axis OIS; and 52mm, f/2.6) PDAF rear camera w/ dual-tone LED flash
8MP front-facing camera
Dual-SIM (Nano)
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2×2 MU-MIMO)
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS w/ a-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
NFC
IR blaster
USB Type-C
Fingerprint scanner
Splash-resistant body
Stereo speakers
Gyroscope
3350mAh non-removable Li-Po battery w/ Quick Charge 3.0
Android 7.1.1 Nougat w/ MIUI 8
145.2 x 70.5 x 7.5 mm
168 g
Price: Php24,600 (64GB) | Php28,500 (128GB)