While everyone else is busy with their expensive flagship phones, there are those who enjoy using affordable but powerful smartphones. Yes, Apple and Samsung's premium devices are undeniably worth their price, however, going for their affordable competitions is actually a clever thing to do. You can see how quick premium phones get outdated when their successors get unveiled. If you go for a less expensive option, shifting from successor to successor won't do too much damage to your pocket. Here are some of the best underrated phones of the year:
ZTE Axon 7
Announced May and released in June, the ZTE Axon 7 is one of the most competitively spec's smartphones on the market. It's quite on the affordable end of the pricing spectrum but it did not compromise any major specs. In fact, it doesn't seem to have compromised anything at all. It has a big 5.5-inch display with an impressive 538 pixels per inch density and it is equipped with a sufficient 4 GB worth of RAM. It's also powered by one of this year's best processors, the Snapdragon 820. It's 20 MP rear cam and 8 MP front cam are also a surprising addition to the already-perfect specs sheet of the ZTE Axon 7.
OnePlus 3
For half the price of most flagships, you can get a powerful smartphone with 6 GB RAM and Snapdragon 820 processor. The OnePlus 3 isn't only a strong competitor to premium flagships, it's also a big competition to midrange phones. It's practically affordable and it has everything you'd need in a smartphone. OnePlus 3 has a 16 MP rear camera, 8 MP camera, a fingerprint scanner and a massive 5.5-inch display.
Xiaomi Mi 5s
The Xiaomi Mi 5s has just been announced this September and it has just been released this month. The phone boasts of its 5.15-inch display with 3D Touch and it also boasts of its fast Snapdragon 821 processor. As per GSM Arena, the Mi 5s comes in two storage variants - one with 64 GB storage and 3 GB RAM and one with 128 GB storage and 4 GB RAM,
HTC 10
The HTC 10 may be a little more expensive than the rest of the group but it's because the phone is worth its high price. Its display with 565 PPI density isn't something you see every day. It's also equipped with all the necessary specs you'd expect from a 2016 smartphone. It's got a fingerprint sensor, a fast Snapdragon 820 processor, fast battery charging capability and a sufficient 3000 mAh battery.
Huawei P9
Released last April, the Huawei P9 is also surprisingly impressive. Just like most flagship phone from this year, the Huawei P9 also comes with 32GB/64 GB storage and 3GB/4GB RAM. It also has a fast-charging 3000 mAh battery and a fingerprint sensor. On top of these, the P9 also boasts of its dual 12 MP rear camera that Tech Radar commends for Huawei's sense of innovation.
Overall, these smartphones are just some of the best non-premium phones this year. They may not have the luxurious feels of the iPhones and Galaxy phones, but they do possess everything you'd need in a smartphone, and probably even more. If all you're looking for is a fast performer and a sophisticated phone, then these five smartphones got you covered.
