Last year we had a lot of flagship smartphones from different manufacturers. However, most of these phones are equipped with 7nm chips. This year saw a big jump in the use of the 5nm process, and performance has improved. We've seen chips like the Snapdragon 888, Exynos 2100 and Exynos 1080, all of which use Samsung's 5nm process.
It is interesting that smartphones with these new chips are already available, although we are only in the second month of the year. This article examines the top 10 flagships that will appear on the market in January 2021. If you're looking to buy a flagship smartphone in 2021, you may need this list.
Xiaomi Mi 11
Xiaomi Mi 11 is the first flagship smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC processor. This device features a 6,81-inch (3200 × 1440 pixels) Quad HD + AMOLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate.
As for the camera, it has a 108 MP main camera, as well as a 13 MP ultra-wide-angle lens with a 123 ° viewing angle. This phone also uses a 5MP telephoto camera to complete the triple camera setup.
As for video, it supports up to 8K video at 30fps. There is a 20 MP sensor on the front panel. On the software front, the Xiaomi Mi 11 runs MIUI 12 on top of Android 11.
The SD888 SoC (5nm Samsung chip) supports 8/12GB of LPPDDR5 RAM and 128/256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Under the hood, we also have a 4600mAh battery that supports 55W fast wired charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and 10W wireless reverse charging.
Other features include dual SIM (nano + nano), in-screen fingerprint sensor with heart rate monitoring, 5G SA / NSA, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, etc.
- Launch date: December 28, 2020
- Starting price: RMB 3999 (~$612)
Article 7
IQOO 7 is only the second smartphone with Snapdragon 888 SoC. The main advantage of this device is the fast charging of the flash with a power of 120 W. This is one of the few flagship smartphones in the industry that uses such a powerful charging capacity. This charging power fully charges the 4000 mAh battery in less than 15 minutes.
This device features a 6,62-inch (2400 × 1080 pixels) Full HD + AMOLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. It also runs Android 11, but on top of Vivo's new OriginOS.
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The processor supports 8/12 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128/256 GB UFS 3.1 memory. It has a 16MP (f/2.0) selfie camera on the front and a triple camera setup on the back. In particular, it uses a 48 MP main camera, as well as a 13 MP wide-angle sensor with a 120 ° viewing angle and a 13 MP portrait camera. Other features include dual SIM (nano + nano), in-display fingerprint sensor, 5G SA / NSA, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, etc.
The iQOO 7 uses marine aluminum as the middle frame material, which has better corrosion resistance and strength. It also comes with a glass back cover made using the new AG technology and is 0,6mm thick.
On the front, the iQOO 7 uses a 120Hz full-screen display, with an instant touch sampling rate of 1000Hz and a touch reporting rate of 300Hz. It also supports four application scenarios with a refresh rate. The maximum brightness can reach 1300 nits and supports 4096 levels of brightness adjustment. In addition, this phone is certified by SGS low blue light and HDR10 + with high dynamic range.
Another advantage of this phone is its control system with full sensing. The control system with full control includes a pressure sensor with dual controls under the screen, a dual-line motor, as well as a dual speaker. Among them, the double pressure sensitivity adjustment under the screen can reflect the two working areas of the screen to any position in the game according to your own preferences. In addition, the dual-line motor supports two vibration units to create a sense of orientation and separation of vibration; the volume of the dual speakers reaches 71,5 dB.
- Launch date: January 11, 2021
- Starting price: 3798 yuan ($588)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of the best flagship smartphones we had in January 2021. The main advantage of this phone is probably its display. The Galaxy S21 Ultra does not use a conventional AMOLED display. It uses a special display that significantly reduces power consumption. The display is UL certified for excellent visibility in sunlight.
The new OLED display uses a new type of organic material with a brightness of 1500 nits or higher. This further improves visibility on the street.
This new display completely eliminates the dimming effect of outdoor smartphone displays. It is completely free from problems with external visibility. Samsung explains that this is possible because the display displays colors using a proprietary process that covers a wide color gamut. The result is a high degree of color saturation, as well as high color intensity. Thanks to this feature, OLED displays can now display a clear image even in bright light.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra uses both the Snapdragon 888 SoC and the Exynos 2100, depending on the market. However, both chips have a 5nm process. This device features a 6,8-inch (3200 × 1440 pixels) Quad HD + Infinity-O-Edge dynamic AMOLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. In the camera department, it uses a 108MP sensor + a 12MP 120 ° ultra-wide-angle sensor + a 10MP telephoto lens + a 10MP Periscope lens. There is a 40-megapixel camera on the front panel.
This phone comes with 12GB / 16GB RAM and 128GB / 256GB / 512GB internal storage. Under the hood, we also have a 5000mAh battery that supports 25W fast wired charging, 15W fast wireless charging, and 4,5W wireless reverse charging. Other features include IP68 waterproof / dustproof, dual SIM (nano + nano), in-screen fingerprint sensor with heart rate monitoring, 5G SA / NSA, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, etc.
- Launch date: January 14, 2021
- Starting price: $1199,99.
Vivo X60 Pro+
This smartphone comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip, LPDDR5 memory with a theoretical speed of 6400 Mbps and UFS 3.1 storage with a random write speed increased by 14%. On the front of the phone is a 6,5-inch flexible 3D AMOLED screen that supports 1300 nits brightness, HDR10 +, 120 Hz refresh rate and 240 Hz touch response rate. The curved AMOLED screen with holes has an aperture of 3,96 mm, a resolution of 2376 × 1080, a screen-to-body ratio of 92,7%. The contrast of the screen reaches 6000000:1.
The phone is powered by a 4200mAh battery magician, which supports 55W fast charging. This is much better than the previous 33 watts. The main camera of the phone contains two main sensors. One of them has a resolution of 50 MP, and the second main lens is a super wide-angle sensor on the microcloud platform at 48 MP. Also on the back is a 32-megapixel 2x portrait sensor and an 8-megapixel 5x periscope lens. On the front, we have a 32-megapixel sensor for selfies.
The main camera is a Samsung GN1 CMOS, and the secondary camera is a Sony IMX598 sensor with a 1/1,3-inch area and a pixel area of 1,2 µm. Vivo X60 Pro + modernizes the image stabilization function, providing a four-axis stabilization effect. At the same time, the X60 series also uses VIS five-axis video stabilization technology. This smartphone comes with 8/12GB of RAM and 128/256GB of built-in storage. The similar Vivo X60 and Vivo X60 Pro are other flagship smartphones, but they use the 5nm Exynos 1080 SoC. If this were a "top 10" list, they'd be on it.
- Launch date: January 21, 2021 р
- Starting price: 4998 yuan ($773)
Not yet on sale
iPhone 12 Pro Max
It's the only Apple phone on this list of flagship smartphones for January 2021. It's also the only device that doesn't use the Snapdragon 888 SoC. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is Apple's latest flagship iPhone powered by the 5nm A14 Bionic processor. This chip uses TSMC's 5-nanometer manufacturing process. This device features a 6,7-inch (2778 × 1284 pixels) Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 458 pixels per inch that supports a refresh rate of 60 Hz. In the camera department, it uses a triple rear camera. In particular, it has a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a resolution of 120 ° and a 12 MP telephoto lens. There is a 12 MP TrueDepth sensor on the front panel. On the software front, the iPhone 12 Pro Max runs on iOS 14.
In terms of memory, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has 6 GB of RAM and 128/256/512 GB of internal storage. Under the hood, we also have a 3687mAh battery that supports 20W fast wired charging and 15W fast wireless charging. Other features include dual SIM (nano + eSIM), Face ID, 5G (up to 6 GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, etc.
Launch date: October 12, 2020
Starting price: one thousand ninety-nine dollars
Visnovok
Our list of flagship smartphones for January 2021 shows that users need between $650 and $1200 to own a flagship smartphone. Which of these devices are worth the price? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
