The smartphone industry is very competitive thanks to the fact that many manufacturers out there are trying to outsmart each other with new phones that carry great specs and features, but this only makes life harder for mainstream consumers.
With prices for smartphones in the high-end class keep escalating, many are now turning to the midrange class where you’ll find the likes of OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T, BlackBerry DTEK60 as well as the ZTE Axon 7. One would argue that these phones are not midrangers based on their hardware configurations, but looking at their prices in comparison to premium handsets in the market, it is easy to agree that they are indeed midrangers.
So, which of these three phones offers the best in terms of performance specs and price? Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
BlackBerry DTEK60
BlackBerry DTEK60 is the follow-up to last year’s BlackBerry Priv, but unlike the latter, the former came in with a very affordable price yet carrying the same high-end specs found in the likes of Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Priced at just $499, the BlackBerry DTEK60 is one phone you’ll love to own thanks to the fact that it has the most up to date hardware and as you all know, the Canadian company takes security matters very seriously.
Made by TCL, the BlackBerry DTEK60 has a huge 5.5-inch AMOLED screen with a QHD resolution that is associated with high-end phones. Remember the Google Nexus 6P? Well, this phone has just taken its place, packing the latest Snapdragon 820 SoC alongside 4GB RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. The battery stands at 3000mAh while the back of the phone has a massive 21MP snapper.
Powered by Android Marshmallow out of the box, the BlackBerry DTEK60 also ships with BB’s own customizations with respect to security, making it the most secure Android phone on the planet right now. At just $499, you will be having the smartphone of your life, if not the year.
OnePlus 3T
After releasing OnePlus 3T, the Chinese OEM did away with the original OnePlus 3. The phone is actually the most powerful in terms of specs, carrying a 5.5-inch AMOLED screen like the BlackBerry DTEK60, but there is Full HD resolution instead of QHD. Under the hood, you get a more advanced Snapdragon 821 SoC alongside a huge RAM of 6GB paired with either 64GB or 128GB of non-expandable storage. There is a decent 16MP snapper on the back alongside a similar selfie camera while the battery capacity exceeds the BlackBerry DTEK60 by 400mAh.
Still, you get a fingerprint scanner, fast charging technology as well as Android Marshmallow out of the box, yet the phone is priced at just $439 for the base model while an extra $40 will earn you the 128GB variant. What a great deal you got yourself here!
ZTE Axon 7
If you thought the OnePlus 3T and BlackBerry DTEK60 are the best phones priced under $500, wait until you meet the ZTE Axon 7 flagship. Like the rest of the team, the Axon 7 comes in with a decent 5.5-inch AMOLED display screen that ships with a QHD resolution. Under the hood, the Axon 7 shares the same processor and RAM with the DTEK60, but you get a slightly higher storage of 64GB on the base model. This storage can be expanded via a microSD card like the BlackBerry DTEK60, but the phone has a 3250mAh battery capacity that falls between the two other handsets.
The camera of the Axon 7 has a 20MP snapper on the back while the selfie stands at 8MP. Like the rest, you get a fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C, fast charging as well as Android Marshmallow out of the box. Similarly, the Axon 7 is priced at $499, just like BlackBerry DTEK60, but there is a lower end model of the phone that costs $350.
In case you are worried, all three phones will be updated to Android Nougat very soon. In fact, it is only the BlackBerry DTEK60 that has not yet received a beta version of this OS. As for the other two, the beta tests are ongoing and a stable release should start in the near future.