April 2018 Smartphone Roundup!

April just ended. More phones still manage to come out last month. Are there phones worth your time? YES, but you have to find them. Here are smartphones worth your time. Despite how busy I got lately, here is my April 2018 smartphone roundup! Disclaimer: All links to Lazada or Poundit.com are affiliate links. They help keep the lights up on this blog!

April 2018 Smartphone Roundup

Huawei Y6 2018

Thanks to the might of Xiaomi’s presence, Huawei decided to step up their entry level smartphone game with the Huawei Y6 2018! This phone aims to give you more screen, more battery, and a Snapdragon processor at a price that a lot of people can afford to buy! If a fingerprint reader matters to you more, I’m afraid you won’t find one in this phone. You instead get Face Unlock which can get kinda iffy when done poorly. Notable Specs:

• 5.7-inch HD+ IPS LCD display (1440×720 resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio)
• Snapdragon 425 processor
• 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage
• microSD card support of up to 256GB
• 13MP rear camera with LED flash
• 5MP front camera with LED flash
• Android 8.0 Oreo (with EMUI 8.0 skin)

Price: P5,990 Where to Buy: Huawei stores and resellers, Lazada

Nokia 7 Plus

This is one of four new phones that Nokia announced at press events. One was in MWC 2018 last February and the rest were in Manila, Cebu, and Davao last month. The Nokia 7 Plus gives you a design that’s premium and features that would normally be in a flagship smartphone. It’s made from a single block of 6000 series aluminum that really feels good in the hand. I also love the Copper trim with the Black color. It really fits well with the Nokia aesthetic. Notable Specs:

• 6-inch 2160×1080 IPS LCD display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor
• 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage
• Dual rear camera system with ZEISS optics
  • 12MP sensor with f/1.75″ aperture with dual-tone flash
  • 13MP sensor with f/2.6″ aperture
• 16MP front camera with f/2.0″ aperture and ZEISS optics
• Headphone jack (because people still care, myself included)
• USB-C fast charging
• 3800 mAh battery (claims to have 2-day battery life)

Price: P21,990 Where to Buy: Nokia resellers, Lazada

OPPO F7

OPPO is killing it these days! From the time they came to Cebu two years ago to hold their press event of the OPPO F1s until now, they give us a really good selfie camera experience. This helped solidify their place as the Selfie Expert. With the F7, that claim goes up to 11 as they built their AI Beauty technology in both the front and rear cameras. I think this is one of the smartphones to beat this year! Notable Specs:

• 6.23-inch 2280×1080 display with 19:9 aspect ratio
• MediaTek Helio P60 processor
• 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage OR 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage
• Rear camera: 16MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture
• Front camera: 25MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture
• AI Beauty technology on both front and rear cameras
• microSD card slot support up to 256GB
• Dual 4G LTE SIM slots
• 3400 mAh battery

Price: P17,990 (64GB) / P21,990 (128GB) Where to Buy: OPPO Concept Stores, resellers, Lazada (64GB / 128GB)

New Nokia 6

Improving on the success of the Nokia 6 last year, the New Nokia 6 aims to be built to last. The New Nokia 6 has improved specs and cameras thanks to the ZEISS optics. This phone and the Nokia 7 Plus has this cool #Bothie feature. It uses both the front and rear cameras to take photos, videos, and even LIVE videos through Facebook and YouTube! Notable Specs:

• 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor
• 3/4 GB RAM, 32/64 GB internal storage
• microSD card support (up to 128GB)
• 16MP rear camera (f/2.0″ aperture, ZEISS optics)
• 8MP front camera (f/2.0″ aperture, 84º wide-angle lens)
• Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 802.11ac support
• USB-C with fast charging (up to 50% in 30 minutes)
• 3000 mAh battery

Price: P15,990 Release: May 14, 2018 Where to Pre-order: Nokia resellers

ASUS ZenFone Max (M1)

Building on the success of the ZenFone Max Plus (M1), ASUS launched a smaller version! It’s appropriately named the ZenFone Max M1. Its standout feature is the 4000 mAh battery in a small form factor! It’s amazing that we are still able to do these amazing phones for such a low price! Notable Specs:

• 5.5-inch HD+ (1440×720 resolution) IPS LCD display
• Snapdragon 430 processor
• 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage
• microSD card support up to 2TB (WOW!)
• Dual rear camera system
  • 13MP primary rear camera with LED Flash, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture
  • 8MP secondary rear camera with 120-degree wide-angle lens
• Dual front camera system
  • 13-megapixel/8-Megapixel front camera with 85° field of view, f/2.2
• Android 8.0 (with ZenUI 5.0 skin)

Price: P8,995 Where to Buy: ASUS Stores, Lazada

Nokia 1

For the longest time, I get pissed when a phone maker doesn’t even care about Android software updates. Some may do security updates a lot, but they generally ignore Android updates! This is why I’m so happy that all Nokia Android phones (including this one) are part of the Android One program. The Nokia 1 in particular uses a special version of Android Oreo. Android Oreo (Go Edition) powers the Nokia 1 and it feels fast. The Nokia 1 also marks the return of interchangeable Xpress-On Covers! Notable Specs:

• Android Oreo (Go Edition)
• Mediatek MT6737M processor
• 1GB RAM, 8GB eMMC internal storage
• Up to 128GB microSD card support
• 4.5-inch display
• 5MP rear camera
• 2MP front camera
• 2150mAh removable battery

Price: P4,290 Where to Buy: Nokia resellers, Lazada And that’s my April 2018 smartphone roundup! Did I miss a phone on this list? Interested to buy any of the phones I showed you? Leave your thoughts and your favorite of the bunch in the comments below! I may just give away one of these!

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