GoKawiilOther Good International Phones
These phones are worth considering if you have yet to see something you like.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Oppo Find N6 for $1,959: Touting a creaseless 8.12-inch display, the Find N6 is a beautifully engineered folding phone that’s impossibly slim and light. Despite the promise, the crease is still discernible, but you’ll hardly notice it when the screen is on, though you’ll feel it if you use the optional stylus. Performance is impressively slick, with enough stamina to see you through a busy day, and the camera system is excellent. It’s a big step up over last year’s N5, with a 200-MP main shooter, 50-MP telephoto, and 50-MP ultrawide, though it can’t quite compete with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra above. The global model has all your familiar Google apps, but you’ll have to import if you want it, as the phone is not going to be officially released in the West. That’s the main reason it fails to edge out Honor’s foldable above.
Infinix Note 60 Ultra for $750: Designed with the help of Pininfarina, famous for iconic cars from Ferrari and Maserati, the Note 60 Ultra looks interesting, with a distinctive curved glass section over the camera module that also houses a small matrix display. The phone arrives in a grand box with a curvy car-shaped wireless charger. The specs are solid, apart from the distinctly not “Ultra” chipset (MediaTek’s Dimensity 8400 Ultimate), but availability appears to be very limited for now.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max for $1,033: With a refreshing design featuring a second, smaller screen on the back that encompasses the camera lenses, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max and 17 Pro are a little different. Xiaomi came up with various cute ways to employ this auxiliary display, including selfie preview for superior selfies with the main camera, music controls, customizable themes, and virtual pets. There’s even a retro gaming case that lets you play Angry Birds on there, though it feels a bit silly when there’s a 6.7-inch screen on the other side. Aside from the second screen, the 17 Pro Max is a typical Xiaomi specs beast, and the 17 Pro isn’t far behind, but neither has been officially released outside of China yet.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Oppo Find X9 Pro for £1,099: Photography fans must check out the Oppo Find X9 Pro. The 200-megapixel telephoto lens supports 3X optical zoom and can take excellent shots at 6X zoom by cropping images down to 50 megapixels. But to kick things up a notch, you’ll need the detachable Hasselblad Teleconverter Kit. This enormous lens slots into place on the case and adds another 3.28X zoom, though it’s tricky to use without a tripod. An additional trio of 50-MP lenses, with all four supporting 4K video recording at 60 fps with HDR, makes this a great pick for creatives. Impressive specs include a 6.78-inch flat display, IP66/68/69 ratings, and a 7,500-mAh silicon-carbon battery that’s good for two days.
Xiaomi Poco F8 Ultra for £749 and F8 Pro for £549: Xiaomi’s cheaper, fun, youthful brand Poco gives it room to experiment, but the company’s own 15T Pro is a better buy in this price bracket. What the F8 Ultra offers that you won’t find elsewhere is a fun or awful (depending on your tastes) denim finish on the back. There are also Bose-tuned speakers, an excellent 6.9-inch display, and an enormous 6,500 mAh battery. It also has a flagship-level Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and generous RAM and storage. There’s even a trio of 50-MP lenses in the camera. The F8 Pro is slightly smaller, but drops little from the spec sheet, making it the better bargain.
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