Christmas Gift Guide 2016: Best Smartphones Above Php30K

And we are off to the last leg of our Christmas Guide for smartphones. If you want to treat yourself or somebody else with the best of the best mobile phones money can buy, here’s a listing of those above Php30,000USD 511INR 43,338EUR 487CNY 3,723 which are mostly flagships.

Table of Contents

Apple

Since we’re doing this list alphabetically, let’s start with Apple. The latest and fresh iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are an easy bet if you want a smartphone that’ll do its thing. Of course, it doesn’t come cheap even for the base storage option but it’s an iPhone with all the latest the Cupertino giant can offer.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

The iPhone 7 starts at Php37,990USD 647INR 54,880EUR 617CNY 4,715 and the larger and more equipped iPhone 7 Plus starts at Php44,990USD 767INR 64,993EUR 730CNY 5,583

Asus

For the Taiwanese tech giant, their Zenfone 3 line is their core offering although, like before, they have a grander variant under the moniker of Deluxe. The Zenfone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL) is pretty big with its 5.7-inch AMOLED display but it packs a Snapdragon 820 chipset and 6GB of RAM. It also has a 23MP main shooter with both optical image stabilization and electronic stabilization for smooth and blur-free captures.

Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (ZS570KL)

This is one officially retails at Asus stores and retailers for Php34,995USD 596INR 50,554EUR 568CNY 4,343. You may read our review about it here.

Google

While Google’s new phones did not arrive officially in PH, there a few parallel importers who brought both the Pixel and Pixel XL. The handsets are almost identical with each other and they mainly differ in size and battery capacity. The Pixel smartphones are Google’s latest vision of how they want Android to be offered to consumers. They even brag about its high rated camera performance for smartphone shooters.

Google Pixel

The Google Pixel is listed on Widget City for Php40,500USD 690INR 58,506EUR 657CNY 5,026 (listing here) with the bigger Pixel XL goes for Php48,500USD 826INR 70,063EUR 787CNY 6,019 (listing here).

LG

How about LG? Its LG V20 is surprisingly the first smartphone to have the latest Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box plus it’s a power user dream! Removable battery, full manual controls in both stills and video, large screen, and everything latest.

LG V20

The V20 currently retails for Php35,990USD 613INR 51,991EUR 584CNY 4,466 and it comes with a B&O Play earphone included in the box. Read our review here.

Motorola

Motorola came back to life in the country with a bang. Moto’s top offering, Moto Z, is our preferred modular phone although its selection is quite pricey, but still it’s completely available in the Philippines. It’s got Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM, and loads of accessories to choose from. Its design is also attractive and extremely thin.

Moto Z

The Moto Z goes for Php33,999USD 579INR 49,115EUR 552CNY 4,219 while the Moto Mods starts at Php699USD 12INR 1,010EUR 11CNY 87 up to Php14,999USD 256INR 21,668EUR 243CNY 1,861. You may know more about it through our review here.

Samsung

For Samsung, the early offering of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge is its top offering for now since the Galaxy Note 7 is officially unavailable in the market. No worries as both the 7th generation of its Galaxy S flagships offers top of the line specifications and still among the best smartphone cameras to date.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

The Galaxy S7 retails for Php31,990USD 545INR 46,213EUR 519CNY 3,970 while the bigger and sexier S7 Edge goes for Php35,990USD 613INR 51,991EUR 584CNY 4,466. Our review for the Galaxy S7 can be read here while for the Galaxy S7 Edge here.

Sony

For Sony, they have the Xperia XZ. The first Xperia Xs are not exactly of flagship caliber and it’s a good thing they came up with the XZ complete with water-resistance. The XZ’s prowess is its focusing system with the tandem of PDAF and Laser AF. It just got updated to Nougat too, if you want the latest Android flavor.

The smartphone retails in stores for Php37,990USD 647INR 54,880EUR 617CNY 4,715. Here’s our review.

Xiaomi

While Xiaomi is known to offer bang-for-the-buck devices, they also have something nice and expensive. When we say nice, it’s really a gorgeous device which is no other than the Mi Mix. Probably the most interesting device to have now, the Mi Mix offers beauty and also power with its SD821, up to 6GB RAM, and up to 256GB internal storage.

Of course, it’s not officially available in PH but they are ways get your hands on it. Widget City lists the Mi Mix for Php37,600USD 641INR 54,317EUR 610CNY 4,666 for the 4GB + 128GB variant or go for the superb 6GB + 256GB at Php41,600USD 709INR 60,095EUR 675CNY 5,163 (see listing here). We have our video review here.

And that wraps up our guides for Christmas 2016. Hope you guys have a wonderful Holidays ahead of you!