Fast Five: Most Expensive Local Smartphones

You’ve seen last week five of the country’s most expensive smartphones. In this Fast Five edition, we take a look at the priciest smartphones from our local brands that can be bought in the market today.

f5-mostexpensivelocalphones

Before we had the influx of bang-for-the-buck devices, there were the local flagships — some of which sport rather high price tags, and they are for you to decide if it’s justified or not. Here are five of the most expensive we’ve gathered around. Prices indicated are SRP prices as of December 4, 2015

5. Starmobile Knight Elite

knight elite_3

Announced back in September, the Knight Elite features 5-inch Full HD JDI display, an octa-core Snapdragon 615 chip, LTE connectivity, a 13 megapixel BSI camera, and Android Lollipop right out of the box. This one costs Php9,990USD 170INR 14,432EUR 162CNY 1,240. Check out our review here.

Starmobile Knight Elite specs:
5-inch In-Cell JDI Full HD display @ 1920 x 1080 resolution
Corning Gorilla Glass (front + rear)
1.5GHz 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor
Adreno 405 GPU
2GB LPDDR3 RAM
16GB internal storage
Expandable up to 32GB via microSD
13MP rear camera with BSI and LED flash
5MP front camera with flash
Dual-SIM
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
FM Radio
2600mAh battery
142 x 70.5 x 6.85mm (dimensions)
125 g (weight)

4. Starmobile Octa

starmobile-octa

Launched last year with a rather exorbitant Php16,990USD 290INR 24,544EUR 276CNY 2,108 price tag, the Starmobile Octa was on a league of its own back then — it’s a groundbreaking device as it was the only local phone that supports an octa-core processor, NFC, and wireless charging. Not to mention the long waiting time of a possibility of a software update and the freebies in tow, it can now be purchased in stores for Php10,990USD 187INR 15,876EUR 178CNY 1,364.

Starmobile Octa specs:
5.0-inch OGS display @ 1920×1080 pixels, 440ppi
Asahi Glass scratch resistant display
Mediatek MT6592 1.7GHz octa-core processor
Mali 450MP4 650Mhz quad-core
2GB RAM
32GB internal storage
HSPA+ up to 21Mbps
dual-SIM 3G micro-SIM
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
MHL
FM Radio tuner
GPS with aGPS support
18MP AF with BSI sensor, dual LED flash
8MP FF with BSI and LED flash
Li-Ion 2,300mAh
Android 4.2.2 Jellybean

3. MyPhone Infinity 2

myphone-infinity2

MyPhone’s latest premium flagship, the Infinity 2, touts a slim, high-grade aluminum-polycarbonate unibody combined with its good internals at for Php12,799USD 218INR 18,489EUR 208CNY 1,588.

MyPhone Infinity 2 specs:
5.0-inch HD AMOLED display, 294ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
1.5GHz MediaTek True octa-core 64-bit CPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD (uses SIM 2)
13MP Sony rear camera w/ LED flash
5MP front camera w/ flash
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby (micro + nano)
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi
Bluetooth
GPS, A-GPS
USB OTG
2,450mAh battery
Android 4.4 KitKat

2. Starmobile Knight Spectra

starmobile-knight-spectra-6

The Knight Spectra, like most Starmobile smartphones from the same product line, also has its own unique feature: a dual rear camera that can help in refocusing your still shots after you’ve taken them. This one’s available for Php14,990USD 255INR 21,655EUR 243CNY 1,860 in stores. While we’re still working on our full review, you may check out our hands-on and first impressions from its launch.

Starmobile Knight Spectra specifications:
5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display
64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core CPU
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage
microSD card support
13MP + 2MP dual-lens rear camera w/ LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, Re-focus
8MP front camera w/ flash
Dual-SIM
4G LTE, 3G
WiFi
Bluetooth
GPS, A-GPS
DTV Support
3,500mAh battery
Android Lollipop

1. Starmobile Knight X

knightx

Released more a year ago, the Starmobile Knight X still holds the record for being the most expensive locally-branded smartphone to purchase today at Php15,990USD 272INR 23,099EUR 260CNY 1,984. It’s also one of the first local smartphones to bear 3 Gigabytes of RAM, something that’s unheard from other local brands at that time.

Starmobile Knight X specs:
5.5-inch Full HD IPS display @ 1920 x 1080 resolution
Scratch-resistant glass
MediaTek MT6595M octa-core CPU (2.0GHz quad-core Cortex-A17 and 1.7GHz quad-core Cortex-A7)
PowerVR IMG Rogue G6200 GPU
3GB RAM
32 GB internal storage (non-expandable)
13MP rear camera with Sony Exmor RS IMX135 sensor, dual LED flash, and F2.2 aperture
5MP front camera
Dual-SIM
3G, LTE
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC
USB OTG support
IR blaster
3,350mAh battery
152 x 77.7 x 8.9 mm

And that’s it for our list of the most expensive local devices this year. Do you think we missed something? Hop in the comments section below.

13 Comments

starmobile sucks says:

9 years ago

starmobile thinks their products are competitively priced but they are not
- Reply
inis says:

9 years ago

pinakyaw ng starmobile ah..
- Reply
JAMES says:

9 years ago

well. they deserve to be. i wish star mobile has completed the list without any other brand included. hehe
- Reply
Paul says:

9 years ago

Over at Lazada PH the Knight X sells for 12,990 pesos which is 3,000 less from its original launch price.

If the price cut applies to retail too then the Knight Spectra is now the most expensive local smartphone.
- Reply
YOU CAN BET YOUR LAST MONEY ON THIS says:

9 years ago

we won’t be surprised
if starmobile would also
dominate the list of

FAST FIVE:
THE MOST UNSOLD
LOCAL BRAND…

we are all quite sure
that this also holds true…

we are betting our last
centavo on this fact…
- Reply
Easy E says:

9 years ago

Ganyan. Ganyan ang dapat gawin para malugi. Gudlak starmobile
- Reply
Mr.X says:

9 years ago

And i think, the price will shoot up higher. Imagine an Apple Exec on their team? Another addition to their already exorbitant price. I really don’t know how a man expert with high-end techs could help them be locally competitive when the market is a battle of Bang-for-the-Buck.
- Reply
Ross Nepomuceno says:

9 years ago

wow puros starmobile, mahirap i resale yan kung sakali nag sawa kana.
- Reply
archie says:

9 years ago

Compared sa huawei p8 lite at oppo r7 lite, mas mataas na ang spec ng knight elite at mas manipis ang handset. Kung sa huawei g8 at lenovo vibe shot naman,ok na din ang price vs. spec ng spectra considering na snapdragon 615 at malaki ang battery. Malinaw na din ang mga camera at maayos din ang battery management ng mga bago nilang release. Ayaw ko din ng mga unang model ng starmobile pero after ng knight luxe, nag improve na ang mga products nila. Worth to mention din na 12 out of 16gb ang usable storage sa ibang handsets nila, may built-in anti-virus at hindi amoled ang gamit sa elite kaya di ka magwoworry sa amoled burn-in problems na nararanasan sa ibang local handsets. First hand experience ko ito base na din sa mga kamag anak kong naka-elite kaya depende din sa experience ng ibang user kung namamahalan sila sa 9900 na snapdragon 615.
- Reply
NAKIKIRAMAY LANG PO... says:

9 years ago

R I P :

STARMOBILE

Died – December 2015
- Reply
Kenneth says:

9 years ago

Asan yung Cosmos One Plus na pangontra sana sa Knight X ? Kung 64bit at may Lollipop OTA lang sana yun eh the best na yun at nagmura na sya may nakita ako 8k na lang sya.
- Reply