In the past two years or so, one word has become increasingly popular in the mobile industry: flagship.
The new flagship from Samsung. What's the best flagship of 2015? it new flagship company X?
It is used everywhere, and almost every new high-quality smartphone is called a flagship. But what is a flagship smartphone really? What does this term actually mean? Are we using it correctly?
By Wikipedia, the flagship is the best on this moment a model, most importantly, produced in a particular organization.
From this we can understand that the technical characteristics do not in any way determine belonging to the flagships. Let's take the most good model from explay (Explay AIR) and with its meager characteristics, it is still a flagship, although it did not stand next to the same Samsung Galaxy S6.
Roots of this term go to the navy. The word flagship originated as a naval term used to describe the most important ship in the fleet - or a ship carrying a commanding officer. It also explains why, especially in the mobile industry, the term has become so popular, and ... overused.
If the flagship is the nicest and most revered ship in the fleet at the moment, then naturally the highest-end smartphone in the company is considered its flagship, right? In most cases, absolutely. But the term is losing its meaning, and not only because of the media.
About a month ago, everyone was expecting the release of the Lumia 730 and Lumia 830. And none of them even claimed the title of flagship. If Microsoft hadn't blurted out the slogan: “830 is the first affordable flagship”.
What does this even mean, I'm sorry Bill, but the Lumia 935 is more like a flagship, and it costs no less than the flagships of other companies? 
In terms of mobile phones, or even more specifically from Samsung's point of view, which model can we call a flagship?
Samsung releases dozens of phone models every year. Of course, only a few stand out on the never-ending list. Samsung smartphones: Galaxy S5 and S6, Galaxy Note 4, and currently Galaxy Alpha series of smartphones. Of these, Galaxy Alpha is definitely not a flagship brand.
The other two are regularly referred to as flagships, but that can't be, can it? There is only one flagship.
The flagship has become almost synonymous with "high-end" or "premium", it is not right.
So how to define such a smartphone - by specification, price, or sales volume. I think the flagship doesn't even have to be absolute best phone in the company's lineup. I would say a flagship smartphone is the one that brings the best profit, sells better than others.
The arms race in the smartphone market is an exciting process that leaves few people indifferent. In recent years, the presentations of such giants as Apple or Samsung have become central events in the cultural life of all mankind, and how tomorrow will look depends on their outcome.
In order to keep up with the course of history, we have collected and analyzed the most significant models of the most famous brands today and present to your judgment the flagships of smartphones of 2018-2019, which will surprise you a lot if you have not updated your mobile device for a long time.
No. 10 - Meizu Pro 7
Price: 32,000 rubles 
Since the mobile phone market was changed once and for all by the arrival of the first iPhone, design has been largely off the agenda. No, of course, every year the gadgets became more and more perfect, they fitted an increasingly incredible screen into a compact body, experimented with colors and materials, but in general, we haven't seen anything fundamentally new for a long time. Meizu developers decided to break the calm and released a device with a second screen on the rear panel, which caused discussions that have not subsided until now about whether this makes a practical sense or whether the Chinese engineers were just trying to stand out from the competition.
Well, it turned out to stand out, but not only by the display. Chinese flagships of smartphones in 2018-2019 ceased to look like amusing imperfections, Meizu Pro 7 combines high-performance hardware with stylish design and stunning ergonomics, the quality of the dual camera module does not leave you indifferent, and the sound is not inferior to many players. In general, the model is extremely interesting and worth the money.
No. 9 - Nubia Z17
Price: 28,000 rubles 
An excellent device from a brand that is not yet very well-known in Russia. Working on latest version operating room Android systems, Z17 offers top-end hardware for quite reasonable money, namely the eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 2450 MHz with the Adreno 540 graphics accelerator, which can easily cope with the latest games from the gaming industry at maximum settings, as well as 4 gigabytes of operational and 64 internal memory- very good.
Although the cost of the phone is less than that of the flagships of other companies, the device from Nubia has a full range of the most advanced technologies and functions, the owner of the phone has NFC, excellent cameras, high-quality protection against moisture and dust, and much more.
No. 8 - Xiaomi Mi6
Price: 28,000 rubles
The Xiaomi brand, which has earned incredible popularity in Russia, has so many different lines of its smartphones that it is not so easy to choose which model is the flagship. The best hardware available on the market provides the gadget with a considerable margin of safety - games will not appear soon, which will not have enough resources at the disposal of the phone. The display of the novelty deserves special attention - the Chinese engineers decided to leave experiments with the aspect ratio and framelessness for other models, and in Mi6 they implemented many unique technologies that are responsible for matching the picture to the wishes of the owner of the device.
Fast, extremely autonomous and very effective, Xiaomi Mi6 broke into the sales leaders in the domestic market as soon as it appeared in the public domain. If you are a longtime fan of the brand - you already know everything, but if you are still skeptical - it's time to try and see for yourself the quality of Xiaomi products.
# 7 - OnePlus 5T
Price: 36,000 rubles 
Nicely made noise this year, the smartphone, which seriously shaken the position of the permanent market leaders in the person of Samsung and Apple. The filling is the best, the AMOLED display with a diagonal of six inches has practically no frames and looks truly impressive, the main dual camera module shows results no worse than top-end camera phones. High-quality and deep sound, all the necessary wireless interfaces, excellent autonomy with a modest size - this year there were significantly fewer claims to this smartphone than to its competitors.
The main and only drawback of the device is the strange policy of Russian retailers, who set the price one and a half times higher than that of Chinese and foreign stores. If online shopping isn't a dark forest for you, then purchasing the OnePlus 5T could be your best purchase this year.
# 6 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Price: 48,000 rubles 
The Russian buyer has always had a special attitude towards Sony's products, and therefore, despite the ever-inflated price, smartphones Sony Xperia consistently had a high share of sales. With the Xperia XZ Premium, everything is not so simple, yes, if you are looking for a phone with a powerful camera, then, as before, Sony branded equipment shows impressive results, the Cyber Shot camera is quite capable of replacing a camera and camcorder, even if you are a very demanding photography lover, but otherwise have questions.
The design is made in a classic style, so fans of the brand will not be disappointed, but for the rest the model may seem seriously outdated. The hardware is top-notch, but many competitors show better performance on the same hardware. The sound is traditionally good, but the volume could have been increased, but the screen did not disappoint. A masterpiece for Sony fans and a controversial flagship for the rest.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
# 5 - HTC U11
Price: 36,000 rubles 
This manufacturer has once lost its leading position and the reason for this is clear on the example of this flagship. Everything in it is made at a solid solid level, they did not save on hardware either, but the smartphone does not have a single strong point that distinguishes it from its competitors. Is iron the strongest and well optimized? Yes, but all representatives have the same of this list, and some squeeze more out of it. Is the display high-quality and shows a wonderful picture? Yes, but against the background of huge diagonals and full framelessness HTC U11 looks modest.
The camera pleases, not possessing its own unique equipment HTC were able to achieve excellent results thanks to software improvements, but many still shoot just as well. In other words, we have in front of us an excellent smartphone, but it is unlikely that someone other than long-term fans of the brand will decide to buy it.
No. 4 - LG V30
Price: 48,000 rubles 
New flagship from South Korean manufacturer really was able to encroach on the seemingly unshakable domination of Samsung and Apple, the phone has already spent enough time in the public domain and has not caused any complaints until now. The screen looks the best on the market, and the minimal bezels and picture quality amaze even advanced users. The performance is quite competitive with the same iPhone X, which costs almost 30,000 rubles more, and besides, it has a lot of complaints from buyers.
Another aspect where the V30 is arguably the best device on the market today is sound. No one has such depth and quality today, and all thanks to a separate sound processor, which has no analogues among mobile devices... A very strong model that will remain a priority for many buyers until the release of the next generation from Samsung.
No. 3 - Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Price: 39,000 rubles 
The new flagship from Huawei amazed the community not only with the highest characteristics of the filling and even more advanced functionality of the proprietary shell, but also relied on the development of neural networks, which other manufacturers still handle very carefully. Artificial intelligence in the description of the gadget is not mentioned for a catchphrase, its activity invisibly accompanies you while using the smartphone constantly, it is especially successful in coping with tasks related to photo and video shooting.
The device not only surprises with its innovative designs, but also with dignity withstands comparisons with flagships from other giants, the performance shown in various benchmarks is not inferior to either Samsung or Apple.
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
# 2 - Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Price: 54,000 rubles 
Despite the fact that almost a year has passed since the release of this model, it has not lost its relevance and to this day leads various tops of sales. Of course, this is not the least due to the popularity of the brand, but the technical relevance of the smartphone is striking - for a whole year we have not seen anything superior in Galaxy performance Note 8 devices, and there is no need to talk about the design - every second Chinese company sees it as their duty to release a model that exactly copies this flagship.
Of course, this device has only a few weeks to live as a flagship, at the end of January the South Korean company promises to present a new generation of mobile devices, but we have probably not had such a long dominance of one model until now.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
# 1 - iPhone X
Price: 79,000 rubles 
At the end of our rating of the best flagships of smartphones in 2018-2019, a new product from Apple that made a lot of noise in the fall. This year, the company presented two new models at once, and the iPhone X went on sale a little later, and therefore the excitement around was unthinkable. Whether the expectations were justified is difficult to judge, the amount of technical defects, unusual for a manufacturer, caused a wave of indignation among buyers around the world, who stood in queues for several days for the sake of purchasing the device.
If we close our eyes to this, then the iPhone once again amazed everyone with the ability to squeeze the maximum out of not the most perfect hardware, new innovative ideas implemented on the basis of the proprietary shell, as well as pricing - we have never seen such expensive mass-produced smartphones. Almost a year remains before the release of the next generation, and therefore all the main tests for the brand are still ahead, the fate of the mobile device market will largely depend on how it will withstand them.
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Articles and Life Hacks
Let us ask ourselves the question of what is a flagship phone?
We, ordinary people, a couple of times a year, or even more often, are constantly told that Samsung, HTC, LG and many others will soon release or have already put on sale a new flagship of the company.
But what is a flagship? Let's discuss the term in this article.
basic information
- All phone manufacturers produce devices that differ in technical specifications, design and cost. Some are cheaper, others are more expensive.
- One has a 5.2-inch display with a pixel density of 440 per inch, while the other has a faded 3-inch TFT matrix with a resolution of 320x240.
- The flagship is a phone that has the latest cutting edge features.
- Manufacturers are trying to impress us with new built-in functions (remember at least the heart rate sensor in the Samsung Galaxy 5), the number of megapixels of the camera, the size and quality of the screen, and much more. In general, who is good for what.
- This whole race is not only due to a humane desire to make it pleasant for us to use the device, but also because of the money.
- If the flagship device from one company is more famous than from another, the sales of the former will increase, and the latter will incur possible losses.
- The flagship manufacturer is trying to keep secret information about the external design, the most detailed characteristics of the new product and its features until the very release of the device.
- Because of this, the excitement of users is fueled, the company receives increased attention to itself, and competitors are trying their best to find out news about the upcoming flagship.
What is the popularity of flagships
- Recently, the fashion for increasing the number of pixels and the size of the screen is slowly fading away. The development of innovations, which has not yet been noticed by anyone, as well as quality, is brought to the forefront.
- For example, in addition to the heart rate sensor, the SGS 5 has a built-in and usable fingerprint recognition sensor. Prior to that, this feature was only in the iPhone. HTC has redefined camera performance.
- Now the number of megapixels does not exceed ten, but the quality of the images, if not improved, then at least remained at the same level. In addition to cameras, NTS is working on sound quality, constantly improving it from both headphones and external speakers.
IN lineup of any manufacturer, a special place belongs to flagships - devices that combine all the best that this or that company can offer. We have compiled for you a selection of the top flagships at the beginning of 2018, which will feature the coolest and most uncompromising smartphones on the market.
New flagships of 2018
Samsung - Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus
Few releases have made as much noise lately as the Galaxy S8 from Samsung's Koreans. Everyone was waiting for this flagship, because the public understood that the company would need to present something non-standard and 100% successful in order to exonerate for the failure with the Note 7. And the expectations were met.
S8 came out in two versions - standard and Plus, they differ in screen diagonal: 5.8 and 6.2 inches, respectively, as well as in battery capacity. And it is the screen that is the main trump card of the smartphone, the "infinite" SuperAMOLED display with Quad HD + resolution occupies almost the entire front part of the S8, and it looks very cool.
Other characteristics also do not fail: on board the S8 there is top processor Exynos 8895, 64/4 GB of memory with support for cards up to 256 GB, 12/8 (f / 1.7) MP cameras and 3000/3500 mAh battery (depending on modification). In terms of the combination of qualities, the S8 surpasses any other flagship on the market - this smartphone is really the best that you can buy right now.
Samsung - Galaxy S8
Lg g6
LG G6 is made in the same concept as S8, externally, these smartphones are even slightly similar. LG's flagship was presented earlier, it was he who became the first device on the market with a display ratio of 18: 9.