Smartphone ownership is increasing across sub-Saharan Africa. From 2013 to 2017, smartphone ownership has increased significantly in Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
51 percent of South Africans own smartphones that can access the internet and applications, making it the most common device in the country. In Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya, just about one-third of adults own smartphones. Smartphone ownership is lowest in Tanzania at just 13 percent. There was a total of 22.4 million smartphones shipped in Africa during the second quarter of 2018, according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC). The report reveals that Nigeria and South Africa remain the two biggest markets improvement in the performance of their overall mobile phone markets, posting Year-on-Year (YoY) growth of 13.0 percent and 25.0 percent, respectively.
Over the years, the price of the devices has risen with the rise in technology and this shows no signs of slowing down. Apple has the highest priced device with a retail price of ZAR 31, 499 for the XS Max 512GB.
IT News Africa selected these 5 smartphones as the best for 2018.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
Launched in South Africa on 25 February 2018, Samsung promised that these smartphones would deliver an enhanced entertainment experience with powerful stereo speakers tuned by AKG, surround sound supported by Dolby Atmos and a refined edge-to-edge Infinity Display – a key staple in Samsung’s design heritage. Both smartphones come in Midnight Black, Titanium Grey and a new hue, Lilac Purple. Both phones also retain the curvy glass and metal look with minimal bezel, the headphone jack and an IP68 rating for water-resistance. The fingerprint scanner was moved to sit beneath the camera sensor and it is easier to hit.
Camera
Both phones feature 8-megapixel cameras around the front, featuring a wide f/1.7 aperture for capturing those selfies. Each has a main 12-megapixel sensor featuring a clever mechanical aperture that moves between f/2.4 and f/1.5, depending on the surrounding environment. In bright sun it will use the f/2.4 aperture; the wider f/1.5 will kick in when the light dims. The front cameras feature AR Emoji, a trick similar to Apple’s Animoji. The camera also supports 4K video shot at 60fps, plus there’s a new super slow-motion trick that will shoot a burst at 960fps when it detects fast-moving motion.
Screen
Screen sizes remains the same as the outgoing S8 and S8 Plus – 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch respectively – alongside the quad-HD+ resolution.
Software
Both phones are powered by the same Snapdragon 845 mobile platform – Qualcomm’s latest chip that’s built using the same ultra-efficient 10nm process as the 835. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ came with the new SmartThings app, which unites Samsung’s existing Internet of Things (IoT) services into one single, smart experience.
Price Range: Galaxy S9 ZAR 15,499 and the S9+ ZAR 17,999.
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Huawei keeps getting better in the smartphone game. And this time around they have done an exceptional job with the launch of this smartphone. The Mate 20 Pro is full of great features and offers up an excellent alternative to any other flagship phone on the market right now. With a 6.39-inch display, the Mate 20 Pro features a fingerprint scanner beneath the phone’s OLED display.
Camera
The phone features a 40MP main camera, a 20MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera. 16mm Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens, which creates a sense of spaciousness and adds a three-dimensional effect to images. A camera that supports macro distance, so users can take crisp, precise photos of objects that are placed as close as 2.5cm to the lens. AI Portrait Colour video mode, which can isolate and highlight the colours of a subject by desaturating everything else.
Screen
The device comes with a 6.39-inch, 19.5:9 OLED screen. The panel is rounded at the corners, curved at the sides and packs a sharp 3120 x 1440 resolution. The panel is rounded at the corners, curved at the sides and packs a sharp 3120 x 1440 resolution.
Software
Huawei’s intrusive EMUI, which runs on Android 9 Pie, remains a strange combination of Google’s software and knock-off iOS. It ditches the app drawer for an iOS-like appearance of multiple home screens crammed with apps, not to mention it comes with an excess of bloatware.
Price Range: from ZAR 14, 499
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
The Galaxy Note 9 is an Android phablet smartphone designed, developed and marketed as part of the Samsung Galaxy Note series. In South Africa, the Note9 launched on 09 August 2018, The smartphone saw a performance upgrade, the second -gen 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (and the latest Exynos chip in certain territories), along with 6GB of RAM. The device has a larger 6.4-inch screen, heftier 4,000mAh battery, and a massive 1TB of storage option.
Camera
Exclusive to the Note 9 camera are automatic scene optimizer and flaw detection features that enhance photos. The dual 12MP rear camera uses variable-aperture technology to switch between an f/1.5 aperture for low-light photography and an f/2.4 aperture for normal lighting conditions. The Note 9’s front-facing camera does selfies at 8MP and includes autofocus, a first for a Note phone.
Screen
The 6.4-inch Note 9 screen has grown by a tenth of an inch over the 6.3-inch Note 8 display. The nearly bezel-less Infinity Display is bright and punchy, and confirmed to be 27% brighter and with 32% more contrast ratio than the Note 8. Samsung’s curved edges are unmatched. The Note 9 is IP68 waterproof and dust-proof, and that resistance rating stays the same whether or not the S Pen is embedded.
Software
The Galaxy Note 9 comes with Android Oreo. Samsung devices (Galaxy S7 and up) were the first with access to the free-to-play hit game Fortnite: Battle Royale. The short, 48-hour exclusive was designed to give other Android users phone envy, and even now, after the Samsung exclusivity has expired, they still have to sideload the app – it’s not downloadable in the Google Play Store. The Bixby AI assistant is here, and so is Google Assistant. Google’s AI is smarter and understands us better, whereas Bixby often picks up our words as if we said them with marbles in our mouth.
Price Range: ZAR 16,740
Apple iPhone XS Max
With the iPhone XS Max, Apple finally delivered an iPhone with a huge screen, perfect for movie-watching and game-playing. The steel frame around the outside and the new formulation of glass on the front and rear makes the XS Max look and feel tougher. The iPhone XS Max has a supremely premium look and feel, while its resistance to dust and water has also been enhanced. Apple has upped the protection to IP68, enabling the iPhone XS Max to be submerged to a depth of up to two meters for 30 minutes. There’s no headphone jack on the iPhone XS Max.
Camera
When it comes to the camera, the XS Max houses a 12MP snappers in a vertical stack, separated by a Quad-LED True Tone flash. As before one camera is telephoto and the other wide-angle, with the same f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures, but there is a key difference. It features a Smart HDR, an improved mode over the standard ‘HDR. The front camera is 7MP.
Screen
With a 6.5-inch display, hardly any screen bezel and the now-iconic screen notch it’s a dominating presence in the hand. The XS Max squeeze a huge 6.5-inch display into a body that’s a touch shorter and narrower (at 157.5 x 77.4mm). The device is just 7.7mm thin. The iPhone XS Max is bright and colourful and has a 2688 x 1242 resolution, which equates to a 458ppi pixel density.
Software
The iPhone XS Max arrives with Apple’s new iOS 12 operating system on board. It is powered by Apple’s new A12 Bionic chip, which promises to be 40 percent more power-efficient than last year’s model, while the GPU is said to be 50 percent more powerful than the A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone X.
Price Range: ZAR 17, 899
Nokia 7 Plus
HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, recently launched the Nokia 7 Plus, a smartphone with striking design, and according to the company performance for up to two days with one charge. Selected by Google to join the Android One family, the Nokia 7 Plus offers up to date Android experience. The device is equipped with 4GB of RAM and vivid 6-inch 18:9 Full HD+ display which allows you to browse, social media consumption, gaming and entertainment with more content in the same width as a traditional 5.5-inch display device.
Camera
The front Camera16-megapixel. Resolution 1080×2160 pixels with 12-megapixel (f/1.8, 1.4-micron) + 13-megapixel (f/2.6, 1.0-micron).
Screen
The phone comes with a 6.00-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 2160 pixels at a PPI of 403 pixels per inch. The vivid 6-inch 18:9 Full HD+ display allows you to browse, social media consumption, gaming and entertainment with more content in the same width as a traditional 5.5-inch display device.
Software
The Nokia 7 Plus serves Android 9 Pie with no bloatware, skins UI changes or hidden processes eating up your battery life. This upgrade builds upon the strong features of Android 8.0 Oreo, and focuses on a more tailored experience with emphasis on AI, machine learning and digital wellbeing. Advances in machine learning and AI features, such as Adaptive Battery and App Actions, ensure smarter resourcing of power and processing and accelerate smartphone functionality.
Price Range: From ZAR 5,999.00
By Fundisiwe Maseko
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