Best smartphones you can gift this festive season

Planning to gift a smartphone this festive season? Here are some of the best smartphones in different price categories that you can consider. Also, online portals such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal might have exchange offers and discounts during their special festive sales.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus:

It is not only the best iPhone, but also the best smartphone in the market today in terms of looks, features and power. It is water and dust resistant, and its display is 25 per cent brighter than its predecessor. The highlight of the phone is its dual camera system comprising a 12-MP wide angle lens combined with 12-MP telephoto lens with four-tone LED flash with cool and warm tones. It packs in an A10 chip, which makes it faster, and offers improved graphics and longer battery life. Price: Rs 72,000 onwards.

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Google Pixel:

A great flagship Android device that promises the best of hardware and regular OS updates. Bidding goodbye to the Nexus hardware, Google has launched Pixel in India. It has a 5-inch QHD AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 4 protection and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 64-bit chipset clocked at 2.15Ghz with 4 GB RAM. Google claims to have added the best camera optics featuring a 12.3-MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture with features such as HDR+ and smartbust. It can capture 4K videos and is equipped with video stabilisation. The biggest highlight of the Pixel is the inbuilt Google Assistant and the Google Duo app. Price: Rs 57,000 for 32GB.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 3:

Xiaomi has changed the game in the mid-range smartphone segment with the Redmi Note 3. It looks good, has a great camera, is powerful and has a great battery back-up, too. This ideal gift is available with a smaller display (under the Prime range) and with the 5.5-inch display (Note 3 range). Our recommendation is to spend Rs 2,000 extra and gift the one with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB onboard storage. Keep an eye out for special Diwali deals; you may just get a grand discount. Price: Rs 11,999.

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OnePlus 3:

OnePlus is known to offer high-end specifications at half the price of flagship smartphones. OnePlus 3 lives up to the claims. It has got a 5.5-inch full HD display and a metal unibody design. It packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and is paired with 6 GB of RAM, 64 GB of internal storage and Marshmallow-based Oxygen OS. It has a 16-MP camera with f/2.0 aperture lens, optical image stabilisation and 4K video capability which captures some great images, too. Price: Rs 27,999.

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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge:

Samsung's Note 7 would have made it to this list, but the unfortunate recall leaves us with only the Galaxy S7 Edge. This is the best gift for a Samsung fan. Even though it was launched in the first half of this year, it still is one of the best flagship smartphones around. It has a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution and is dust and water resistant. The Indian unit runs on octa-core Exynos 8890 processor and is paired with 4 GB of RAM. There is a 12-MP rear camera with optical image stabilisation. Price: Rs 50,900 for 32 GB.

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