Open Thread: Slim phones, Finger print scanners, 2K etc what’s hype and what do we really need?


There are lots of trends this year, but we want to hear which trends you want to see followed and which you would happily forfeit in your next generation Android smartphone.

Super slim phones, 2K display, 64Bit processors, fingerprint scanners etc. We have seen some interesting new trends in Chinese smartphone design, but are they all really that important to the final user?

Over the next year the chances are many phone makers are going to adopt 2K displays, but do you really see the difference? Is FHD enough?

Fingerprint scanners are already on top models from Huawei, Meizu and Vivo. Are they a worthwhile security feature or a fad?

Are slimmer and slimmer phones really what you are hoping for? Or is a larger battery, dual SIM and SD card more desirable?

We want to hear your thoughts on the latest smartphone trends. Which are you happy to see, and which are just for marketing purposes only? Speak freely below.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

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120 Comments

  1. anonymous
    December 1, 2014

    1080p on even a 6 in display is good with a 64 bit high end processor and 3/4 g ram. Fp scanner, 2k display and slimmer phones just add to the cost ,instead the companies should invest on battery technology which is much needed.

  2. Miko
    December 1, 2014

    Things I like and I want them to be continued to next devices:
    Slim designs (around 8mm is perfect for me).
    fingerprint feature (nice little feature)
    64bit proccessors but more powerful than existing models and more RAM 4+ GB!
    Much larger battery… the more the better (around 6000 mAh!!!)
    Dual SIM – I don’t care about it at the moment but I do see the goods in it and I believe for many people is a must.
    Rear camera should be really important for future phones and if possible to reach the standard of DSLR.

    Things I don’t care/like and I don’t want them to continue to next devices:
    Screens more than FHD is nonsense for me. Also screens above 5.5″ is really not needed… these are meant to be smartPHONES… not tablets. Also this makes the phones huge!
    Micro SD is not needed anymore with all these cloud storage spaces but I would like all the future phones to have minimum 64 GB storage.
    I think that’s all I can think at the moment… if more I will edit my post 😛

    • Gary George
      December 1, 2014

      They’ll never reach the quality of a DSLR, because of the size of the sensors.

      • Miko
        December 2, 2014

        Let me dream!!! 😛

        • balcobomber25
          December 3, 2014

          The closest you will come is hybrids like the Galaxy Zoom.

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      “Rear camera should be really important for future phones and if possible to reach the standard of DSLR.”

      It’s not possible. The cheapest DSLR’s will still take better pictures than the best smartphones. It’s like expecting a Kia to outperform a Ferari. You can get some of the specs close on paper, but the difference is in the performance.

  3. Melis
    December 1, 2014

    My ‘wish-list’
    – screensize 4,7 – 5,0 inch, narrow bezels
    – Battery: removable and >2750 mah
    – working GPS (no mt6592, mt6577 and so on)
    – dual SIM
    – > 2GB RAM
    – 1080p is good enough for me
    – SD-card
    – ‘good’ camera. I don’t care about MP’s , just want good lighting etc.
    So actually no special features, slimmer designs, or fingerprint scanner. I actually have the feeling that myt requirements are not that high. But still I don’t see a reasonable priced phone with this features (<$300)
    Really hope that the Jiayu S4 is going to be 'the' phone, although we don't have too many details yet. Let's wait for the phones with the next generation Mediatek processors like mt6795.
    For now, I'm still a happy owner of the Jiayu G4 Advanced. But as we all know, the GPS sucks.

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      You basically just described the Honor 6 which is over $300 but has 3GB of RAM.

    • joe
      December 1, 2014

      Why don’t you just buy the iuni u2? Literally has everything you listed.

      • joe
        December 1, 2014

        Or the nubia z7 mini.

        • Xalis
          December 2, 2014

          The z7 mini has a tiny battery and isn’t removable, still it comes close enough, and the IUNI 2 some people claim that theirs were shipped with only Chinese and no English/Chinese like advertised in several websites.

          • balcobomber25
            December 3, 2014

            The problem with the U2 is it was never intended to be sold outside of China. An English rom was an afterthought and was poorly done.

        • mersault
          December 2, 2014

          Too expensive (comparing to Jiayu G4S) and less battery…

      • mersault
        December 2, 2014

        IUNI U2 has only one SIM card and it’s battery is only 1700 mah…

    • mersault
      December 2, 2014

      I can sign that easily…I hope Jiayu S4 will do the trick

  4. Xalis
    December 1, 2014

    Shit we don’t need:
    Stupidly tin phones, we will end up buying a protective case so tin phones are stupid
    1080+ resolution on small devices
    Finger scanners

    Shit we need:
    Warrantied software updates for at least 1 year (Some big chinese brands have never ear of updates like Lenovo)
    Better batteries (easily fixeable if they stop the retarded OMG 3mm tin phone!)

    2GB+ RAM
    Micro SD slot
    Dual SIM
    IR Blasters
    Extra configurable button ala MiKey/Klick
    Rooted phones hell Elephone does it, why can’t mayor players do it?

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      I love thin phones, I have never used a case and don’t ever plan on it. To me an IR blaster is completely useless.

      • Xalis
        December 1, 2014

        How can controlling several devices in your home with your phone be useless?

        • balcobomber25
          December 1, 2014

          Because I have remotes that already do that and with much better results.

        • Gary George
          December 1, 2014

          Not everything uses IR remotes, some use RF.

          I could just pick up the remote that’s beside me on the sofa and use it, or I could unlock my phone, open the app that controls IR, choose the correct remote settings… More effort than using the actual remote.

  5. December 1, 2014

    I will go for finger print scanner and full HD, I don’t need 2K resolution displays. The slimmer the phone, the more the battery life will suffer. Anything from 7mm to 9mm is OK with me provided it doesn’t get too bulky. I’m more interested in performance and long battery life than in aesthetics.

  6. Rob
    December 1, 2014

    The important things for me are:

    A 5.5-6 in display is perfect. At least FHD resolution (although as you near 6 in I think 2k is great). Super slim bezels/bezeless to keep the dimensions as small as possible.

    A great camera and one that can actually take good pics in situations where there isn’t bright sunlight! On cheaper phones that usually have very poor cameras (obviously to keep costs down), I think they should just stick 1 good camera on the back and ditch the ‘selfie’ camera.

    A nice powerful SoC, not necessarily 64 bit as there is not much point at the moment. At least 3gb RAM.

    SD car expansion.

    >3500 mah battery

    Excellent sound quality/stereo speakers.

    Well optimised software with regular updates/bug fixes.

    Not so important things are fingerprint scanner as I think they are a gimmick unless they work better these days than the one I had on my motorola Atrix!
    Dual SIM as the second one is almost always GSM only, whats the point of the second sim without at least 3G connectivity???

  7. Luciano Gerace
    December 1, 2014

    2k is a waste of battery and performance
    slim phone have awful battery and frankly who cares if a phone is slim or not
    Fingerprint scanners are cool, like the one on the MX4 Pro
    I’d say we need something really new and innovative

    • December 1, 2014

      What do you think of the N3’s motorised camera?

  8. MaxPower
    December 1, 2014

    In the order: kernel source,battery, micro SD,dual Sim. We know that battery technology is behind but a removable 3000 mha could be the temporary solution. The problem is that it’s about business and companies want you to buy a new phone every year rather than provide you a new battery. Same story about external SD card. They actually sell the 64gb version for up to 100$ more so no external SD card is the trend. I almost found the perfect phone, the zte Nubia z7 mini (except for the battery) but the lack of support and a buggy ROM pushed me to buy a MI4. That’s why we need them to release the kernel source so the community can work on porting new ROMs or solve some bugs.

  9. Raul
    December 1, 2014

    Stuff we need:
    Bigger Battery

    Good Cameras
    Good Audio quality
    Software updates

    Stuff we probably need:
    Fingerprint Scanner
    Gestures

    Stuff we don’t need:
    Slim phones (whats the point in having a thin phone?, thin = easily breakable)
    2K Displays
    6in or bigger phones

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      I disagree about thin being easily breakable. The Gionee S5.5 is a perfect example, one of the thinnest phones in the world but also one of the strongest. There are tests in which people run over one with a car and is till works perfectly. Whether a phone is 5mm or 10mm it all comes down to the materials used and the build quality.

      • Raul
        December 1, 2014

        yeah but most of the phones in the $0-200 range (80% of china phones) don’t use quality materials to justify thinness.

        • Tim Heinlein
          December 1, 2014

          Look at the iPhone 6. “Quality materials” has nothing to do with durability

        • balcobomber25
          December 1, 2014

          I have bought plenty of phones that were in the $0-200 range that used very good materials and were highly durable. I had a Blu Life Play (Gionee E3) that I dropped dozens of times with no signs of wear. Whereas my wife has an IPhone which we have already replaced multiple times from it shattering with even the slightest drops. I had the Nexus 4 which could crack if you breathed on it the wrong way. There are several Chinese phones that use quality materials and there are some that use the cheapest materials possible. It all depends on the company, has nothing to do with price.

    • Dean Plush
      December 2, 2014

      Don’t know why pple hate big phones. I love a big 6 inch phone. There’s nothing like a big screen phone – no squinting at Ur screen, awesome gaming, fast two hands typing, nice photo viewing, reading… the perks are too much. I’m big so i can handle it. for all the small guys with tiny hands..sorry, not for you! Nexus 6, i’m coming for you.

      • balcobomber25
        December 3, 2014

        I am a “big guy” with big hands I hate most phones over 5 inches. My eyes are good enough that I don’t need to squint with a screen over 4 inches.

    • tweetycontrabajo
      December 3, 2014

      i disagree with the 6″ phone.
      Is not necesary, but is something totally worths it.

    • lildwell
      December 9, 2014

      I like big phones. I don’t have baby hands you know.

  10. balcobomber25
    December 1, 2014

    Stuff I need/want:
    HD Display: minimum 720p on anything under 5 inches, 1080p over it.
    Battery: At least 3000mAh
    Camera: better sensors and aperture instead of more MP’s.
    Size: Under 9mm

    Stuff that is pure hype to me:
    2k Screen: had one on the Nubia Z7, it was nice but a battery hog and didnt look that much better than 1080p. Not worth it in my opinion,
    LTE: Where I live LTE speeds are only marginally better than 3G+ but costs nearly twice as much.
    NFC: I have had about 10 phones with it, I have yet to find a use for it. It takes me longer to take my phone out to pay than it does my credit card.

  11. Guest
    December 1, 2014

    1080p on even a 6 in display is good with a 64 bit high end processor and 3/4 g ram. Fp scanner, 2k display and slimmer phones just add to the cost ,instead the companies should invest on battery technology which is much needed.

  12. Miko
    December 1, 2014

    Things I like and I want them to be continued to next devices:
    Slim designs (around 8mm is perfect for me).
    fingerprint feature (nice little feature)
    64bit proccessors but more powerful than existing models and more RAM 4+ GB!
    Much larger battery… the more the better (around 6000 mAh!!!)
    Dual SIM – I don’t care about it at the moment but I do see the goods in it and I believe for many people is a must.
    Rear camera should be really important for future phones and if possible to reach the standard of DSLR.

    Things I don’t care/like and I don’t want them to continue to next devices:
    Screens more than FHD is nonsense for me. Also screens above 5.5″ is really not needed… these are meant to be smartPHONES… not tablets. Also this makes the phones huge!
    Micro SD is not needed anymore with all these cloud storage spaces but I would like all the future phones to have minimum 64 GB storage.
    I think that’s all I can think at the moment… if more I will edit my post 😛

    • Gary George
      December 1, 2014

      They’ll never reach the quality of a DSLR, because of the size of the sensors.

    • balcobomber25
      December 2, 2014

      “Rear camera should be really important for future phones and if possible to reach the standard of DSLR.”

      It’s not possible. The cheapest DSLR’s will still take better pictures than the best smartphones. It’s like expecting a Kia to outperform a Ferari. You can get some of the specs close on paper, but the difference is in the performance.

    • Miko
      December 2, 2014

      Let me dream!!! 😛

    • balcobomber25
      December 3, 2014

      The closest you will come is hybrids like the Galaxy Zoom.

  13. Guest
    December 1, 2014

    My ‘wish-list’
    – screensize 4,7 – 5,0 inch, narrow bezels
    – Battery: removable and >2750 mah
    – working GPS (no mt6592, mt6577 and so on)
    – dual SIM
    – > 2GB RAM
    – 1080p is good enough for me
    – SD-card
    – ‘good’ camera. I don’t care about MP’s , just want good lighting etc.
    So actually no special features, slimmer designs, or fingerprint scanner. I actually have the feeling that myt requirements are not that high. But still I don’t see a reasonable priced phone with this features (<$300)
    Really hope that the Jiayu S4 is going to be 'the' phone, although we don't have too many details yet. Let's wait for the phones with the next generation Mediatek processors like mt6795.
    For now, I'm still a happy owner of the Jiayu G4 Advanced. But as we all know, the GPS sucks.

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      You basically just described the Honor 6 which is over $300 but has 3GB of RAM.

    • Guest
      December 2, 2014

      Why don’t you just buy the iuni u2? Literally has everything you listed.

    • Guest
      December 2, 2014

      Or the nubia z7 mini.

    • Guest
      December 2, 2014

      The z7 mini has a tiny battery and isn’t removable, still it comes close enough, and the IUNI 2 some people claim that theirs were shipped with only Chinese and no English/Chinese like advertised in several websites.

    • Guest
      December 2, 2014

      IUNI U2 has only one SIM card and it’s battery is only 1700 mah…

    • Guest
      December 2, 2014

      Too expensive (comparing to Jiayu G4S) and less battery…

    • Guest
      December 2, 2014

      I can sign that easily…I hope Jiayu S4 will do the trick

    • balcobomber25
      December 3, 2014

      The problem with the U2 is it was never intended to be sold outside of China. An English rom was an afterthought and was poorly done.

  14. Guest
    December 1, 2014

    Shit we don’t need:
    Stupidly tin phones, we will end up buying a protective case so tin phones are stupid
    1080+ resolution on small devices
    Finger scanners

    Shit we need:
    Warrantied software updates for at least 1 year (Some big chinese brands have never ear of updates like Lenovo)
    Better batteries (easily fixeable if they stop the retarded OMG 3mm tin phone!)

    2GB+ RAM
    Micro SD slot
    Dual SIM
    IR Blasters
    Extra configurable button ala MiKey/Klick
    Rooted phones hell Elephone does it, why can’t mayor players do it?

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      I love thin phones, I have never used a case and don’t ever plan on it. To me an IR blaster is completely useless.

    • Guest
      December 1, 2014

      How can controlling several devices in your home with your phone be useless?

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      Because I have remotes that already do that and with much better results.

    • Gary George
      December 1, 2014

      Not everything uses IR remotes, some use RF.

      I could just pick up the remote that’s beside me on the sofa and use it, or I could unlock my phone, open the app that controls IR, choose the correct remote settings… More effort than using the actual remote.

  15. Michael Ogbonnaya
    December 1, 2014

    I will go for finger print scanner and full HD, I don’t need 2K resolution displays. The slimmer the phone, the more the battery life will suffer. Anything from 7mm to 9mm is OK with me provided it doesn’t get too bulky. I’m more interested in performance and long battery life than in aesthetics.

  16. Evgenij Nebotov
    December 1, 2014

    the phone of my dreams is probably 64bit mtk6795 or some new snapdragon , 5-5.3″ with thin bezels, around 7.5-8mm and 3-3500mah battery, dualsim and good audio.

  17. Rob
    December 1, 2014

    The important things for me are:

    A 5.5-6 in display is perfect. At least FHD resolution (although as you near 6 in I think 2k is great). Super slim bezels/bezeless to keep the dimensions as small as possible.

    A great camera and one that can actually take good pics in situations where there isn’t bright sunlight! On cheaper phones that usually have very poor cameras (obviously to keep costs down), I think they should just stick 1 good camera on the back and ditch the ‘selfie’ camera.

    A nice powerful SoC, not necessarily 64 bit as there is not much point at the moment. At least 3gb RAM.

    SD car expansion.

    >3500 mah battery

    Excellent sound quality/stereo speakers.

    Well optimised software with regular updates/bug fixes.

    Not so important things are fingerprint scanner as I think they are a gimmick unless they work better these days than the one I had on my motorola Atrix!
    Dual SIM as the second one is almost always GSM only, whats the point of the second sim without at least 3G connectivity???

  18. Tim Heinlein
    December 1, 2014

    Power efficiency above all else

    • Tim Heinlein
      December 1, 2014

      Display size to phone size ratio
      Weight.
      Battery life.
      Ergonomics.

  19. led
    December 1, 2014

    Waterproof
    5″ 720-1080p
    2gb+16b+sd
    European 3G/4G
    3000mAh
    Working GPS eg SiRFstarIII
    Good IQ cam
    8mm

  20. Luciano Gerace
    December 1, 2014

    2k is a waste of battery and performance
    slim phone have awful battery and frankly who cares if a phone is slim or not
    Fingerprint scanners are cool, like the one on the MX4 Pro
    I’d say we need something really new and innovative

    • Andi Sykes
      December 1, 2014

      What do you think of the N3’s motorised camera?

  21. MaxPower
    December 1, 2014

    In the order: kernel source,battery, micro SD,dual Sim. We know that battery technology is behind but a removable 3000 mha could be the temporary solution. The problem is that it’s about business and companies want you to buy a new phone every year rather than provide you a new battery. Same story about external SD card. They actually sell the 64gb version for up to 100$ more so no external SD card is the trend. I almost found the perfect phone, the zte Nubia z7 mini (except for the battery) but the lack of support and a buggy ROM pushed me to buy a MI4. That’s why we need them to release the kernel source so the community can work on porting new ROMs or solve some bugs.

  22. Raul
    December 1, 2014

    Stuff we need:
    Bigger Battery

    Good Cameras
    Good Audio quality
    Software updates

    Stuff we probably need:
    Fingerprint Scanner
    Gestures

    Stuff we don’t need:
    Slim phones (whats the point in having a thin phone?, thin = easily breakable)
    2K Displays
    6in or bigger phones

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      I disagree about thin being easily breakable. The Gionee S5.5 is a perfect example, one of the thinnest phones in the world but also one of the strongest. There are tests in which people run over one with a car and is till works perfectly. Whether a phone is 5mm or 10mm it all comes down to the materials used and the build quality.

    • Raul
      December 1, 2014

      yeah but most of the phones in the $0-200 range (80% of china phones) don’t use quality materials to justify thinness.

    • Guest
      December 1, 2014

      Look at the iPhone 6. “Quality materials” has nothing to do with durability

    • balcobomber25
      December 1, 2014

      I have bought plenty of phones that were in the $0-200 range that used very good materials and were highly durable. I had a Blu Life Play (Gionee E3) that I dropped dozens of times with no signs of wear. Whereas my wife has an IPhone which we have already replaced multiple times from it shattering with even the slightest drops. I had the Nexus 4 which could crack if you breathed on it the wrong way. There are several Chinese phones that use quality materials and there are some that use the cheapest materials possible. It all depends on the company, has nothing to do with price.

    • Dean Plush
      December 2, 2014

      Don’t know why pple hate big phones. I love a big 6 inch phone. There’s nothing like a big screen phone – no squinting at Ur screen, awesome gaming, fast two hands typing, nice photo viewing, reading… the perks are too much. I’m big so i can handle it. for all the small guys with tiny hands..sorry, not for you! Nexus 6, i’m coming for you.

    • balcobomber25
      December 3, 2014

      I am a “big guy” with big hands I hate most phones over 5 inches. My eyes are good enough that I don’t need to squint with a screen over 4 inches.

    • Guest
      December 4, 2014

      i disagree with the 6″ phone.
      Is not necesary, but is something totally worths it.

    • lildwell
      December 9, 2014

      I like big phones. I don’t have baby hands you know.

  23. Han Lubach
    December 1, 2014

    Instead of all kinds of batteries, why not choose for one model in every phone , will cut costs.
    Even from the same company different batteries waste of money

  24. balcobomber25
    December 1, 2014

    Stuff I need/want:
    HD Display: minimum 720p on anything under 5 inches, 1080p over it.
    Battery: At least 3000mAh
    Camera: better sensors and aperture instead of more MP’s.
    Size: Under 9mm

    Stuff that is pure hype to me:
    2k Screen: had one on the Nubia Z7, it was nice but a battery hog and didnt look that much better than 1080p. Not worth it in my opinion,
    LTE: Where I live LTE speeds are only marginally better than 3G+ but costs nearly twice as much.
    NFC: I have had about 10 phones with it, I have yet to find a use for it. It takes me longer to take my phone out to pay than it does my credit card.

  25. realjjj
    December 1, 2014

    Fingerprint scanners are a security risk not a gain, i would pay not to have it.As long as govs are being abusing we can’t trust the hardware to be secure.Then you got folks like Meizu that enlarged the upper and lower bezels for the fingerprint sensor just to be as stupid as Apple. Apple’s biggest design flaw is how bulky the devices are because of the home button and Meizu decided to go backwards from the MX4.
    Thin is fine, some will want that and the reality is that everybody is chasing performance and forgot about thickness and battery life or temps.
    Higher res screens or an evolution and at least it drives prices lower for less res and will help with Oculus like glasses having screens.
    SD is a must and anyone that cripples it’s own product to extort a few $ doesn’t deserve our money or respect. In the end it’s bad business too.Apple has always been greedy but it is said to see Google,OPO, Xiaomi, Meizu being not not only stupid but also shitty human beings.
    There is a bit of a sensor spam too that goes too far sometimes.
    Chinese phone makers also seems unaware that thin bezels doesn’t mean just the side bezels and they don’t work at all to get rid of the upper and lower bezels.
    I am annoyed that we don’t see more activity on putting solar on the back and maybe other power harvesting tech even if it wouldn’t produce allt hat much power.

  26. Evgenij Nebotov
    December 1, 2014

    the phone of my dreams is probably 64bit mtk6795 or some new snapdragon , 5-5.3″ with thin bezels, around 7.5-8mm and 3-3500mah battery, dualsim and good audio.

  27. zhongtiao1
    December 1, 2014

    I wouldn’t mind a thin phone or a 2k display as long as it has hotknot, heart rate sensor, and at least a 3000 mah battery. I would prefer 3GB at least of RAM for a phone, but I would sacrifice that for a large battery and two speakers, one on the front and one on the back.

  28. Guest
    December 1, 2014

    Power efficiency above all else

    • Guest
      December 1, 2014

      Display size to phone size ratio
      Weight.
      Battery life.
      Ergonomics.

  29. Gary George
    December 1, 2014

    I don’t care about resolutions over 1080p. 720p is fine for me, but 1080p is ideal. 5″ is perfect. Not much smaller or bigger than that.

    I don’t mind if it’s a little chunky. I want good battery life.

    I want dual sim and NEED an SD slot and a 3.5mm jack.

    FP scanner is nice but not necessary.

    Really I want something that’ll last a couple of years, something with really good battery life, something with quality component. Good GPS, good cameras, good audio quality.

  30. Guest
    December 1, 2014

    Waterproof
    5″ 720-1080p
    2gb+16b+sd
    European 3G/4G
    3000mAh
    Working GPS eg SiRFstarIII
    Good IQ cam
    8mm

  31. Georg Pichler
    December 1, 2014

    2K displays = Hype. The only scenario that resolution matters on displays with 5-6″ is when you use those phones as a virtual reality display (with something like Google cardboard or the Samsung Gear VR). Except for that, it just produces more load on the CPU and GPU, draining the battery faster, without any practical advantage.

    Finger print scanner = While its not much of an improvement for security, it has the potential to be a nice addition in terms of comfort. The technology has to improve however, most fingerprint scanners in phones today however seem to be rather inaccurate.

    Slimmer phones = keeping a phone slim to a certain extent is of course great in terms of ergonomics. However, once you have to sacrifice a meaning portion of performance or even features like a well-sized battery or even the headphone jack (like Oppo did) it becomes nothing more than a marketing gag/manufacturing demonstratin that potentially can put the build integrity of a phone in danger (remember Bentgate?).

    64 Bit = Logical next step, like on desktop computers. While there is not much of a benefit just yet, since recent flagships are overpowered anyway and last year’s Snapdragon 800 for example still fares pretty well, there will be in the upcoming years.

  32. Han Lubach
    December 1, 2014

    Instead of all kinds of batteries, why not choose for one model in every phone , will cut costs.
    Even from the same company different batteries waste of money

  33. koss_x_treeme
    December 1, 2014

    I want 4k displays and bigger batteries, bigger cameras

  34. Meerk4t
    December 1, 2014

    Guys can you recommend to me best chinese phone for max 160$? I want for daily use (facebook, photo shooting and etc.)

    • amirexpressir
      December 3, 2014

      Buy “coolpad f1 8297w”

    • balcobomber25
      December 3, 2014

      What specifically are you looking for? Just about every phone on the market can handle facebook and shoot photos. How big do you want it? Any brand preference? Any advanced features (NFC, OTG etc)? Any color? There are hundreds of phones available for under $160.

  35. realjjj
    December 1, 2014

    Fingerprint scanners are a security risk not a gain, i would pay not to have it.As long as govs are being abusing we can’t trust the hardware to be secure.Then you got folks like Meizu that enlarged the upper and lower bezels for the fingerprint sensor just to be as stupid as Apple. Apple’s biggest design flaw is how bulky the devices are because of the home button and Meizu decided to go backwards from the MX4.
    Thin is fine, some will want that and the reality is that everybody is chasing performance and forgot about thickness and battery life or temps.
    Higher res screens or an evolution and at least it drives prices lower for less res and will help with Oculus like glasses having screens.
    SD is a must and anyone that cripples it’s own product to extort a few $ doesn’t deserve our money or respect. In the end it’s bad business too.Apple has always been greedy but it is said to see Google,OPO, Xiaomi, Meizu being not not only stupid but also shitty human beings.
    There is a bit of a sensor spam too that goes too far sometimes.
    Chinese phone makers also seems unaware that thin bezels doesn’t mean just the side bezels and they don’t work at all to get rid of the upper and lower bezels.
    I am annoyed that we don’t see more activity on putting solar on the back and maybe other power harvesting tech even if it wouldn’t produce allt hat much power.

  36. zhongtiao1
    December 1, 2014

    I wouldn’t mind a thin phone or a 2k display as long as it has hotknot, heart rate sensor, and at least a 3000 mah battery. I would prefer 3GB at least of RAM for a phone, but I would sacrifice that for a large battery and two speakers, one on the front and one on the back.

  37. Gary George
    December 1, 2014

    I don’t care about resolutions over 1080p. 720p is fine for me, but 1080p is ideal. 5″ is perfect. Not much smaller or bigger than that.

    I don’t mind if it’s a little chunky. I want good battery life.

    I want dual sim and NEED an SD slot and a 3.5mm jack.

    FP scanner is nice but not necessary.

    Really I want something that’ll last a couple of years, something with really good battery life, something with quality component. Good GPS, good cameras, good audio quality.

  38. Georg Pichler
    December 1, 2014

    2K displays = Hype. The only scenario that resolution matters on displays with 5-6″ is when you use those phones as a virtual reality display (with something like Google cardboard or the Samsung Gear VR). Except for that, it just produces more load on the CPU and GPU, draining the battery faster, without any practical advantage.

    Finger print scanner = While its not much of an improvement for security, it has the potential to be a nice addition in terms of comfort. The technology has to improve however, most fingerprint scanners in phones today however seem to be rather inaccurate.

    Slimmer phones = keeping a phone slim to a certain extent is of course great in terms of ergonomics. However, once you have to sacrifice a meaning portion of performance or even features like a well-sized battery or even the headphone jack (like Oppo did) it becomes nothing more than a marketing gag/manufacturing demonstratin that potentially can put the build integrity of a phone in danger (remember Bentgate?).

    64 Bit = Logical next step, like on desktop computers. While there is not much of a benefit just yet, since recent flagships are overpowered anyway and last year’s Snapdragon 800 for example still fares pretty well, there will be in the upcoming years.

  39. koss_x_treeme
    December 1, 2014

    I want 4k displays and bigger batteries, bigger cameras

  40. Guest
    December 1, 2014

    Guys can you recommend to me best chinese phone for max 160$? I want for daily use (facebook, photo shooting and etc.)

    • amirexpressir
      December 3, 2014

      Buy “coolpad f1 8297w”

    • balcobomber25
      December 3, 2014

      What specifically are you looking for? Just about every phone on the market can handle facebook and shoot photos. How big do you want it? Any brand preference? Any advanced features (NFC, OTG etc)? Any color? There are hundreds of phones available for under $160.

  41. Ryzkie Wys Wosz
    December 2, 2014

    We need:
    5″ FHD
    3k2 -3k5 mAh battery.
    Camera Sony IMX 214 or 240 sensor
    Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 805 or 810. RAM 3GB
    SD card
    DTS sound or something like that
    8-9mm

  42. Wonton Chaos
    December 2, 2014

    Big batteries, cameras with quality lenses, OIS and large sensors, dual sim, good audio, accurate GPS and SMALLER SCREENS please! Don’t care about finger scanners or 2K displays. Honestly, I was fine with 720. 1080 is more than enough! Also, proper support for installing Google Play, even if not pre-installed. Looking at you, IUNI…

  43. Xiaolu
    December 2, 2014

    There should be some limits to all… until tech from the future comes 😛

    * Thickness: why bother below 7-9 mm? You lose battery capacity.

    * DPI: around 300 dpi is more than enough, so 720p in screens from 4,3-4,7″ is OK in my opinion, maybe 1080p for larger screens (not really sure theres a lot of difference though). 2K or more I’d rather keep for the future generations (with a disruptive battery tech).

    * RAM: 2GB RAM for a 32 bits system is more than enough, for 64 bits I’d say… no limits? As long as it doesn’t suck a lot of energy.

    * Fingerprint scanners: well, I’d like one similar to the one on the new MX4 Pro, why not? 3rd party apps could easily make it more useful…

  44. Ryzkie Wys Wosz
    December 2, 2014

    We need:
    5″ FHD
    3k2 -3k5 mAh battery.
    Camera Sony IMX 214 or 240 sensor
    Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 805 or 810. RAM 3GB
    SD card
    DTS sound or something like that
    8-9mm

  45. Guest
    December 2, 2014

    Big batteries, cameras with quality lenses, OIS and large sensors, dual sim, good audio, accurate GPS and SMALLER SCREENS please! Don’t care about finger scanners or 2K displays. Honestly, I was fine with 720. 1080 is more than enough! Also, proper support for installing Google Play, even if not pre-installed. Looking at you, IUNI…

  46. Xiaolu
    December 2, 2014

    There should be some limits to all… until tech from the future comes 😛

    * Thickness: why bother below 7-9 mm? You lose battery capacity.

    * DPI: around 300 dpi is more than enough, so 720p in screens from 4,3-4,7″ is OK in my opinion, maybe 1080p for larger screens (not really sure theres a lot of difference though). 2K or more I’d rather keep for the future generations (with a disruptive battery tech).

    * RAM: 2GB RAM for a 32 bits system is more than enough, for 64 bits I’d say… no limits? As long as it doesn’t suck a lot of energy.

    * Fingerprint scanners: well, I’d like one similar to the one on the new MX4 Pro, why not? 3rd party apps could easily make it more useful…

  47. desponent
    December 2, 2014

    Thickness : ffs stop this pissing contest to the point of having the phone unusable and sacrifice battery life.

    Design : you can make attractive design but do not forget ergonomic, what’s the point of looking good when it’s torture to use

    RAM : more RAM is always good, full stop. just keep in mind with the price point you’re aiming.

    CPU : please consider supporting manufacturer that release their source code so the community can do things for you (benefit for both). stop using mediatek if they’re still hellbent on their current practice.

    Display : don’t care with 2K screen but it sounds nice in marketing though more people probably will realize that this is more detrimental (battery life, gpu power) than merit. also panel quality is more important than just PPI though it’s also harder to market.

    Screen size : provide option for every level. make sure the spec is comparable or at least don’t sacrifice too much.

    Fingerprint scanner : do this after you sort out other spec and your aimed budget for the phone production meet. don’t put the cart before the horse, most people who’s looking into cost-effective phone will put this on their #8932742 want-in-phone list.

    SD card slot : oh this is easy, if your phone doesn’t have this then it’s automatically thrown into no buy list for me. simple.

  48. desponent
    December 2, 2014

    Thickness : ffs stop this pissing contest to the point of having the phone unusable and sacrifice battery life.

    Design : you can make attractive design but do not forget ergonomic, what’s the point of looking good when it’s torture to use

    RAM : more RAM is always good, full stop. just keep in mind with the price point you’re aiming.

    CPU : please consider supporting manufacturer that release their source code so the community can do things for you (benefit for both). stop using mediatek if they’re still hellbent on their current practice.

    Display : don’t care with 2K screen but it sounds nice in marketing though more people probably will realize that this is more detrimental (battery life, gpu power) than merit. also panel quality is more important than just PPI though it’s also harder to market.

    Screen size : provide option for every level. make sure the spec is comparable or at least don’t sacrifice too much.

    Fingerprint scanner : do this after you sort out other spec and your aimed budget for the phone production meet. don’t put the cart before the horse, most people who’s looking into cost-effective phone will put this on their #8932742 want-in-phone list.

    SD card slot : oh this is easy, if your phone doesn’t have this then it’s automatically thrown into no buy list for me. simple.

  49. Anon
    December 2, 2014

    What phones need is : QUALITY. Simply as that.
    But i’ll join the thread and add some things:
    – Screen: More ppi, 4k displays and over. The truth is that these screens consume LESS power than a FHD screen. But there is no quality in chinese phones screens. You all know it, the new phones that are on the market with 4000-5000 mah with 480p screens run out of juice faster than a LG G3. Sadly, they had to open the road, and their screen is poor. The new QHD screens are better and better.
    – Battery: like i said above, the numbers: 2000 mah or 10000 mah, it means almost nothing. A quality OS and phone components are what counts. Look at normal AAA batteries. Same shape, same size, same chemicals inside, but some last longer, much longer. Quality.
    – SD card : yes. Cheap storage. But sadly, even if they have sd cards, you can’t install many things on them (games, apps), because software.
    – Finger Print scanners: no.
    – Camera: the pictures are made by the software. Let’s look at the overpriced fruit camera: great photos, but 8mp, laughing at many 13/16/20 mp phones. Just on Gizchina i seen so many phones with 13 mp cameras, making photos that are worse than a 5mp camera of phones made in Finland.

    So yeah, the numbers on a phone = hype. Quality matters.

  50. Khan Asparukh
    December 2, 2014

    all mantioned is uneccessery

  51. meemocrocodile
    December 2, 2014

    What i need:
    4,5″-4,7″ 720p or 1080p IPS screen with thin bezels.
    About 3000 mAh battery, maybe slightly more.
    SOC, that can decode 1080p 10bit MKV with heavy SSA/ASS subs without any freezes.
    Good sound.
    Good camera (not more megapixels, but more quality).
    Fast GPS/GLONASS.
    Open firmware, or closed firmware with long-term manufacturer’s support.
    That’s all.

    • meemocrocodile
      December 2, 2014

      Oh yes, and durable metal frame.

  52. Guest
    December 2, 2014

    What phones need is : QUALITY. Simply as that.
    But i’ll join the thread and add some things:
    – Screen: More ppi, 4k displays and over. The truth is that these screens consume LESS power than a FHD screen. But there is no quality in chinese phones screens. You all know it, the new phones that are on the market with 4000-5000 mah with 480p screens run out of juice faster than a LG G3. Sadly, they had to open the road, and their screen is poor. The new QHD screens are better and better.
    – Battery: like i said above, the numbers: 2000 mah or 10000 mah, it means almost nothing. A quality OS and phone components are what counts. Look at normal AAA batteries. Same shape, same size, same chemicals inside, but some last longer, much longer. Quality.
    – SD card : yes. Cheap storage. But sadly, even if they have sd cards, you can’t install many things on them (games, apps), because software.
    – Finger Print scanners: no.
    – Camera: the pictures are made by the software. Let’s look at the overpriced fruit camera: great photos, but 8mp, laughing at many 13/16/20 mp phones. Just on Gizchina i seen so many phones with 13 mp cameras, making photos that are worse than a 5mp camera of phones made in Finland.

    So yeah, the numbers on a phone = hype. Quality matters.

  53. Khan Asparukh
    December 2, 2014

    all mantioned is uneccessery

  54. Guest
    December 2, 2014

    What i need:
    4,5″-4,7″ 720p or 1080p IPS screen with thin bezels.
    About 3000 mAh battery, maybe slightly more.
    SOC, that can decode 1080p 10bit MKV with heavy SSA/ASS subs without any freezes.
    Good sound.
    Good camera (not more megapixels, but more quality).
    Fast GPS/GLONASS.
    Open firmware, or closed firmware with long-term manufacturer’s support.
    That’s all.

    • Guest
      December 2, 2014

      Oh yes, and durable metal frame.

  55. alisson
    December 2, 2014

    I want a smartphone with print scanner a good processor a good battery fhd screen memory card.

  56. Guest
    December 3, 2014

    I want a smartphone with print scanner a good processor a good battery fhd screen memory card.

  57. Rick Dees
    December 3, 2014

    Simple things. A phone that is still working 90 days after you have received it.

  58. Rick Dees
    December 3, 2014

    Simple things. A phone that is still working 90 days after you have received it.

  59. tweetycontrabajo
    December 3, 2014

    my wishes:
    A phone with at least 2GB ram.
    At least 8GB ROM.
    A resistant Glass.
    At least HD resolution.
    Hexacore processor would be enough speed, octacore is too much.
    Good GPU.
    Battery, damn it! just stop trying to do the slimmest phone, is totally secondary, battery is more important. Removable battery.
    Updates! release the damn kernel source, damn it, if your developers are retarded, let us cook our firmware.
    More frequencies, why make phones with only 2100 mhz wcdma? or only 850/2100 or 900/2100? just put an antenna that can handle more.

  60. Guest
    December 4, 2014

    my wishes:
    A phone with at least 2GB ram.
    At least 8GB ROM.
    A resistant Glass.
    At least HD resolution.
    Hexacore processor would be enough speed, octacore is too much.
    Good GPU.
    Battery, damn it! just stop trying to do the slimmest phone, is totally secondary, battery is more important. Removable battery.
    Updates! release the damn kernel source, damn it, if your developers are retarded, let us cook our firmware.
    More frequencies, why make phones with only 2100 mhz wcdma? or only 850/2100 or 900/2100? just put an antenna that can handle more.

  61. EvolvedApe
    December 4, 2014

    Fingerprint scanners are the biggest phone innovation in years. Stuff like Apple Pay is pushing open the door to securely combining our phones with our wallets. No more forgetting passwords, either.

    Better cameras, with OIS and larger size pixels are a good thing, too.

    Absurdly high resolution screens, not so good.

  62. EvolvedApe
    December 4, 2014

    Fingerprint scanners are the biggest phone innovation in years. Stuff like Apple Pay is pushing open the door to securely combining our phones with our wallets. No more forgetting passwords, either.

    Better cameras, with OIS and larger size pixels are a good thing, too.

    Absurdly high resolution screens, not so good.