The best smartphones money can buy

If you have a budget of just under Rs 50,000, usher in the New Year with these beauties.

This is for the big boys of smartphones. All the phones listed here are top-notch performers in their own right and the manufacturers of these beauties have not spared any effort to make them the best: both in style and performance. The smartphones mentioned below do not follow any particular ranking, but are a collection of the best that money can buy.

Apple 6S (16GB)

Photograph: Courtesy, Apple

The all-metal Apple 6S is one of the best-looking smartphones in the market today. It has an LED backlit IPS capacitive display that supports 750 x 1334 pixels resolution. This display is made up of ion strengthened glass and comes with an oleophobic coating. To run it smoothly, it has been provided with the in-house designed 1.8GHz dual-core A9 processor along with PowerVR GT7600 GPU and 2GB of RAM.

This 4G enabled smartphone has two cameras: one of them placed at the back has a 12-megapixel sensor and the other placed at the front has a 5-megapixel sensor.

Apple has also put in several sensors like fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, compass and barometer. It is offered in four different colour options including gold, grey, silver and red.

The 16GB variant of Apple 6S is priced at Rs 48,499.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

Photograph: Courtesy, Samsung

The revolutionary dual display design of Samsung has made the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge a head turner. The 5.1 inch Super AMOLED screen of this smartphone is very bright and can display images in 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution.

A 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor along with 64GB of ROM and 3GB of RAM runs the new Galaxy S6 Edge that is capable of accessing the 4G network.

If you are a photography buff, then the two cameras -- a 16-megapixel camera placed at the back and the other a 5-megapixel shooter embedded at the front -- is just for you. To provide adequate power, this handset packs in a 2600mAh Li-ion battery.

Samsung is offering this mobile phone for Rs 47,900.

LG G4

Photograph: Courtesy, LG

This flagship device has a beautiful but minimalistic design and is crafted in metal that is packed with premium features. This 148.9g phone has overall dimensions of 148.9mm x 76.1mm x 8.9 mm. The IPS Quantum display of this phone has a size of 5.5-inch and can project images in 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution giving it a pixel density of 538ppi.

It comes out of the box with Android 5.1.1 OS (upgradable to Android 6.0 Marshmallow) and is powered by a 1.8GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor in conjunction with 3GB of RAM.

Other features of this smartphone include 16-megapixel rear camera with double optical stabilisation and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

The handset is available in 32GB storage option and a microSD card slot that allows you to add up to 128GB of external memory to it. This 4G enabled smartphone also supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB port, AGPS and GLONASS.

The sensors provided with LG G3 include an Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity sensor and Compass.

It is available for a price tag of Rs 35,186.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Photograph: Courtesy, Samsung

This elegant looking handset from Samsung boasts of a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED capacitive screen space. This display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 layer supports images in 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution. It is provided with the recent Android 5.1.1 Lollipop OS with the Touch Wiz layered over the top.

The company has made this smartphone available in 32GB/64GB of ROM options and furthermore, provided a microSD car slot allowing users to add up to 128GB of external memory.

This handset runs on a powerful octa-core (quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57) Exynos 7420 processor coupled to Mali- T760MP8 GPU and 4GB of RAM.

For taking photos or shooting videos, it has two powerful shooters: one of them being a 16-megapixel camera at the back and the other being a 5-megapixel camera at the front. Supporting all the major connectivity features including 4G LTE, this smartphone runs on a 3000mAh Li-Po battery and is available in black sapphire, gold platinum, silver titan, and white pearl colour options.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is available at a price of Rs 49,990.

Nexus 6P

Photograph: Courtesy, Google

The new Nexus flagship smartphone that is built with premium materials comes with a huge 5.7 inch IPS display covered by both the scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 4 as well as an oleophobic layer.

This display can support an amazing 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution.

It has two powerful shooters -- one of them a 12.3-megapixel camera at the back and the other an 8-megapixel camera at the front. The handset is run by a combination of octa-core (quad-core 1.55 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A57) Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810 processor along with Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM.

For storage, the designers of this smartphone have made it available in three different storage options of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. A 3000mAh battery assures long usage time. Supporting a wide range of connectivity options Nexus 6P comes in a slew of multiple colours including aluminium, graphite and frost.

This flagship device from Nexus is priced at Rs 42,990.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL dual SIM

Photograph: Courtesy, Micromax

This smartphone from Microsoft is one of the most expensive smartphones available in the market today. It has a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED capacitive display covered with Gorilla Glass 4 that supports 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution.

It runs on the latest Microsoft Windows 10 OS. To run it without any problem, it houses an octa-core (quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57) Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810 processor in conjunction with Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM.

For taking photographs, it sports two shooters: one of them placed at the back with a 20-megapixel sensor and the other embedded at the front with a 5-megapixel sensor.

This smartphone comes with 32GB of ROM and a microSD card slot that allows users to add up to 128GB of external memory.

Featuring a wide range of connectivity options, it houses several sensors like an Iris scanner, an accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, compass, and barometer. This handset hides a 3340mAh battery under its hood and is available for a price tag of Rs 49,399.

HTC Butterfly S

Photograph: Courtesy, HTC

This model of HTC comes with a huge Super LCD 3 capacitive 5-inch touchscreen. The display that is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 can render images in 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution.

Butterfly S boasts of two capable cameras to take brilliant pictures: one of them with a 4-megapixel sensor is placed at the back and the other with a 2-megapixel sensor is placed at the front.

A 1.9GHz quad-core Krait 300 Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset along with Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM runs this handset smoothly.

This model supports a wide range of connectivity options including 4G, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, USM port, AGPS and GLONASS. The sensors provided with HTC Butterfly include an Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity sensor and Compass. The company has provided this smartphone with a 3200mAh battery in four colour options of black, white, red and grey.

It comes with a price tag of Rs 49,990.

Sony Xperia Z5 Dual

Photograph: Courtesy, Sony

This fantastically designed product from Sony boasts of a 5.2-inch display that supports 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution. It has a humongous 23-megapixel camera at the back and a standard 5-megapixel camera at the front.

A powerful combination of an octa-core (quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57) Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810 processor along with Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM makes it a powerful performer.

It is available with 32GB of inbuilt memory and a microSD card slot that allows the user to add a further 200GB of external memory.

It is priced at Rs 47,250.

Oppo N3

Photograph: Courtesy, Oppo

This flagship Chinese model is packed with innumerable features that allow it to beat the best in the market by both its features and price.

It has a 5.5-inch IPS capacitive display that supports 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution. It also includes a 2.3GHz quad-core Krait 400 Qualcomm processor along with Adreno 430 GPU and 2GB of RAM.

This 4G enabled smartphone has two 16-megapixel cameras; one of them placed at the back and the other placed at the front.

To run it without a hitch, Oppo has put in several sensors like fingerprint sensor, an accelerometer, gyro, a proximity sensor and compass.

It is offered in white colour only at a price tag of Rs 42,120.