Okay, so far so good, we’ve successfully made it past the first month and first thirty-one days of the year 2021, and looking back, you’ll agree with me that smartphone manufacturers are have already started giving us back to back, what they have in store for us for the year.
We saw lots of phones being announced from different manufacturers, and out of these numerous phones, we were able to pick out quite a handful of the best flagship phones to launch in January 2021.
And without further ado, here are all the best flagship smartphones that launched in Jan. 2021.
1. Xiaomi Mi 11
- Announced: 28 December, 2020.
Okay, the first phone we have on our list is the all-new Xiaomi Mi 11 smartphone. Now, first of all, this phone was not launched in January, but it did so during the last days of December 2020, Dec. 28 to be precise, so it easily fits into the list of smartphones that were launched in January 2021.
And to start with, the Xiaomi Mi 11 is currently the most advanced, best designed, and most featured-packed Xiaomi Mi phone that you can get your hands on right now.
It flaunts a 6.81 Inches Quad HD+ AMOLED display, with the resolution capping at 1440 x 3200 pixels, which in return boasts of a 515 PPI density. The display can attain high refresh rates speeds of up to 120Hz, it supports HDR10+, can hit a peak brightness of 1500 nits (as advertised), and is covered with the new Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on top of it, while the back is covered with Eco-leather.
The Mi 11 was the first-ever android phone to have Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 chipset running inside of it, and it ships with Android 11 out of the box, alongside Xiaomi’s latest version of its own proprietary UI, MIUI 12.5.
In the camera department, the Xiaomi Mi 11 boasts of a 108MP main camera sensor, same as the one on the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra, then it is joined closely by a 13MP ultrawide sensor, and a 5MP macro lens.
The Mi 11 comes with stereo speakers out of the box that are tuned by Harman Kardon, just as Samsung’s flagship phones stereo speakers are tuned by AKG.
In terms of battery and charging, the Mi 11 comes bundled with a 4600mAh battery in it, and it was the first android phone to come with no chargers or earphones in the box, following Apple’s footsteps.
The 55W fast charging speed of this thing can fill up its 4600mAh battery from 0 to 100% in just 45mins, and as if that wasn’t enough, there is also an additional badass 50W wireless charging speed, and a 10W reverse wireless charging speed.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 has only launched in China for now, but will be making its global debut on the 8th of February, so stay tuned, as we might also get to see the Pro model with more badass specs coming alongside it.
See Also: Watch how the Xiaomi Mi 11 gets disassembled and reassembled into a mechanical dragon.
2. Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G
- Announced: 24 December, 2020.
Before now, the Oppo Reno phones have always been perceived as top of the line mid-range smartphones, but with the Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G, it seems Oppo is willing to risk it all and cut a little slice of that flagship cake.
Launching with a Snapdragon 865 processor which is still a lot of power even in 2021, a 6.55 Inches Full HD+ 90Hz OLED display, with its resolution capped at 1080 x 2400, which in return pumps a pixel density of 402 PPI which is still a lot even by today’s standards.
In addition to that, the display emits a maximum brightness level of up to 1100 nits, and supports HDR10+.
The phone uses Sony’s brand new 50MP IMX766 (1/1.56″ in size) sensor as its main camera sensor, then it is followed closely by a 13MP Telephoto lens, a 16MP ultrawide, and finally a 2MP macro lens.
Lights are being kept on here by a 4500mAh power cell that is fitted with up to 65W charging speeds and reverse wireless charging as well. The phone is covered with two sheets of Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back.
Android 11 out of the box, with Oppo’s ColorOS 11.1 to boot, there is also a stereo speaker setup to keep the sound alive, which in turn is tuned by Dolby Atmos. So you see, the Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G checks all the boxes of a full-fledged flagship smartphone.
3. Vivo IQOO 7
- Announced: 11 January, 2021.
IQOO phones have always been marketed as Vivo’s gaming smartphones sub-brand, and the IQOO 7 delivered on whatever promises that Vivo is making with the IQOO series.
To start with, if given the chance to hold this phone in your hands right now, you’ll be staring at a 6.62 Inches Full HD+ pressure-sensitive 120Hz high refresh rate AMOLED screen, with up to 1000Hz touch sampling rate, making it the highest touch sampling rate ever on a smartphone.
The phone is fitted with some badass Hi-Res stereo speakers that are developed in partnership with Monster Audio, and can attain loudness levels of up to 71.5dB, the phone itself boasts of a 4D vibration system.
It was the second phone to launch with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 chipset running inside of it after the Xiaomi Mi 11, and boasts of two separate 2000mAh battery, making a total of 4000mAh, but that isn’t why we’re here.
Now the icing on the cake here is the fact that the 120W charging speed that this thing come up can fill up all that battery in just 15mins of charging.
The phone comes with a 48MP main camera on the back, a second 13MP ultrawide lens follows it closely, and finally a third 13MP telephoto lens complements the whole setup.
For the records, the Vivo IQOO 7 sold over $30.9 million worth of smartphones in its first sale that was held in China.
4. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- Announced: 14 January, 2021.
The third phone we have here is the yet best Samsung Galaxy S phone for 2021. Though Samsung in its usual fashion announced three smartphones this year with slightly varying specs, but the S21 Ultra still reigns ultimate among the trio, and it does so for a good reason.
First of all, with the ultra smartphone, you’re getting the best of the best both in terms of design, hardwere, software and features that Samsung ever has to offer in a smartphone.
To start with, we’re talking of a 6.8 Inches Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x display, with resolution levels capping at 1440 x 3200, same as the Xiaomi Mi 11, and attains a pixel density of 515 PPI.
For the records, this is best display that Samsung has ever fitted in a smartphone, and just as the Xiaomi Mi 11, it can also attain peak brightness levels of 1500nits, but does so, while consuming less power than its counterparts.
And for the first time ever, you can now enjoy the full 120Hz refresh rate speed at the full Quad HD+ resolution, and once again for the records, when not needed, the 120Hz refresh rate can drop down to as low as 10Hz, in order to conserve as much battery life as possible.
As expected and depending on your region, the Galaxy S21 Ultra alongside the other two Galaxy phones (S21 & S21+) all come with either Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 chipset, or Samsung’s own latest Exynos 2100 chipset, both of which are fabricated on Samsung’s 5nm process.
For cameras, you’ve got Samsung latest and second generation 108MP sensor acting as the main camera sensor, which is followed closely by a 10MP periscope 10x zoom lens, another 10MP normal telephoto lens with up to 3x zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide and laser focus. On the front is a 40MP lens, all five cameras can shoot 4K videos at 30 or 60 frames per second.
You’re getting Android 11 out of the box, with Samsung’s latest One UI 3.1 version on board, a chunky 5000mAh battery to boot with up to 25W charging speeds, 15W wireless charging speed, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging speed.
5. Vivo X60 Pro+ 5G
- Announced: 21 January, 2021.
Starting with the front side, the Vivo X60 Pro+ 5G flaunts a 6.56 Inches Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED display with a 240Hz touch sampling rate, and can reach a maximum brightness level of 1300nits.
It comes running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 5nm chipset out of the box, alongside Android 11 and Vivo’s new OriginOS 1.0 proprietary UI.
For cameras, you’re getting a top of the line 50MP main sensor with laser autofocus, an 8MP periscope telephoto that can do 5x optical zoom and up to 60x digital.
A second 32MP telephoto lens with up to 2x optical zoom for mid-range zoom and optical shots, and lastly, a 48MP ultrawide lens with Gimbal style image optimization.
The phone is fitted with a 4200mAh battery that can be bumped up using up to 55W of charging speeds., and the whole thing is covered up with an Eco-leather back.
6. Honor V40 5G
- Announced: 22 January, 2021.
The Honor V40 5G is the first Honor phone to launch after Huawei has sold off its Honor sub-brand, due to excessive ban pressure from the US government.
The phone comes with a 6.72 Inches curved 1080p+ 120Hz AMOLED display with up to 800nits peak brightness levels, and up to 300Hz touch sampling rate.
There is Mediatek’s former fastest Dimensity 1000+ chipset to keep things running as fast as the processor can take, a 4000mAh battery to keep the lights on, and stereo speakers setup to keep the sound booming.
You’re being treated to a 50MP main camera lens here, that is accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide and a 5MP macro, with all being supported with a laser autofocus tech that sits right next to the flash.
There is a 66W fast charging tech on board, which Honor claims can fill up the 4000mAh battery in just a little more than 30 mins (35mins precisely). In addition to that, you also get a 50W fast wireless charging that can do 0 to 50% in same 35mins, and lastly a 5W reverse wireless charging to complement the setup.
Sadly, the phone ships with Android 10 out of the box, and even though the Honor brand is now an independent brand, the V40 5G still ships with Huawei’s Magic UI 4.0 on it, and no Google Play services on board.
7. Sony Xperia Pro
- Announced: 24 February, 2020.
- Available: 27 January, 2021.
Aside from the fact that this phone was only made available for purchase almost a year later after it was announced in February 2020, it also happens to be the most expensive phone on the list, costing about 2,500 USD, and here’s what you get for such amount.
We’re talking of a 6.5 Inches 4K HDR 1B OLED display, no sign of high refresh rates here though. You get last year’s Snapdragon 865 chipset to boot which is still a lot, a triple 12MP camera setup that has a lot going on for it.
Stuffs like phase detection autofocus on all three sensors, support for human and animal eye-tracking autofocus and 20fps shooting with autofocus and auto-exposure.
The phone can be mounted on Sony’s new Alpha 1 full-frame camera and the display used as high quality external monitor for the Alpha 1 camera.
There is a stereo speaker setup to keep sounds booming, and this is one of the few phones outside the midrange segment that you can easily find a 3.5mm headphone jack.
In terms of power, the phone is fitted with a 4000mAh battery to keep the lights on, and charging it can only be done via its 21W charging speed. And that is all you get for 2,500 USD.
Alright gentlemen and ladies, that wraps it up for today on some of the best flagship phones that were launched during the month of January 2021, although we had other notable mentions like the Xiaomi Mi 11 and Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G from last year, but that doesn’t still make the list defunct.
So kindly give this post a thumbs up by sharing it if you enjoyed reading it, and as always, I’ll see you all tomorrow. #Peace Out.
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