ZTE Axon Elite

Under the hood sits a Snapdragon 810, pairing four Cortex-A53 cores with four Cortex-A57 cores for a setup that was considered high-end when this phone launched. It's backed by 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, with microSD expansion up to 128 GB if you need more room. The 5.5-inch IPS LCD panel runs at full HD resolution with a pixel density of 401 ppi, giving sharp text and images for everyday use.

On the camera side, ZTE went with a dual rear setup, a 13 MP main sensor paired with a 2MP unit, autofocus and dual-LED flash included. It can shoot up to 4K video, which was uncommon at this price tier back then. An 8 MP front camera handles selfies. ZTE Axon Elite price in Malaysia starts from RM799.

The 3000 mAh battery is non-removable but reasonable for the 9.3mm body, and you still get a fingerprint sensor, NFC and dual SIM support with LTE. It runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, so software age is worth weighing against the hardware specs.