A few weeks ago, Master Lu officially released its top 10 most fluent smartphones list for October 2021. Ordinarily, we expect flagship smartphones to be more fluent than mid-range and entry-level smartphones. However, the case is different for this October list. It appears that there are a lot of mid-range smartphones on the list which surpass flagship devices. This shows that UI optimization is the key when it comes to smartphone fluency. Here are the top 10 most fluent smartphones for October 2021.
1. BLACK SHARK 4S PRO
Master Lu’s list shows that Black Shark 4S Pro is the champion for the October 2021 most fluent smartphones list. This device has an average fluency score of 204.69 in the experience evaluation. As a gaming flagship smartphone, the Black Shark 4S Pro is fully equipped with basic configuration, and the Snapdragon 888 Plus is the anchor of this device. The operating system is Black Shark JOYUI 12.8 (MIUI 12). The system also comes with features such as light cone dynamic aesthetics and synesthetic visual design. In addition, there is also a Samsung E4 screen with a refresh rate of 144Hz and a touch sampling rate of 720Hz. Thus, the fineness and smoothness of this device are top-notch.
2. REALME Q3S
Although the Realme Q3 is a mid-range smartphone, this device is the second most fluent smartphone for October 2021. This device comes with a screen that has a 144Hz refresh rate and also supports seven-speed adjustment. On the system end, this device comes with the Realme UI 2.0 on top of Android 11 and it also supports system clones. Under the hood, this smartphone comes with an 8nm Snapdragon 750G 5G mid-range processor. This device has an average fluency score of 197.48 in the experience evaluation.
3. OPPO K9S
Another mid-range smartphone in the list of most fluent smartphones for October 2021 is the Oppo K9s. This smartphone comes with a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. This mid-range smartphone also comes with ColorOS 11.2 on top of Android 11 out-of-the-box. The Oppo K9s uses a 6nm Snapdragon 778G 5G SoC. This device has an average fluency score of 197.43 in the experience evaluation.
4. REALME GT NEO 2T
The Realme GT Neo 2T uses a 6nm Dimensity 1200 flagship SoC. This smartphone is basically a flagship smartphone but the Dimensity 1200 performance is not exactly a top-notch chip. Nevertheless, this device is one of the most fluent smartphones in October 2021. This smartphone comes with a Super AMOLED display that supports 120Hz. For its software, this device uses Realme UI 2.0 on top of Android 11. This device has an average fluency score of 195.87 in the experience evaluation.
5. BLACK SHARK 4S
Another Black Shark device on this list is the Black Shark 4S. Unlike the Pro model, this smartphone comes with a pseudo-flagship processor, Snapdragon 870. However, the processor is not the reason that this device makes this list. The display and operating system is the reason behind its inclusion. This smartphone comes with JOYUI 12.8 which takes most of its features from MIUI 12. Furthermore, this system supports light cone dynamic aesthetics and synesthetic visual design. This device has an average fluency score of 188.78 in the experience evaluation.
6. REDMI NOTE 11 PRO+
The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ is a mid-range smartphone with flagship specifications. This smartphone comes with a 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G processor. It is currently one of the most popular devices in the Redmi Note series. The software optimization of this device is top-notch and this gives the Note 11 Pro+ a spot on the top 10 most-fluent smartphone list for October 2021. This smartphone comes with MIUI 12.5 on top of the Android 11 system. It also uses a pretty decent Super AMOLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10. This device has an average fluency score of 188.15 in the experience evaluation.
7. REDMI NOTE 11 PRO
Just like the Redmi Note 11 Pro+, the Redmi Note 11 Pro is also a pretty decent device. These devices are almost the same. The major difference between these smartphones is in the weight, main camera, battery capacity, and fast charging. The software and display of these smartphones are pretty the same thus it’s not a surprise that the Note 11 Pro and Note 11 Pro+ are on this list. The average fluency score of this smartphone is about 187.27 making it the seventh most fluent smartphone in October 2021.
8. ONEPLUS 9RT
The OnePlus 9RT was officially released back in October and this smartphone comes with a flagship processor, Snapdragon 888 5G SoC. However, this device is one of the most-fluent smartphones in October 2021. This smartphone comes with an AMOLED display that supports 120Hz. For its software, this device uses ColorOS 12 on top of Android 11. This device has an average fluency score of 180.37 in the experience evaluation. Although this device is a flagship smartphone, its evaluation score is a far cry from many mid-range devices on the list.
9. VIVO T1
The Vivo T1 is the only Vivo smartphone on the top 10 list of most fluent smartphones for October 2021. This mid-range smartphone comes with a 6nm Snapdragon 778G 5G SoC. The company uses an OriginOS on top of Android 11 and this system comes with a lot of optimizations. This smartphone also comes with a 6.67-inch IPS LCD display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. This device has an average fluency score of 179.68 in the experience evaluation.
10. HONOR X30I
On the tenth spot, we have the only Honor device on the list and this is the Honor X30i which was released in October. This mid-range smartphone uses a MediaTek Dimensity 810 5G SoC. It also comes with the Magic UI 5.0 system on top of Android 11 but it does not support Google Play Services. Nevertheless, the fluency is top-notch and it comes with a 90Hz refresh rate. This is the only smartphone on this list that supports less than a 120Hz refresh rate. This device has an average fluency score of 166.32 in the experience evaluation.
CONCLUSION
Looking at the top 10 most fluent smartphones for October 2021, there are a lot of mid-range models on the list that are more fluent than flagships. We have the likes of Realme Q3s, Oppo K9s, Redmi Note11 Pro series, Honor X30i, and Vivo T1 which are all mid-range smartphones. Many mid-range smartphones are more fluent and they come with UI polishing technology. This makes some of these mid-range devices very attractive. According to Master Lu, hardware stacking (Snapdragon 888/Plus+LPDDR5+UFS3.1) did not help some flagships get higher fluency.