CES 2016: 10 Smartphones That Stole The Show

The Smartest Smartphones

Between the iPhone 6s, Galaxy S6 and other scintillating phones on both the premium end and low end, it has been a year of tough smartphone competition for vendors.

Luckily, companies like ZTE and LG brought their A games to CES 2016, which took place this week in Las Vegas. The show, which serves as a launch pad for vendors to unveil and show off their newest and greatest devices, revealed an array of new midrange smartphones.

From Huawei's new debut phone in the U.S. market, the Honor 5, to LG's new premium Signature-branded phone, the K-Series K7 and K10, following are 10 of the coolest smartphones at CES this year.

Huawei Honor 5X

At CES, Huawei said it is entering the U.S. market this year with a premium-looking but inexpensive smartphone as its debut product.

For $199.99, the Honor 5X looks pretty high end -- at least on the exterior. The 5.5-inch smartphone has a metal frame and fingerprint sensor. On the inside, this smartphone packs a Snapdragon 615 processor, a 3,000mAh battery that gives the device enough juice to last the day, and 2 GB of RAM.

The Honor 5X, however, still runs on Android Lollipop, as opposed to the recently released Marshmallow OS version. The smartphone, which will be released later in January, will be sold unlocked.

Alcatel Pixi 4 Series

Alcatel OneTouch revealed a new smartphone series, the Pixi 4. This lineup of what Alcatel calls "premium entry-level devices" contains a 3.5-inch and 4-inch smartphone.

The 3.5-inch smartphone will have an HVGA display and run on a dual-core MediaTek processor. This smartphone contains a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera and 3-megapixel front-facing camera, and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop. The 4-inch version contains a FQVGA resolution display and quad-core MediaTek processor. This smartphone comes in two versions -- either a phone with 516 MB of RAM with 4 GB of built-in storage, or 1 GB of RAM with 8 GB of built-in storage. It also runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-box. Alcatel has not revealed pricing or availability for its new Pixi 4 smartphones.

ZTE Avid Plus

ZTE's Avid Plus, unveiled at CES, is an entry-level 5-inch smartphone. The phone costs just $115.

On the outside, this smartphone contains an LCD display with 854 x 480 resolution.

On the inside, the Avis Plus contains a Snapdragon quad-core processor and 1 GB of RAM, as well as 8 GB of built-in storage. The Avid Plus also comes with a 2,300mAh battery, as well as a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera. This smartphone runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop, and will be available starting Jan. 20.

ZTE Grand X3

ZTE's Grand X3, like the Avid Plus, is an entry-level smartphone at just $130. However, the Grand X3 flaunts features that are a little bit better than that of its companion.

The 5.5-inch ZTE Grand X3 has a slim 9mm frame with a curved screen that makes it comfortable to hold. On the inside, the Grand X3 packs a Snapdragon 210 quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM.

The Grand X3 also runs on Android 5.1 and features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and 2-megapixel front-facing camera, as well as a USB Type-C connector and 3,080mAh battery. This smartphone will be available later in January from Cricket Wireless.

Alcatel Fierce XL

In addition to the Pixi 4, Alcatel lifted the curtain on its Onetouch Fierce XL smartphone, another low-range phone but running on Windows OS as opposed to Android. The Onetouch Fierce XL has a 5.5-inch display with a plastic body, matching its price tag.

On the inside, the Onetouch Fierce XL packs a quad-core processor clocking in at 1.1GHz, as well as 16 GB of storage and a slow-charging 2,500 battery, making it clear that the smartphone is not intended to be a flagship. This smartphone also contains an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Alcatel Fierce XL is priced at $140 and will be available through T-Mobile later in the month.

LG K-Series

LG unveiled its K-Series at CES, a new lineup of smartphones that contains enhanced camera technology and UX features. At the helm of this lineup are the 5.3-inch K10 and 5-inch K7, which both feature cameras that have Gesture Shot and Gesture Interval Shot, helping users take better selfies.

The K10, which contains a 8-megapixel rear-facing and 5-megapixel front-facing camera, has a 2,300mAh battery with 16 GB of storage and runs on Android Lollipop 5.1. The K7, meanwhile, touts a 5-megapixel front- and rear-facing camera and a 2,125mAh battery with 8 GB of storage, running on Android Lollipop as well. Details on pricing and availability for the K-Series smartphones were not immediately released.

Project Tango

Google and Lenovo made news at CES with their joint efforts on Project Tango, which allows devices to map the 3-D space around them in real time using cameras and sensors.

Tango, which Google first unveiled two years ago, has been an ongoing project since it was first introduced. Now, Lenovo has stated that it will be the first manufacturer to release a consumer handset with Tango built into it.

While not much was revealed about Project Tango, according to Lenovo and Google, the smartphone running Project Tango will be less than 6.5 inches and will arrive this upcoming summer.

Nuu Mobile X4, Nuu N5L

Nuu Mobile showcased its 5-inch Nuu Mobile X4, an inexpensive competitor to Motorola's Moto G.

For $170, this phone contains a 1,280 x 720p display, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2,250mAh battery. The Android 5.1 Lollipop smartphone packs a quad-core MediaTek processor and 16 GB of storage. The phone will be available in mid-January.

In addition to the Nuu Mobile X4, Nuu Mobile also unveiled the Nuu N5L, another inexpensive Android phone. For $130, this 5.5-inch smartphone packs a MediaTek quad-core processor and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop software.

Other features of the Nuu Mobile N5L include an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera, in addition to 8 GB of internal storage and 16 GB of RAM. The phone also supports a MicroSD card with storage for up to 32 GB and a 3,000 mAh battery.

LeTV Le Max Pro

At CES, LeTV's Le Max Pro was unveiled as the first handset to sport Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 820 processor.

Le Max Pro, which runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, shapes up to be a high-end smartphone. It will tout a 6.33-inch display with 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, as well as 4 GB of RAM and either 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB of storage. Meanwhile, the phone will contain a 21-megapixel rear-facing camera, a USB Type-C port, quick charge support and a fingerprint scanner.

The smartphone will be available in the first half of 2016, but no official release date or price has been revealed.

Acer Liquid Jade

Acer showed off its new Windows Phone at CES, the Liquid Jade Primo. The 5.5-inch Liquid Jade Primo, first unveiled in September, is a high-end Windows 10 phone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor with a USB-C port on the bottom.

This smartphone is similar to Microsoft's Lumia 950, and contains an 8-megapixel front camera and 21-megapixel rear-facing camera. It is unknown when Acer's Liquid Jade will be released but the smartphone will cost $549 in the U.S.