The best phones of the decade - part 1

29 December 2019
We have a look back at some of the best phones of the decade that heralded major developments.

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Anonymous, 30 Dec 2019if I were you, i'd start checking why the world, sports wor... moreI thought of helping him understand too, but he/she/it is just having a bad decade. There's nothing you can do, that will make sense to him :-)

    • A
    • Alboooz
    • naq
    • 30 Dec 2019

    s-pen pusher, 30 Dec 2019why don't they hire you at gsma? i agree with everything th... moreYes, you are right, Samsung galaxy note edge is one of the best from all this phones.
    I own SG Note Edge, rooted system, like new one, i would never give up for any of this most expensive phones of this days released.

      • I
      • Ismail
      • KSf
      • 30 Dec 2019

      I was expecting my beloved motorola defy in the list.

        Galaxy Note might have been the most influential smartphone of this early decade.

          Nexus One, anyone?

          I owned the iPhone 4, HTC One M7, and got a Nexus 4 from my cousin. From 2010-2014 still had great sizes for phones. From that first half of the decade, the only one I still own is the Xiaomi Mi 3. I was actually using it the other night for FM radio. I do yearn for those years in terms of hardware. But the software we have now is why I can't really go back. And the cameras have been pretty amazing since 2016.

          Getting a phone from 2013-2014 would only be for nostalgia but I would never use those phones. But you know what I can use that was released in that era? A PS Vita slim! I've been using mine alot lately because I decided to finish what I started and beat Emerald and Ruby Weapon in FF7 again. And also finish up my FF10 for the third time.

          Video game handhelds age better than smartphones. I actually think the Vita is superior to the Switch lite. Looks better, more portable, has many multimedia features like wireless Bluetooth that the Switch lacks. My favorite because it's a retro machine for different PlayStations I've owned. It also helps that new handhelds aren't released every year like smartphones do.

            • J
            • Jay
            • D0d
            • 30 Dec 2019

            Waiting for part 2

              Where the hell is Nokia N9-First truly touch screen phone with a innovative unibody design and navigation system years ahead of competition.
              Lumia 1020 second largest sensor after 808 with her and OIS and the best camera phone for it's time.
              Lumia 920-First phone with OIS and Bokeh effect (even if it was done by software) with best lowlight imaging capabilities and one the first modern phone with QI wireless charging.
              Lumia 1520-one of the few and best windows Phablet
              that kicked ass of every lagdroid.
              Sharp Aquos-First bezel less phone copied by Xiaomi later.
              HTC one M8-that started the dual camera trend.
              Yet gsmarena included all the crapple iphones with medicore hardware and handicapped software didn't expected such a bias from you guys

                • t
                • thechickadee
                • fFC
                • 30 Dec 2019

                I'm surprised the iphone 4s is not on this list, siri might not be the best, but it was the one who kickstarted the digital personal assistant trend

                  • x
                  • xylo
                  • 6Qe
                  • 30 Dec 2019

                  Ken2t, 30 Dec 2019Lemme guess on part 2, Huawei, Xiaomi will surely conquer t... moreXiaomi is yet to conquer much. They're barely selling mid-rangers. The are known for good budget phones like Note Series and few Android One phones.

                  Only now they're able to put up a good upper-midranger Mi 9T / Pro.

                  Huawei is weird, neither best nor cheap.

                    • x
                    • xylo
                    • 6Qe
                    • 30 Dec 2019

                    YUKI93, 30 Dec 2019Why the f*** the Nokia Lumia 1020 is not on that list? That... moreYes both last few Lumia flagships and N9

                      Why the f*** the Nokia Lumia 1020 is not on that list? That Lumia is a much better evolution that the 808 because of OIS and RAW support. The 808 has neither of those, which stops me from buying one as I want total control with the camera settings.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • vxs
                        • 30 Dec 2019

                        [deleted post]if I were you, i'd start checking why the world, sports world, business world and others is calling 2010-2019 the "decade" instead of 2011-2020, not everything you know from the past or the things you have been taught will stay the same in the future

                          • Z
                          • Zion
                          • fCT
                          • 30 Dec 2019

                          Where's samsung galaxy s3 in this list?

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • PZa
                            • 30 Dec 2019

                            Awesome look back thanks.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • xDn
                              • 30 Dec 2019

                              The best phone was moto x

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • LQu
                                • 30 Dec 2019

                                Z3 .....

                                Extreme battery endurance.
                                Best design
                                Stereo speakers
                                Fancy construction
                                IP68
                                Dual sim
                                FM radio

                                  • s
                                  • s-pen pusher
                                  • PMT
                                  • 30 Dec 2019

                                  Anonymous, 29 Dec 20192010: iPhone 4 has literally no competition on Android side... morewhy don't they hire you at gsma? i agree with everything that you wrote except for the 2014, wherein at least you should have mentioned the Galaxy Note 4 and the Note Edge- asid from being great phones, these two also started the shift of samsung from all plastic build; likewise the Note Edge was an attempt to show off function possibilities of screen flowing to the edges (although it did not take off at all as samsung seem to have abandoned the development of edge functions while leaving that image distorting curved edges).

                                    Perhaps on the next part, the Xperia Premiums would be included with their 4K screens that no one else has even today. And yet they are surprisingly cheaper than those that don't have it.

                                      • K
                                      • Ken2t
                                      • sxs
                                      • 30 Dec 2019

                                      Lemme guess on part 2, Huawei, Xiaomi will surely conquer the half of the content

                                        • R
                                        • Richsrs
                                        • SXy
                                        • 30 Dec 2019

                                        Misha.85, 29 Dec 2019Sorry to break it to you, but the year 0 never existed, cou... moreWhen spoken, in literally no context a decade is 2011-2020 inclusive. Since it's arbitrary in the first place, we use the more common 2010-2019 inclusive notation for a decade.

                                        The only argument for it is that using this method in Gregorian calendar there is no year 0 and it starts at 1 AD so the "0s" is a nine year period. When Julian calendar was made, zero wasn't "invented" yet thus this peculiarity. In astronomical time where year 0 is a thing its no longer the case however.

                                        So the more logical approach is to use 2010-2019 inclusive notation for this decade. Your method makes no sense unless you want to dispute the existence of zero which is very much is a thing. It's not technically wrong but it's not as intuitive as the one most people use.

                                        You're not technically wrong but in the given context you're totally wrong in correcting people, as they're using the correct more commonly accepted notation.

                                        Look at things like Java where arrays start at position 0. Starting numbering on zero is totally a thing while other languages start at 1. In English the numbering of decade's years starts at zero. Deal with it.

                                        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade