GSMArena smartphone buyer's guide:January 2018 edition

01 January 2018
'Tis the season! Or rather, 'Twas the season, because the end of 2017 flew by us while we were putting the final touches on this buyer's guide. So, we are clearly a bit tardy for a holiday shopping guide but that was more or less intentional on our part. What better time for an overview of what are the best phones to get than the start of the year where all major announcements are well behind us and prices have settled after the holiday shopping frenzy.

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AnonD-709656, 08 Jan 2018IKR. Mi Note 3 is possibly the most balanced phone of the y... morehaving spent some more time with the device, i can't say that the camera is great and i don't any reason why dxomark gave it a better grade thana huawei mate 9,cause it is waay behind!! it overexposes a lot, photos lack contrast, no eay near those taken with a mate 9.buthaving said that, there a great price difference, so itisok, but certainly not great. forme it is a disappointment.

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    • AnonD-709656
    • Hxh
    • 08 Jan 2018

    Tanase Adrian, 02 Jan 2018where is the xiaomi mi note 3 in the 200-300euro category?!... moreIKR. Mi Note 3 is possibly the most balanced phone of the year. Amazing camera like the HTC U11, good performance similar to OnePlus 3T, fast fingerprint scanner, good sound quality, etc.

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      • AnonD-709656
      • Hxh
      • 08 Jan 2018

      A perfect phone in my opinion should have:
      A metal body and water resistance like the iPhone 7
      Google Pixel 2's camera and LG V30's wide angle lens.
      Fingerprint scanner position like G6 and accuracy like the Mi 6
      Front Firing speakers and 18:9 screen to body ratio like the Google Pixel 2 XL
      Performance like the Razor Phone.
      Phone durability like the Nokia 6 and with the price of an Xiaomi Mi 6.

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        • Erli
        • 3IU
        • 07 Jan 2018

        I think iPhone X should made it to the list

          • L
          • LLL
          • tDS
          • 04 Jan 2018

          Anonymous, 01 Jan 2018Did you ever realize that phones with 1/2.3" all have f2.0 ... moreIIRC, HTC did pair a 1/2.3" sensor with F/1.8 aperture in the HTC 10.

          Anyway, 2017 was the year many brands went for smaller sensors or stayed the same size, relative to 2016.
          HTC smaller 1/2.5", LG even smaller 1/3", Google smaller 1/2.5", Samsung stayed 1/2.5", Sony stayed 1/2.3", and many others just settled for 1.2,9".

          I am not hoping for a 1" or 1/1.5" sensor. 1/2" should be a more realistic improvement for OEMs to aim for.
          That is if they dare to buck the trend of silly thinnes and to go for some thickness with room for bigger battery and more solid build quality.

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            • AnonD-397802
            • 7k6
            • 04 Jan 2018

            If price is no objection then why didn't you include the best video capturing and highest rated screen by displaymate? And not to mention the push for the best biometric security possible?

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              • Nonsense
              • Hrk
              • 04 Jan 2018

              Where is my favourite Iphone x? Not even being mentioned in the list?

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                • Waheva
                • rKH
                • 04 Jan 2018

                AnonD-80334, 03 Jan 20186s is recommended as a good buy?? seriously, after all the ... moreThere won't be any performance degradation if you're buying a new one, they said it's to keep the battery from wearing down too quickly. Although i don't know how much of it is the truth.

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                  • najib
                  • D0e
                  • 03 Jan 2018

                  It's funny that in Malaysia Moto G5s plus is cheaper than Xiaomi MiA1 ($200 vs $220).

                  Given this scenario, which one would be a better value buy?

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                    • AnonD-80334
                    • MiG
                    • 03 Jan 2018

                    6s is recommended as a good buy?? seriously, after all the performance downgrade fiasco by Apple? Even 7 should not be in that list as Apple added that notorious 'feature' for 7 as well, who knows when apple will think it's good idea to slow down your phone, not like they are transparent about it or tell you when they think you should replace battery, let that 'planned' feature of letting users decide what they want to do roll out to iOS then recommend Apple.

                      One thing this article mentions is that prices have went up and down on some models. Per HTC.com, the price of the U11 with 6 gigs of and 128 gb harddrive has went from 729 to 679 back and forth many times over the past several months.

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                        • AnonD-728057
                        • nDF
                        • 03 Jan 2018

                        In the Lower mid-ranger category (~€300):

                        What about the Moto Z?
                        I could get it for about €320 (that's about my budget limit)

                        I saw the Moto G5 Plus acclaimed highly in that price range or the Z Play.
                        But the Moto Z has a Snapdragon 820, 4GB Ram (vs 625 & 3GB - only versions here for G5 Plus & Z Play)

                        Thinking about the rate at which processing speeds are becoming obsolete, wouldn't getting that be better than one with Snapdragon 625 and 3 gigs of ram (only version available in my country)

                        Any other recommendations within that budget much appreciated!

                          where is the xiaomi mi note 3 in the 200-300euro category?!?! that is probably the best smartphone in that price range vang for the buck and the performance. just because you did not review it it doesn't mean it doesn't have to be in there.

                            Sakhi, 02 Jan 2018How in the world is ZTE Axon 7 in the range of 200-300 ? i ... morecheers,mate,you can find one on aliexpress for 285$ plus 25$ dhl shipping.The store is goldway,Hong Kong..

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                              • AnonD-727918
                              • QK9
                              • 02 Jan 2018

                              Anonymous, 02 Jan 2018No Essential Phone? Sorry but its omission is pretty glarin... moreSorry buddy, but there are a lot of people on T-Mobile using the Essential phone that are getting really crappy LTE signals. The phone is some areas is almost unusable, whereas other branded phones get really good coverage with the same sim card. Those on AT&T might have a different experience. I wanted to get the Essential phone so bad, but since I'm on T-Mobile, it's a no-go. I don't even want to take the chance.

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                                • AnonD-655832
                                • J%g
                                • 02 Jan 2018

                                Missing BlackBerry KEYone. For those who type a lot its keyboard it's really appealing. Thus battery lasts long.

                                  ithehappy, 01 Jan 2018You Sony trolls never fail to seem to amaze us ROFL. That's... moreIt's not 1s, the exif is modified for the picture to be attached. There are many more pictures from it including: https://www.esato.com/phonephotos/viewphotos.php?pid=89194&uid=224273
                                  Do that with any of your low-range!

                                  XA1's are very well tuned compared to any other device in its class overall. Their cameras using third party apps are doing much better than its competition. Yes stock camera is a little poor but the device can do a lot more.

                                  As a moderator to tell about someone is trolling having no idea to who is addressing with, how can you call it?!

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 6XU
                                    • 02 Jan 2018

                                    Sony XZ Premium is the best phone so far.

                                      Huawei mate 10 (non pro) was nominated for beststill camera while amte10 pro was nominated for best still camera and videos? Dont they use the same camera and software

                                        Anonymous, 01 Jan 2018Did you ever realize that phones with 1/2.3" all have f2.0 ... morePhones are all about getting top quality though small sized. Big aperture is a must, the bigger the better quality, even if with not such focus as with f8. But hey, even human eye is not all-in-focus. There are also no apps for that, its not priority. Still it was awesome, that feature that lumias and almost nobody else had.