Smartphone buyer's guide: November 2018 edition

21 November 2018
Decisions, decisions, decisions. The holiday season is upon us and 'tis the season of joy and happiness. But it could also be one of the most stressful events each year because them presents won't buy themselves, will they? That's why we decided to pitch in and hopefully make some of those decisions easier for you.

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  • b
  • balali
  • CDs
  • 05 Dec 2018

am from Tanzania ibought smartphone s9 galaxy when lwas beijing so when lwas back home it does not function it say cellular data is not available l have try for several times so l need your clarification

    • A
    • Anonymous
    • X{X
    • 04 Dec 2018

    S9 plus.. nothing is bad. Really the best device yet

      • L
      • Lightning McQueen
      • uIS
      • 30 Nov 2018

      PrashBricks III, 23 Nov 2018Give me a phone with a screen less than 5 inch, a headphone... moreThan that the Galaxy S6 if that's what you want

        • D
        • AnonD-800802
        • vCK
        • 28 Nov 2018

        Qwerty2018, 23 Nov 2018The "best" "smart" phone for gaming... LOL ... How is it... moreLove this comment cos when it comes down to it games just run better on iOS than any android no matter how “better” you think the specs are Hahahaha and clearly you’ve never held the xs max or can afford it, but hey that’s a different story.

          • p
          • paul
          • naP
          • 27 Nov 2018

          Anonymous, 26 Nov 2018This will be LG flagships with quad dac and samsung flagshi... moreOr buy an audioquest dragonfly black(99) or red (199).
          Then you've got a dac and amp in one. and on every device the same perfect sound.
          usb feeded

            • A
            • Adi
            • tUa
            • 26 Nov 2018

            GSMarena should make this type of list every 2-3 months. Very useful.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • 6p$
              • 26 Nov 2018

              Jayant, 25 Nov 2018Why no Best Music Phone Category ? ??.......That is one imp... moreThis will be LG flagships with quad dac and samsung flagships tuned by AKG.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 6p$
                • 26 Nov 2018

                Shanti Dope, 25 Nov 2018Just wanna ask, if you got the Android Pie on your phone al... moreXz1/xz1 compact camera is mediocre at best. Mi A2's camera is better in both good and low light.

                  • K
                  • KAZ75
                  • rRU
                  • 25 Nov 2018

                  KAZ75, 25 Nov 2018Some of you f***s just kill me. All this stuff is a matte... moreMy bad accidentally sent, as I was saying I had a cheap phone but it made calls, could text, and I could play games, browse the Internet, record, pretty much the same s**t the flagship do. For some reason I started reading about upcoming phones and reviews and what not all the time, why it interested me I don't know. Anyways now I gotta lg v40 and I love it, think its great does everything I want and it didn't even make this list even though it could of been added to a number of categories, whatever! Why its such an underdog and dissed on so much I don't know but the point is I like it, don't care what anyone else thinks. My point is if you commented on what your favorite phone is and some turd s**t all over it don't let it throw sand in your fruit loops. Their like me and have nothing better to do than troll GSM and spread their stupid opinions.

                    • K
                    • KAZ75
                    • rRU
                    • 25 Nov 2018

                    Some of you f***s just kill me. All this stuff is a matter of personal preference and opinion and yours really doesn't matter. For the longest time I had a plain old 35 dollar LL Rebel

                      • g
                      • global doc
                      • HD5
                      • 25 Nov 2018

                      aftersales services very important ..too many -me too models ..why not KISS-keep it smart systems ..not complicated ...and make everyday BLACKFRIDAY..yes yes yes ...please ....

                        • Z
                        • ZinovievBG
                        • nU5
                        • 25 Nov 2018

                        Note 5, 24 Nov 2018No, you dont. 1080p in 60fps is the highest in Note 5 (with... moreI'm with Xiaomi Note 5 (Whyred) - global version. I'm using MIUI 10.0.2 and i have 4K 30FPS video mode in settings?!

                          x vs xz, 23 Nov 2018In my case with 350euro price is xz1compact the best camera... moreJust wanna ask, if you got the Android Pie on your phone already, what can you say about its camera performance?
                          I heard that Pie update brings 1080p@960fps option for super slow motion on XZ1 devices, as well as the new image processing from the XZ2 and XZ3 devices this year.
                          I wanna know, especially in low light, since the XZ1 Compact is known to have average low light performance.

                            drake parker, 24 Nov 2018I'm just concerned about MIUI. I'm not sure if it would sti... moreDon't mistake MIUI for Samsung Experience
                            They don't slow down as time goes by, and Xiaomi updates their MIUI version for up to 4 years or maybe even more

                            Pocophone F1's cameras aren't the best, but that's about what you'd expect from such a cheap flagship-level performance device
                            Install Google Camera and make it even better
                            Or maybe buy an older flagship instead with inferior performance but better in many other ways

                              Excellent buyer's guide.. newly introduced category is better than the price wise category

                                • J
                                • Jayant
                                • bEN
                                • 25 Nov 2018

                                Why no Best Music Phone Category ? ??.......That is one important thing I consider when I purchase phone.

                                  Great there is no iPhone there hahaha

                                    • P
                                    • Pikachu
                                    • XPQ
                                    • 24 Nov 2018

                                    I think zenfone is also good in camera plus it has 4k video also EIS even thought most call it a clone phone. Just my thoughts

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • Njv
                                      • 24 Nov 2018

                                      Anonymous, 22 Nov 2018Gsmarena considers SD630 as subpar performance.. It is str... moreFor the same price there are many better chipsets

                                        • s
                                        • shameships
                                        • nin
                                        • 24 Nov 2018

                                        Pocophone easily beats any phone if its older than 1year, flagship or not. From processing are lumia, nokia, xiaomi and oppo/samsung/apple(those 3 only in flagships) my favourite. Not that they can compete in price...