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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  • s
  • sxylar
  • mjP
  • 23 Nov 2018

:LG G6 excellent camera??? :))

Who wrote this...

    I learnt something when smartphones came up and remember. When you want something and you have enough money, just buy it, because all phones are enough powerfull to fill your needs and you will like it anyway.

      Thor, 23 Nov 2018The Asus ROG Phone is listed in the wrong category, giganti... moreThank you! :)

        • R
        • Roman
        • S4m
        • 23 Nov 2018

        Where is Meizu 16th? Useless guide

          Why no Best Audio category ???

            It is a joke? Honor play with good camera? Man my redmi note 5 pro is more better than. Honor play camera quaility is bad.

              • L
              • Lightning McQueen
              • PUq
              • 23 Nov 2018

              NokAppSam, 22 Nov 2018What's your point anyway? I don't get why you bring up the ... moreI skipped the Nokia 7+ to Nokia 7.1 because my Nokia 7+ speaker isn't that great at all. With my 7.1, the speaker gets louder and clearer.



              #I care phones with louder speaker.

                • Q
                • Qwerty2018
                • wrn
                • 23 Nov 2018

                Anonymous, 23 Nov 2018120Hz screen for a gaming phone is pointless if there are n... morewhen Nokia use polycarbonate backcover for 99% of their phones, NONE bashing.
                when Xiaomi use polycarbonate backcover for its sub-brand phones, ALL bashing.

                Which one do u thing the most sane, logical choice?
                glass backcover (slippery, fingerprint magnet, fragile) or
                polycarbonate backcover (grppy, no fingerprint, durable)

                  • Q
                  • Qwerty2018
                  • wrn
                  • 23 Nov 2018

                  Anonymous, 22 Nov 2018Can‘t get how you could forget the best smartphone for gami... moreThe "best" "smart" phone for gaming... LOL ...

                  How is it the "best" if its battery is just 3170mAh? Gaming session cannot lie, unlike 'battery endurance' test, so there is no way it is worthy of being called "the best"

                  How is it the "best" if it is made of glass? Gaming session with a device made with glass is a joke, especially for US$1500 device. Sony & Nintendo, the 'experts' in making handheld gaming devices NEVER use glass to COVER MOST parts of the device, because it will ruin the gaming experience, as u don't want it to slip out from ur hand and break the device

                  How is it the "best" if u don't even have "file manager/file explorer" and BLUETOOTH pairing that are important in gaming? Especially if the GODDAMN THING costs as many as gaming laptops?

                  "best" speaker? LOL,
                  looks like u NEVER own any HTC, LG, or SONY phones

                  "best" screen? LOL,
                  once sheeple slander Samsung's AMOLED as the "worst" screen because of the "burn-in"gate, now they praised it as the "best" screen in the business
                  The best display still belongs to LCD (IGZO), as there are no downside for long term usage

                  Wake up, DUDE.
                  Oh, yeah. Sheeple NEVER learn, right?

                    • T
                    • Thor
                    • mSm
                    • 23 Nov 2018

                    The Asus ROG Phone is listed in the wrong category, gigantic screens instead of gaming phones.

                      • D
                      • Dharmesh
                      • bE{
                      • 23 Nov 2018

                      What are your thoughts about honor 8x in which category it fix into ?

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • pqv
                        • 23 Nov 2018

                        120Hz screen for a gaming phone is pointless if there are no games supporting it.
                        Nevertheless the current high end hardware have hard time even providing constant 60fps, so 120 is a impossible feat for them (unless running at shit tier graphic), and it's unlikely, that it will be possible within the next ~5year either...
                        It's just a pr scam for the dumb.

                        Also most of the "flagships" listed here aren't even flagships, just overpriced junk.

                        Also why there are no "bad" part for poco phone, when it's made out of plastic, just like a another phone, where it was labeled as negative??

                          lyndino, 22 Nov 2018So you're saying the PocoF1 is not actually worth it due to... moreNope. It's the best according to me at the moement if you can get it for the price that is being offered in India currently. 270$ for the current flagship performance is not a deal you find everyday. I don't think for the asking price of 270$, you can expect all the bells and whistles of a flagship. Let me put it this way, Poco F1 offers 90% of all the flagship that has to offer at a price 25-30% of that of most flagships. The additional 10% such as AMOLED or Wireless charging or premium looks aren't something that warrant the huge price gap. At least not for me. It checks 2 big boxes, Decent Camera and Flagship performance at fraction of flagship price and it's more than enough for me.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • IW@
                            • 23 Nov 2018

                            I'd go for Iphones XS Max. Hardly any android phones impresses this year. Note 9 a far second and then Huawei Mate 20 Pro a far third. I'd also consider the V40 ThinQ and Xperia XZ3.

                              • n
                              • notfunny
                              • IVE
                              • 23 Nov 2018

                              - no jack no go
                              - got notch no go
                              - not flexible OS no go
                              - not rich in user features no go

                                • k
                                • khrm
                                • PDT
                                • 23 Nov 2018

                                Wow...so many phones listed and yet so few from one of the highest selling phonemakers i.e. BBK... Their brands (Oppo, Vivo and Oneplus) have almost the same market share as that of market leader Samsung so they must be selling some really great brands which Gsmarena seems to be oblivious to.

                                In particularly Vivo phones are hardly mentioned. Vivo has almost the same sales as Xiaomi phones yet i guess all brands from Xiaomi are mentioned whereas for Vivo almost none. Same goes for Huawei. Is that just because Huawei and Xiaomi have good presence in European markets (gsmarena core base?) whereas Oppo, Vivo rule in Asia?

                                  • r
                                  • roheschiel
                                  • 611
                                  • 23 Nov 2018

                                  You should pick Asus Zenfone Zoom S to the list, it is a real beast
                                  Best in mid-range phone

                                    LeoLancaster, 23 Nov 2018I made that decision today, maybe my decision process could... moreok thanks, this helped a lot, and I already ordered the oneplus 6t so its great to know I chose the right choice

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • Jm$
                                      • 23 Nov 2018

                                      LeoLancaster, 23 Nov 2018I made that decision today, maybe my decision process could... moreForgot to mention that S9 has HDR screen, IP68, stereo speaker , no benchmark boost, slot micro sd

                                        LePhoneNerrrd, 23 Nov 2018oneplus 6t or Samsung s9? if they are the same price, which... moreI made that decision today, maybe my decision process could help.

                                        Both phones have:

                                        - great cameras
                                        - great oled screens
                                        - great performance, and fairly smooth UI (not pixel smooth, but somewhat close. Oneplus’ Oxygen is a bit smoother)
                                        - plenty of storage: 128gb for the oneplus, 64/128/256 for the Samsung

                                        Oneplus advatages:

                                        - less bloatware
                                        - bigger screen by more than half an inch
                                        - better battery life

                                        Samsung advantages:

                                        - headphone jack
                                        - expandable storage
                                        - 1440p resolution (imo the ppi is already plenty high on the oneplus and don’t really care about the Samsung’s higher res)

                                        Personally, I’d have gone for the oneplus. However, I actually bought the Samsung because it works on my current carrier, which was more important to me than the differences between the phones themselves.

                                        Hope this helps!