Best and worst smartphone trends of 2018

28 December 2018
Another year has passed and a whole bunch of devices has gone through our office. We have completed more than 80 smartphone reviews in 2018 and what an exciting year in tech it was!

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  • k
  • king
  • uWJ
  • 29 Dec 2018

where is htc u12+

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 0BG
    • 29 Dec 2018

    Anonymous, 29 Dec 2018"Google provided good flagships..." Pfff....BUAHAHAHAHAH... moreOnly Asus truly avoided trends providing not only 3.5mm jack, but also 2 usb ports. The only truly gaming and functional/geek phone.

    But Pixels are definitely a joke. A good camera and that's it. Well good camera doesn't make a good cmartphone, it takes much more.

      • A
      • Anonymous
      • 7BD
      • 29 Dec 2018

      "Google provided good flagships..."

      Pfff....BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Even the freakin' HTC U12+ was better than that phone!

      Shame you didn't mention much of the gaming phones this year. They did something in the market by avoiding trends as well.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • Kx1
        • 29 Dec 2018

        "AI is just another name for data-driven optimizations"

        AI on phones is a gimmicks
        Change my mind

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 0BG
          • 29 Dec 2018

          Petr, 29 Dec 2018My 3 worst trends of all time: 1. Notch 2. AMOLED 3. Gla... moreGlass and unobody itself. Non-removable batteries are total scam.
          But 3.5mm jack removal is even worse.

            • P
            • Petr
            • nx1
            • 29 Dec 2018

            My 3 worst trends of all time:
            1. Notch
            2. AMOLED
            3. Glass Back

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • 0BG
              • 29 Dec 2018

              A smart Shooter, 29 Dec 2018The worse trend is notch but it will replaced by burn pixel... moreThe dead pixels are definitely worse than the notch. They never fail to come up with an "innovation" worse than the previous one. What's next, they'll ditch loudspeakers tyoo so you'll have to carry bluetooth headphones and speakers all the time?

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • YP6
                • 29 Dec 2018

                following Iphone design by every smart phone should ended by 2019

                  Apple and their popularity are the culprits for most of the bad things happening in the mobile industry. And then human vanity and the Kardashians.
                  The super ugly notch, thinness over battery capacity, multiple cameras and ridiculously high prices are all Apple trends.
                  Its really sad that Apple gets to decide whats premium and whats not, they lost the ability to innovate and now invent stupid gimmicks, that Chinese monkey companies follow blindly.
                  Its even worse that ppl are content with mimicking...
                  Multiple cameras is a false need, not everybody needs, not everybody should pay a premium for it, not everybody is an Instagram's photomodel that takes selfies all day long.
                  We need selfieless flagships, heck even cameraless flagships, that focus their weight, price and dimensions on performance and battery endurance, but there is noone to provide them, because multiple cams is a trend that help the companies sell overpriced phones and stop trying to further improve single cam performance...
                  The best trend that gsmarena have failed to mention, is the continuous shrinking of bezels.
                  Esp the chin, is quite an issue and the combo notch with a chin, is the characteristic 2018 monkey trait!

                    The worse trend is notch but it will replaced by burn pixel. Just a little bit extra display ratio but lost convenience practical durability and aesthetics. It is blindly chasing the extra screen with those notch water drop and burn pixel.

                      • S
                      • Shab
                      • 6Ps
                      • 29 Dec 2018

                      I love Xperia xz2.. Beautiful phone

                        I would add to the worst trends omitting color spectrum sensor, as it's quite visible when using camera as it misses true colors, no matter what is the size of main sensor.
                        One of the best trends is surely hdr stacking of 10+ shots and combining input from multiple sensors. It gets better colors, more detail and less noise, getting shooting more close to sale output not using such tricks.

                          • T
                          • TLV
                          • vNn
                          • 29 Dec 2018

                          The notch trend need to die in 2019

                            Macbeth, 28 Dec 2018It's now becoming harder finding phones with 3.5mm headphon... moreSmartphones nowadays have drifting away from my wishful specs
                            1. All metal unibody with striking red color like HTC One M8 & stereo speakers YAY!
                            - a 6.2" phone with dimension not higher than LG V30. Flagships grow taller dan bigger like NBA players, it doesn't fit to jeans pocket anymore.

                            2. Hi-Fi quad DAC and front facing stereo speakers with hi-res and deep rich bass. No big company care about these feat. incl. Samsung, Google, or Huawei. Only LG and HTC consistently does.

                            3a. Wide angle rear camera with same aperture & sensor size as the MAIN CAMERA. LG V40 implemented this but sadly only f/1.9 and 1/3" sensor size.

                            3b. Wide angle 12MP front camera with f/1.8 pixel size 1/2.3" and 1.4uM. Pixel 3 and V40 have it but sadly only 5MP.

                            My take for 2019 would only be LG V50 or Pixel XL4 (with dual rear camera and great audio come on!)

                            And I don't mind the notch as long it housing front facing speaker. And please follow Apple with minimal chin!

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • wYI
                              • 29 Dec 2018

                              Why no mentioning of nubia x? It released dual screen first before vivo nex dual display

                                • D
                                • AnonD-558092
                                • 45}
                                • 29 Dec 2018

                                Anonymous, 29 Dec 2018Also convenience, lifespan and still compatibility too. ... moreI agree to it all. Though for BT on PCs, modern wireless cards do have BT. But if you have a stationary PC, you are better off with Ethernet and no wireless card

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 0BG
                                  • 29 Dec 2018

                                  AnonD-558092, 29 Dec 2018Bandwidth ain't the problem. You can gave 1Gbps audio right... moreAlso convenience, lifespan and still compatibility too.

                                  -I'd totally hate to have to charge another device.

                                  -Batteries don't last long and no bluetooth headphones will come close to the lifespan of my wired headphones.

                                  -PCs don't have bluetooth. Much of the car audio equipment doesn't have bluetooth either (I only have a car amplifier which i use with my phone. Of course, through the 3.5mm jack).

                                  -Also, wireless transmission is more prone to interference, especially with so many people using it more and more. Sometimes the problem is just the combination of certain phones and certain headphones. If you read reviews, you'll notice even the most expensive headphones often suffer disconnections or other similar problems.

                                  Too much hassles and it won't change anytime soon.

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-558092
                                    • 45}
                                    • 29 Dec 2018

                                    jamesschwarz987, 29 Dec 2018Of course wired would still far superior than wireless one,... moreBandwidth ain't the problem. You can gave 1Gbps audio right now, no problem. Problem is latency and power consumption

                                      • F
                                      • Fayth
                                      • tEZ
                                      • 29 Dec 2018

                                      why Huawei and Oppo bundling with EarPod?

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 0BG
                                        • 29 Dec 2018

                                        There is not one single good trend, common sense and decency (They totally don't care what we want. And people mostly don't care what is pushed on them). The jack keeps dissapearing, the aspect ratio keeps getting narrower, batteries don't improve (Every time they make a well-optimized phone, they lower battery capacity) and the new idiotic trend of sliders (Not the good sliders from the past that added functionality, but the modern perverted version - slider just for the sake of it) leaves even less space for the battery.

                                        And the "holes" are worse than even the notches. Not being able to hide them and having them all the time like dead pixels is a complete lunacy.

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