Our editors' favorite smartphones of 2018

31 December 2018
As 2018 draws to a close, it's only fitting we take a look back and try to remember it for what it really was - twelve months filled with hundreds of cool and not so cool smartphones. Our reviewers tried to stay objective for those written and video reviews they did for you, our beloved audience. But they have certainly picked some favorites and today they are going to share them with you.

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Mate 20 Pro is a joke, people have so many problems with its screen, if it isn't green, it's pink.
The best smartphone in 2018 for me is Vivo Nex, so underrated, because it's tough to buy it outside of China. I agree with Note9, Poco F1, and would also add iPhones.

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    • Anonymous
    • XPI
    • 04 Jan 2019

    Larsen, 02 Jan 2019Is any reason to delete my comment? I am only asking, wh... moreExactly, why would I need to pay same amount of money to non-Sanpdragon? No way!

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      • Rob
      • vxp
      • 04 Jan 2019

      Christian, 03 Jan 2019I bought Honor Play instead of Pocophone F1 because of the ... moreI wanted to buy the Honor Play but when I checked the specs I saw that the Glass wasn't actually scratch proof. I went on to buy iPhone 7Plus instead

        Excalibur, 04 Jan 2019How can it be biased? Poco f1 is clearly the least expensiv... moreYes i talked about price but quality also so mate 20 pro n note 9 is my concern...mate 20 pro or note 9 is lower price than iphonex smax, why you picked pocof1?? Actualy you bashed pocof1 undirecly but you never admit that you bash poco...why not mate 2pro or note 9 or picel 3? you chosed pocof1 bcoz poco have lower quality but cheap at price..you did sarkasm to poco, you judged me about price but you are wrong....

        You dont read my comments carefuly why i choose mate or note...so it is not about prive but also quality

          Indrawan, 04 Jan 2019Your comment is bias I know what you mean when you ask me... moreHow can it be biased? Poco f1 is clearly the least expensive among iphone xs max, note 9, and mate 20 pro. Im pointing it out because you're basing your reason from pricing. Quality is not a question because all of the cited phones have good quality, the least perhaps is the mate 20 pro.

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            • Umbatu M'mwebwe
            • Yff
            • 04 Jan 2019

            Ah but the question far more useful to billions that you didn't answer is which phone would you choose if you had to BUY it yourself. ;-)

              Excalibur, 04 Jan 2019Im not concerned about any phone... You can buy a mate 20 p... moreYour comment is bias
              I know what you mean when you ask me about pocophone whereas i talked about mate 20 pro n note 9, why poco f1? Haha

              Iphones x s max price is 2 times more expensive than mate 20 pro, if i buy the iphone it means i can buy 2 flagship phone...the quality of mate 20 pro n note 9 is also good as iphone...

              Or do you admited that your iphone quality as good as poco f1? I didnt compare your iphone with povo f1 bcoz diff level so i didnt only about price but quality level

                Indrawan, 04 Jan 2019Not only about pricing but quality, i prefer buy 2 phones l... moreIm not concerned about any phone... You can buy a mate 20 pro if you want. Im just saying if you dont want iphone xs max because of the price then go with a poco f1 because its the best buy when it comes to price, the quality is exellent as well if that's another of your concern.

                  Excalibur, 03 Jan 2019Because i was talking about iphone xs max first, then you s... moreNot only about pricing but quality, i prefer buy 2 phones like mate 20 pro n note 9 than 1 phone

                  Suddenly you concerned about pocophone, do you push me to buy pocophone bcoz i talk about your iphone ?? Cmon i never talk pocophone...

                  Pocophone is not my topic

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                    • Omid 12 Omidvar
                    • 6w%
                    • 03 Jan 2019

                    Dearest unbiased neutral editors and reviews of gsmArena.In 2018 factors of being complete and having the best most perfect qualities !! No more excuses such as hybrids are OK ,does need radio + its auxiliaries , omitting IR and NFC and educe stard needed battery capacity because of unintentional accident in Note 7 of Samsung is absolutely unacceptable excuses !! !! Today gsmArena is being published and released in many languages!Amongst them gsmArena of IR of Iran viewers point givers are unbiased and buyers can relying on them !!A very famous smartphone of brand gives 6.7 from 10 which is just !! Another deception with respect to size of Rom which is 32 give it 256 mega ROM !!!?Hopefully gsmArena which is father of all GSM to follow moral guidelines , release and publish moral following facts.,.,Justice Rights follows just morality as gsmArena no matter what powerful rich brand it is ....

                      Indrawan, 03 Jan 2019Why always pocophone that you concern? Early i never sai... moreBecause i was talking about iphone xs max first, then you started pointing out prices, hence pocofone for the win in prices. The specs are decent though...

                        Excalibur, 03 Jan 2019What is there to beat... Poco f1 is a wise buy already.Why always pocophone that you concern?

                        Early i never said about pocophone, i said mate 20 pro n note 9..

                        You do talk about pocophone....

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                          • Christian
                          • Myw
                          • 03 Jan 2019

                          Indrawan, 03 Jan 2019If pocophone can beat iphone, i will buy it, why not? Ip... moreI bought Honor Play instead of Pocophone F1 because of the build quality. Check the drop tests. The little difference in performance wasn't that important for me. For me it's more important the user experience, and I dont regret my choice at all. Overall I find the Honor Play better. Not to mention that i got the Android 9 update last month.

                          Specs and benchmarks are (mostly) worthless. They are important if you want to brag to your friends that yours is bigger (score).

                            Indrawan, 03 Jan 2019If pocophone can beat iphone, i will buy it, why not? Ip... moreWhat is there to beat... Poco f1 is a wise buy already.

                              Note9 User, 02 Jan 2019I waited for the release of & considered most of the fl... moreMy thoughts exactly. People tend to forget that they're only buying a mobile phone, or a smartphone in today's standards. Your analogy of it as a Swiss Army Knife was spot on. If you're a fisherman, you only need to buy a set that suits most of your needs. Yes, they say that their smartphone of choice have the most of feature that they want, but in reality how often they made a good use of it? We all see these different features being added (and removed) on every iteration of their favorite phone but they should also have a discerning eye on what's just a gimmick to justify the price. And we should realize that these prices goes up because we have high demands for these phone like it was a basic necessity in life.

                                Excalibur, 03 Jan 2019If price is a factor to you, better go with pocofone f1If pocophone can beat iphone, i will buy it, why not?

                                Iphone xs max is very xpensive but with reguler feature, mate 20 pro n note 9 can do more than xpensive iphonexsmax..

                                I prefer buy 2 flagship phones than 1
                                If i buy iphonexs max it means i can buy mate 20 pro n note 9, both phones are great too...

                                  Indrawan, 03 Jan 2019Buying iphone xs max, it means 2times more xpensive than ma... moreIf price is a factor to you, better go with pocofone f1

                                    Excalibur, 02 Jan 2019Own an iphone xs max or any other iphone and you'll see how... moreBuying iphone xs max, it means 2times more xpensive than mate 20 pro and i can buy 2 phone, mate 20 pro n note 9 lol

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                                      • Ahmed
                                      • Nka
                                      • 02 Jan 2019

                                      Poor apple 😋😋

                                        babak, 02 Jan 2019i own pocophone and x compact but i like to experience mate... moreNano memory will be a future tecnolgy of memory