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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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • tPG
  • 02 Jan 2019

Most of them swallow the notch.

    I want three things from a phone.

    1. Stock android or rapid updates
    2. SD Card
    3. Rootability. Still needed to make Android Auto behave.

    Since Lenovo's summary execution of Motorola, you can't have all three. Premium increasingly means compromise, the exact opposite of what it should mean.

      • S
      • Slayer
      • nFL
      • 01 Jan 2019

      Utterly predictable drivel by presumably paid journalists! Easily the best all round phone of 2018 was the XZ3, hate the bloat on Note 9 and the UI on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is garbage, albeit it is not a bad phone, at all and I do rather like it more than most. The skin on the XZ3 is barely there and it is buttery smooth. Did I mention that screen, OMG, must be repeated on the XZ4! Dope!!

      Runner up will be, for me, the Pixel 3 XL, for all the reasons stated but primarily, its camera chops and smooth bloat free android experience.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • amv
        • 01 Jan 2019

        Anonymous, 01 Jan 20199 out of 10 people would agree that note 9 has a better cam... moreWell, the most comparasion say something different, at least in some scenario you can not agree that iPhone Xs that a bitter better photos than the note 9. At the end it will come also to personal preference. Anyway I chose the note 9 so don't be angry :)

          • T
          • TB1
          • L13
          • 01 Jan 2019

          mm no iphone? for editors pick? :D whoaaaa

            • P
            • Petr
            • nx1
            • 01 Jan 2019

            The Bets Phone of 2018 is Xperia XZ3 by far.

              • M
              • Mr. T
              • 2Au
              • 01 Jan 2019

              Maria, 01 Jan 2019I am not surprised if no one choose iPhone (not iphone/IPHO... moreyou mean u buy an expensive piece of crap just for the logo. lol

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 8K6
                • 01 Jan 2019

                Jeff, 01 Jan 2019It's such a hard call, really, so many different criteria c... more$400 because it is not officialy sold there. That is the price ppl order from chinese sellers.

                They would nor cost less than 850 dollars if Xiaomi was selling there.

                  • M
                  • MZPK
                  • X06
                  • 01 Jan 2019

                  All of them are android

                    • n
                    • neo16990
                    • N4M
                    • 01 Jan 2019

                    i think its the iphone xs max its the best ever

                      • S
                      • Shab
                      • 6Ps
                      • 01 Jan 2019

                      For me Xperia xz3 is the best

                        • M
                        • Maria
                        • u7V
                        • 01 Jan 2019

                        I am not surprised if no one choose iPhone (not iphone/IPHONE/i-Phone/Iphone/I-phone) as one of favorite phones because iPhone is not a phone/smartphone, iPhone is a lifestyle. Once you buy an iPhone, you will use it forever till it is broken.

                          • p
                          • piku
                          • rK@
                          • 01 Jan 2019

                          My favorite 2018 phone is samsung s9 plus

                            My favorite smartphone of 2018 was released in 2017. A majority of my phones I bought in 2017 were released in 2016.

                            I personally enjoyed both 2017 and 2018. I thought 2016 was an up and down year with several highs but also a few rock bottom lows. But I also felt 2016 was the last great year in smartphones although that was also the beginning of removing the headphone jack.

                            I personally enjoyed 2017 a little more than 2018 but I felt 2018 was more stable. Every year has tragic events. Let's hope CES and MWC offers something cool in the tech world like smartphones with foldable displays.

                              In my opinion, I would have to choose the Samsung Galaxy S9+. This phone gives you very fast speeds for its price. It has a very simple design, and every little part of the phone is tweaked for user friendly performance and ergonomics. I feel like Samsung is the only large manufacturing company who actually listens to their customers, because of both the lack and additions to their phones. No notch and a headphone jack are the most talked-about features of this phone. Every combination of hardware is great in this phone, like the dual camera setup on the S9, with one camera being telephoto lens and one having wide angle lens. Even if the buyer have some issues with the phone, Samsung would fix it or implement the solution in their next phone (Not to say that Samsung has many issues with their phone). In a summary, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ has the best price for performance.

                                • a
                                • amen
                                • IW@
                                • 01 Jan 2019

                                Imperator Neubaticus, 01 Jan 2019Note 9 is objectively the best 2018 phone. Pick of the expe... moresay what you want you are entitled to it. but having experienced both the note 9 and mate 20 pro. i would not say that the triple cam setup is a gimmick, it's quite useful and makes the phone a versatile camera phone than the note will ever be. and about the kirin 980 being lackluster?, well i don't think so as per my own experience with both. don't get me wrong i love both phones, but if i would have to pick only one, i would choose the mate. i rarely even use the spen anyways.

                                  • J
                                  • Jeff
                                  • J{j
                                  • 01 Jan 2019

                                  It's such a hard call, really, so many different criteria can be considered. I'm an assiduous reader of this site and can say all aforementioned phones are awesome. For me, price is one of the top criteria to pick a phone and having the chance to have a MI8 for about $400 in Brazil, is a great opportunity, since other top phones start at $600 and up. iPhone can reach more than $1100 for comparison. MI8 may not have any IP certification, but it's a spectacular piece of hardware, specially now with the night mode similarly do Huawei and Pixel. If you ask me if I could get the Note9 or a Pixel 3 at the same price, I'd surely be smart enough to pick the Note first, Pixel in second and then the MI8. But coming from a redmi 3, really, I'm enjoying it so much!

                                    Indrawan, 01 Jan 2019I dont agree with you about triple camera of mate 20 pro is... moreExactly my thought! Note 9 is easily one of the best or can be even considered to be the best smartphone of the year all things considered. There's absolutely no need for putting down all the other smartphones and writing bunch of crap just for the sake of telling people how great this year's Samsung's flagships were.

                                      • D
                                      • Dex
                                      • nUk
                                      • 01 Jan 2019

                                      The bigest change in industry was Pocophone F1. In a time whan big names are truying to convice us that we need to spend 1000$ for good phone, Xiaomi did it for 300$. Respect.

                                        Imperator Neubaticus, 01 Jan 2019Note 9 is objectively the best 2018 phone. Pick of the expe... more"beating out the 7nm architecture of the admittedly lackluster Kirin 980"
                                        "tyling all over the gimmicky tri-cam implementations"
                                        "how much you can change the way you interact with the smartphone world in the wonderful s-pen"
                                        "trampling the battery lives of phones with larger battery capacities"

                                        I'm genuinely surprised by how much hyperbole and nonsensical BS you were able to cram into a single comment.