Top 10 most popular reviews of 2018: Q2

The months of April, May and June aren't as filled with heavy hitters as the months of the CES and MWC, but we still got to test the Huawei P20 Pro, the OnePlus 6, the Xiaomi Mi 8 and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S.

These are the early-year flagships of their respective companies and were tasked with carrying the maker's flagship banner for most of the year.

We got our first experience with a triple flagship camera (regular, tele and monochrome) but as we now know, it wasn't until the end of the year that Huawei brought the triple system we wanted (regular, tele and ultra-wide).

The OnePlus 6 brought a notch to the OnePlus family and improved upon the processing with the addition of a Snapdragon 845. The Xiaomi Mi 8 was a much more exciting upgrade and Xiaomi's 8th anniversary phone so all the stops were pulled. We got infrared face scanning (as well as an Explorer edition with an in-display fingerprint scanner), an AMOLED display, up to 8GB of RAM, a dual camera with a regular and tele and a lovely design with an especially nice Blue color.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S was built on the same blueprint but lacked a notch and had a conventional fingerprint scanner on the rear. The Mi Mix 2S also added wireless charging but lacked an AMOLED screen and somehow turned the same 3,400mAh cell into a much less reliable 59h of endurance.

Midrangers were as popular as flagships in Q2 of 2018. The Nokia 7 Plus was the second most popular review and you can tell why - it marks Nokia's return to form with an all-round great phone with solid build, imaging and battery life.

The Huawei P20 Lite, Nokia 6 (2018), Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera (yes, seriously, that's a name) and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 (sigh) complete the list of most-read reviews for the second quarter.

Huawei P20 Pro review

Huawei was among the front-runners in the dual-camera race with the P9 and then the Mate 10, so who better to take things to the next level? The Huawei P20 Pro one-ups all current major players and comes with three cameras on its back, each unique in its own right.

Nokia 7 plus review

Running out of single-digit numbers in its ever-growing portfolio, the reborn Nokia has started adding words - the high-end Nokia 8 Sirocco is worthy of an iconic moniker from the past, while simpler phones only get a 'plus', with a lowercase 'p' at that! But the Nokia 7 plus isn't looking half-bad - capital 'P' material at least.

OnePlus 6 review

If the letter T is OnePlus' way of branding an interim half-generation upgrade, why isn't this latest one named the 5TT? Yes, we're talking about the OnePlus 6, and a quick look at the specs will tell you what we are on about. Still let's not dwell on what hasn't changed and focus instead on what has.

Xiaomi Mi 8 review

Announced less than a month ago and selling like hotcakes in its homeland, the Mi 8 is Xiaomi's latest top model. What happened to the Mi 7, you ask? Well, it's the company's 8-year anniversary, and it must be celebrated.

Huawei P20 Lite review

The lite series used to be the new minis, but then people voted against the compact phones sharing nothing with the headliner but the name. So, today the latest Huawei P20 Lite isn't just a fancy name bearer - it has what it takes to be worthy of the P20 branding - the notched screen, the glass design with gradient paint, a dual-camera on the back, Face Unlock as well.

Huawei P20 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S9+

1x, 2x... 5x. Zooming smartphone cameras are no longer a novelty - in fact a numbers race is forming. Asus' Zenfone Zoom couldn't make waves, but Huawei appears on the right track to do so with the P20 Pro and its 3x zoom camera. We figured we'd pit it against the Galaxy S9+ - the latest phone to come out with what's become the standard 2x zoom.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 hands-on review

The ZenFone Max Pro is here to make a stand. This time, ASUS is taking the fight to Xiaomi, with a feature-packed device that should make even the demanding users happy. Whether it's an 18:9 display, a Snapdragon 636 processor, dual rear cameras, and a massive 5000mAh battery - it's got it. The ZenFone Max Pro is also an Android One device that comes with a stock build of Android 8.1 out of the box and a promise of timely updates.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera review

Looking at the title of the review, we can't help but think a quick explanation is in order. Namely, one clearing up which product we are reviewing. We've seen horrible naming conventions in the smartphone realm time and time again, but as far as sheer complexity and confusion of choice goes, Xiaomi arguably takes the cake with the current Redmi generation.

Nokia 6 (2018) review

The new Nokia 6 (2018), also known as Nokia 6.1, trims the bezels around the same 5.5" screen and employs a modern and powerful Snapdragon 630 chip. The main camera benefits from a new Zeiss lens and it can now do 4K videos.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S review

Halfway into the Mi Mix 2’s product cycle, Xiaomi releases the Mi Mix 2S, an incremental update to the Mix 2, or a successor and a half to the original Mi Mix. The Mix was the first smartphone to push Android’s limits by incorporating a display that was taller than 16:9, thus calling for Android to change its design rules and introducing OEMs with a new hardware dimension to play around with.