Top news of 2018: Q2

As the year 2018 draws to a close we are taking the chance to look back at what the past twelve months brought. We already went through Q1 and now it's time for Q2.

“AI” infiltrated every corner of mobile realm, from digital assistants to algorithms that improve image quality. Other big trends highlighted on this list – our most-read news articles for Q2 this year – include software security and updates, as well as gaming phones.

A detailed write-up on Google Duplex proved to be the most interesting article of the April-June period. Duplex has the Google Assistant talk to other people for you, which has much greater possibilities than simple voice control.

The launch of the Xiaomi Mi 8 was a big deal, the phone brought iPhone X-inspired features at less than half the price. The Mi 8 SE caused a splash too, it was the first Snapdragon 710-powered phone.

Xiaomi scored many wins during the quarter, including the Mi 6X debut and the Redmi 6 Pro launch – both with a healthy dose of AI, of course. The company’s first gaming phone, the Black Shark, gathered big crowds too.

HMD did well too, with Nokia X6 rumors and teasers building up anticipation for the launch and news of global availability.

Meanwhile, people were concerned about iOS security and got excited at the possibility of an iPhone SE sequel (which sadly did not come to pass).

Finally, a bit of retrospective – a look back at the evolution of iOS and Android.

The list below is in chronological order so that the rumors come before the official announcements.