10. iPhone 8 Plus
Release date: September 2017 | Weight: 202g | Dimensions: 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5mm | OS: iOS 11 | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 1080 x 1920 | CPU: A11 Bionic | RAM: 3GB | Storage: 64/256GB | Battery: 2691mAh | Rear camera: Dual 12MP | Front camera: 7MP
The iPhone 8 Plus is a great phone — there’s no doubt about that. It’s a better phone than almost anything Apple has produced before, and it’s, well, just done in a very Apple way. If you aren't willing to pay the extra premium Apple's pricey iPhone X, then this might be the iPhone for you.
Screen & Design: There are some strong upgrades: a glass back means you can now charge your iPhone wirelessly, its IPS LCD screen, while dated, still looks terrific, its camera has been enhanced, the internal workings are now among the most powerful in the industry, and little tweaks throughout
smooth off rough edges in a way that makes us feel Sir Jony Ive climbed inside his computer and lathed them off himself.
Whether that’s a subtle haptic double buzz when pressing the shutter on the camera, or being able to ‘feel’ the numbers clicking when selecting the time on the alarm, it’s those little delights that… delight. It's just a shame that the rest of the phone's design feels a little dated.
Performance: Just like the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 Plus means business when it comes to performance. Backed by long, impressive battery life, the A11 chip allows you to smoothly transition between open apps and play games with nary a hiccup, and AR performance is also boosted by its power.
Portrait Lighting effects may be one of the phone's best photographic features, but they need some real power to function, and that’s where the A11 chip comes in. Any app that uses high levels of photo manipulation worked pretty flawlessly in our tests, with no lag when working with multiple image layers.
It’s hard to convey the usefulness of all this power for the average user, one who might not use such features regularly – but it’ll keep your iPhone singing more sweetly for the next two or three years compared to the previous generations.
Camera: The camera on this phone is very strong, with two 12MP lenses on the rear combining to deliver great images even in low light, and the double sensors creating some nice, refined blurred-background portrait shots.
9. Google Pixel 2 XL
Release date: October 2017 | Weight: 175g | Dimensions: 157.9 x 76.7 x 7.9mm | OS: Android 8 | Screen size: 6-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 2880 | CPU: Snapdragon 835 | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 64GB/128GB | Battery: 3,520mAh | Rear camera: 12MP | Front camera: 8MP
Thanks to a beautiful new design that incorporates an 18:5 QHD+ display and smaller bezels, and an even better camera that achieves dual camera quality from a single lens, the Pixel 2 XL is a real step forward for Google's smartphone brand.
Screen & Design: Though still a little behind the curve in terms of design, the Pixel 2 XL has improved leaps and bounds over its lackluster predecessor. Though not the slimmest bezels around, the 2 XL's borders are roughly half the size of the ones on the original Pixel.
We also get a much more stylish take on the Pixel's signature two-tone effect this time around, though its anodized aluminum backing means you can't charge it wirelessly. Thankfully, the Pixel 2 XL is IP67-certified against water and dust this time around.
Performance: The XL has good battery life - you won't have a problem with it. It will comfortably last you a full day under normal conditions and with normal use, and its ability to save power when it's not doing anything means it'll last a few days in standby.
Once again, fans of the 'pure Android' experience will be in heaven here, as Google's OS provides the Pixel 2 XL with slick performance and a clutter-free interface. Its Snapdragon 835 processor is more than capable of handling any task you throw at it, though we'd have liked a bit more RAM.
Camera: There are so many handsets with dual camera setups these days, and yet the Pixel 2 XL's single-lens setup manages to pip almost all of them. A brilliant portrait mode and an incredibly fast capture speed are just two of the features you can look forward to using on the Pixel 2 XL.
8. LG G7 ThinQ
Release date: May 2018 | Weight: 167 | Dimensions: 153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm | OS: Android 8.1 | Screen size: 6.1-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 3120 | CPU: Snapdragon 845 | RAM: 4/6GB | Storage: 64GB/128GB | Battery: 3,000mAh | Rear camera: Dual 16MP | Front camera: 8MP
While LG may have left behind any notion of being a game-changing phone maker in recent years, the company’s become quite reliable at producing exceptional all-rounder handsets that are good at pretty much everything.
Screen & Design: With the new LG G7 ThinQ, the South Korean manufacturer has delivered a phone with sophisticated AI smarts, a fantastic dual lens camera, a stylish design, a super bright QHD+ 18.9:5 display (complete with iPhone X-style notch that can, thankfully, be hidden), terrific audio performance and top-end specs.
That said, unlike most other notch-bearing handsets, the G7 ThinQ sports an LCD display, meaning it's unable to reach the pure-blacks of an OLED, something that becomes apparent when you first try to hide the notch with a fake bezel and immediately notice the back lighting behind them. Still that does allow the G7 ThinQ to get extremely bright, which means you can always see the screen perfectly, no matter how sunny it happens to be.
Performance: Admittedly, it's not quite as strong as some of the other handsets on this list in terms of performance, and its battery life left us wanting — we got around 6 and a half hours of heavy usage, which is around an hour or two less than most flagship phones available right now.
LG wants its awkwardly-branded ‘ThinQ AI’ functionality to be the big draw-card here, but having spent some time with the phone, it’s clear that it’s perhaps better suited to music lovers and audiophiles. Thanks to its built-in hi-fi quad DAC and DTS:X 3D Surround functionality (both of which require headphones to be plugged into its 3.5mm socket), the LG G7 ThinQ delivers an unrivaled audio experience in the smartphone arena.
Switching on the quad DAC instantly makes audio richer and deeper, providing additional bass in the process, while the latter DTS feature also impresses by offering virtual three-dimensional surround sound regardless of the headphones you’re wearing. It also packs an especially loud built-in speaker, for occasions when you want to listen to something without cans.
Camera: LG is bound to win fans with its terrific AI-powered camera this year, offering similar functionality to the Huawei P20 Pro — simply point at a subject and the LG G7 ThinQ will automatically identify it, adjusting its settings to make sure your picture looks as good as can be. And, thanks to its dual camera setup, the G7
ThinQ can also take those blurry background portrait shots that have become all the rage. Its Super Bright Camera mode also makes it especially adept at low light photography, and just like the G5 and G6 before it, the G7 ThinQ can take super wide angle photos that fit more into the frame.
7. iPhone XS
Release date: September 2018 | Weight: 177g | Dimensions: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm | OS: iOS 12 | Screen size: 5.8-inch | Resolution: 1125x2436 | CPU: A12 Bionic | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 64/256/512GB | Battery: 2,658mAh | Rear camera: 12MP+12MP | Front camera: 7MP
iPhone XS is a minor, but important upgrade over last year's completely redesigned iPhone. It's noticeably faster and has an improved dual-lens camera to make it a better choice, if you're willing to pay the same launch price.
Screen & Design: The 5.8-inch OLED on this iPhone is big, but not a turn off for some people who literally can't handle the 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max (which we like a bit more in our big mitts). This phone size isn't too much bigger than your old 4.7-inch iPhone 7 or iPhone 6 thanks to its reduced bezel – though you'll miss the Touch ID home button. You'll forget about that when staring into the beautiful OLED that's dreamier than the old iPhone LCD.
In terms of its design, the iPhone XS is practically identical to last year's model, colour options aside. However, if you're after a more one-hand-friendly size for a cutting-edge iPhone, this is the one to buy. Alternatively, you could opt for the cheaper iPhone XR, which has a slightly larger LCD display, an aluminum rim (instead of the stainless steel one on the XS) and a series of funky colors to choose from.
Camera: This is where you'll see differences in the otherwise familiar-looking iPhone XS. Its dual-lens camera offers Smart HDR and optical image stabilization (OIS). It's not as vivid as the cameras on a Google Pixel 2 or Samsung Galaxy S9, but you'll get true-to-life photos that make the 2018 iPhone's a worthy upgrade.
Performance: The iPhone XS has about the same battery life as the iPhone X, so you'll get all-day battery life with normal use. Power users may struggle a bit without one of the best power banks, and although Apple says it has 30 minutes more battery life than the iPhone X, the smaller capacity and our tests show it's shy of that claim.
6. Google Pixel 3
Release date: November 2018 | Weight: 148g | Dimensions: 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9mm | OS: Android 9 | Screen size: 5.5-inch | Resolution: 1080 x 2160 | CPU: Snapdragon 845 | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 64/128GB | Battery: 2,915mAh | Rear camera: 12MP | Front camera: 8MP + 8MP
The Google Pixel 3 is the smaller sibling to the Pixel 3 XL, with a smaller screen and battery, but the same power and excellent camera under the hood. This is a great handset for those looking for a top-flight phone that can be used comfortably with one hand (although those with smaller palms may need both still).
Screen & Design: At 5.5 inches, the screen on the Google Pixel 3 isn't exactly small, but it's one of the smallest in this list of the best smartphones. The full HD resolution isn't quite as sharp as its larger sibling's QHD panel, but it still looks great.
Thankfully, Google has reduced the size of the Pixel's bezel this year, as last year's model looked pretty dated compared to the competition. While the 3 XL sports a notch cutout in its display, Google has wisely opted to keep its full bezels on the regular Pixel 3, making it look classier in the process.
Camera: You get the same camera here as you do on the Pixel 3 XL, and that's great news as it's one of the best smartphone snappers we've ever tested. It's easy to use, extremely powerful and produces excellent shots – even compared to cameras with multiple lenses.
Performance: The Google Pixel 3 battery life isn't as impressive as the larger Pixel 3 XL which has a bigger power pack. It should give you a day of use, but don't expect much more than that. Elsewhere, the Pixel 3's stock Android OS offers smooth, snappy performance with nothing to bog it down.
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