Smartphones are one of the most popular gifts for the New Year. According to statistics compiled by the auditing company Deloitte, 37% of Russians want to see a new phone under the Christmas tree. And if you decide to move into the new year with a new gadget, or are just studying the question of which smartphone is better to buy in 2018, we will be happy to help.
Introducing you smartphones rating 2018, the places in which were distributed in accordance with the average position according to the data of authoritative ratings:
- PhoneArena,
- TechRadar,
- TomsGuide,
- TopTensReview,
- Gadget Review,
- Cnet,
- T3.
Our picks of the best smartphones of 2018:
Brand country: European (A-class); Chinese; with Aliexpress.
Brand: Samsung; Xiaomi; Sony; Huawei.
Price segment, rubles: up to 5000; up to 10000; up to 15000; up to 20,000; up to 25000; up to 30,000.
Availability: inexpensive; most expensive.
Characteristics: push-button; best camera; camera + battery; protected.
Trends: new items of the year; the most anticipated.
10. Honor 9
Reasons to buy: excellent price, the device fits comfortably in the hand and looks very stylish.
Reasons not to buy: very slippery, there is a backlash of the volume and lock buttons.
Our rating opens with a 5.1-inch smartphone, which instantly attracts admiring and envious glances. And all thanks to the curved 3D-glass and photo-engraving technology, thanks to which the surface of the device shimmers beautifully, like a surface of water.
A very fast fingerprint scanner, excellent cameras (8 MP and dual 12 MP and 20 MP) with bokeh effect, user-friendly Emotion UI and Kirin 960 chipset with support for the latest Vulkan API graphics standard make the price of a smartphone quite reasonable - 25 thousand rubles ...
Though, perhaps the Honor 9 lacks the innovations that make the phone a true flagship device.
9.HTC U11
Reasons to buy: superb sound, premium design.
Reasons not to buy: fragile, slippery.
This 5.5-inch smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor is one of the most beautiful flagship smartphones of 2018 and best camera phone according to DxOMark... It is “dressed” in a glass case with the effect of light refraction and protection from water, and its cameras (12 MP and 16 MP) are only slightly worse than those of the iPhone X. At the same time, the sound quality of HTC U11 surpasses other flagship models and can be considered the best smartphone for music lovers. The Active Noise Cancellation system prevents outside disturbances from spoiling your enjoyment of your favorite song.
Pressing on the sides of the smartphone activates an option called Edge Sense. It allows you to open the Google Assistant, take photos, open favorite programs, and do many other things.
The cost of HTC U11 starts at 37,290 rubles.
8. Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Reasons to buy: long battery life, premium design, Leica cameras.
Reasons not to buy: "Normal" HD-screen.
The Mate 10 Pro is the latest flagship of the Chinese company Huawei, and it is the perfect smartphone for the businessman. Its battery holds a charge for two days even with intensive work, it is convenient to read texts on a large 6-inch screen, and the Kirin 970 8-core chip does not slow down in the most "heavy" applications.
One of the best features of the device is the ability to turn it into a mobile PC by attaching it to an external display. This requires a USB-C to HDMI cable rather than a docking station, making the unit more portable and, as a result, immeasurably more useful.
The Leica-branded dual camera (12MP color and 20MP black and white) in the Mate 10 Pro can capture very clear images with natural color reproduction. There is both laser focusing and optical image stabilization.
But at a price of 49 thousand rubles - the smartphone noticeably loses to the next member of the collection.
7. OnePlus 5T
Reasons to buy: where else can you find a flagship with such an attractive price? Plus its design is great.
Reasons to refuse a purchase: is not waterproof and the screen is only HD.
OnePlus took the mobile world by storm in 2014 with one goal - to release flagship killers. And her latest creation - the OnePlus 5T - has undoubtedly achieved that goal.
The gadget follows the latest trends in the smartphone world, including an impressive 6-inch bezel-less display and a dual rear camera (16 MP F / 1.7 + 20 MP F / 1.7) with portrait mode. These new capabilities are backed up by powerful specs (Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chip, 6GB or 8GB RAM, and 64GB or 128GB of user storage), a lightning-fast fingerprint sensor, and premium design.
And all this at a price below 30 thousand rubles!
The disadvantages of this new smartphone in 2018 include the fact that the aluminum case does not have waterproofing, and the screen is HD, not QHD (2K).
6. Google Pixel 2
Reasons to buy: great camera and great software.
Reasons not to buy: there is no jack 3.5, although the smartphone is metal, it feels like plastic in the hand.
Although the design of this 5-inch smartphone is inferior to devices from Apple and Samsung, it delights with its camera and software straight from Google. Including there is a Google Assistant, which has learned to perfectly distinguish between context and provides useful hints in response to user requests. It can be called by squeezing the side edges of the phone.
And with object detection in the Camera app and in the Google Photos app, your smartphone's camera lens can recognize everything from attractions and restaurants to posters and even phone numbers on signs.
Another cool feature is AR stickers. It lets you embed characters from franchises like Stranger Things and Star Wars right into your images.
Pixel 2 is included in rating of the best smartphones in terms of value for money.
5. Apple iPhone 8 (8 Plus)
Reasons to buy: great camera, convenient wireless charging
Reasons not to buy: iPhone X is much prettier.
The iPhone 8 was one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year. If you prefer iOS over Android and don't want to pay extra for a bezel-less iPhone X, then the Iphone 8/8 + is an excellent choice.
The difference between regular and "plus" models is in the screen size and weight. The Iphone 8 has a 4.7 "screen with a resolution of 1334x750 and a weight of 148 g, while the Plus model is both larger (5.5" with a resolution of 1920x1080) and heavier (202 g). And, of course, the price of the models differs, from 62,990 rubles for the Apple iPhone 8 Plus to 52,990 rubles for the Apple iPhone 8.
In its new product, Apple decided to stick to a design similar to the iPhone 7, replacing the all-metal case with glass and making it heavier. However, the design of its main competitor - the Samsung Galaxy S8 - makes the iPhone 8 look a little dated.
4. LG V30
Reasons to buy: amazing wide-angle camera, there is a headphone port.
Reasons not to buy: contrast problems at low brightness.
The camera is one of the most important aspects of high-end smartphones. And the 6-inch Lg V30 does just fine with that aspect. The main 16MP lens has an f / 1.6 aperture. This is the largest diaphragm that mobile phones have. This means that more light gets on the camera matrix and even at night, the photos will be perfect.
The secondary 13MP wide-angle lens has an f / 1.9 aperture. The wide angle will be adjusted to minimize line distortion (distortion).
The smartphone can shoot 4K video at 30fps or 240fps at 720p in slow motion. The manufacturer claims that the V30's video quality is comparable to that of feature films. This is the result of applying effects found in a collection called Cine Video. There you will find 16 filters: from "thriller" to "romantic comedy".
On the downside, low brightness on a Quad HD + screen with curved corners loses shadow detail, making dark areas invisible. This can be fixed by raising the brightness level to the maximum.
The price of Lg V30 is about 60 thousand rubles.
3. Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Reasons to buy: large, beautiful screen, high performance.
Reasons not to buy: expensive, inconvenient location of the fingerprint scanner.
This is the best bezel-less big screen phone. Its size is 6.3 inches. However, the device has the same narrow aspect ratio (18.5: 9) as the Galaxy S8 and S8 +, so it is comfortable to hold in your hand. And because the Note 8's screen supports HDR (High Dynamic Range), you can enjoy richer colors when streaming HDR content.
The smartphone has more RAM than the Galaxy S8 / 8 + - 6GB versus 4GB. And the main camera with 12MP + 12MP modules offers optical image stabilization and a customizable background blur effect even before you take a photo.
Together with the device, you can use the S Pen stylus, the best feature of which is “Live message”. This feature turns your doodles into animated GIFs that you can send to friends.
For all this luxury, you will have to fork out a lot, since the price of the Galaxy Note 8 starts at 55,990 rubles. It might be worth the wait, as its successor, the Note 9 is already one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2019.
2.Samsung Galaxy S8 (S8 +)
Reasons to buy: amazing design, advanced "filling"
Reasons not to buy: inconvenient location of the fingerprint sensor, expensive.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 (like its larger 8+ version) is the best Android smartphone in the top 10 best smartphones of 2018. Let Apple's gadget tops the list, there is simply no alternative to the Galaxy S8 for Android fans.
This smartphone boasts a brilliant 84% Infinity Edge display and cutting edge specs. The Exynos 8895 chip is 20% faster than its predecessor (Snapdragon 821), has a longer battery life and is less hot in heavy applications, compared to the 7 version of the Samsung Galaxy. The cameras (12MP and 8MP) deliver stunning image quality that makes the Galaxy S8 and 8+ among the world's top 10 camera phones.
The 5.8-inch S8 fits perfectly in your hand, but if you like bigger smartphones, Samsung offers the Galaxy S8 +, which features a massive 6.2-inch display.
The only surprise is the strange location of the fingerprint sensor, which is located next to the camera, and the poor implementation of the Bixby voice assistant. And the price of this device is not at all budgetary - about 50-60 thousand rubles.
1. Apple iPhone X
Reasons to buy: This smartphone is incredibly stylish, equipped with the most energy efficient and powerful chip in any Apple device.
Reasons not to buy: is very expensive. Recognized by SquareTrade experts as the most fragile Apple smartphone, if it falls even on the side edge, it will still fail.
Is the iPhone X (overview) the best smartphone of 2018? Yes, although the Samsung Galaxy S8 is literally on its heels (especially if you prefer Android), while the Apple iPhone 8 Plus gives you all the features of the iPhone X at no additional cost.
The first thing that strikes in the design of the new product is its 5.8-inch Super Retina -display from edge to edge and with a resolution of 2436 by 1125 pixels.
In addition to the bezel-less display, the device is powered by Apple's lightning-fast A11 Bionic processor with Neural Engine. Thanks to it, the iPhone X is the first device on the smartphone market that can record videos in 4K resolution at 60 FPS or 1080p at 240 FPS.
The improved dual camera of the smartphone with a resolution of 12 MP has received optical stabilization in two photo modules at once, the lack of which users of the seventh version of the iPhone complained about.
We must not forget about one of the "chips" of the new product - face recognition mode, aka FaceID. With it, you can unlock your smartphone, protect applications, and even use the Apple Pay payment system. The trick with presenting the user's photo to the smartphone will not work, since a three-dimensional image is required to work with FaceID.
Of course, we must mention the price. The iPhone X costs almost 80 thousand rubles, which makes it the most expensive iPhone to date.
Is it worth that amount? Complex issue.If, when buying a smartphone, you first of all pay attention to the fame and prestige of the brand, then there are very few alternatives to the iPhone X. It is essentially a luxury item, plus the best looking smartphone and one of the best in performance.
now the best price-quality ratio, in my opinion, is reflected by Xaiomi, I already have the second phone from them. I am very glad that I switched to xiaomi, only for the Russian Federation take the better international version, it will work more stably, I advise !!!
and I believe that siaomi is breaking the price for the same quality as the unreported Chinese brands. I discovered several good companies for myself, I got the whole family out. from the latter, but not tested yet, ordered ila x - zakos for iphone x