Top 20 2018 smartphones

Opens our ranking of the best innovations of smartphones in 2018 Honor 9 Lite. It seems that Huawei is trying to anticipate any requests in the category of available models. And in the style of Nikulin: "You do not have the same, but ..." - and further clarification follows what the buyer would like. Total and more - this is for you Nova 2i. More simply, with one front-facing camera, but with faster 4G internet, Honor 7x is perfect for you. The screen is smaller, and to be sure to support NFC - yes, there is Huawei P Smart (also known as Enjoy 7S for the Chinese market).Ah, you still need double cameras in the back and front, and I would also like to be in the glass - then the best smartphone for you is Honor 9 Lite. The filling is the same everywhere, quite nimble, though not gaming. Of the major drawbacks, the most significant is the frankly outdated single-band Wi-Fi module.

Slightly ambiguous smartphone from Meizu. First, the hardware platform. She is the newest here and, finally, not MediaTek. But the Mali G71 graphics subsystem used in Exynos 7872 is single-core, i.e. - This is not the best option for gaming, even with medium quality settings. Secondly, the company's engineers decided to abandon the convenient, but not the most reliable, mechanical mTouch button in favor of the on-screen version of the mBack, and it is sensitive to the pressing force. As if, all is class, but holding it too long turns off the screen instead of returning the interface “Home”. Third, the M6s fingerprint scanner has moved to the side. In general, the location is successful, but random triggers are not excluded. From the bad one can still mention the lack of support for NFC, significant heating under load and mediocre autonomy. Given the "freshness" of the SoC, there is hope for optimizing energy consumption in the future. The strength of the smartphone is the quality of shooting both on the main camera and on the front camera.

Continues the ranking of the best smartphones in 2018 inexpensive phone Xiaomi Redmi 6A. For some unknown reason, updating the very budget line of Xiaomi is deprived of the ability to control various household appliances through the infrared port, which was almost the brand's calling card. Also, the hardware navigation buttons are lost somewhere, but this is more of a virtue, since their on-screen analogs can be hidden and used with gestures. Of the obvious improvements, it is worth noting the better performance of the noise reduction system when recording video.

The flaws are still caused by the imperfection of the firmware of ultra-budget Xiaomi smartphones. In particular, errors in the processing of signals from the proximity sensor or cases of abnormal growth of energy consumption in the standby mode. To the "bug" added a wave-like change in the maximum volume when playing music through the speaker. The problem is simply eliminated by editing the parameters in the engineering menu, but the fact ...

This model is interesting from several points of view. First, the elegant design of the back side. Against the background of its direct competitors, the Alcatel 3X just looks like a premium class smartphone. Secondly, the normal amounts of memory. And there is enough space for a decent musical selection, and there will be no annoyance of constant background processes. Thirdly, the presence of a fingerprint scanner. For some reason, more promoted manufacturers believe that for entry-level devices this functionality is redundant, and here the dactyloscope is fast and there is face recognition. Unfortunately, only the youngest model of the line is equipped with a good operational amplifier AW8737, and the developers decided to make a controversial advancement of the camera part with a “x-ray” version. It remains to add that there is also a single-value modification of the recommended smartphone (5058Y), equipped with an NFC module.

Recall that the first smartphone in the modern history of the brand was just the Nokia 6 model. Moreover, despite the use of a budget hardware platform, it has gained fairly wide popularity. In the current 2018, the manufacturer has released an improved version of this smartphone, which is already working on SoC mid-level. Among other differences, it is worth mentioning the participation of the smartphone in the Android One program, as well as the equipment of “cool” optics from Carl Zeiss and the NFC module.

By the way, fans of AliExpress and other trading platforms should be very attentive. The fact is that the Chinese version of Nokia 6.1 cannot boast anything of the above. The chip of the recommended smartphone is the ability to shoot at once on both cameras, which videobloggers will certainly appreciate. In addition, the manufacturer promises high-quality sound recording (Nokia OZO Audio technology) and the ability to Slow Motion (and even Full HD resolution).

The youngest model of the family of camera phones U11. The principal difference from the older "relatives" is that the hardware platform is lower class. It is quite productive even for gaming applications, but already slightly outdated and a little uneconomical. Another display is simpler here, with a lower resolution and not the most modern matrix, which affects the amount of color gamut and overall energy efficiency. With the photo / video capabilities of the recommended smartphone, everything is fine. By the way, according to the authoritative resource DxOMark, the main camera of all U11 smartphones is one of the best to date. Other important features include support for sidewall compression control technology (Edge Sense Touch), as well as anatomical sound adjustment (HTC USonic). Naturally, for the implementation of the latest chips requires a corresponding branded headset.

Each new season presents us with a couple of regular trends, but the steady growth in the diagonal of the screen can be considered the most stable trend in the smartphone fashion. In this sense, the designers Xiaomi have reached a certain limit, beyond which the “territory” of a formally different class of mobile gadgets already lies. However, thanks to the frameless design, the bulky Mi Max 3 smartphone does not look. Convenience is another matter. For gamers and moviegoers, such dimensions of the smartphone will be just the topic, in all other "disciplines" they are a disadvantage. Relative. Say, tourists from China almost all polls are removed with shovels, and the potential of the camera part of the Mi Max 3 smartphone is very good, since it is based on the IMX363 sensor. Exactly the same is in the modules of the current flagships of the brand. Well, the battery of the novelty fully meets the needs of the huge screen, as well as its positioning.

This smartphone has two chips. The first and foremost is the cooling system with heat pipes, which, together with the top hardware platform and high-speed memory, should provide high gaming performance for a long time. It is not very clear why the developers abandoned the use of an all-metal body, it would be even better to dissipate the waste heat in space. The second is a sensitive face recognition scanner based on an IR sensor. In terms of speed, the usual fingerprint is not very inferior, and it is not critical to light conditions. All other components of the smartphone capabilities are not impressive. Removes the phone at the level of Redmi Note 5, i.e. well, if you do not pay attention to the completely different price tags of these models. Contactless payment technology does not support.In general, we have the most affordable good smartphone for demanding gamers.

Like the “sixth” model, this new Nokia brand is able to interest videobloggers, so far it supports OZO Audio technology and writes sound using three microphones that can be switched directly during the shooting process. Unfortunately, the main camera of the device is devoid of optical stabilization, and the software analogue of the latter does not work in the best way. It is possible that the manufacturer will be able to promptly correct this situation due to updates, as there are complaints about the post-processing of photographs. By the way, the smartphone is released on the program Android One, i.e. must be updated quickly enough. Conditionally clean operating system is also good because it provides ample opportunities for customization. On the other hand, not all users will bother with this, and the state of "out of the box" may not satisfy many. For example, the same stock camera or Nokia 7 Plus built-in player is far from the limit of perfection.

The strongest aspects of this new 2018 are the chic design and high-quality screen. For the first year, Huawei has “clothed” its smartphones in glass with overflows, so that this design style can already be considered corporate. Unfortunately, it is not without drawbacks - such a case slides very nicely and no less successfully gets dirty, and the overwhelming majority of cases level the existing beauty. The filling and capabilities of the device correspond to its appearance. Although it would be more pleasant to see the hardware platform "fresher". The younger model of the P20 family supports all the newfangled chips: the mono-brow is present and looks more elegant than the original, the aspect ratio of 19: 9 even exceeds the trend indicator, the functionality of the Face ID is implemented really well. Fortunately, the traditional audio jack Lite-version of the flagship did not deprive. In this case, no one bothers to use headphones with USB or wireless interface. Moreover, the recommended smartphone has aptX HD profile.

The most significant drawback of mobile cameras is the large amount of noise when shooting with poor lighting. We would venture to assert that Huawei was able to raise the appropriate level of quality to a new height and now its flagship simply does not have competitors. The world's first smartphone with a triple main camera is capable of taking really “cool” photos almost in complete darkness and taking pictures with a fivefold hybrid zoom (threefold optical). Nevertheless, you should not hurry with the purchase of a miracle smart. It seems that the developers simply did not have time to announce the start date of sales and will regularly update its software. Actually, a low score of P20 Pro is determined primarily by this factor. And the fact that the wireless charging device does not support the technology, the screen resolution is not quite flagship, Bluetooth is not the latest version, but the price tag is impressive.

It is a little strange to call the smartphone a novelty, whose production cycle is already coming to an end, but we don’t find any reason to ignore the next version of the notepad killer. The sixth generation of OnePlus smartphones has finally returned the optical stabilization system and simultaneously replaced the leading photosensor with a more modern and light-sensitive one. As a result, during the day the phone shoots perfectly, in bad conditions it is worse, but it exceeds the skills of its predecessor, it is able to write video in 4K @ 60 format. If the appearance of the notorious bang was quite predictable, then the unofficial availability of IP67 protection should be considered as an unexpected bonus. In addition to the pleasant price (which, alas, with each update becomes more solid), the traditional chip of the brand has always been a record performance within the used hardware platform. The programmers of the company did not disappoint, and this time - the smartphone is ahead of all Android competitors in tests and in practice.

Describing this new smartphone from Meizu, every now and then we have to use the adjective “first”. Enumerate The first flagship of the company on the top chip Qualcomm.Until now, they used single-chip systems manufactured by Samsung or MTK. The first smartphone brand with an extended screen. To a large extent, the cool meeting of a good model Meizu 15 was due precisely to the presence of large end frames. The first device with the successful implementation of an ultrasound scanner of prints (in our opinion). In addition, many people supported the idea of ​​integrating the dactyloscope into the display, and again Meizu 16th was among the pioneers. Finally, the first smartphone of the company with a really high-quality main camera and, last but not least, a good-quality specialized software. Now, in this discipline, Meizu can compete on an equal footing with the leaders. I would also like to write - the first one, which finally has a NFC module, but what’s not, isn’t.

Ambiguous novelty from LG. Recall that one of the most profitable activities of the brand is the display business, so the appearance of a super-clear screen for the company's flagship was not a surprise. In this field, the G7 ThinQ has only one direct competitor (Huawei Mate 20 Pro), but it uses an OLED-type matrix, not to mention a crushing superiority in battery capacity. Therefore what? That's right, autonomy depresses.

The second sad moment is connected with the chamber part. The combination of a mediocre sensor and cool optics will never give a large dynamic range, as well as high detail on small objects. Even if Snapdragon 845 is engaged in post-processing of snapshots using very tricky algorithms. On the other hand, G7 ThinQ allows you to shoot video in manual mode, write sound very high quality and make almost perfect panoramic photos.

Very ambiguous novelty. Compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S9 line remained virtually unchanged in terms of design, retained the same display, got a “fresh” hardware platform, learned how to play quite a good stereo through existing speakers, acquired interesting software “chips” and seriously grew as a camera phone. The latter, due to the appearance of a variable diaphragm and a private memory of the photosensor. As it turned out, the combination of f / 1.5 aperture with pixels of 1.4 microns and effective noise reduction can give a really high-quality result when shooting at night. Assessing the remaining improvements, we can say that a significant part of them is connected with the refinement of software. Unfortunately, the company has prepared us not only pleasant innovations. Telephone recording is now blocked at the program level. At least in Exynos smartphones.

Unlike Samsung, Sony decided to radically update the design of their smartphones. The Xperia XZ2 family looks very unusual, it slides perfectly, and it also rotates perfectly on the backs. Nevertheless, fans of the brand are satisfied and argue that the new devices have become gripping. By the way, as it has long been noticed, it is quite difficult to get the right idea about the convenience of Sony smartphones from their photos. What the corporation’s engineers didn’t guess exactly was the location of the fingerprint scanner. It is not clear why it was generally removed from the sidewall. And the compact version of this smartphone has grown great. And both on the diagonal of the screen, and by its resolution. What can you do, the current compacts - they are. Well, traditionally for Sony mobile phones, the innovations of 2018 are compatible with the implementation of VoLTE by domestic operators (MegaFon and MTS).