Here's Our Picks For The Best Flagship Smartphones Of 2018

The smartphone market has been changing at such a pace that there can be a lot of things happen in just one week. And 2018 is a year full of new changes, from mid-range phones packing high-end specifications to flagship smartphones packing new features and innovations.

As it is very close to the end of 2018, there should not be any more smartphones released in 2018. We have already delivered to you quite a few smartphones ranging from the best camera phone under Rs. 15,000 to the most innovative smartphones in 2018. Now, we continue with our pick of the best flagship smartphones launched in 2018.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Samsung Galaxy Note lineup has long been seen as the standard for productivity-centric smartphones. The Galaxy Note 9 is the most recent addition to the series. Released on 24 August 2018, the latest Galaxy Note device is easily seen as one of the best Android smartphones in 2018.

The Samsung phablet sports a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with 2,960 x 1,440 pixels resolution, an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 and no notch on its screen. Under the hood, the device is powered by either a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845 or a Samsung-made Exynos 9810 processor coupled with up to 8GB RAM/512GB storage.

Samsung also packs an upgraded signature S Pen with support for Bluetooth and 4,096 levels of sensitivity along with the Galaxy Note 9. The Bluetooth support can enable users to remotely pause/play music or videos, control presentations and more.

Apple iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max

Introduced on 21 September 2018, the two flagship smartphones, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, bear a similar design of the previous year’s iPhone X.

While the iPhone XS sports 5.8-inch HDR Super AMOLED display while the iPhone XS Max has a 6.5-inch HDR Super AMOLED which is the biggest display Apple ever uses in its iPhone. Both of the phones are powered by the latest Apple’s A12 Bionic.

On both of the phones, Apple also got rid of the Touch ID and replaced it with a Facial recognition system with required sensors being located in the wide notch on the front displays. They are all offered with a maximum storage of 512GB with the top-end iPhone XS Max coming with an insane Rs. 1,44,900 price tag.

OnePlus 6T

OnePlus, which has been known for releasing “flagship killer” phones, launched the OnePlus 6T on 29 October 2018. With prices from Rs. 37,999, the latest flagship killer smartphone is the first phone of OnePlus to feature an in-display fingerprint scanner and also the first one to come with no headphone jack.

The handset sports a 6.41-inch Optic AMOLED panel with a 2340 x 1080 pixels resolution, an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and a tiny water-drop notch. Powered by a Snapdragon 845 SoC as seen on other flagships, the phone also has 6/8GB RAM as well as 128/256GB storage.

OnePlus also released a special edition of the OnePlus 6T called McLaren Edition and packs a whopping 10GB of RAM on the handset. The OnePlus 6T is backed by a 3,700 mAh battery which can be fully charged in no time thanks to 30W Warp Charge of OnePlus.

Google Pixel 3 and Google Pixel 3 XL

The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL are not much different from their predecessors in terms of design, except for the Pixel XL with its hideous looking notch.

However, these two Pixel devices do have upgrades in the hardware, including the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB RAM and also 64/128GB storage. Those specs are quite standard for a flagship smartphone in 2018. Camera performance is the thing that set the two Pixel devices apart. There are a single rear 12.2MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a dual 8MP selfie camera setup with f/1.8 and f/2.2 respective apertures on both of the devices.

Despite having only a single rear camera, the Pixel 3 and 3 XL are still capable of delivering amazing shots with excellent Google’s camera software and features. Google also just rolled out a new feature called Night Sight on both of the new Pixel phones, allowing their cameras to excel even in low-light conditions. Users can also easily take ultra-wide selfies with the dual 8MP cameras on the front.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Earlier in 2018, the Chinese giant beat Apple to be the world’s second-biggest phone maker. While Huawei achieved that gold was mainly due to its vast market share in the mid-range and entry-level smartphone market, the Chinese phone maker has also shown that they are also capable of delivering the best flagship smartphones.

Released in October this year, the Huawei’s flagship Mate 20 Pro comes packed with many features. The handset is also an imaging powerhouse featuring Leica-branded triple camera setup on the rear. With a camera setup of 40MP + 20MP + 8MP sensors, users can take amazing shots with the Mate 20 Pro.

On the front, users can also take selfies with a 24MP sensor. Under the hood, there is a massive 4,200 mAh battery with support for wireless and fast charging. It also comes with a unique reserve wireless charging feature that can allow the Mate 20 Pro to turn into a wireless charging pad for other devices.

LG G7+ ThinQ

Despite somewhat falling behind in the smartphone industry, LG has still been delivering some great flagship smartphones for quite a while now. However, somehow their smartphones always end up getting beaten by rival Samsung’s flagships. And it is still the case for the LG G7+ ThinQ releasing in May 2018.

Being an underrated phone, the LG G7+ ThinQ comes packed with a Snapdragon 845 SoC, coupled with 6GB RAM/128GB storage. On the front, there is a 6.1-inch Quad-HD+ display with a 3,120 x 1,440 pixels resolution and a tall aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

In the camera department, the G7+ ThinQ has a dual rear camera setup, including a 16MP sensor and a 16MP ultra-wide sensor with 4K video recording, OIS and AI-powered features as well.

And the thing, that set LG G7+ ThinQ in particular and recent LG flagships as a whole, is the headphone jack with a built-in Quad DAC which is capable of delivering much better audio quality. And the LG device also has a mono speaker that is probably the loudest that you may find in a smartphone.