Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones

The Huawei P20 Pro mainly creates a wow-effect with its powerful triple camera, but we also like the colors with some extraordinary choices. Huawei completely changed them for the current P-series and now uses large display and big batteries. It is also the first P-series smartphone where the cameras are not sitting flush with the rest of the chassis. The technical specs are very similar to the Mate 10 Pro, but Huawei uses a Natural-Tone display for the first time, which will automatically adjust the picture based on the environment. The MIMO antenna technology for the Wi-Fi is now also available on a Huawei smartphone and enables high transfer rates, but the Wi-Fi performance was not very consistent. We also have some expectations for a smartphone that retails for more than 800 Euros, like modern Bluetooth and at least a 1440p screen. The latter is not really an advantage in day-to-day usage, but important for VR applications.

The Huawei P20 is a good choice if you want to save some money. The specs are similar, but it only features a dual-camera and lacks the water as well as dust resistance.

The Mate series is the technological pinnacle from the Chinese manufacturer. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro definitely meets this claim. It features a fast SoC with 6 GB RAM, a powerful Leica triple camera, a brilliant and bright 1440p OLED screen, a rapid quick-charge mode as well as wireless charging, it is dust- and waterproof, is equipped with an IR blaster, has rapid MIMO WLAN with HT160 and the fastest modem you can currently find in a smartphone. The Mate is slim, despite its big 4200 mAh battery. 128 GB internal storage is adequate for this price range.

It is, however, unfortunate that Huawei does not offer other storage versions in all regions. Huawei's new Nano memory card does not really compensate for that since it occupies the second SIM slot. Implementing one of the speakers in the USB port is a smart idea, but not always ideal.

No doubt: both, the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+, are amazing smartphones. However, the differences to their respective predecessors are fairly small. Equipped with a new and quite fast Exynos SoC, 6 GB of RAM (S9: 4 GB), and 64/256 GB of UFS 2.1 storage the S9+ has quite a bit to offer. The display has been fine-tuned even further by Samsung and the phone’s already narrow bezels have shrunk once more. The rest of the specs are not any less impressive: LTE Cat. 18, Bluetooth 5.0, microSD slot, IP67-certified, wireless charging, USB 3.1 with support for DisplayPort, fingerprint reader and iris scanner, and much more. Like the new brilliant dual-lens camera capable of adjusting its aperture between f/1.5 and f/2.4.

The Apple iPhone XS is the improved version of last year's anniversary edition, which was a full redesign with a slim-bezel 5.8-inch display including notch. This means the smartphone looks the same, but Apple added one color edition: Gold. The new SoC is very fast and the camera was significantly improved as well. Thanks to new software algorithms, you get better dynamic range and better low-light performance. The protection against liquids was improved and is not limited to fresh water anymore, and you also get a 512 GB option.

Fans of larger panels can get the iPhone XS Max with a 6.5-inch screen and identical cameras.

The Google Pixel 2 might look like a slightly outdated smartphones, but both the components and the software are up to date. Thanks to a powerful Snapdragon SoC, 4 GB RAM and 64 or 128 GB flash storage, respectively, the specs of the small Pixel model are rather average among the high-end competition. The great camera and the latest Android versions for the next couple of years (guaranteed for three years) are two highlights.

We also liked the two stereo speakers as well as the IP certification against the entry of dust and water during our review. Unfortunately, the manufacturer dropped the MIMO WLAN technology compared to the previous model, so the transfer rates could be better. There is no dual-SIM or storage expansion via microSD, either.

If you prefer a more modern design approach with a 2:1 display, you should have a look at the bigger sibling Pixel 2 XL.

The less expensive iPhone of 2018 is available in many colors and also offers a lot of features; it is definitely not just a recycling of an old model. Apple removes some features from the flagship devices instead. You get a lower resolution IPS display, but the nominal sharpness drop is not noticeable in practice and it is a serious alternative for users who have problems with pulse-width modulation. The camera also lacks the second lens, so the portrait mode is limited and the tele zoom is missing. In return, the Apple iPhone XR manages significantly longer runtimes than its more expensive siblings, but is much bigger than the XS and reminds us of the old iPhone Plus models.

Compared to its predecessor, the OnePlus 6T is not much different, but that is not surprising considering the half-year release cycle. The notch is much smaller, the fingerprint scanner is now sitting underneath the glass and the stereo jack was removed. The fingerprint scanner was not 100 % convincing in our review, though.

Otherwise, the 6T is a fast smartphone with a very responsive UI, great battery runtimes, a good camera as well as great communication features. You have to make a compromise in terms of the speakers. There is also no storage expansion via microSD and there is no special protection against dust or water.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is once again a really good business phablet. The Korean manufacturer increased the battery of the new Note model to 4000 mAh, so the battery runtime is much better compared to the previous model. The S Pen now supports Bluetooth and offers some new features. The Samsung smartphone is also a storage giant, because you can get up to 512 GB internal storage in combination with up to 512 GB storage via microSD card, so you get up to 1 TB storage in total.

The smartphone is powered by Samsung's latest high-end SoC in combination with 8 GB RAM, fast LTE with a lot of frequencies, fast Wi-Fi, a huge range of sensors, good stereo speakers, a great camera, and a brilliant Super AMOLED display.

The HTC U12 Plus features familiar specs and has a 6-inch Super LC-display, which is mostly convincing in the review and offers great colors, supports HDR, and has a high resolution. Only the maximum luminance is not great, which should not be a problem on most days, especially indoors, but it is a bit too dark in summer. This and the somewhat short battery runtimes are the biggest issues on an otherwise great smartphone, which convinces with a powerful main camera, great audio settings, and a strong system performance.