The best Android smartphones of 2018 according to the Android Authority

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The experts evaluated the camera, sound, autonomy and other parameters.

The Android Authority portal summed up the results of the outgoing year, naming smartphones worthy of being called the best of the best. The winners in various nominations were identified through detailed testing involving experts in various fields.

Best Smartphone

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

The winner was determined based on the results of all tests, from photo comparison to benchmarks. At the same time, it was not at all necessary to take first place in every test - it is important that the smartphone did not fail in any of them. With which the Galaxy Note 9 coped quite well, entering the top five in four of the five key tests.

Best Smartphone Innovation

If the performance and autonomy of smartphones can be somehow evaluated and measured, then with innovations this approach is fundamentally wrong. That is why, choosing the most unusual and interesting technologies, Android Authority relied on a simple survey of the entire editorial staff, which is over 30 people.

At the first stage, experts proposed their options, and at the second stage, a general vote was held for the best candidates. As a result, three truly innovative technologies of 2018 were named:

• Google's Duplex is an AI-powered technology that allows a voice assistant to make calls to book cafe tables, buy tickets, and, for example, order pizza.
• Foldable devices from Samsung and Royole - we are talking about the first foldable smartphone FlexPai and a similar concept from Samsung, which was recently demonstrated at a special presentation.
• Vivo's in-display fingerprint sensor - such sensors, according to the Android Authority, will be the first step towards technology that allows fingerprint recognition across the entire on-screen panel.

Best display

Winners: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Razer Phone 2.

To determine the best displays, experts from Spectracal were involved, who helped to accurately assess the color rendition, temperature, brightness and other parameters of smartphone screens. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is recognized as the best in the aggregate of all ratings. Huawei Mate 20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S9 are not far behind.

Separately, experts have identified the best screen for games. Its owner was the gaming flagship Razer Phone 2, which received an IPS IGZO panel with a frequency of 120 Hz and a brightness of up to 580 nits. The picture on such a display looks really vivid.

Best Sound

Winner: LG V40 ThinQ.

Representatives of the SoundGuys resource helped to determine the best smartphone for audiophiles. They conducted many different tests, evaluating the most diverse components of sound quality. The LG V40 ThinQ, equipped with a 32-bit Hi-FI-DAC and powerful speakers, was recognized as the best in the aggregate of all tests.

In addition, the Asus ROG Phone, Nokia 7.1 and Samsung Galaxy S9 + have received flattering reviews. RED Hydrogen One, Huawei P20 and Huawei P20 Pro have received negative reviews for sound quality.

Better performance

Winner: Huawei Mate 20 Pro.

Device performance was measured by a variety of benchmarks including AnTuTu, GFXBench, Geekbench, and 3DMark. Based on the results of all evaluations, the Mate 20 Pro from Huawei was recognized as the best, which received the latest proprietary Kirin 980 processor.

In fact, in terms of performance, many modern flagships turned out to be almost equal. The minimal lag behind the leader was demonstrated by Asus ROG Phone, OnePlus 6T, Huawei Mate 20, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 +. All of them can be called the most powerful Android smartphones.

Best Battery

Winners: Huawei P20 Pro and Huawei Mate 20 Pro.

Here, experts evaluated autonomy in various use cases, ranging from simple web browsing over Wi-Fi to mixed use of the gadget in applications. The leader of all tests was the Huawei P20 Pro, which is equipped with a 4000 mAh battery. Oppo R17 Pro, Vivo V11 Pro and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 are not far behind.

The charging speed of smartphones was separately noted, the importance of which is also difficult to overestimate. All smartphones have been tested with original adapters. The winner is the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which charges 40% in just 15 minutes, 76% in 30 minutes, and 99% in an hour.

Best camera

Winners: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Pixel 3/3 XL.

This year, the best camera was chosen in two nominations. Within the framework of the first, the best solution for the so-called traditional shooting was determined, when detail, natural color rendition, a minimum of noise and artifacts are important. In this regard, the championship for the Galaxy Note 9, which has a dual camera with 12 megapixel sensors.

As alternative solutions, HTC U12 +, Samsung Galaxy S9 +, LG G7, Huawei Mate 20 Pro and Sony Xperia XZ3 were noted. All of them are slightly behind the leader.

The second nomination took into account image processing algorithms, the use of artificial intelligence functions and additional shooting modes. Here, the unconditional leaders are the new flagships Google Pixel 3, equipped with identical single 12-megapixel cameras.

The closest to the Pixel 3's capabilities were the Huawei P20 Pro, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Xiaomi Mi A2, LG V40 and Vivo Nex.

The best smartphone for gaming

Winner: Asus ROG Phone.

When testing gaming devices, first of all, their performance was taken into account in the 3DMark benchmark, which most accurately characterizes the gaming capabilities of smartphones. The maximum number of points in it was scored by the Asus ROG Phone, equipped with an overclocked version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with a frequency of up to 2.96 GHz.

The same smartphone has one of the best displays for gaming - a six-inch AMOLED panel with FHD + resolution, 108 display, 6% of the DCI-P3 color profile gamut and a refresh rate of 90 Hz. In this regard, it is second only to the Razer Phone 2 with a 120Hz screen.

The third component of the test is support for gaming accessories. Here, the victory was also awarded to the Asus ROG Phone, for which a number of peripheral devices have been developed, including a convenient dock with an additional screen and controllers that turn the device into a kind of Nintendo Switch.

Best price

Winners: Xiaomi Pocophone F1 and OnePlus 6T.

The best deal for the minimum money is Xiaomi's Pocophone F1, which has a flagship processor, 6GB of RAM and impressive battery life at a price of around $ 300.

The more expensive OnePlus 6T has also been highlighted. Starting at $ 550, it offers a more modern design, a bezel-less screen with a waterdrop notch and a fingerprint scanner built into the AMOLED panel.

Android Authority Readers' Choice

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

The readers of the resource made their choice not in one general vote, but in a whole set of "duels". You had to cast your vote in them only for one of two smartphones. As a result, two models reached the final: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Huawei Mate 20 Pro. The first flagship won with a score of 63% (1,216 votes).