Hey everybody! So now that Black Friday is over (not that there were any real deals on phones), and we're nearing the end of the year, I thought I'd put together a list of the better flagships I've noticed this year--a sort of guide for those wondering how their current phones match up or maybe for those in the market.
This year hasn't been anything spectacular in terms of novelty, but it also put out some damn nice phones.
Of the personal experience I've had with Android as well as personal interactions with Android users I think that these are really the top priorities of users (again, I'm open to suggestions from the public):
- water resistance
- long lasting battery
- high res camera
- large ram
- receiving constant updates
So let's get started in no specific order:
| Phone | List Price (Amazon) | Release Date | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, S8 Active | $725 ($575), $825 ($675), $850 | April 21 | water resistant, Active version is durable and has the same great camera, headphone jack, expandable memory | expensive, one of the earlier Androids of this year, notorious for being one of the later devices to receive updates, poor speaker quality/placement (/u/Superyoshers9) |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | $950 ($935) | September 15 | 6GB RAM, dual cameras, water-resistant, wireless charging | expensive, reported to have awkward fingerprint sensor placement, reported to have too small of battery for the amount of power it uses, (high price considering the Galaxy S8?) |
| Google Pixel 2, 2XL | $650, $850 (+$100 for double storage) | October 19 | Google phone (will be the first to receive updates), large memory (up to 128GB), water resistant, Pixel Visual Core image processor | no headphone jack, no expandable memory, unlimited online photo storage lasts only three years, expensive |
| OnePlus 5T | $500 (6GB RAM + 64GB Storage), $560(8GB RAM + 128GB Storage) | November 21 | lastest Android phone to be released this year, dual camera, large RAM, large battery life, headphone jack, water resistant?, dual cameras, much cheaper than other Android phones | water resistant?, released only a few months after the OnePlus 5 (potential to be quickly outdated), relatively newer company (may not get immediate software updates) |
| LG V30, V30+ | $800, $950 | October 5 | water resistant, dual cameras, expandable memory | expensive, reported to have short battery life (despite 3300mAh battery) |
| Essential Phone | $500 ($450) | August 25 | near bezel-less screen, is rumored to get quick Android updates, cheaper than other phones | no water resistance, no headphone jack, not as high-end camera |
| Sony Xperia XZ Premium | ($555) | June | expandable storage, water resistant, reported to have great quality front-facing speakers | reported to have less than improved design, reported to have fidgety SIM card slot |
| HTC U11 | $600 ($650) | June 17 | water resistant, edge sense, squeeze sensor, can have up to 6GB RAM | U11+ has just been announced, glass body (prone to easy breaking), no headphone jack, comes preloaded with Marshmallow |
| HUAWEI MATE 10 PRO | ~$665 | October | comes with Oreo, can get 6GB RAM, dual cameras, much larger battery than most (4000mAh), water resistant | not available in the US currently, no headphone jack, no wireless charging, no gyroscope |
So that's that. Most of these phones (if not all) came with batteries between 2900-3300mAh batteries (which means diddly squat really because it's really dependent on how the phone is run). All except for the OnePlus 5T had 4GB RAM. Durability was sported all over the place talking about ceramic and titanium and blah blah blah, but we've all seen the most badass phones fall out of a pocket and explode and on the other hand a crappy old iPhone hold up for years somehow... And lastly, everyone is talking about their cameras. Most are sporting a 12MP or higher single camera, so there's not much to be said there (although there was some complaining I saw about the Essential Phone's camera). As a side note on that, the OnePlus 5t has dual higher MP cameras, but ratings go to the single 12MP camera on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Past that, I'm at a loss, but I'm very VERY curious to what you guys have to say. I'm just a guy with Google. Y'all have some real knowledge.
Edit: Okay, okay, I get it. I only mentioned well-known names. I've added the HTC U11 as well as the Note 8. I also added the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. I'm tired and I'll add more later. Happy to hear suggestions, but y'all can be harsh... sheesh...
Edit 2: Added the Mate 10 pro and am considering adding the Razer (thoughts?).