The best smartphones of 2018
The top 3 according to 47 votes from people: Google Pixel 3 XL · Apple iPhone XS Max · OnePlus 6T. (Updated Aug 1, 2026.)
The phones that topped the year-end picks of the tech press in 2018: the Pixel 3 camera, the Note 9 S Pen, the Mate 20 Pro triple camera and the OnePlus 6T value. Which one did you have?
Top 12
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1
Google Pixel 3 XL
The big Pixel, top pick of Tech.co's phone of the year ranking.
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2
Apple iPhone XS Max
The A12 Bionic chip and a 6.5-inch OLED screen, the biggest iPhone to date.
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3
OnePlus 6T
Flagship specs at the lowest price of the group.
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4
LG V40 ThinQ
For audio lovers: headphone jack, 32-bit Quad DAC and Boombox speaker.
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5
Apple iPhone XS
The compact 5.8-inch version, second in Tech.co's ranking.
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6
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
A "zero compromises" flagship: microSD, headphone jack and an S Pen that doubles as a remote shutter.
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7
Samsung Galaxy S9+
The Infinity Display without a notch set the design standard of the year.
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8
Google Pixel 3
Google's computational photography made its single rear camera the one to beat; GSMArena called it the best compact phone.
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9
Sony Xperia XZ3
Sony's first OLED phone, up there with the best in specs and performance.
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10
Pocophone F1
Snapdragon 845 at a price "unheard of" for a flagship.
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11
Huawei P20 Pro
The first phone with three rear cameras, with 3x optical zoom.
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12
Nokia 7 Plus
Hard to beat for value, with clean Android One software.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 12… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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13
Apple iPhone XR
Cheaper iPhone of 2018 with an LCD screen and single camera, one of the best-selling phones of its year.
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14
Xiaomi Mi 8
Xiaomi's 2018 flagship with a notch and dual camera, at a much lower price than its rivals.
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15
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Triple Leica camera, in-display fingerprint reader and reverse wireless charging; picked by two GSMArena editors.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (9)
Where's the iPhone XR? Best-selling phone of the year.
Mate 20 Pro was a beast.
And the Xiaomi Mi 8 was great for the price.
Note 9 with the S Pen, productivity king.
P20 Pro with the triple camera, revolutionary.
Pocophone F1, flagship specs at a budget price.
Pixel 3 camera was untouchable in 2018.
OnePlus 6T, best value flagship.
LG V40, poor LG.