GADGET GALLERY
It’s difficult to keep up with the never-ending new models of smartphones: David Phelan breaks it down for us with 11 of the latest handsets full of stylish features and expert cameras
What do you want from a smartphone? Everything, probably. After all, it’s your camera, satnav, email, social media hub, games machine, digital wallet, video viewer and portal to the internet. Oh, and it makes phone calls. Priorities today are different from even a few years ago: big screens are popular, full, edge-to-edge screens especially. But the desire for good battery life remains unchanged.
There are two operating systems to choose from: iOS which runs only on Apple devices like the iPhone or iPad and, on the other hand, Android, from Google. Android is the system which every manufacturer other than Apple has now adopted (even companies like Nokia and BlackBerry who previously went their own
way).
The advantages of iOS include the smooth, seamless way it integrates with Apple products such as your iPad, Mac and the smart HomePod speaker. Android users, however, will find switching from one Android brand to another, say from Huawei to Sony, a painless process, as Google insists on a degree of uniformity for companies using the platform.
The move to screens which cover the whole of the front of a phone, or almost, has led to something called “the notch”, a cut-out at the top of the display where the camera sits. In the case of the iPhone XS, XS Max and forthcoming XR phones, that’s where the TrueDepth camera sits, which delivers high-quality facial recognition that obviates the need for a fingerprint sensor.
Other phones have this notch, and sometimes facial recognition – but Apple’s system is the only one that’s good enough for you to remove the fingerprint sensor, and it works safely with the digital wallet, Apple Pay. Other phones have fingerprint sensors too, on the back in every case here, apart from the BlackBerry.
Many phones now have twin rear cameras (and one even has three). Often these are lenses with different focal lengths to help overcome the feature that phone cameras lack: optical zoom. If one camera has twice the focal length of the other, you effectively have a 2x zoom. Twin lenses also mean you can shoot both cameras at the same time and software can work out what’s what, so it can create a delightful bokeh effect where the subject is in sharp focus and the background artistically blurred.
Note that most flagship phones now lack a traditional headphone jack, so you’ll need to use the supplied headphones, an adaptor with your favourite headphones, or wireless cans. Most phones, though not the latest iPhones, include an adaptor – in Apple’s case you can buy it separately for £9.
Apple iPhone XS: From £999, Apple
Screen size and resolution: 5.8in, 1125 x 2436 pixels, 458 pixels per inch Screen technology: OLED Storage capacity: 64/256/512GB Expandable storage? No Camera (Rear): 12MP wide, 12MP telephoto Camera (Front): 7MP Dimensions: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm Weight: 177g Headphone jack? No
The iPhone XS comes in two sizes: XS and XS Max. The XS is the same size as last year’s iPhone 8, and the
Max is like the iPhone 8 Plus, but both are all screen, 5.8in and 6.5in respectively. The Max is big, so definitely worth holding before you buy, but the display is immersive and appealing – and big enough for watching a movie. Smaller phones usually mean fewer features or reduced components, but apart from battery life, price and screen size, the two iPhone XS models are identical, so all details apply to both.
There’s that cut-out at the top of the screen where the Face ID camera sits. The facial recognition is highly reliable and works even in the dark. The design here is sumptuous and appealing, with a glass front and back which makes it compatible with wireless charging. It also means that, despite Apple’s claim that this is the most durable glass on any smartphone, that it may be worth buying a case, as it’s not totally invulnerable.
It is waterproof, like many on this list. The camera is exceptional and includes a portrait mode where you can adjust the level of background blur after you’ve shot the image. Some other phones can do this but not as well. These are expensive phones but they have a lot to offer. Battery life on the XS is a day, and over a day on the XS Max.
Sony Xperia XZ3: £699, Sony Mobile
Screen size and resolution: 6in, 1440 x 2880, 537ppi Screen technology: OLED Storage capacity: 64GB Expandable storage? Yes Camera (Rear): 19MP Camera (Front): 13MP Dimensions: 158 x 73 x 9.9mm Weight: 193g Headphone jack? No
Sony’s design has evolved over the years and this is the sleekest, most attractive look on a phone from the company yet. It has a curved back so it fits the hand very easily, despite its size. Though the screen isn’t quite all-encompassing, it’s way better than on any other Sony phone. And what a screen! It’s the first OLED display on a Sony phone, designed in conjunction with the company’s TV division and it looks glorious, pin-sharp and vivid.
There’s only one rear camera but it uses an advanced Sony sensor and results are very strong. Sony was among the first companies to introduce waterproofing, which has since become industry-wide. It also has great battery life. If there’s a fault that keeps it from sharing the top spot with Apple, it’s that the fingerprint sensor on the back is a bit lower than your finger expects to find it without turning the phone
round to look.
Huawei P20 Pro: £799, John Lewis
Screen size and resolution: 6.1in, 1080 x 2240 pixels, 408ppi Screen technology: OLED Storage capacity: 128/256GB Expandable storage? No Camera (Rear): 40MP wide-angle, 20MP black-and-white wide angle, 8MP telephoto Camera (Front): 24MP Dimensions: 155 x 73.9 x 7.8mm Weight: 180g Headphone jack? No
The cameras on the Huawei P20 Pro are phenomenal. For a start, there are three of them on the back, all built in conjunction with Leica. One is black and white only, which pulls in detail quickly and combines with the colour camera (remarkably, a 40 megapixel sensor) to give strong results even in very low light. The other colour camera gives an effective 3x optical zoom. This is also a fast, powerful camera in other ways thanks to an advanced processor that uses artificial intelligence for everything from battery management to how it exposes your photos.
Battery lasts through a day easily, though overnight charges are recommended. Huawei has its own take on the Android operating system which is fun and versatile, though coming from a rival Android phone can mean you’ll see bigger changes to the interface.
Samsung Galaxy Note9: From £849, Samsung
Screen size and resolution: 6.4in, 1440 x 2960 pixels, 516ppi Screen technology: OLED Storage capacity: 128GB/512GB Expandable storage? Yes Camera (Rear): 12MP wide-angle, 12MP telephoto Camera (Front): 8MP Dimensions: 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm Weight: 201g Headphone jack? Yes
Samsung is one of the few companies that builds a traditional headphone jack into its flagship phones – and there’s no notch on the display either. The Note9 is so named because it has a stylus, called the S Pen, which pops out of the base of the handset and is used for scribbling notes on the large display, for instance. The latest S Pen also works as a wireless trigger: press the button and it’ll shoot a photo on the phone’s camera or advance your presentation to the next slide.
The screen is big but so is the battery – the biggest ever in a Samsung phone – and it lasts a full day with ease. This is also a phone with a very polished design. Because Samsung adds its own look to the Android operating system, it can take longer for the latest updates to arrive, compared to a phone from Nokia or Google, for instance.
HTC U12 Life: £299, HTC
Screen size and resolution: 6in, 1080 x 2160 pixels, 402 pixels
Screen technology: LCD Storage capacity: 128GB Expandable storage? Yes Camera (Rear): 16MP, 5MP Camera (Front): 13MP Dimensions: 158.5 x 75.4 x 8.3mm Weight: 175g Headphone jack? Yes
HTC is known for its particular, elegant version of Android and that’s evident on this phone. The Taiwanese company is also famous for smart design and a great sense of colour. This phone looks much more expensive than its sticker price, thanks to a striped rear glass cover which aims to make it less slippy in the hand as well as better looking.
Although this is a mid-range phone it’s still a decent performer with battery life that will last all day. The blank areas above and below the screen (called the chin and forehead) are bigger than on some phones here, an indication that this is not a flagship phone. But for most people, it will look and perform well enough and is keenly priced. It goes on sale in the next few days.
OnePlus 6: From £519, OnePlus
Screen size and resolution: 6.28in, 1080 x 2280 pixels, 402ppi Screen technology: OLED Storage capacity: 128/256GB Expandable storage? No Camera (Rear): 16MP, 20MP Camera (Front): 16MP Dimensions: 155.7 x 75.4 x 7.8mm Weight: 177g Headphone jack? Yes OnePlus is known for phones with high specifications but at a low price. This phone, for instance, has extremely good performance, good cameras and elegant design, all in a handset that’s much cheaper than comparable performers. The battery will last through a full day and is also fast charging, with a half-hour charge enough to take the phone to 60 per cent capacity.
The phone’s cameras are strong and work especially well in low light. The screen covers almost the whole phone, though it’s not as high-resolution as on some phones here. There is a notch, but OnePlus has
included software to disguise this if you wish: it clever hides the non-screen bit by making each side of the display pitch black. Although the phone has a glass back, there’s no wireless charging option.
Motorola One: £269, Motorola
Screen size and resolution: 5.9in, 720 x 1520 pixels, 287ppi Screen technology: LCD Storage capacity: 64GB Expandable storage? Yes Camera (Rear): 13MP, 2MP depth sensor Camera (Front): 13MP Dimensions: 149.9 x 72.2 x 8mm Weight: 162g Headphone jack? Yes
This is a great budget phone, squeezing in a nearly all-screen display and dual cameras for a much lower price than you might imagine. And if you like the look of the iPhone XS, this isn’t dissimilar, and hides the fact that the screen doesn’t reach all the way down by putting the Moto logo there. It uses Android One, a platform which, because it uses a very plain version of the Android operating system, guarantees speedy updates for at least two years.
Twin rear cameras work using a medium-resolution sensor with a lower-resolution second sensor just used for depth sensing, to improve sharpness in low light and elegant bokeh effects. This is a fun and enjoyable phone to use. It goes on sale in the next few days.
BlackBerry KEY2: From £469, Blackberry
Screen size and resolution: 4.5in, 1080 x 1620 pixels, 434ppi Screen technology: LCD Storage capacity: 64/128GB Expandable storage? Yes Camera (Rear): 12MP, 12MP Camera (Front): 8MP Dimensions: 151.4 x 71.8 x 8.5mm Weight: 168g Headphone jack? Yes
If you like to text on a physical keyboard instead of a glass screen, the BlackBerry is ideal. The screen is the smallest here, though still big enough for watching video, if not, an epic movie. The keys themselves are tremendous; comfortable and with enough travel to make typing at speed a reality. They are also smart keys and you can “swipe” letters or words onto the screen. And there’s an extra secret, as the space bar is also the fingerprint sensor.
A special key lets you move quickly between apps, which is useful and quickly becomes second nature. And BlackBerry is known for its high security options that sit on top of the Android operating system. The cameras are good enough, though outshone by others here. Battery life has always been key to BlackBerry and is decent in the KEY2.
Nokia 7.1: £299, Carphone Warehouse
Screen size and resolution: 5.8in, 1020 x 2280, 432ppi
Screen technology: LCD Storage capacity: 32GB Expandable storage? Yes Camera (Rear): 12MP, 5MP depth sensor Camera (Front): 8MP Dimensions: 149.7 x 71.2 x 8mm Weight: 160g Headphone jack? Yes
Nokia phones are now made by HMD Global, a Finnish company which has the licence to use the name and has much in common with the previous Nokia, including continuity of many designers and engineers. That’s evident in the stylish design here, the phone feels solid and appealing. Nokia has had an association with lens company Zeiss for years and that continues with this model – the camera is highly capable. Nokia uses a very plain version of Android (apart from the camera, the apps are all standard Google), which means Android updates come quickly. Nokia phones have outstanding build quality and this is no exception.
Honor 8X: £229.99, Honor
Screen size and resolution: 6.5in, 2340 x 1080, 396ppi Screen technology: LCD Storage capacity: 64GB Expandable storage? Yes Camera (Rear): 20MP, 2MP depth sensor Camera (Front): 16MP Dimensions: 160.4 x 76.6 x 7.8mm Weight: 175g Headphone jack? Yes
Honor is a division of Chinese company Huawei and aims for the budget end of the market. Despite that, it has strong design and feels classy and expensive. The processor is middle-of-the-road rather than exceptional and the screen resolution is beaten by most rivals here – though it still looks good. Despite being LCD, Honor has created a phone with small bezels and an impressive full-screen effect. Like Huawei, Honor thoughtfully clads its phones with a screen protector in place when you buy it.
It also has Huawei’s AI photo processing technology, though this camera is no match for the Huawei P20 Pro either in terms of the image quality or responsiveness of the sensor. But for everyday use it works well
with reasonable battery life and performance. Above all, it’s the phone’s look which makes it.
Google Pixel 3 XL: From £869, Google
Screen size and resolution: 6.3in, 1440 x 2960, 523ppi Screen technology: OLED Storage capacity: 64/128GB Expandable storage? No Camera (Rear): 12.2MP Camera (Front): 8MP Dimensions: 158 x 76.7 x 7.9mm Weight: 184g Headphone jack? No
The Pixel series are the only Android phones where software and hardware are made by the same company. The new Pixel 3 comes in an XL and a smaller regular size. The XL has a notch at the top of the screen, and it’s a slightly weird looking one at that, but the smaller phone does not. Google has eschewed the dual camera system favoured by many, making effects like bokeh happen entirely through software.
This may sound like a poor solution, but in fact it works extremely well and like other phones here, Google uses AI to improve exposures and other details for better results. It performs especially in low light thanks to a Night Sight feature – though the Huawei P20 Pro is also very proficient in near-dark situations. It also uses AI as a system to screen calls automatically, the company claims. Google’s own-brand phones always have the very latest software first, which is useful. The Pixel 3 is available to pre-order now ahead of its UK launch on 1 November.
Verdict
Apple’s iPhone XS, though pricey, is full of features and high-end components. The Face ID system is brilliant, and the cameras are hard to beat. This, and the smaller iPhone XS Max are easily the best iPhones ever made (although look out for the lower-priced iPhone XR at the end of October).
The other top-price phone is the Samsung Galaxy Note9, which is also the company’s best handset, cramming a big screen into a small case and delivering very strong battery life. The only phones to match the iPhone’s cameras are the Huawei P20 Pro which is slick and effective, and the equally striking Sony Xperia XZ3.
Finally, the new Google Pixel 3 XL, though it has a dominating notch which may divide opinion, is highly
proficient and very slick.