Phone Reviews

The Samsung Galaxy S10 doesn't fold, it doesn't have 5G - not quite yet, anyway - and it looks a whole lot like the Galaxy S9 from last year, but none of that precludes it from being the smartphone to beat in 2019. While curiosities like the Galaxy Fold may be teasing unusual form-factors, and next-generation 5G networks promise ridiculous speed for those lucky few in launch markets, the Galaxy S10 and S10+ bring their formidable talents to bear on the mainstream.

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Honor, an independent Huawei subsidiary, is well-known and well-loved for offering high-end specs, higher than Xiaomi's, at lower prices. In some cases, it almost rivals its parent by putting almost the same specs and features as, say, a P or Mate series into a more affordable package with only a few compromises. That said, it also has room for smartphones a little lower down the ladder for those with even tighter budgets. The Honor 10 Lite is the latest in that roster and we take it for a spin to see whether it cuts off too many corners in the process.

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The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 review you're about to read is centered on battery life, real-world use, and long-term viability. Some of this will need to be estimated based on the amount of time we've had the device thus far - we've not yet had the Mi Mix 3 for a long term. As we continue to use the Mi Mix 3, we'll continue to update the review.

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Some say that innovation isn’t a matter of creating something completely original because almost nothing these days is. Instead, it’s about taking existing things and mixing them together in a new and exciting way. If that’s true, then the Vivo NEX Dual Display Edition, the mouthful formal name of what most will probably simply call the Vivo NEX 2, is perhaps one of the most innovative smartphones these years. Or at least that’s the claim that we’re now putting to the test.

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The LG V40 ThinQ is a unique smartphone because of its multiple alternate trajectories in smartphone trends. This is a phone that amps up everything I loved about the LG V35 (my favorite phone of 2018). Instead of running with the trends of one smartphone company or another, LG seems to have done a professional job of pinpointing the best elements available in the hardware industry today - creating, in the process, one of what's easily one of the most impressive phones of the tail end of this year.

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The Razer Phone 2 once again offers a unique smartphone package to a still-stagnant smartphone market. We're no longer in a place where there's a massive number of people looking to buy their first phone (in the USA, anyway), we're at the point at which most people have had a couple smartphones - or more - in their adult lives. Now's the time to release something different - something that takes a chance with hardware design and features that appeal to some, but not all.

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We’re entering a period of change in the smartphone market. The boundaries between premium and midrange phones are blurring and features once reserved for more expensive products have become available even on cheaper ones. Previously “mid-range” phones are also getting more premium prices. No where is that delightful confusion more applicable than with the OPPO R17 Pro, the latest from the acclaimed Chinese smartphone maker. It definitely looks premium and sounds premium but is just a few steps shy of being the perfect smartphone you can get on a tight budget.

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The quest for “edge to edge” bezel-less screens have forced smartphone makers to search for solutions to a problem of their own making. Unless you completely ignore it the way Samsung does (at least for now), there is no escaping the notch, a.k.a. the cutout, in its various shapes and sizes. Some, like Vivo and OPPO, have briefly toyed with and quickly abandoned the idea motorized elevating front cameras. Others, like Meizu and ZTE’s nubia, ditched the front camera entirely but put a second screen on the back instead. Another path, which may still gain some traction, is the one taken by Honor in the Honor Magic 2. But no matter how the Huawei sub-brand spins the narrative towards AI and cameras, there will be little doubt in people’s minds: the slider takes center stage.

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2018 is perhaps one of Huawei's most exciting years yet. Almost like the script for a Hollywood blockbuster, the year began with a tragedy that seemed like a death sentence for the protagonist. It left its hero in a period of limbo, its future uncertain. But like the true star of its story, Huawei’s perseverance responded with vengeance, putting out smartphones that consumers will want to grab but, due to some circumstances beyond their control, cannot.

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This week we're taking a look at the OnePlus 6T, the second of the company's yearly smartphone duo. The OnePlus 6T isn't the same as previous "tock" phones in the OnePlus "tick tock" strategy. Instead of refining the phone they've released earlier in the year, this device is a bit more of an extreme departure. As far as smartphones go, this device is significantly different from its most immediate predecessor.

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The resurrected Palm brand had an idea for a very tiny smartphone-like device that was more like a smartwatch than it was a mobile phone. They created a device just called Palm, and they've made this device exclusive to Verizon. Verizon will sell this device to users who already have a phone or are looking to buy a phone and will pair it with said phone. This is basically a smaller version of your primary smartphone.

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The most interesting iPhone of 2018 isn't Apple's most expensive, or its largest: it's the iPhone XR, cheapest of the trio of new smartphones. The new entry-level iPhone may look like the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max at first glance, but that familiar style masks a handset that is, at $749, at least $250 cheaper, inherently compromised, but in the end arguably more compelling.

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