This Is Your Next Phone (But Here's One Better)

Today we're having a peek at the current state of the mobile industry by-the-numbers to find your next smartphone. We're using the most recent sales numbers for the smartphone market in the United States, working forward from the most recent quarter, fast-forwarding to now. What we've got is a pretty good idea of what you'll most likely have in your pocket next.

The primary study we're working with for this feature is the Counterpoint Q4 2017 handset profits chart. This isn't a perfect gauge on its own for guessing your next smartphone. It does tell us which smartphones generate the largest profit margin – thereby giving us some idea of which brands successfully push their devices' value.

If what the fourth quarter of 2017's sales numbers suggest is true, you'll probably be heading to the Apple Store for your next smartphone. If you head to the Apple Store in the next few months, there's a far greater chance you'll buy an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus than any other smartphone. That should be a given, since Apple's current lineup includes those smartphones as primary profit-drivers.

You'll probably be looking at these, in this order:

• iPhone X

• iPhone 8

• iPhone 8 Plus

• iPhone 7

• iPhone 7 Plus

Apple also offers the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus – both of which gave Apple more profit in the fourth quarter of 2017 than Samsung got from any one smartphone. There are hundreds of smartphone brands in the world today, and Counterpoint tracks the vast majority of them. They've suggested this week that iPhone X alone "generated 5x more profit than the combined profit of 600+ Android OEMs during Q4 2017." That's insane.

Google makes Android, but Android is available for any manufacturer to use as a smartphone OS. Samsung is one of the biggest electronics companies in the world. They make the Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series of phones, and they sell the most Android devices – by a big margin. They also make the biggest amount of profit in the Android universe.

The most profitable Samsung smartphones in Q4 2017 were the Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. It's safe to assume that since the Galaxy S9 was revealed this year, it and the Galaxy S9 Plus were both jammed in to the most profitable top 10 chart for this past quarter, too.

While it's MOST LIKELY, statistically, that you'll buy an iPhone X or one of several Samsung Galaxy smartphones, there are other smartphones out there. Other smartphones you should really, truly consider. If your primary concern is owning a smartphone that'll never not be recognized, by all means buy an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy.

If, however, you'd like to expand beyond the popular, have a peek at the next several smartphones. They're most certainly NOT going to out-sell the iPhone or the latest Galaxy S or Note, but that does not mean they're not just as amazing.

Check these phones out:

• Honor 7X ($200 shocker)

• Essential Phone PH-1 (Price now $400, WELL more than worth it)

• Razer Phone (Truly unique)

• HTC U11 life ($300 shiny beauty)

• Moto X4 (Android One is the new Nexus)

• Google Pixel 2 (Best camera on the market, bar none)

Both the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy lines of smartphones are popular because they've been hyped to no end – but they're still amazing pieces of hardware. Explore beyond the most common or dive in on what you've rolled with before. Either way, we're in the middle of a pretty amazing time in smartphones. If you find a smartphone that you DON'T like, let us know – I'll be surprised!