Plenty of new smartphones have hit the shelves recently, and Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 is merely the latest of a series of slick, powerful handsets to go on sale.
To decide which to buy, you need to consider screen size, camera, operating system, battery life and price. Phone screens are getting bigger, though our hands aren’t, so it’s important to try it in yours before you buy, if you can.
The two main operating systems are iOS (on the iPhone) and Android (on almost everything else). You can still buy phones running Windows, though these are now only made by Microsoft. The lack of favourite apps has held Windows back and these phones, though good value, are a tiny part of the market. Still, they run a full version of the Windows 10 OS so it will appeal to some. Switching between iOS and Android is now more painless than ever but you will need to buy and instal some apps all over again if you do.
Cameras are increasingly important now; many people exclusively use their phones to take pictures. Twin cameras on the rear offer extra features and better picture quality.
Battery life on all the phones here will see you through a full day without trouble, though nightly charges are advised. There are conflicting views on how to charge a smartphone, with some believing overnight charges diminish battery life. Some here, especially HTC and Sony, charge more intelligently so that long-term battery life is maintained.
Many phones are now water-resistant at least, though not all – the list here is half and half. HTC, Google, Honor, Huawei and iPhone SE phones here are not.
1. Apple iPhone 7: From £599, Apple
Still the best phone, though thanks to new handsets from Samsung, LG and Huawei, only just. A fast, efficient fingerprint sensor unlocks the phone and works as a virtual wallet in Apple Pay. The 12MP camera is excellent and sublimely easy to operate. New colours, including red and a highly polished jet black, look great. Apple’s operating system is exceptionally intuitive and has an unparalleled variety of high-quality apps (over 1.5 million). Choose from 32GB, 128GB or 256GB storage but iPhones don’t have expandable memory slots. Apple’s products work together seamlessly too, so if you use a Mac and/or an iPad, the iPhone is the logical phone to go with them. It has a 4.7in screen.
2. Samsung Galaxy S8: From £689, Carphone Warehouse
Samsung’s new phone has a gorgeous, sloping-edged 5.8in display that isn’t as wide as some, so it’s easier to hold in the hand. It also covers so much of the front of the phone that there’s no room for the brand name. A fingerprint sensor is (annoyingly) placed off-centre on the back but you can also unlock the phone with an iris scanner or face recognition. The 12MP camera is fast and does well even in poor light. Battery life is decent, sailing through a full day. Choose from black and grey colour options in the UK. Other colours are available in some other countries but in the UK not yet, at least.
3. HTC U Ultra: £649.99, Carphone Warehouse
HTC’s rear camera has a 12MP sensor with bigger pixels than most, to draw in more light. Remarkably, it also has a front-facing camera with 16MP resolution. Both are excellent cameras and work well. The design of the Ultra U is highly attractive and it has great build quality. The 5.7in screen is high-resolution and HTC’s customised version of Android software is among the most attractive around thanks to elegant app shortcut icons and smart integration of HTC’s apps with Google’s. Available in four colours.
4. LG G6: £649.99, Carphone Warehouse
LG’s phone has a long, narrower screen than most, like the Samsung. It has an always-on display that shows the time, date and battery life even when the phone is in standby (Samsung has this, too). It has twin 13MP cameras on the rear – one regular, one wide-angle – for greater flexibility. The 5.7in display is high-resolution and vivid and a narrow bezel round the edge makes it comfy in the hand.
5. Huawei P10: From £549, Vodafone
Chinese brand Huawei may not be the most familiar smartphone name but it is now the third-biggest phone maker worldwide. The P10 is beautifully crafted and has three outstanding cameras, two on the rear, one on the front, all made in conjunction with camera brand Leica. On the rear is one 20MP black-and-white sensor which draws in lots of light quickly for a sharp image and one 12MP colour camera. It has a 5.1in display. Battery life is a day and more.
6. Google Pixel: From £599, Google
Google’s first own-brand phone is slick and powerful – it was the first handset to feature Google Assistant, an advanced voice-controlled assistant, though several of the phones here now have it, too. The 12.3MP rear camera is extremely good: fast and effective. Like several phones here, the USB-C connector charges the phone quickly – up to seven hours’ charge in less than half an hour.
7. Apple iPhone 7 Plus: From £719, Apple
The larger iPhone has twin cameras, both 12MP, and a 5.5in display. A Portrait Mode cleverly uses both cameras together to create shots with artfully blurred backgrounds. The battery lasts longer than on the smaller iPhone and the screen is higher-resolution, too. Both iPhone 7 models have a pressure-sensitive touchscreen which adds extra functionality. The on-board processor is powerful and makes this an extremely fast, slick phone to use. If you prefer a larger phone, this handset is even better than the iPhone 7, though for many the size is just that bit too big.
8. Sony Xperia XZ: £529.99, Three
The XZ has a distinctive design and 23MP camera that’s super-fast thanks to laser autofocus. Sony has made its flagship handsets waterproof for some years and this is no exception. The 5.2in display is high-resolution and the processor is quick enough to keep everything ticking along nicely. The blue colour is particularly attractive and like most of the phones here (not the iPhones) it has a memory card slot so you can add to the handset’s storage.
9. Honor 8 Pro: £474, Amazon
Honor is a sub-brand of Huawei and is known for good-quality phones at keen prices. The thin, sleek Honor 8 Pro has a bigger battery than many, lasting a day with ease. It has twin 12MP rear cameras which work well. There’s a 5.7in display and a powerful processor which is teamed with lots of operating memory so the whole thing works fast and smoothly.
10. Apple iPhone SE: From £379, Apple
This is a highly affordable iPhone and, if you don’t fancy the current trend towards big-screened mobiles, the perfect choice with its 4in display. Inside it’s almost as powerful as last year’s iPhone 6s flagship, but is much cheaper. It has a 12MP camera which can shoot video at super-high 4K resolution and take live photos (where the camera records frames before and after the shutter is triggered and creates a tiny movie from them).
The Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S8, but for its misplaced fingerprint sensor, would be the top phone here – however it’s just pipped by the iPhone 7. Huawei’s P10 has exceptional cameras and a competitive price in a strongly designed case. The smaller screen phone here, the iPhone SE, is great value for an Apple device.
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