...The modern smartphone has taken a long 26-year journey to reach us in 2018, and it's changed a lot along the way. It’s an evolution that's taken the market by storm!

What were once large and bulky luxury items have become small, compact devices we can’t live without. In fact, 77% of Americans own a smartphone, according to Pew Research Center, and 95% of Americans own a cell phone of some kind.

The history and evolution of the smartphone is important to understand, because it gives us a glimpse of where we've come from, and of what's coming. That goes for improvements in technology as well as consumer trends.

So let's take a look at just how far we've come.

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 222g

Dimensions: 166.9 x 76 x 8.8 mm

OS: Android 10

Screen size: 6.9 inches

Resolution: 1440 x 3200

CPU: Exynos 990 / Snapdragon 865

RAM: 12GB/16GB

Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB

Battery: 5,000 mAh

Rear camera: 108 MP wide + 48 MP periscope + 12 MP ultrawide + 0.3 MP TOF

Front camera: 40MP + 40MP

REASONS TO BUY

+Superb dual-lens camera+Blazingly fast+Great battery life+Lovely design and build+Impressive audio

iPhone 11 Pro Max...

...The ultimate iPhone is also the best phone you can buy period. The iPhone 11 Pro Max has vaulted past the Android competition to become the top camera phone, thanks to a new Night mode for much better photos in low light and a versatile ultra-wide lens. Plus, improved Smart HDR gives you superior portraits. Apple has upped the ante on video quality, too, with extended dynamic range and smooth cinematic stabilization.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max also offers the fastest processor yet with its A13 Bionic chip, a more durable design and a 6.5-inch OLED display so bright that it makes other phones look dingy. I wish Apple offered more than 64GB of storage, but once you add in nearly 12 hours of battery life, fast charging and more immersive audio you have the nearly perfect smartphone.

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 188g

Dimensions: 144 x 71.4 x 8.1 mm

OS: iOS 13

Screen size: 5.8-inches

Resolution: 1125 x 2436

CPU: Apple A13 Bionic

RAM: 4GB

Storage: 64/256/512GB

Battery: 3,046mAh

Rear camera: Triple 12MP Ultra Wide-Angle + 12MP Wide-Angle + 12MP Telephoto

Front camera: 12MP + TOF 3D Depth Sensor

REASONS TO BUY

+The best phone camera so far+Incredible OLED screen+Fantastic battery life

Huawei P30 Pro...

...The P30 Pro is a statement from Huawei, with the Chinese smartphone manufacturer declaring that its new flagship will "rewrite the rules of photography".

It aims to do that with its quad camera system which offers a 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom and huge 50x digital zoom, along with bold claims for low-light performance.

What’s in the box

• 40W fast charger
• USB-C earbuds
• A basic clear case

Design

• 158 x 73.4 x 8.4mm
• 192g
• Waterdrop notch
• Curved display edges

Display

• 6.47 inches
• 1080 x 2340, 19.5:9
• OLED
• HDR10, DCI-P3
• 398 ppi
• Always-on display

Performance

• Huawei Kirin 980
• Octa-core
• Mali-G76 MP10
• 8GB of RAM
• 128, 256GB

Battery

• 4,200mAh
• 40W fast charging
• 15W wireless charging

Reverse

Camera

• Standard: 40 MP, f/1.6, OIS
• Pixel-binned 10MP images
• Ultra-wide: 20MP, f/2.2
• Telephoto: 8MP, f/3.4, OIS
• Time-of-Flight camera
• 32MP selfie camera

XIAOMI MI 9T PRO...

...The Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro handset builds on the excellent Xiaomi Mi 9 to add even more in the way of functionality and features – and it ditches the front display notch to give you even more in the way of screen (the 20MP selfie camera is moved to a motorised pop-up unit).

The internal hardware spec is remarkably premium considering its super low price point, too, with a lightning fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 powering the whole operation. You really don't have to worry about battery life, either, with the large 4,000mAh battery delivering a day to a day and a half medium-strength usage on a single charge.

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 191g

Dimensions: 156.7 x 74.3 x 8.8 mm

OS: Android 9.0

Screen size: 6.39 inches

Resolution: 1080 x 2340 pixels

CPU: Snapdragon 855

RAM: 6GB-8GB

Storage: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB

Battery: 4000mAh

Rear camera: 48 MP f/1.8 + 13 MP f/2.4 + 8 MP f/2.4

Front camera: 20 MP f/2.2

REASONS TO BUY

+Flagship-level design chops+Some of the most powerful specs around+Price is very appealing

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 206g

Dimensions: 162.6 x 75.9 x 8.8 mm

OS: OxygenOS / Android 10

Screen size: 6.67 inches

Resolution: 1440 x 3120

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855

RAM: 8GB / 12GB

Storage: 256GB

Battery: 4085mAh

Rear camera: 48MP f/1.6 + 8MP f/2.4 + 16MP f/2.2

Front camera: 16MP f/2.0

REASONS TO BUY

+Beautifully well designed phone+Top-end specs+OxygenOS really impresses

SAMSUNG GALAXY S10 PLUS...

..The Galaxy S10 phones remain on sale, and even though they've been replaced by the Galaxy S20 range, they're still excellent choices – and better value than ever. The Galaxy phones are also doing something truly different from the iPhone and other rival flagship handsets. Whereas competitors have rushed to clone the notched screen design that first gained prominence with the iPhone X, Samsung has taken a dramatically different approach with its Infinity-O design.

Admittedly, that Infinity-O design isn't the prettiest thing to leave the Samsung R&D lab and definitely takes some getting used to. However, it has allowed Samsung to fit the S10 Plus with an expansive 6.4-inch AMOLED panel – that's the same size as the Galaxy Note 9 – while simultaneously shrinking the physical size of the smartphone compared to the Galaxy S9 Plus, which sports a 6.2-inch screen...

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 175g

Dimensions: 74.1 x 157.6 x 7.8mm

OS: Android 9.0 (Pie)

Screen size: 6.4-inches

Resolution: QHD+

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 / Exynos 9820

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 128GB

Battery: 4,100mAh

Rear camera: Triple 16MP Ultra Wide-Angle + 12MP Dual Aperture + 12MP Telephoto

Front camera: 10MP + 8MP Depth Sensor

REASONS TO BUY

+Expansive 6.4-Inch Quad HD+ AMOLED+Up to 1.5TB storage via MicroSD card+Awesome Live Focus images from front-facing camera

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 180g

Dimensions: 167 x 72 x 8.2 mm

OS: Android 9.0

Screen size: 6.5 inches

Resolution: 1644 x 3840 pixels

CPU: Snapdragon 855

RAM: 6GB

Storage: 128GB

Battery: 3,300mAh

Rear camera: 12MP (wide), 12MP (telephoto), 12MP (ultrawide)

Front camera: 8MP

REASONS TO BUY

+Huge, unique display+Powerful processor+Immersive audio+Dust and waterproof

GOOGLE PIXEL 4

...The Google Pixel flagship phones have a lot going for them and easily make it on to our best smartphones list. Leading the way again, of course, is the camera: Google has added a second lens this time around, meaning even better shots (and even pictures of the stars).

Elsewhere you've got a modest specs bump over last year and the pure stock Android experience that the Pixel phones are known for. Sometimes the strength of a phone lies in what it doesn't have, rather than what it has.

A couple of cool features worth mentioning are Face Unlock, which makes it easier than ever to get in your phone, and Motion Sense, which lets you control music playback, silence alarms and more with a wave of your hand.

With wireless charging and full waterproofing included too, there aren't many marks against the Pixel 4 (and its bigger sibling the Pixel 4 XL). Battery life could be improved, but there's so much that's good here, it's not too much of a problem.

LG V40

...The LG V40 ThinQ was released in 2018 as the flagship phone for the Korean electronic megacorporation. It brings to the table a lot of the same features as other premier phones released around the same time. When you're looking at a plethora of phones, all with the same processors and RAM, it's hard to choose which one is right for you. At that point, it’s the little things that make one model better than the other.

LG's previous flagships have been great, but they tend to not get the same attention as major releases from Samsung and Apple. It's a shame, really, because the V40 ThinQ is one of the best Android phones to come out in 2018. Its amazing camera configuration, Quad DAC, and almost-stock Android interface make it a truly feature-packed Android phone.

Whether or not the V40 ThinQ is worth it or not really depends on the user. We tested this phone in all kinds of real-life applications to help you determine if this is the right phone for you.

Specs

• Product Name V40 ThinQ
• Product Brand LG
• SKU 6305718
• Price $949.99
• Product Dimensions 6.25 x 2.98 x 0.31 in.
• Warranty 1 year
• Compatibility CDMA, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, GPRS, HSPA+, LTE
• Platform Android
• Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
• GPU Adreno 630
• RAM 6 GB
• Storage 64 GB internal (microSD card compatible)
• Camera Three rear-facing, two front-facing
• Battery Capacity 3,330 mAh
• Ports USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Waterproof IP68

Nokia 9 PureView

...Nokia 9 PureView includes two RGB f/1.8 12-megapixels sensors and three monochrome f/1.8 12-megapixel sensors. There's also a dual-tone LED flash and a Time Of Flight (ToF) sensor for video capture, too.

All five cameras will fire each time you press the shutter, Nokia says. For those who struggle with maths, that results in a single 60-megapixel photograph. Nokia 9 PureView is also capable of panoramas, which can quickly tot up to more than 240-megapixels.

Obviously, it's not all about the number of megapixels, but those who want to blow-up their images onto canvases and posters should take a look at the Nokia 9 PureView.

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 172g

Dimensions: 155 x 75 x 8mm

OS: Android 9.0 Pie

Screen size: 5.99 inches

Resolution: 1440 x 2880 pixels

CPU: Snapdragon 845

RAM: 6GB

Storage: 128GB

Battery: 3320mAh

Rear camera: 12MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/1.8

Front camera: 20MP

REASONS TO BUY

+Packed with photo tricks+The most powerful Nokia

Motorola Z4

...The Moto Z4 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor and 4GB of RAM. It's nearly identical to what you'll find in the Pixel 3a XL, though its processor is theoretically faster. Overall, performance on the Z4 is solid. There's no lag when opening apps, and multitasking between a dozen or so apps is effortless.

PROS

• Supports 5G with Moto Mod on Verizon.
• Excellent battery life.
• Good overall performance.

Cameras

The Moto Z4 has a single rear camera that clocks in at 48MP with a f/1.7 aperture. While 48MP sounds substantial, image output actually comes in at 12MP since it combines four pixels to create a single, more crisp pixel for the final image. This is similar to the sensor used on many phones like the Pixel 3a XL and the Sony Xperia 10 Plus. The front-facing camera comes in at 25MP.

The top of the phone holds a SIM and microSD card slot, while the bottom is home to a USB-C charging port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Both the volume rocker and a textured power button sit on the right. The power button is relatively small and the volume rocker can be hard to reach with small hands, but both are responsive and offer a satisfying click.