The best smartphones, tried and tested

Another Chinese phone brand which, like its OnePlus and Oppo compatriots is really, really very good indeed. I’ve seen other reviewers compare it to Samsung’s efforts, but to me it feels as though it’s chasing Sony Xperia’s audience: movie buffs.

With a 108 megapixel main camera and a 5 megapixel telemacro lens, it far exceeds the excellent Oppo Find X3 camera (there’s also a 13 megapixel wide angle lens, which is comparatively a step down) at least in terms of detail. The colour capture isn’t as good, but neither is it truly awful. It’s a solid camera experience.

But the focus isn’t still images as much as it is moving pictures. The ‘AI Cinema’ mode in the phone is a sheer joy to play around with. My favourite trick was the ‘magic zoom’ feature, which zooms the background in while keeping the foreground still creating some really trippy Inception style effects.

It’ll film in HDR10+ which means the colours are more detailed and the visual fidelity is higher, but it’s also worth noting that the big 6.81 inch screen is 2.5K which is significantly higher resolution than most phones; ideal for watching your homemade films back on.

Sadly the battery life is downright awful. If I took a lot of photos and videos (which is what you want to do on a phone which is so good at both) it would last me less than eight hours sometimes. On top of that it was occasionally a bit glitchy with some apps, and felt sluggish when it came to unlocking it. Still, if I was recommending it as a video-camera instead of a smartphone, I’d definitely consider it worth a look.

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Frequently asked questions about smartphones

How to buy a smartphone

Your first decision is whether you want to use an iPhone or a Google Android phone. Both have a different look and feel to how they operate.

Android phones make up almost all non-Apple devices, with phones from Samsung, Google, OnePlus and more vying for attention. They run on Google's Android OS operating system, which can be customised by the manufacturer. So, a Samsung Android will likely work a bit differently to a OnePlus Android.

Android has the benefit of Google's immense algorithmic brain power and seamless interaction with the overarching Google suite of products. On the flip side, on every non-Google Android phone there is a constant battle between the handset manufacturer and the OS manufacturer. Most Android phones effectively double-up on apps, so you might have a Samsung music player and Google Play Music, a standard gallery and Google Photos. This can cause Android devices to feel somewhat cluttered and leaden.

In addition, Android updates have to be rolled out across dozens of different devices from different manufacturers, meaning that they take a long time to prepare. So while top of the range Android phones get the updates straight away, it can take longer for them to arrive on other devices. Obviously this can lead to security risks.

In contrast, Apple's iPhones all run on the company's operating system, known as iOS, with almost all now coming with iOS 12.

So, which do you go for? Ultimately, it's down to you – and while there are differences between the two options, it's worth stating that both are very, very good. Some users prefer the choice you get with Android, and there has probably never been a better time to buy an Android phone due to the choice and variety available. That said, the more reliable security updates from Apple have kept it popular, despite some battery troubles on older devices.

Mobile phone buying | Checklist

iPhone or Android: iPhones are the popular choice in the UK, but powerful Android phones from Samsung and Google now offer plenty of choice beyond Apple

iPhones are the popular choice in the UK, but powerful Android phones from Samsung and Google now offer plenty of choice beyond Apple Data, minutes and texts: Plenty of phones offer unlimited minutes and texts, but don't be pressured into buying 20GB of data when you only use 2GB!

Plenty of phones offer unlimited minutes and texts, but don't be pressured into buying 20GB of data when you only use 2GB! Camera: A good camera can be a deciding factor on a phone. Check The Telegraph's reviews for the best around

A good camera can be a deciding factor on a phone. Check The Telegraph's reviews for the best around SIM only: SIM only deals can be a great way to get more data

SIM only deals can be a great way to get more data Battery life: Double check battery life against what the reviewers say

Double check battery life against what the reviewers say Count the cost: It may look a great deal, but tally the total cost over two years if you are buying a contract and see if you can buy the handset outright with a monthly SIM for less

What to look for in a smartphone

Screen size: Measured diagonally from the top corner to the bottom corner. Current sizes range from just under five inches to close to over six inches for screen size, which can be quite large to hold in the hand.

Battery life: Any phone with significantly more than 24 hours is considered very good. Many manufacturers will judge battery on "talk time", but the phones will actually last days if left on standby.

Storage and memory: Lower spec smartphones will have around 2GB of RAM, the memory space which makes the phone run more quickly, although better models will have closer to 4GB or better. Expect at least 32GB of storage; look for 64GB or more for a price.

Camera: Most smartphones will take great pictures and high-end models compete to offer the best cameras. Megapixels (MP) are not everything, but they can create shots with greater close-up details.

The best smartphone deal for you

Smartphone buying is not getting cheaper, as the £1,449 iPhone XS Max shows. The very top range smartphones are now all a significant investment, so getting the right model is more important than ever.

There are some good deals you can get by buying through a network, but for the most part you are best buying a phone outright and taking on a sim only deal.

Buying a phone outright, however, will give you more control over the data and minutes you need, although you will have to pay more upfront.

What does it mean and why should I care? | A guide to phone jargon

There are few strands of consumer technology more stuffed with jargon and nonsense than in smartphones. Manufacturers love to wax lyrical about how great their processors are or talk about the aperture of their cameras. All that’s great if you’re a tech expert, but for the average user, it tends to sound like bluster.

Here’s a guide to some of the most mentioned phone jargon, what it is, and how it’ll affect you when you use the phone.

All day battery: Generally most modern smartphones use a 3330mAh which is fairly bulky but how much you’ll get out of it varies depending on your usage, screen brightness, number of apps, and even things you can control like your phone’s processor. In recent years most phone manufacturers have settled on the term ‘all day battery’ as a catch-all which covers a lot of different things. Certainly none of these batteries will last a full 24 hours with normal usage. It’s really important to look into battery tests before you buy, rather than just taking the manufacturers word for it.

Refresh rate: The number which specifies how many times per second the image on your screen changes as you scroll or watch content. The vast majority of mobile phones released before 2018 had a 60Hz refresh rate, but we've started to see phones with 90Hz or even 120Hz refresh rates coming out. In short, it just makes the things you watch smoother, and scrolling through long articles glide more easily. You'd probably notice the difference going from a 60Hz screen to a 90Hz screen or vice versa, but it's shouldn't be a deal-breaker for most people.

Processor: Sometimes known as the Central Processing Unit or CPU, this is essentially the bit of the phone which decides how fast the phone will load. That’s everything from loading apps to loading video. It’s also about how many apps the phone can have running at once. A better processor means a faster phone, basically.

Water resistance: This is different from waterproofing. Water resistance means the phone can survive being splashed with water, whereas water proof means it can be fully submerged and work underwater. There are different measures of waterproofing too. Most phones that are waterproof can work up to a point, but take them too deep underwater and the pressure will break them.

Screen size: Measured from the top corner to diagonally across the phone to the bottom corner on the other side.

Bezels: This is just a fancy term for the ‘edges’ of the screen which don’t light up and display stuff. Bezels are very unpopular at the moment so most phone manufacturers are fighting to get rid of bezels and have an all-display screen.

Megapixels: A unit of image measurement equivalent to one million pixels. Pixels are the tiny dots on your screen which make up images. A camera with more megapixels can take bigger and higher quality photos. However, megapixels aren’t everything. These days image processing software can make the pictures from a camera with fewer megapixels look better than a device with a higher megapixel count.

RAM: Short for Random Access Memory. This is the space in which your phone will store all the information it needs right now. Essentially, this is how many apps you can have running at once before they slow their phone down. Most phones come with 6GB or 8GB of RAM.

(Note: it's also worth reading our guide to the best anti-virus software, which can protect smartphones and tablets as well as laptops and PCs.)

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