From the iPhone X to the Samsung Galaxy S8, 2017 was a bumper year for premium smartphone releases and choosing the very best handsets has proved more of a challenge than ever.
Many of the latest smartphones you can buy offer excellent speed, battery life and looks, complicating the task of choosing the very best handset.
The Telegraph has had the chance to use many of the top smartphones on the market, giving us some insight into which smartphones deliver on their promises, and which offer the best price for your budget.
How to buy a smartphone
When buying a smartphone one of the first calls you will have to make is whether you want an Android device or an iPhone. 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. Android smartphones run on Google's Android OS operating system.
Unlike iPhones, there is less of a set standard of the Android operating system, and some models customise the experience. The most recent models run on Android Oreo, which has improved safety features, however some still use the older Android Nougat and may need updating.
Apple's iPhones run on iOS, with almost all now coming with iOS 11, the latest version of the operating system. iOS operates seamlessly between iPhone and tablets and many people prefer Apple's new features like iMessage and Apple Pay.
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.
What to look for in a smartphone
Aside from making sure you are getting a model with the operating system you want there are some key points such as screen size, battery life, performance and memory that are key when picking the best smartphone:
Screen size: Current sizes range from just under five inches to close to 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 £1,000 iPhone X 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. Check out our list of the best mobile phone deals this month to see what contracts are on offer.
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.
The best smartphones of 2018
The Telegraph has tested and considered many of the top smartphones of the last year, and here are our absolute favourites, including some at cheaper price points if you are looking for a better deal.
iPhone X£999, Currys
Screen size: 5.8-inch
Battery life: More than a day
The iPhone X, Apple's premium smartphone, stood out for its eye-watering price tag. It starts at £999, but it is also one of the fastest and one of the most powerful devices money can buy. It has an all-screen front and dual 12 MP cameras, made for employing augmented reality technology, which can be used to impose virtual animations over the real world.
It also has a unique look and feel, attracting looks of envy for its bright screen. The phone removes Touch ID, instead relying on facial identification software to unlock the system, which we found worked without a hitch, relying on infrared technology meaning it can unlock even in the dark.
If you can get past that asking price it really is the best phone money can buy.
Samsung Galaxy S8£579, Debenhams
Screen size: 5.8 inches
Battery life: 20 hours talk time
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is probably our favourite Android smartphone from 2017. It has an edge-to-edge display, which means the phone screen slides seamlessly to the sides of the phone. It has a headphone jack, unlike its main rival from Apple. It is water and dust resistant and features 64GB of internal storage.
The S8 also has security features from the standard fingerprint scanner to iris and facial recognition, and has brought in the Bixby virtual assistant which now includes voice control. It raised the bar for Android smartphones last year, although we are expecting an upgrade soon, potentially the Samsung Galaxy S9, so maybe consider holding out for that. It is only just about to get Android Oreo, meaning you will not get the very latest operating system.
Google Pixel 2 XL£699, Currys
Screen size: 6 inches
Battery life: All day
Google's Pixel smartphone received an upgrade in 2017, giving us the Google Pixel 2 XL. Its larger screen covers most of the front of the screen, a rear fingerprint sensor and upgrades its rear dual camera - easily one of the best smartphone camera's out there with a 12.3MP lens.
It has a funky black and white design and works with Google's Assistant AI, which learns how you use your phone and can respond to voice commands. It comes with Android Oreo and can also be used to integrate with Google's Daydream virtual reality platform. You can also get the cheaper and smaller Pixel 2, which comes in at £499 on Carphone Warehouse.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8£799, Debenhams
Screen size: 6.3 inches
Battery life: All day
Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 is a powerhouse phone with a premium price. It comes with a massive 6GB of RAM inside, enough to plug it in and use as a mini-computer. It comes with a stylus S-pen for taking notes on the screen, and has the Bixby virtual assistant to take voice commands. The Galaxy Note 8 moves Samsung swiftly on from its Note 7 debacle, which saw phone batteries bursting into flames, and produces one of the best Android smartphones ever made.
It has a 6.3-inch screen making it one of the largest phablets (phone/tablets) out there. The Galaxy Note 8 was one of our favourite phones of 2017, but it comes with a premium price of around £800.
iPhone 8 Plus£779, John Lewis
Screen size: 5.5-inch
Battery life: All day
The iPhone 8 is Apple's latest standard iPhone release, excluding its premium iPhone X. The iPhone 8 comes with wireless charging and a significantly enhanced A11 Bionic processor, one of the fastest ever installed on a mobile phone. It's available in a standard size with a 4.7-inch screen and in a larger 5.5-inch version.
The iPhone 8 is an upgrade in lots of little ways on the iPhone 7, making it enough of an improvement if you are planning on buying a new device. If you want to keep a fingerprint scanner while boasting all the improvements in speed on the iPhone, then the 8 is the way to go.
OnePlus 5T£449, O2
Screen size: 6-inch screen
Battery life: 36 hours
Upstart Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus has made a real impact with its brand of cut-price premium smartphones. Its latest phone, the OnePlus 5T, is certainly the best you can buy for under £500.
It still comes in at just £449 for the base model, a fair price considering it has so much power with has 64GB of storage and a massive 6GB of RAM, making it lightning fast and able to run multiple tasks simultaneously, plus a brilliant dual camera that gives depth and detail to pictures. It also now features facial recognition and an edge-to-edge display, plenty of premium features for your money. It comes in Midnight Black and a new Sandstone White colours.
iPhone 7 Plus£639, GiffGaff
Screen size: 5.5-inch
Battery life: All day
The iPhone 7 Plus remains one of the best phones you can buy, although it lacks some of the latest cutting edge features on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Released in 2016, with the iPhone 7 Plus you get a 5.5-inch screen and a dual lens camera, as well as Apple's latest iOS 11 operating system.
The camera allows greatly-improved zoomed in photos, as well as a new portrait mode that blurs the background of photos while focusing on the subject. Now that the iPhone 8 and iPhone X are available, the iPhone 7 Plus has undergone a price cut, making it an attractive option if you don't mind having technology that is slightly outdated.
Courtesy: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
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