Best smartphones 2019 – iPhone, Samsung, Huawei, Google, OnePlus and all the top models
All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue.
LOOKING for a brand new smartphone? We've put together a list of the very best handsets you can buy today.
These are the blowers that absolutely will not leave you disappointed – all of which have been tested by The Sun's crack team of gadget experts.
iPhone XS
Apple's iPhone XS is The Sun's favourite smartphone right now – and it's easy to see why.
This flagship blower (launched in September 2018) comes with a blisteringly fast A12 Bionic chip, and fancy features like Face ID face unlocking.
It's also got an all-screen design with a premium 5.8-inch OLED display.
OLED displays have pixels that produce their own light, negating the need for a backlight behind the screen.
This means you get more colours and better contrast, as well as a more power-efficient display overall.
There's almost nothing we don't like about the iPhone XS, so if you're an Apple fan (with money to burn) then you'll fall in love.
- iPhone XS on O2 (60GB data) for £49 a month (£125 upfront) –
Samsung Galaxy S10
Samsung's Galaxy S10 is a true Android smartphone titan, wowing gadget fans since March 2019.
The powerful blower has a super-fast Exynos processor inside, plus 8GB of RAM and at least 128GB of storage.
On the back is an impressive triple-camera for taking snaps that'll look great on the 6.1-inch 3040x1440-pixel 'Infinity O' display.
The 'Infinity O' means that the front of the phone is filled entirely with screen, except for a small cut-out in the top right corner that houses a selfie camera.
If you're an Android fan, there's very little to dislike about the Galaxy S10 – it outclasses almost every other phone.
- Galaxy S10 on EE (30GB data) for £33 a month (£124 upfront) –
iPhone XR
Sure the iPhone XS is great, but not everyone has £1,000 to spend on a blower.
Enter the £749 iPhone XR, which takes the best bits from the iPhone XS and puts it in a cheaper form.
It's actually the cheapest 2018 iPhone model you can buy right now.
And the value is insane: you get the same main camera from the XS, the same ultra-fast A12 chip, and the same speedy iOS 12 operating system.
Die-hard gadget fans will want to invest in the top models, but the iPhone XR goes above and beyond what you expect from a smartphone – and will suit almost everyone.
It also comes in a generous selection of six different colours.
Apple has set a new benchmark for what you should expect from the iPhone, and it’s extremely high.
- iPhone XR on EE (30GB data) for £33 a month (£150 upfront) –
Google Pixel 3 XL
The Google Pixel 3 XL is probably my favourite Android phone to date.
It looks good, performs spectacularly, and has a great camera that goes toe-to-toe with rivals.
If you've still got a Pixel 2 from the year before, the upgrade probably isn't worth it.
And if you're a long-time Apple fan, we'd recommend sticking with the iPhone XS – it's a little better overall, albeit a bit more costly.
But the speedy Android updates Google can offer Pixel owners make this a very tempting choice.
- Google Pixel 3XL at Google Store for £719 –
Google Pixel 3a
Announced in early May, the Pixel 3a is a brand new "cheap" smartphone made by Google.
It's actually just a pared-down version of last year's flagship Google Pixel 3, with a slightly slower processor and a marginally less impressive camera.
But it retains almost all of the Pixel 3's features, including the see-in-the-dark Night Sight mode and the Google Lens camera that identifies real world objects using AI.
Better still, it starts at just £399, which is well below the £600-£700 price tag of the Google Pixel 3 proper.
- Google Pixel 3a at O2 (3GB data) for £20 a month (£0 upfront) –
OnePlus 7 Pro 5G
Despite being just a few years old, Chinese firm OnePlus has quickly risen to smartphone glory.
OnePlus churns out high-spec blowers that rival the big brands, while keeping costs low.
And the firm has just gained another accolade: being first to put a 5G smartphone in UK stores.
Launching in May, the OnePlus 7 Pro supports super-fast 5G phone speeds from the likes of EE, Vodafone and Three (when they come to your area).
It's also a generally good smartphone by normal measures too, with Qualcomm's super-fast Snapdragon 855 processor on board, plus 128GB of storage and an enormous 4,000mAh battery.
It's also got a true "all-screen" front, thanks to the quirky pop-up selfie camera that slides out of the top of the phone, freeing up space on the handset's face.
- OnePlus 7 Pro 5G on EE (30GB data) for £69 a month (£50 upfront) –
Huawei P30 Pro
US-China trade war woes aside, the Huawei P30 Pro is still a cracking smartphone.
The handset comes equipped with a ludicrously powerful camera that has a handy (if somewhat creepy) 50x super-zoom mode.
It's also got a powerful oct-core processor on board, plus 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a hefty 4,200mAh battery that'll get you through an entire day.
This is an exceptional alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S10 – although buying one comes with the risk that you might miss out on some Android updates, due to political tensions between the USA and China.
- Huawei P30 Pro on O2 (30GB data) for £37 a month (£99 upfront) –
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed. Always do your own research before making any purchase.
MOST READ IN TECH
Looking for phones of the future? Read all about the possible launch date for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.
Even Apple's rumoured (and highly secretive) iPhone 11 may have been leaked online.
Excitingly, the phone could be ‘coming in two new colours’ we’ve never seen from Apple before, one report claims.
What's your favourite smartphone right now? Let us know in the comments!
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