Hunting for a new phone? You won’t go wrong picking one of these.
It’s a big deal making the decision to connect, buy or upgrade to a new mobile phone, after all you are going to have it for at least two years. Below we have reviewed the ten best smartphones available at the moment, they are not necessarily the most expensive phones available, there are a few included that give great features at an acceptable price point. They are not in any specific order but they are solid choices in the current market if you’re getting a new phone.
1. Samsung Galaxy S10+
The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is our favourite phone at the moment and has made for a nice shake-up compared the the last few S-series launches. It packs a 6.4 inch screen which covers nearly the entire front of the device. The front camera sits within the screen and on the back the triple-lens camera can take ultra-wide photos. Wireless Powershare means that not only can you wireless charge your phone, but you can also give you friends’ phones some juice too (if they have wireless charging-compatible phone). For a big phone, it’s also got a decent battery live, some serious processing power for games and apps, plus a fingerprint security scanner hidden within the screen. Great looking and great features from a trusted brand. See the best Samsung Galaxy S10+ deals here.
2. Google Pixel 3
The Google Pixel 3 is the latest and the best Google phone yet. It has the powerful Snapdragon 845 processor to power things along and 4GB of RAM which is a decent amount for running multiple apps (not industry leading but will be fine for most). What makes the Pixel 3 great is the use of the Android operating system – no skins, no overlays slowing things down, just Android as it was intended (by Google themselves). The use of clever software like the low-light shooting Night Sight and the super-res zoom make the Pixel 3 the best camera phone on the market right now. Note, not the hardware and the use of multiple lenses, it is the software that makes the best use of the onboard hardware to deliver a fantastic camera experience. The Pixel 3 has a glass back to allow wireless charging and an OLED display for watching HDR content. All in all great features and accessories such as the Pixel Stand make the Pixel 3 an informed choice. See the best Pixel 3 deals here.
3. Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Huawei are the company to watch in 2019. The Mate 20 Pro boasts a triple camera system which combines a wide angle, super wide angle and a telephoto lens coupled with an excellent night mode function, this allows you to take stunning photographs whatever time of day or night it happens to be. There is wireless charging and an amazing battery which will last a few days between charges if you’re not a heavy user. The Mate 20 Pro is one of the first phones to have fingerprint recognition built into the screen which is a major leap forward and informs some of the other design features of the phone. The Mate 20 Pro sports 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, which should be enough to multitask and store a huge amount of pictures and video. A super-powered beast of a phone and we love it. Check out the latest Huawei Mate 20 Pro deals here.
4. OnePlus 6T
OnePlus are another Chinese manufacturer starting to show their hand this year in the UK. The 6T uses on screen fingerprint technology rather than a sensor to the rear of the phone. The 6T has a Snapdragon 845 processor backed up by a huge 8GB of RAM. The battery life is also very impressive and should be, as the OnePlus 6T has a 3700mAh battery to power it. The phone has 6.41″ AMOLED screen with a screen resolution of 2340 x 1080 which really makes the colours bright and gives the picture quality a slight edge over other smartphones in the price bracket. Compare the latest OnePlus 6T deals.
5. Apple iPhone XR
The iPhone XR delivers on most of the same features of the more expensive XS and XS Max. You get the same A12 Bionic chip, the same great photo quality and the same Face ID for unlocking your phone. There is a better battery life at a reported 11.5 hours and all at a cheaper price point. The screen is a big bright 6.1 inch LCD which is fantastic but struggles a bit when displaying deep blacks, but when you keep the price point in mind this is not a deal breaker, it still looks brilliant. If you looking to upgrade from any of the earlier models including the iPhone 8 you will notice a huge difference in terms of screen and overall performance. And the XR brings some much needed colour back into smartphones, given it’s available in red, pink, yellow and blue, as well as the more familiar black, white and silver. View the best iPhone XR deals.
6. Samsung Galaxy Note 9
The Note series has been for a long time the go to ‘phablet’, not quite a tablet but not quite a phone. The Note 9 has some noticeable upgrades from the Note 8. The battery has increased in size from 3400mAh to 4000mAh which gives the Note 9 enough power to last a full day, even for a heavy user. There is also more storage than before, this increases to 128GB from 64GB, but as with all Samsung phones there is still a Micro SD slot should you wish to increase the storage further. The Note 9 is paired with the included Bluetooth ‘S Pen’ stylus which allows you to use it as a remote for the camera or for skipping songs, amongst a number of other features. Samsung know that there is a limited market for this type of handset but this does not stop them giving this handset the best screen currently available in the market. The Note 9 uses an OLED screen which uses less power than other screen types, while delivering a superior experience. About the only criticism of the Note 9 is the inclusion of the dedicated Bixby button, but as this appears on all the latest Galaxy models we can’t see this disappearing soon. Check out the latest Samsung Note 9 deals here.
7. Samsung Galaxy S9
It would seem that this is another handset that could be mistaken for not being an upgrade, is it really a new handset called the S9 or is it an S8s (I guess that model number sounds wrong doesn’t it?)? The S9 is a great phone but not a huge leap over the S8, the camera is better, the fingerprint scanner has moved from beside the camera to below it, which stops the fingers smearing the camera lens. This should not detract from the fact the S9 is a great phone, the quality of the design and the manufacturing can be felt whilst in the hand, it feels substantial and stands up well to its competition. The new camera is a revelation compared to the S8, you can do really clever super slo-mo video shots and the slightly faster chip in the S9 is noticeable when switching between apps. Check out the UK’s best Samsung S9 deals.
8. Apple iPhone XS
First impressions are, predictably very good when it comes to how good this phone looks and feels in the hand. It’s pretty much identical to the iPhone X that came before it. And that in itself is no bad thing. We’re used to the S models from Apple being more focused on internal improvements, rather than design changes. And this is exactly what we’re dealing with here with the iPhone XS. The first thing you’ll notice is the lack of the home button. As you probably know by now that’s because of the inclusion of Face ID and it works amazingly well, using the hidden tech that’s inside the notch at the top of the display. Up at the top we have the dual 12 megapixel lenses. One lens is a telephoto for two times optical zoom, which has an F 2.4 aperture and the other is excellent F 1.8 wide-angle lens. This setup works beautifully. Smart HDR has helped with levels of finesse across the board. This is Apple at the top of it’s game and the XS will sit very nicely alongside your Mac Book Pro. View the latest iPhone XS deals.
9. Honor 10
The Honor 10 has most of the features seen in phones at almost twice the price. It has a very striking metal and glass design, 128GB of storage and a Kirin 970 CPU, which is the processor used in some of the more pricier offerings from Huawei. There is a dual camera array on the rear with a 20 megapixel and 16 megapixel camera, which offers low-loss double zoom. You do get some sacrifices for the price, there is no official water resistance but you do get a headphone jack and expandable memory. At a very affordable price point this handset is not to be ignored. There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular non-Samsung/Apple phones of the moment. Compare the latest Honor 10 deals here.
10. Huawei P20 Pro
With the Mate P20 Pro now released you might think that the P20 Pro would disappear from our lists, but not so. This is still a great phone especially if you are not happy carrying the Mate, which is after all is quite a lot bigger. There are three main cameras on the back of the Pro 20, one 40 megapixel (MP) main sensor, a 20MP black and white one and 3X zoom 8MP camera. This is a serious camera phone and one that excels in low light conditions. The front camera is an impressive 24MP for taking detailed selfies. The phone packs 6gb of ram and 128gb of on board storage and the Kirin 970 chipset. The battery is a fantastic 4000mAh which is bigger than all of its rivals. The P20 Pro still manages to be slightly thinner than the Samsung S9 at just 7.8mm thick. With water resistance of IP67, fingerprint scanner and no headphone jack, the specs begin to resemble some of the iPhones. The screen is not as good as its flagship peers, it is 1080 x 2244 AMOLED screen, but it is a capable screen coping with HDR very well with deep blacks and bright colours. A plus point is the P20 Pro comes shipped with a screen protector applied, genius. There are some brilliant Huawei P2o Pro deals to be had at the moment, view the latest here. 
Need some more info on a particular phone? Just pop a note in the Comments below or message us on Twitter. The team at Direct Mobiles have over 24 years experience playing around with mobile phones, we’re happy to help ensure you get the best phone for you, and of course the best deal.
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