Awesome Smartphones

Google’s Pixel 3a and 3a XL are more affordable than today’s flagship phones. But they have a 5.6″ or 6″ (respectively) 1080p OLED display, the same 12.2MP rear camera and camera software that’s in the Pixel 3, which has HDR and the miraculous low light mode, Night Sight.

Huawei’s P30 Pro features four rear cameras, including a 40MP main camera with a maximum ISO rating of 409,600 for excellent low light photography. It also has a 8MP periscope camera that allows for 5x optical zoom and a staggering 50x digital zoom.

There’s much buzz these days about the upcoming barrage of foldable smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X. Squirrel Monkey’s latest retro tech video imagines what these phones might have been like some 20 years ago.

LG takes a reasonable half-step towards foldable phones with the V50 ThinQ 5G. It has a 6.4″ 1440×3120 OLED display, but it also has an optional 6.2″ 1080p OLED display attachment. You can use the second display to run two apps at once, preview photos and more.

Nokia is banking on photography enthusiasts with the 9 PureView. It has five 12MP cameras at the back – two RGB, three monochrome – that can all take photos at once. This should result in images with incredible HDR and adjustable focus. Drops 03/2019 for $699.

Huawei’s take on the foldable phone is similar to the FlexPai. The Mate X has a single 8″ display that folds nearly in half for use in smartphone mode. It takes advantage of its “rear” display by acting as a preview for taking selfies.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold has a 4.6″ display on its front. Unfold the device and you get a 7.3″ tablet with an AMOLED display, and designed for multitasking. The device will go on sale 4/2019 for $1980 – truly a collectible for the most dedicated gadget freaks.

Samsung’s latest flagship phones continue to push bezels away, utilizing a cutout for the front cameras to maximize space. The S10 and the S10+ also have fingerprint sensor under the display. They also have three rear cameras, including one with a super wide angle lens.

With a ceramic unibody design, the Meizu Zero is first smartphone with no exposed openings – no holes for cables, speakers, or other sensors means a sleek design and better waterproofing. It hides a fingerprint sensor beneath its OLED screen, which doubles as a speaker.

Xiaomi co-founder and president Lin Bin teased the company’s prototype for an OLED phone that folds on both sides. This allows it to transition from a mini tablet to a smartphone with no bezels on the side. It’s certainly impressive, but its palm rejection better be on point.

Xiaomi’s latest flagship phone has an impressive 24MP front camera, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at its notch-less 6.4″ 1080p AMOLED display. That’s because the front camera is hidden inside a mechanical magnetic slider.

Huawei’s jumbo-size smartphone has a 25MP front camera that’s embedded in a 4.5mm diameter hole in its 6.4″ 1080p display, resulting in a front that’s nearly all screen. It also has a crazy 48MP rear camera. It will be available globally starting 1/22/19.

Want to shoot those smooth side-to-side shots that you see in pro videos? You could go out and buy a fancy slider, or you could follow COOPH’s handy guide on how to make an automated slider using ordinary household objects like a toy car and a kitchen timer.

Royole’s FlexPai is the world’s first commercially available mobile device to have a foldable display. Unfolded, it’s a 7.8″ tablet with a 1920×1440 AMOLED display. When folded, the two resulting screens and the spine can show different content.

Nubia made a smartphone that has a second OLED touchscreen on its back. The Nubia X’s 5.1″ second screen can be used to take selfies with the rear camera, as buttons for gaming, and even as the main screen. It’s available only in China at this point.

The OnePlus 6T has a 6.41″ 2340×1080 AMOLED display with a smaller notch than the one on the 6. It also has a fingerprint sensor built into the display. It also has a larger capacity battery (3700mAh from 3300mAh on the 6) and comes with USB-C headphones.

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro has a 6.4″ 3120 x 1440 OLED display, face unlock, a built-in fingerprint sensor on the touchscreen and three rear cameras: a 40MP wide angle, a 20MP ultra wide angle and an 8MP telephoto. It can also charge other devices wirelessly.

The Razer Phone 2 still has the one-of-a-kind 120Hz display from the original, as well as stereo speakers. But it now has dual Sony cameras at the back – one wide, one telephoto – dust and water resistance, wireless charging, and customizable RGB LEDs on the logo.

Google’s latest smartphones have a new 12MP sensor and new software features for its historically excellent camera system. It also has an AI-powered call screening feature that will answer calls for you. The Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL also now have wireless charging.

The LG V40 ThinQ improves on the G7 with a new 6.4″ 3120×1440 OLED display, and most significantly, five cameras. At the back there’s a standard camera, a wide angle camera, and a telephoto camera. On the front there’s a standard camera and a wide angle camera.

The Euclid lets you easily flip your phone between portrait and landscape modes with just one hand. It also offers three viewing angles as a phone stand, and the two-fingered grip is more secure than other phone ring holders.

Apple’s iPhone Xs Max has a 6.5″ edge-to-edge display, while the Xs has a 5.8″ display. Both feature improved cameras, including the addition of a portrait mode that lets you adjust background focus after shooting. They also have a more powerful and efficient processor.

The Sony Xperia XZ3 features an edge-to-edge 6″ 2880×1440 HDR OLED display. It shoots 4K HDR and 1080p/960fps slow-mo video, supports Hi-Res audio, and has upgraded speakers with vibration for immersive sound. It drops 10/17/18 for $900.