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Most underrated smartphones of 2018
The barrage of smartphones released throughout the year can be inundating to the average consumer. The frequency is just relentless, with many of the heavy hitters announcing not just one flagship device during the year, but two! It gets overwhelming – to the point that many good devices fly under the radar after release.
Maybe their release coincided with that of an even better smartphone? Or maybe because a particular phone wasn’t deemed flagship-worthy? Whatever the reason, these are smartphones we love to classify as underrated – the ones that never generate the recognition that they truly deserve. Now that the year is at its closing, we want to recognize the chosen few that make our list of being the most underrated.
We’re kicking things off with the LG V40, the phone that packed along a whopping 5 cameras – three in the back and two in the front. LG’s V-series has always been noteworthy, establishing itself as the choice for video creators because of its rich video-centric features, and this year's iteration is no exception!
Even though the LG V40 brought along a triple main camera system, it wasn’t the only one to offer this – nor was it the only one to offer a wide-angle front-facing camera. Contending against many other noteworthy flagships released in the fall – like the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, iPhone XS Max, Google Pixel 3 XL, and Huawei Mate 20 Pro – the LG V40 was simply forgotten. While the V40’s triple camera system isn’t necessarily a new concept, it’s still way ahead of the competition when it comes to adhering to the needs of content creators. No other phone can match the V40’s unprecedented video controls and features, and when you add in the fact that it features a premium construction, wireless charging, and even a headphone jack, it doesn’t skimp out in being a flagship-caliber smartphone.
A slew of Nokia phones were announced during Mobile World Congress earlier this year, with one of them being the Nokia 7 Plus. However, we sometimes forget about one thing when another iterative one is simultaneously announced, say the Nokia 8 Sirocco. Even though its sibling in the Nokia 8 Sirocco was prized for many reasons, the Nokia 7 Plus managed to exceed our expectations! Part of that is because of its solid value for the money.
Given that the Nokia 7 Plus didn’t get any traction or coverage in the US, mainly isolated to Europe, it makes perfect sense why it flew under the radar – more so when a lot of the attention went towards the Nokia 8 Sirocco. Despite that, it offered an incredible package consisting of an aluminum design, long battery life, stock Android, and a competitive price point of 350 euros (about $415) when it was released back in May.
Finding itself in a very similar situation to Nokia/HMD, Asus never really managed to spark substantial interest from consumers – more so in the US market than anywhere else! It’s a shame, honestly, seeing that they’ve continually pushed out affordable smartphones that manage to perform nicely. Case in point, the Asus Zenfone 5Q and its strong push as a serious contender in the photography department with its camera!
Sporting a $300 price tag out of the gates, you wouldn’t think that it’d be the kind of device that would excel in the camera department, but it does! Add to that, the Asus Zenfone 5Q features a premium glass-meets-metal design, a really good-looking display, and an excellent battery life as well. Asus’ smartphones don’t really get as much attention, which is a shame because when you factor everything the 5Q offers with its aggressive price point, it’s certainly underrated!
Sony has been going through a rocky relationship with consumers for the last several years, but through it all, they’ve been able to persevere! Lost amongst the barrage of flagships from the competition, the Sony Xperia XZ3 surprisingly steered the company in a new direction. For starters, the engineers designed what’s arguably one of the most underappreciated smartphones – one boasting striking refinements over previous iterations that made it one of the more stylish phones released this year!
Furthermore, it featured everything you want in a flagship-caliber device – like a beautiful OLED screen, powerful dual-firing speakers, a water-resistant construction, wireless charging, and 4K HDR video recording! The only thing it lacked was a dual-camera system, but it still managed to deliver good results with its single 19MP camera. And we can’t forget about its ability to shoot super slow-motion video at 960 FPS and low-light images at sensitivity of ISO 12800! It may not be a dominant force in the flagship range, but the XZ3 still deserves recognition for taking the company in a refreshingly new direction.
Another one in pretty much the same situation as Sony, Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has lost significant market share. The last couple of years have been especially tough, but with this year’s HTC U12+, the company managed to finally get the recipe just about right – albeit, the phone couldn’t match the kind of notoriety and prestige that accompanies those from Samsung, Huawei, Apple, OnePlus, and even Xiaomi!
It seemed as though the U12+ couldn’t remove the sour taste that was left over from HTC’s previous offerings, but when you look deeper into how it featured everything we expect in a high-end flagship, paired with an even attractive $800 starting price, it was undoubtedly a high-value offering. However, it was simply overshadowed and somewhat forgotten, which is a shame because this was the best thing to come from HTC in a long while. It even featured a memorable trait with its semi-transparent glass surface, something we don’t usually see.
