Top 10 BEST Smartphones of 2018 so far.

Easily one of the best flagships under $600, held back only by a mid-tier chip that cheaper phones also use.

Best bet for a near-flagship experience on a tight budget, with a colour-shifting back and improved gaming through GPU Turbo.

Surprisingly good for the money, with a curved AMOLED screen and great battery life, and people he showed it to were impressed.

Disappointingly iterative but one of the most well rounded phones available, safe to recommend to almost anyone wanting a flagship.

Not yet released; he expects it to fit in his top 10 but probably not the top three because of its likely price.

Defies its price with real flair, a Snapdragon 845 and handy software features like full gesture control.

One of the most beautiful bits of tech he owns with very little compromise, held back only by better value elsewhere.

His daily phone, with a superb bezel-free screen that makes other phones feel like a compromise despite a weak fingerprint scanner and cameras.

The best value budget phone he has ever seen, trading extras for fast, clean Android.

Striking phone with incredible battery and unmatched low-light camera, only held back by a less powerful chip.

A pretty good phone but misses much of what makes the Pro special, so it missed the list.

His number one for value: $500 couldn't be better spent, with fast chip and clean software, only the camera is a minor compromise.

Gaming-focused phone with a breathing RGB light strip that he likes but that missed the list.

A solid all-rounder with 4K HDR video but does not do enough to stand out.