Smartphone releases nowadays are fast-paced and will often leave you questioning if it’s worth the purchase. From budget-friendly up to flagship-level, the surge of new features and innovations flood the market with devices. This 2019, brands already released its latest top-of-the-line phones but, not everyone wants to ride the wave immediately. Today, I’m going to help you answer your question on which flagship smartphones from last year (2018) are still worth getting. Let’s start!
Author’s Note: The smartphones listed are those launched in 2018 and are officially available in the Philippines. Highlighted are the best devices from each brand, but we’ve also included their alternatives.
Samsung Galaxy S9+
Now that the Samsung Galaxy S10 series is out on the market, it’s still good to get its predecessor, the Galaxy S9 series with the S9+ leading the charge. It has a great viewing experience thanks to 6.2-inch WQHD+ Super AMOLED display. Given that it’s a flagship device expect that its performance is still good with its Exynos 9810 chipset paired with a 6GB of RAM. As far as we’re concerned, the camera configuration of the Galaxy series is excellent overall.
If you don’t want the S9+, then the Galaxy S9 with a smaller display, RAM, and battery capacity. The Galaxy Note9, on the other hand, is still the latest device of the company in the Note series so getting this even this year is very worth it.
Price
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ 64GB – PHP 43,990
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ 128GB – PHP 46,990
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ 256GB – PHP 52,990
- Samsung Galaxy S9 64GB – PHP36,990
- Samsung Galaxy Note9 128GB – PHP 49,990
- Samsung Galaxy Note9 512GB – PHP 69,990
You can simply check our comparison for the S10+, S9+, and Note9 21 here to know their differences.
Apple iPhone XS Max
Launched in October 2018, the Apple iPhone XS Max, or even the XS and XR for this matter, is relatively not an old flagship device as it is still Apple’s top-of-the-line phone to date. It comes with a 6.5-inch OLED display, Apple A12 Bionic chipset, 64GB/256GB/512Gb of storage, dual 12MP rear cameras, 7MP front, and IP68 certification.
Among the XS Max is its siblings — the iPhone XS and XR. Their main difference is the display with the former having 5.8-inch OLED panel while the latter getting 6.1-inch LCD screen. If you want an iPhone for an affordable price, I suggest that you get the iPhone XR instead of the XS.
Price
- Apple iPhone XS Max 64GB – PHP 73,490
- Apple iPhone XS Max 256GB – PHP 82,990
- Apple iPhone XS Max 512GB – PHP 94,990
- Apple iPhone XS 64GB – PHP 67,990
- Apple iPhone XS 256GB – PHP 77,490
- Apple iPhone XS 512GB – PHP 90,490
- Apple iPhone XR 128GB – PHP 52,990
- Apple iPhone XR 256GB – PHP 59,990
Huawei P20 Pro
Huawei sparked a smartphone camera revolution when it first introduced the P20 Pro where it featured a 40MP RGB sensor along with a 20MP monochrome and 8MP telephoto lens. It sports a 6.1-inch OLED display, Kirin 970 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 24MP front camera, and 4,000mAh battery with SuperCharge technology.
You can also opt for its younger sibling, the Huawei P20 that comes with toned down specs as compared with the P20 Pro. However, if you have an extra budget, you can go with Mate 20 Pro which is the latest in the Mate series as of writing. It comes with a 6.39-inch OLED 2K+ display, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, same camera set up as with the P20 Pro, In-screen fingerprint scanner, and 4,200mAh battery. You can choose the Mate 20, however, if you want a Mate device with a more affordable price.
Price
- Huawei P20 Pro 128GB – PHP 40,990
- Huawei P20 – PHP 30,990
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro – PHP 44,990
- Huawei Mate 20 – PHP 35,990
ASUS ROG Phone
ASUS ROG, one of the most popular companies to produce gaming devices, made their dedicated gaming smartphone which rivals the Razer Phone, Xiaomi BlackShark, and Nubia Red Magic phones. It has a 6-inch AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128GB/256GB of storage, 812MP + 8MP dual rear cameras, 8MP front camera, and 4,000mAh battery with HyperCharge technology.
Price
- ASUS ROG Phone 128GB – PHP 49,995
- ASUS ROG Phone 512GB – PHP 61,995
OPPO Find X
OPPO’s very own flagship smartphone, the OPPO Find X, made its way to the Philippine market with an innovative surprise. It comes with an all-screen display and a 3D Stealth Cameras where it only rises when the front or rear camera is required to be used. It sports a 6.4-inch OLED Panoramic Arc display, Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, 16MP + 20MP dual rear cameras, 25MP front, and 3,730mAh battery with VOOC flash charge technology.
Price
- OPPO Find X – PHP 41,990
OnePlus 6T
OnePlus 6T is the latest flagship smartphone of the company that has a 6.41-inch Optic AMOLED display, Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB/8GB of RAM, 128GB/256GB of storage, 16MP + 20M dual rear cameras, 16MP front camera, and 3,700mAh battery with Dash charge technology.
Price
- OnePlus 6T 6GB/128GB – PHP 31,990
- OnePlus 6T 8GB/128GB – PHP 33,990
- OnePlus 6T 8GB/256GB – PHP 37,990
Pocophone F1
Xiaomi basically made its name even more popular due to the release of the Pocophone F1. It’s not really a flagship smartphone overall but, its Snapdragon 845 chipset makes it deserving to sit in the ranks of the top-of-the-line devices. It has a 6.18-inch display, 6GB of RAM, 64GB/128GB storage, 12MP + 5MP dual rear cameras, 20MP front camera, 4,000mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0
I would love to include the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro and the Mi Mix 3 in the list, but ever since the Mi 9 entered the market, I simply thought that you guys should pick it instead of these two, but they’re not really that bad nor have lesser quality overall.
Price
- Pocophone F1 6GB + 64GB – PHP 14,990
- Pocophone F1 6GB + 128GB – PHP 16,990
LG G7 ThinQ
LG’s G7 ThinQ is the latest flagship smartphone that didn’t gather much fame in the Philippines. However, its flagship-level specs make it a worthy candidate in this list. It sports a 6.1-inch display with Snapdragon 845 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, 16MP + 16MP dual rear cameras, 8MP front camera, and 3,000mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0.
Price
- LG G7 ThinQ – PHP 42,990
So that sums up everything in this list. Which 2018 flagship smartphone would you pick? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
IMO The only phone worthy from this article is the poco f1. It’s laughable how ridiculous the prices are of the other entries here and how they were thought of as “worthy”