A few days are left until the end of 2019 and the most awaited time of the year has come for fans of the world of mobile devices. We are obviously talking about the ranking of the best smartphones of the year, those products that have left their mark during the past twelve months. After some inevitable twists and turns, we managed to draw up a list of smartphones that convinced everyone in the editorial team: you can find it below. We remind you that the prices taken into consideration are only those present on Amazon Italy or on the official websites of the manufacturers.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
Arrived on the market in late August, Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ was immediately praised by critics and the public, who have defined it as one of the best smartphones of the South Korean company in recent years. The device gives its best in the excellent display, in the good photographic sector, in autonomy above average and in build quality, as you can read in our review of Samsung Galaxy Note 10+.
Put simply, the South Korean company has entered the market a complete and versatile smartphone. The only flaws are to be found in the lack of Dual SIM and the audio jack for headphones. For the rest everything is in place, from NFC to Bluetooth 5.0 through 4G LTE, the USB Type-C 3.1 port, for wireless charging and for Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax. Maybe Galaxy Note 10+ isn't a device accessible to everyone because of the price, but those who really want to aim at the top should definitely take a look at this device. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ is currently sold at a price of 980 euros on Amazon Italy through resellers (model 12 / 256GB).
OnePlus 7T Pro
Arrived in Italy in October, OnePlus 7T Pro is a smartphone convincing from several points of view. Of course, some of the fans have had to complain about the generational leap, considered by some to be too little marked, but there is no doubt that the Chinese company has churned out a device capable of competing with the big names in the sector. For more details, please read our OnePlus 7T Pro review.
In any case, the main strengths are the excellent performance, the above average screen, the complete software sector, the good photographic sector and the excellent constructive solidity.
Also to be taken into consideration is the display with 90 Hz refresh rate and the fast charging Warp Charge, which allows you to go from 0% to 70% in just 30 minutes. The main errors are instead the autonomy not the best, the lack of the headphone jack and wireless charging, the memory is not expandable.
Everything in the standard, however, as regards the remaining specifications of the connectivity sector: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C 3.1 and NFC are in place.
OnePlus 7T Pro is sold for 745 euros on Amazon Italy through resellers (variant 8 / 256GB). Do not make the mistake of underestimating the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition, which this year is to be particularly taken into consideration, given the more affordable price than usual: 859 euros.
Huawei P30 Pro
Landed in our country in the first half of the year, Huawei P30 Pro deserves to be in this ranking for the innovation brought to the smartphone sector. We are indeed talking about a device that presents an exceptional photographic sector, capable of reaching heights never seen before with its 10x hybrid zoom (digital up to 50x). We could almost define it as a "forerunner", surely a smartphone that left an important mark in 2019.
For the rest, reliability is always at home, both from the point of view of autonomy and as regards performance and display, as you can read in our review of Huawei P30 Pro.
Too bad only for some drooling concerning the various unlocking modes and for the lack of the audio jack for headphones.
Instead, all the other connectivity of the case are present, from the USB Type-C 3.1 port to the NFC, passing through wireless charging. The smartphone was also one of the first to receive the update to the EMUI 10 in Italy, so there is certainly no complain at the software level.
Huawei P30 Pro is sold at a price of about 635 euros on Amazon Italy through resellers (model 8 / 128GB).
ROG Phone 2
Still talking about devices that have left a mark during the last twelve months, we cannot fail to mention ASUS ROG Phone 2. Defined by many as the "king of gaming smartphones", the device brought a breath of fresh air to the market. The Taiwanese company has in fact refined all the most "criticized" aspects of the previous iteration, placing on the market a solid smartphone capable of doing exactly what is required by the most demanding gamers. For more details, we advise you to consult our review of ROG Phone 2.
The device gives its best in above-average performance, in the various gaming-side features (such as the Air Triggers), in the excellent autonomy (6000 mAh battery) and in the display with 120 Hz refresh rate. We can say that ROG Phone 2 also has a sort of "double soul", given that in reality its specifications could make it attractive even to an audience that does not focus exclusively on gaming.
The smartphone is not perfect, however: waterproofness, wireless charging and expandable memory are missing. In any case, the connectivity sector is all in all complete: USB Type-C 3.1 port, NFC, audio jack for headphones, Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ad. ASUS ROG Phone 2 is currently sold at a price of 699 euros on the official ASUS website (model 8 / 128GB). On Everyeye Tech you will also find a page dedicated to this smartphone, where we have studied in detail all the various components of ROG Phone 2, in order to allow you to view the product at 360 degrees.
Special mention: Google Pixel 4 XL
Arrived in Italy in the last months of 2019, Google Pixel 4 XL certainly deserves recognition in the year-end ranking. We are in fact talking about a solid smartphone in almost all its components. For all the details of the case, we invite you to consult our review of Google Pixel 4 XL.
The device deserves to be mentioned above all because of its innovative features, from astrophotography to Motion Sense, through Live Caption and for instant transcription from audio to text. All news that can potentially result in a revolution for someone. Google has therefore reconfirmed itself as a company in constant search for innovation, not a small thing in a market that continues to pick up on itself like that smartphone.
For the rest, the strengths of Pixel 4 XL are the excellent build quality, the classic software optimization made by the Californian company, the performance as a true top of the range, the exceptional photographic sector and the excellent display with refresh rate of 90 Hz.
Like any smartphone, the Google device is not perfect: the audio jack for the headphones is missing, the internal memory is not expandable, the autonomy is only average, there are no headphones in the package and for the Dual SIM you need to force go through an eSIM.
Everything is instead in place in terms of connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5, USB Type-C 3.1, wireless charging and NFC. The Californian company has also already announced that the software-side support will continue at least until October 2022. Pixel 4 XL is sold at a price of 899 euros on the Google Store (model 6 / 64GB).
Market choice: iPhone 11 Pro / iPhone 11 Pro Max
The "market choice" award for top-of-the-range smartphones could only be won by the iPhone 11 series. We are in fact talking about a successful line-up, which has generated a number of sales that has even surprised Apple. There is no precise data on which is the most purchased high-end device of the year, but surely the smartphone of the Cupertino company is the one that has managed to catalyze the attention of the media and the public more, generating huge queues of people all over the world, including Italy, on the day of the release.
In any case, the best-performing model in the series, or iPhone 11 Pro Max, has been defined by critics as one of the best smartphones from Apple in recent years. The main strengths of the device are the exceptional display, the photographic sector out of scale and the excellent autonomy, as you can read in our review of iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The main flaws are the not exactly innovative design, the ergonomics that can be improved, the non-expandable memory and the absence of the audio jack for the headphones. Everything is in place with regard to the connectivity sector, from NFC to the Lightning port, via wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax. The price of 1289 euros on the official website (64GB model) is certainly not for everyone, but the quality offered by the smartphone justifies the cost. We remind you that there is also the iPhone 11 Pro variant, sold for 1189 euros (64GB version).
